To estimate all-cause mortality in ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) and determine whether antibiotic duration beyond 8 days is associated with reduction in all-cause mortality in patients admitted with VAP in the intensive care unit.

A prospective cohort study of patients diagnosed with VAP based on the National Healthcare Safety Network definition and clinical criteria.

Single tertiary care hospital in Southern India.

100 consecutive adult patients diagnosed with VAP were followed up for 28 days postdiagnosis or until discharge.

The incidence of mortality at 28 days postdiagnosis was measured. Tests for association and predictors of mortality were determined using ² test and multivariate Cox regression analysis. Secondary outcomes included baseline clinical parameters such as age, underlying comorbidities as well as measuring total length of stay, number of ventilator-free days and antibiotic-free days.

The overall case fatality rate due to VAP was 46%. There was no statistically significant difference in mortality rates between those receiving shorter antibiotic duration (5–8 days) and those on longer therapy. Among those who survived until day 9, the observed risk difference was 15.1% between both groups, with an HR of 1.057 (95% CI 0.26 to 4.28). In 70.4% of isolates, non-fermenting Gram-negative bacilli were identified, of which the most common pathogen isolated was Acinetobacter baumannii (62%).

In this hospital-based cohort study, there is insufficient evidence to suggest that prolonging antibiotic duration beyond 8 days in patients with VAP improves survival.

To examine family planning through the community’s perception, belief system and cultural impact; in addition to identifying the determining factors for family planning uptake.

A descriptive exploratory study.

Three communities were selected from three local government areas, each in the three senatorial districts in Ekiti State.

The study was conducted among young unmarried women in the reproductive age group who were sexually active as well as married men and women in the reproductive age group who are currently living with their partners and were sexually active.

Eight focus group discussions were conducted in the community in 2019 with 28 male and 50 female participants. The audio recordings were transcribed, triangulated with notes and analysed using QSR NVivo V.8 software. Community perception, beliefs and perceptions of the utility of family planning, as well as cultural, religious and other factors determining family planning uptake were analysed.

The majority of the participants had the perception that family planning helps married couple only. There were diverse beliefs about family planning and mixed reactions with respect to the impact of culture and religion on family planning uptake. Furthermore, a number of factors were identified in determining family planning uptake—intrapersonal, interpersonal and health system factors.

The study concluded that there are varied reactions to family planning uptake due to varied perception, cultural and religious beliefs and determining factors. It was recommended that more targeted male partner engagement in campaign would boost family planning uptake.

This scoping review mapped and synthesised original research that identified low-value care in hospital settings as part of multicomponent processes.

Scoping review.

Electronic databases (EMBASE, PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO and Cochrane CENTRAL) and grey literature were last searched 11 July and 3 June 2022, respectively, with no language or date restrictions.

We included original research targeting the identification and prioritisation of low-value care as part of a multicomponent process in hospital settings.

Screening was conducted in duplicate. Data were extracted by one of six authors and checked by another author. A framework synthesis was conducted using seven areas of focus for the review and an overuse framework.

Twenty-seven records were included (21 original studies, 4 abstracts and 2 reviews), originating from high-income countries. Benefit or value (11 records), risk or harm (10 records) were common concepts referred to in records that explicitly defined low-value care (25 records). Evidence of contextualisation including barriers and enablers of low-value care identification processes were identified (25 records). Common components of these processes included initial consensus, consultation, ranking exercise or list development (16 records), and reviews of evidence (16 records). Two records involved engagement of patients and three evaluated the outcomes of multicomponent processes. Five records referenced a theory, model or framework.

Gaps identified included applying systematic efforts to contextualise the identification of low-value care, involving people with lived experience of hospital care and initiatives in resource poor contexts. Insights were obtained regarding the theories, models and frameworks used to guide initiatives and ways in which the concept ‘low-value care’ had been used and reported. A priority for further research is evaluating the effect of initiatives that identify low-value care using contextualisation as part of multicomponent processes.

It is important to promote resilience in preadolescence; however, there is limited research on children’s understandings and experiences of resilience. Quantitative approaches may not capture dynamic and context-specific aspects of resilience. Resilience research has historically focused on white, middle-class Western adults and adolescents, creating an evidence gap regarding diverse experiences of resilience in middle childhood which could inform interventions. East London’s Muslim community represents a diverse, growing population. Despite being disproportionately affected by deprivation and racial and cultural discrimination, this population is under-represented in resilience research. Using participatory and arts-based methods, this study aims to explore lived experiences and perceptions of resilience in black and South Asian Muslim children living in East London.

We propose a qualitative study, grounded in embodied inquiry, consisting of a participatory workshop with 6–12 children and their parents/carers to explore lived experiences and perceptions of resilience. Participants will be identified and recruited from community settings in East London. Eligible participants will be English-speaking Muslims who identify as being black or South Asian, have a child aged 8–12 years and live in East London. The workshop (approx. 3.5 hours) will take place at an Islamic community centre and will include body mapping with children and a focus group discussion with parents/carers to explore resilience perspectives and meanings. Participants will also complete a demographic survey. Workshop audio recordings will be transcribed verbatim and body maps and other paper-based activities will be photographed. Data will be analysed using systematic visuo-textual analysis which affords equal importance to visual and textual data.

The Queen Mary Ethics of Research Committee at Queen Mary University of London has approved this study (approval date: 9 October 2023; ref: QME23.0042). The researchers plan to publish the results in peer-reviewed journals and present findings at academic conferences.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MASLD) is the hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome and the leading cause of chronic liver disease worldwide. Given that there is no pharmacological treatment for MASLD, it is imperative to understand whether lifestyle modifications may improve biochemical and pathological outcomes. One commonly proposed dietary modification is the Mediterranean diet; however, vegetarianism may also be a promising intervention. Vegetarianism has been shown to be associated with reduced morbidity and mortality in metabolic syndrome outcomes in coronary artery disease and diabetes; however, the relationship between vegetarian diet and MASLD is less clear. In this scoping review, we will provide a comprehensive overview of the current body of evidence related to a vegetarian diet and MASLD.

The aim of this scoping review is to describe and summarise the current body of evidence related to MASLD and a vegetarian diet. This review will be conducted using Arksey and O’Malley’s framework. The literature review will be conducted using the following databases: SCOPUS, Web of Science, CINAHL-Plus, Cochrane Library and Medline. No restriction will be made on publication date. Included studies will encompass clinical trials and observational designs that examine effects or association of vegetarian diet in adults (≥16 years) and report on the incidence, prevalence or progression of MASLD. Grey literature, non-human studies and articles focusing on changes in a specific food or nutraceutical will be excluded. Articles must have an English-language abstract available to be considered for inclusion. Screening and data extraction will be conducted by two independent reviewers. The findings will be summarised with descriptive statistics.

Approval from a medical ethics committee is not required for this review. Once the review is complete, the findings will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal.

Regular clinical reviews of people with COPD provide an opportunity to optimise management and are recommended in national and international guidelines. However, there are limited data about the relationship between having an annual review and other aspects of care quality, which might influence decision-making by healthcare professionals and commissioners.

Using data from 74 827 people with COPD completing the Asthma+Lung UK COPD Patient Passport, between 2014 and 2022, we conducted adjusted logistic regression (adjusting for year) and compared receipt of key items of care between those reporting that they had had an annual review (65.3%) and those who did not (34.7%). To further capture patient experience, we also analysed 4228 free-text responses to the 2021 Asthma+Lung UK annual COPD survey to the question ‘What is the one thing that could improve your COPD care?’

We found that the absence of an annual review was associated with significantly worse COPD care across all domains studied; in particular, inhaler training (yes: 80.8% vs no: 38.4%, adjusted OR (AOR): 8.18, 95% CI (7.89 to 8.47), having a written care plan (89.6% vs 56.9%, AOR 6.68 (95% CI 6.35 to 7.05) and medication knowledge (72.6% vs 33.6%, AOR 5.73 (95% CI 5.51 to 5.96). Thematic analysis of the 2021 COPD survey responses identified three areas to improve care: (1) access and support from healthcare services, (2) improved treatment effectiveness and (3) interaction between COPD and the social environment.

Failure to deliver annual COPD reviews is associated with worse patient-reported experience of care quality. In parallel, people with COPD express a desire for greater support and access to healthcare services.

To map the current use of paper-based and/or screen-based media for health education aimed at older people.

A scoping review was reported following the Preferred Reporting Items of Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses for Scoping Reviews checklist.

The search was carried out in seven databases (Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, Medline, CINAHL, ACM Guide to Computing Literature, PsycINFO), with studies available from 2012 to the date of the search in 2022, in English, Portuguese, Italian or Spanish. In addition, Google Scholar was searched to check the grey literature. The terms used in the search strategy were older adults, health education, paper and screen-based media, preferences, intervention and other related terms.

Studies included were those that carried out health education interventions for older individuals using paper and/or screen-based media and that described barriers and/or facilitators to using these media.

The selection of studies was carried out by two reviewers. A data extraction form was developed with the aim of extracting and recording the main information from the studies. Data were analysed descriptively using Bardin’s content analysis.

The review included 21 studies that carried out health education interventions with different purposes, the main ones being promotion of physical activity, hypertension prevention and psychological health. All 21 interventions involved screen-based media on computers, tablets, smartphones and laptops, while only 4 involved paper-based media such as booklets, brochures, diaries, flyers and drawings. This appears to reflect a transition from paper to screen-based media for health education for the older population, in research if not in practice. However, analysis of facilitators and barriers to using both media revealed 10 design factors that could improve or reduce their use, and complementarity in their application to each media type. For example, screen-based media could have multimedia content, additional functionality and interactivity through good interaction design, but have low accessibility and require additional learning due to complex interface design. Conversely, paper-based media had static content and low functionality but high accessibility and availability and a low learning cost.

We recommend having improved screen-based media design, continued use of paper-based media and the possible combination of both media through the new augmented paper technology.

Open Science Framework (DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/GKEAH).

As an integral part of emergency medical rescue teams during public health events, understanding the core competencies that nursing personnel should possess—including theoretical knowledge, practical skills, comprehensive abilities and personal traits—can provide a practical basis for better preparation and targeted training for future emergency rescue works. Thus, this study aims to provide a scientific and applicable reference for perfecting the routine training strategy of nursing personnel assembled by emergency medical rescue teams and improving the overall guarantee ability level of this group.

This is a qualitative study conducted using individual semi-structured interviews. All interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim for the purpose of thematic analysis and extraction.

Participants were recruited from February to March 2023, from four comprehensive hospitals in Chongqing China with the highest number of emergency relief works.

A sample of experts (N=15) with extensive experience in emergency relief works was recruited in Chongqing, China.

60% of the experts held master’s degrees or higher, 73.3% held senior or higher titles, 36.7% had participated in work execution more than five times and 73.3% held leadership positions in their current units and in the execution of emergency relief works. Four main themes and 22 corresponding subthemes were derived for the core competencies required for nursing personnel selected for emergency medical rescue teams in public health events, including theoretical knowledge, practical skills, comprehensive abilities and personal traits.

Our study revealed that through interviews with 15 experts with extensive experience in the public health event, the essential elements of core competencies for nursing personnel assigned to emergency medical rescue teams during the public health event were identified. These can serve as a reference standard for the selection of nursing personnel in public health events, and provide a basis for the cultivation and evaluation of competency for nursing personnel assigned to emergency medical rescue teams in the public health event in China and globally.

To undertake further psychometric testing of the Multimorbidity Treatment Burden Questionnaire (MTBQ) and examine whether reversing the scale reduced floor effects.

Survey.

UK primary care.

Adults (≥18 years) with three or more long-term conditions randomly selected from four general practices and invited by post.

Baseline survey: sociodemographics, MTBQ (original or version with scale reversed), Treatment Burden Questionnaire (TBQ), four questions (from QQ-10) on ease of completing the questionnaires. Follow-up survey (1–4 weeks after baseline): MTBQ, TBQ and QQ-10. Anonymous data collected from electronic GP records: consultations (preceding 12 months) and long-term conditions. The proportion of missing data and distribution of responses were examined for the original and reversed versions of the MTBQ and the TBQ. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Spearman’s rank correlation (R_s) assessed test–retest reliability and construct validity, respectively. Ease of completing the MTBQ and TBQ was compared. Interpretability was assessed by grouping global MTBQ scores into 0 and tertiles (>0).

244 adults completed the baseline survey (consent rate 31%, mean age 70 years) and 225 completed the follow-up survey. Reversing the scale did not reduce floor effects or data skewness. The global MTBQ scores had good test–retest reliability (ICC for agreement at baseline and follow-up 0.765, 95% CI 0.702 to 0.816). Global MTBQ score was correlated with global TBQ score (R_s 0.77, ps 0.17, p=0.010), and number of different general practitioners consulted (R_s 0.23, ps –0.063, p=0.330). Most participants agreed that both the MTBQ and TBQ were easy to complete and included aspects they were concerned about.

This study demonstrates test–retest reliability and ease of completion of the MTBQ and builds on a previous study demonstrating good content validity, construct validity and internal consistency reliability of the questionnaire.