Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is highly prevalent in Thailand and imposes a growing burden on the health system, driven by limited nephrology capacity and high rates of unplanned dialysis. The kidney failure risk equation (KFRE) estimates the risk of progression to kidney failure (KF) on age, sex, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio. This study aims to validate and, if required, recalibrate the four-variable KFRE for the Thai population and to assess the potential impact of KFRE-guided referral strategies on clinical care and health system performance.
We will conduct a retrospective cohort study using linked, de-identified national health databases covering approximately 70% of the Thai population. Adult patients with CKD stages 3–5 will be included. KFRE performance will be evaluated at 2 and 5 years for discrimination and calibration. If miscalibration is identified, the model will be recalibrated using Cox-based methods. Simulations (1000 iterations) indicated that approximately 920 KF events by 5 years would be required to achieve the target standard errors for the calibration slope. A subsequent impact analysis will compare KFRE-guided referral with current Thai CKD guideline criteria and real-world practice using a decision-tree and Markov modelling framework.
Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the Institute for the Development of Human Research Protections, Thailand (COA No. IHRP2025110), Imperial College London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The requirement for informed consent was waived due to the use of anonymised secondary data. Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, conferences and policy briefs to supplement evidence-based referral strategies and health system planning.
Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a debilitating chronic pain condition that severely reduces quality of life. Physiotherapy is a key component of management; however, high-quality evidence to inform optimal practice is limited. Variability in outcome measurement and poor reporting quality may hinder the ability to synthesise findings and inform best practice.
Although international guidelines for reporting patient-reported outcomes (PROs) have been developed to address these issues and a CRPS Core Outcome Set (COS) has been published, the extent to which they have been adopted in CRPS research remains unclear. This protocol describes a scoping review, which aims to explore whether randomised controlled trials evaluating physiotherapy interventions for adults with CRPS adhere to COS recommendations and comply with PRO reporting guidelines.
The design of the scoping review will align with the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews will be used to guide reporting. Electronic databases including MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, CENTRAL and PsycINFO will be searched in addition to the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (WHO-ICTRP). Titles, abstracts and full texts will be screened by two independent reviewers. Data extraction and synthesis will follow, with discrepancies resolved through discussion with a third reviewer. Adherence to the CRPS COS will be assessed by mapping trial outcomes to COS domains, and compliance with Standard Protocol Items Recommendations for Interventional Trials: Patient-Reported Outcome Extension (SPIRIT-PRO) and Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials: PRO Extension (CONSORT-PRO) guidelines will be evaluated against checklist items. Data will be summarised descriptively, with subgroup analysis comparing trials initiated before and after COS publication.
Ethical approval is not required as the study involves no collection of primary data. Findings will be disseminated via peer-reviewed journals, conference presentations and concise reports prepared for key stakeholders.
This protocol is registered on Open Science Framework and is available at https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/BFH82.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and biofilm formation significantly hinder chronic wound management, necessitating safer and more effective therapeutic options. This study evaluates the antimicrobial, antibiofilm, cytocompatibility and anti-inflammatory properties of a novel antimicrobial hydrogel Formulation (#1) compared with commercially available wound hydrogel and cream Formulations (#2–5). Antimicrobial activity was assessed using minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) assays against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans, and mixed-species cultures. Biofilm-related efficacy was evaluated via crystal violet (CV) staining and minimum biofilm inhibitory concentration (MBIC) assays. Cytotoxicity was examined using ISO-compliant MTT and confluency assays on L929 fibroblasts. In vivo anti-inflammatory effects were assessed using intra-cutaneous injection in New Zealand White rabbits with histological evaluation per ISO 10993-23. Formulation 1 showed the lowest MIC and MBC values across all pathogens, including polymicrobial cultures, indicating strong broad-spectrum efficacy. In biofilm assays, it reduced biofilm biomass by 50%–60% within 10 min and prevented new formation at lower MBIC values than Formulation 2, especially in mixed-species models. Cytotoxicity testing confirmed Formulation 1 maintained ≥ 81% cell viability across all concentrations, outperforming other products and meeting ISO and USP safety thresholds. In vivo, both Formulation 1 and 2 induced minimal inflammation, with Formulation 1 showing slightly milder tissue responses. Formulation 1 demonstrated strong antimicrobial efficacy, reliable biofilm control, and favourable cytocompatibility compared with the comparator formulations tested in this study. These findings support further evaluation of this formulation for chronic wounds complicated by biofilms and antimicrobial resistance.
Healthcare services are mainly organised around single health conditions and need reconfiguration to meet the needs of people with multiple long-term conditions (multimorbidity). Typically, people are offered annual reviews for each of their long-term conditions separately. In a randomised controlled trial, a comprehensive computerised template based on a personalised care model increased the person-centredness of multimorbidity reviews in primary care, but there were implementation challenges. We sought to understand and address the challenges of implementing a template to support personalised primary care for people with multimorbidity (PP4M).
To explore the extent of implementation and factors influencing uptake of the PP4M intervention. To understand factors influencing implementation and normalisation of the template.
Convergent parallel mixed methods within a non-randomised hybrid implementation-effectiveness study. Normalisation Process Theory (NPT) informed design, data collection and analysis.
Primary care (general practices) in three English regions.
Quantitative: Patients aged 18 years or over and had at least three types of long-term conditions (routine data collection); staff involved in using the template in implementation practices (Normalisation MeAsure Development (NoMAD) questionnaire).
Qualitative: Staff at implementation practices.
A multimorbidity computerised template to support personalised annual reviews. NPT-informed implementation package delivered to implementation practices included: process mapping, software support and training.
Routine medical record data; NoMAD questionnaires and qualitative interviews in implementation practices.
Measures of reach, fidelity, acceptability and sustainability.
Quantitative data: descriptive statistics, logistic regression and difference-in-difference models. Qualitative data analysis conducted using NPT coding manual.
In practices that received an NPT-informed implementation package, use of the template increased more, across patients with a range of demographics and health conditions, than in those that did not receive the implementation package (OR 2.86 (95% CI 2.34 to 3.49)). The implementation package successfully triggered NPT processes of coherence and cognitive participation, and, to a lesser extent, collective action and reflexive monitoring. Contextual factors, including a lack of staff generalist skills and disease-specific incentives, impeded engagement and sustained implementation.
Focusing on the processes of normalisation as mechanisms of implementation facilitated development of an implementation strategy with potential to trigger those mechanisms, but did not sufficiently address contextual factors. Implementation strategies to support personalised care must consider wider system and practice level contextual factors, such as incentives and staff training.
https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN40295449 (2022–08-03, retrospectively registered.)
To co-design an information booklet to support adults living with a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) at home.
A sequential, mixed-method approach using Boyd's co-design framework.
A diverse project team led co-design of a PICC booklet based on preferences and PICC management strategies identified through content analysis of interviews with 15 Australian health consumers (January 2022–March 2023) using a qualitative descriptive approach. A draft booklet was developed, reviewed by the team and prototyped, which was evaluated by consumer participants and an external nurse panel, with readability assessed using Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch–Kincaid scores. The project team reviewed feedback, reached consensus on changes and collaborated with designers to produce the final booklet.
Consumer participant strategies were classified into four categories: enhancing coping, taking responsibility and understanding information, modifying life and accessing supports. Two pre-determined categories were included (participant recommendations for PICC education resource content and top tips for living with a PICC). The prototype was evaluated as highly relevant (3.9/4), comprehensive (3.8/4) with an appropriate writing style and visual appeal. Readability scores were 76.1/100 (Flesch Reading Ease) and 6.9 (Flesch–Kincaid grade level). The final booklet contained 13 sections.
A co-design approach successfully created a novel PICC information booklet with positive evaluations.
Provides understanding of consumer information preferences to inform PICC education and offers insight into consumer-developed strategies and knowledge for living with a PICC.
A co-designed PICC information booklet based on consumer knowledge may augment nursing education for people living with a PICC to improve outcomes.
The qualitative component follows the EQUATOR network COREQ guideline. A co-design research reporting standard is not available.
A consumer representative was a member of the project team and contributed to study design, interpretation of findings and development of the booklet and manuscript.
While almost half of older adults admitted to hospital are prescribed potentially inappropriate medicines, less than 1% have a medicine proactively deprescribed during admission in the UK. The CompreHensive geriAtRician-led MEdication Review (CHARMER) intervention is designed to address geriatricians’ and pharmacists’ barriers and enablers to deprescribing. The CHARMER definitive trial will evaluate effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and safety.
A stepped-wedge cluster randomised controlled trial will be conducted in 20 hospitals in England, with four hospitals in reserve. All hospitals will collect baseline data. Every 3 months, five hospitals will be randomised to receive the intervention. The intervention, implemented by a local project manager, comprises a hospital action plan to set deprescribing as an organisational goal; workshops for pharmacists and geriatricians to change beliefs about deprescribing; weekly briefings between geriatricians and pharmacists to discuss opportunities for deprescribing; benchmarking reports to compare deprescribing performance across participating hospitals. With an average of 200 patients admitted and discharged during each step, the study will have 89.5% power at 5% significance level and intra-class correlation coefficient of 0.05 to detect a 3% difference in 90-day re-admission rate from 16.7% versus 13.7%. Anonymised routinely collected data, including readmissions, will be obtained for all patients admitted during the study period. Enhanced data collection periods of 1 month during control and intervention periods will be used to recruit patients and data for secondary outcomes and process evaluation.
A stepped-wedge design enabled a smaller number of hospitals and patients to be included than a traditional cluster-randomised design. The complexity of intervention implementation necessitated a project manager in addition to the principal investigator responsible for trial conduct. Using routinely collected data for the primary outcome measure should ensure that the trial has sufficient power on completion. Planned enhanced data collection for short periods of time improves trial efficiency.
To synthesise the evidence on implementation strategies used to implement transitional care interventions for adult surgical patients.
Scoping review.
Medline, CINAHL and EMBASE were searched in August 2023 and updated June 2025, followed by citation searches. Studies were screened independently by two researchers, and one extracted data, another verified its accuracy. Studies about transitional care interventions for adult surgical patients were coded according to the ‘Five classes of implementation strategies’ and the ‘Patterns, Advances, Gaps, Evidence for practice and Research recommendations’ framework, to illuminate the review findings.
Based on 27 studies included in the scoping review, staff education, changes to staffing and electronic systems, and change management techniques were frequently used implementation strategies. Implementation strategies were mostly used with patients undergoing colorectal and cardiac surgery in Asia and the United States. Scale-up strategies and capacity-building initiatives for people in charge of spearheading the change initiatives were less common.
To further the field, future research could focus on capacity-building and scale-up strategies, fidelity reporting, and financial implications of implementation in a wider range of surgical populations and settings. Work is needed to effectively implement surgical transitional care interventions in real-world settings.
Our findings provide strategies for hospital leaders to adopt when implementing transitional care interventions for surgical patients.
Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist.
Determined review focus, interpreted findings, and contributed to manuscript.
The Open Science Framework.
This study investigated occupational exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMF) using two job-exposure matrices (JEMs) and risk of glioma.
Population-based family case–control study.
Cases were recruited from participating hospitals in the Australian states of New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, Western Australia and Victoria between January 2013 and November 2017.
The study population consisted of 467 cases of glioma and 367 family controls recruited for the Australian Genomics and Clinical Outcomes of Glioma case–control study between 2013 and 2017. Participants completed questionnaires on demographic and other information, including a detailed occupational history.
Exposure to RF EMF was estimated using both the multicountry case–control study INTEROCC JEM and the Canadian JEM (CANJEM).
ORs and 95% CIs were calculated from logistic regression models adjusted for relatedness between cases and controls, sex, age, ethnicity, education level, smoking status and alcohol consumption.
There was no statistically significant positive association overall for risk of glioma when applying either JEM. For the highest compared with the lowest quartile of lifetime exposure, results using the INTEROCC JEM showed an OR of 0.74 (95% CI 0.47 to 1.15) for electric fields and 0.92 (95% CI 0.58 to 1.45) for magnetic fields, while the CANJEM showed an OR of 0.85 (95% CI 0.54 to 1.32). We also did not observe associations when applying different assumptions regarding latency or time windows or with glioma grade.
Overall, this study found no evidence of an association between occupational RF EMF exposure and glioma. Future research should focus on refining occupational RF EMF exposure assessment.
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionised cancer treatment through targeted disruption of the physiological pathways that maintain tissue tolerance, but which are co-opted by cancers to evade immunosurveillance. Thus, the resultant T-cell activity often causes immune-related adverse events including immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced inflammatory arthritis (ICI-IA). ICI-IA results in functional impairment that frequently persists, even after ICI discontinuation, with substantial quality-of-life impacts for cancer survivors.
A high-quality body of evidence to guide ICI-IA management remains an unmet need. Pharmacological treatment may be prolonged, typically begins with non-specific immunosuppression, including systemic steroids, and is usually only rationalised to more targeted therapy in resistant cases. Moreover, retrospective data suggest the high dose glucocorticoids sometimes used in new-onset ICI-IA may be associated with worse cancer outcomes.
Tumour necrosis factor (TNF) inhibition strategies are well established with excellent efficacy and safety profiles in ‘spontaneous’ inflammatory arthritides including rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis. Mechanistic evidence from ex vivo and murine studies also supports the utility of anti-TNF therapy for steroid-refractory cases of ICI-IA. Although good clinical responses have been reported in this setting, the REACT trial (REmission induction of Arthritis caused by Cancer ImmunoTherapy) aims to provide randomised and robust clinical evidence for deploying targeted therapy earlier in ICI-IA management. It will test whether up-front anti-TNF therapy can more effectively and quickly control symptoms, reduce glucocorticoid exposure, prevent early ICI discontinuation and increase the frequency of drug-free ICI-IA remission.
REACT is a prospective, multicentre, open-label, superiority, two-arm, randomised controlled clinical trial to guide initial therapy for patients with ICI-IA. The trial will compare the current standard of care (initial prednisolone; Arm A) with the anti-TNF drug, adalimumab without glucocorticoids (Arm B).
The primary outcome is glucocorticoid-free arthritis remission rate at 24 weeks where remission is defined as: (i) No use of systemic or intra-articular glucocorticoids (except when used for adrenal insufficiency) within 4 weeks prior to assessment at 24 weeks; and (ii) absence of synovitis on clinical examination.
The protocol was approved by East Midlands—Leicester South Research Ethics Committee on 31-Oct-2024 (Ref: 24/EM/0202). Participants are required to provide written informed consent. The results of this trial will be disseminated through national and international presentations and peer-reviewed publications.
To develop and psychometrically test a comprehensive Cancer Nurse Self-Assessment Tool (CaN-SAT).
Modified Delphi to assess content validity and cross-sectional survey to assess reliability and validity.
Phase 1: An expert group developed the tool structure and item content. Phase 2: Through a modified Delphi, cancer nursing experts rated the importance of each element of practice and assessed the relevance and clarity of each item. Content Validation Indexes (CVI) were calculated, and a CVI of ≥ 0.78 was required for items to be included. Phase 3: Cancer nurses participated in a survey to test internal consistency (using Cronbach's alpha coefficients) and known-group validity (through Mann–Whitney U tests). This study was reported using the Guidelines for Reporting Reliability and Agreement Studies (GRRAS) checklist.
The CaN-SAT underwent two rounds of Delphi with 24 then 15 cancer nursing experts. All elements of practice were rated as important. Only three items achieved a CVI < 0.78 after round one; however, based on open-ended comments, 26 items were revised and one new item added. After round two, all items received a CVI above 0.78. The final tool consisted of 93 items across 15 elements of practice. Cronbach's alpha coefficients were between 0.92 and 0.98 indicating good reliability. Mann–Whitney U tests demonstrated significant differences between clinical nurses and advanced practice nurses across 13 out of 15 elements of practice.
The CaN-SAT is a comprehensive, valid and reliable tool that can be used for cancer nurses to self-assess current skill levels, identify their learning needs and inform decisions about educational opportunities to optimise cancer care provision.
The research team included three patient advocates from Cancer Voices NSW, who were actively involved in all aspects of the study and are listed as authors.
Nutrition counselling is recommended after pancreatic cancer surgery given the complex nutritional problems patients experience. In practice, access and delivery of nutrition counselling after pancreatic surgery varies across settings. To address this gap, our study team developed the Support Through Remote Observation and Nutrition Guidance (STRONG) programme, an implementation strategy that addresses common barriers to nutrition care delivery in oncology.
The STRONG programme includes a standardised protocol to specify the timing and amount of nutrition counselling that should be delivered and patient-mediated implementation strategies including collection of patient-reported information, an educational brochure summarising common nutrition problems and recommended dietary strategies after pancreatic surgery and a question prompt list for the patient-dietitian encounter. A pilot randomised controlled trial will be conducted to assess the feasibility and acceptability of the STRONG programme compared with usual care in pancreatic cancer surgery patients after hospital discharge (n = 80). The trial is designed to be pragmatic and integrated into existing workflows and clinic teams. The primary goal will be to compare feasibility and acceptability outcomes against pre-planned benchmarks. Data will be collected from patients and caregivers and healthcare providers who assist with STRONG implementation. Secondary goals include collecting preliminary data on effectiveness and implementation outcomes that will support a future definitive hybrid implementation-effectiveness trial.
This study was approved by the Moffitt Cancer Center Institutional Review Board of Record, Advarra (Pro00071143). Participants will be required to provide written consent prior to enrolment. Study findings will be disseminated through plain language summaries, conference abstracts and peer-reviewed publications.
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06001268. Registered on 21 August 2023, prior to participant enrolment.
We aimed to investigate the feasibility of a cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT) of the ADRe Profile in UK primary care. The ADRe Profile is a patient monitoring system to identify and address adverse drug reactions (ADR) and ADR-related issues to pre-empt clinical deterioration.
A preliminary study to test the feasibility of an RCT.
General practices (GPs) in South-West Wales, UK.
20 patients aged >64 and prescribed >4 long-term medicines.
Participants reported their health-related problems using the ADRe-Profile. Participants completed the profile independently initially, then with researcher support, capturing vital signs, clinical observations and patient-reported symptoms.
Feasibility was assessed based on recruitment, retention, adherence to protocols, potential for clinical impact and staff costs.
We recruited two GP practices (0.94% of 213 contacted), and 20 patients aged >64 (51.3% of those approached). Retention was 100%. ADRe Profiles had a 98.29% completion rate, identifying 289 clinical problems, including pain (16 of 20 patients), dyspnoea (10/20), dizziness (8/20), bleeding/bruising (7/20) and falls (4/20). Most problems (90%) and vital signs (78%) recorded on ADRe Profiles were absent from existing patient records. Researchers recommended further investigations (164 instances) and interventions (126 suggestions). Despite the potential for clinical benefits, engagement from clinicians was limited. Cost estimates for ADRe administration ranged from £40 to £73, within the funding available from Health and Care Research Wales.
An RCT of the ADRe Profile was feasible, despite gatekeeping by clinicians. Recruitment of GP practices was challenging, with
The study aimed to explore the recent scientific literature regarding the knowledge, attitudes and practices of informal caregivers towards supporting a person with astroke.
This study was a scoping review that followed the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology and PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses, Scoping Review extension) guidelines.
Searches were conducted across Medline, CINAHL, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Cochrane, SCOPUS and Web of Science from January 2009 to January 2024.
The search results from the various database sources were collated in EndNote 20 and duplicates were removed. Following the removal of duplicates, the studies were imported to Covidence and filtered based on the well-defined eligibility criteria. Three reviewers independently conducted screening and data extraction, and any conflicts were resolved through discussion.
The analysis included a total of 37 studies that focused on the knowledge, attitudes and practices related to stroke caregiving. Of these, 15 studies addressed knowledge, 24 studies examined attitudes and 33 studies looked at caregiver practices.
This scoping review finds that lack of knowledge impacts the attitudes and practices of informal stroke caregivers. With the increasing incidence of stroke and the growing number of caregivers, there is an urgent need for targeted, individualised interventions accompanied by comprehensive evaluation.
Caregivers of people with stroke are often unprepared to provide care. Further research is needed to support these individuals, ensuring improved quality of life and better health outcomes for both the caregiver and the person with stroke.
Not applicable.
A healthy diet is a crucial component for adolescents’ health and wellbeing. Current literature surrounding dietary intake and its effect on cognition, mental health and wellbeing has mainly focused on children, not adolescents. This review aims to synthesise findings from studies that explore the relationship between dietary intake and cognition, mental health and wellbeing in the adolescent population.
Electronic searches will date from 1 January 2000 to 7 October 2024 and will be conducted in CENTRAL, MEDLINE/PubMed, CINAHL via EBSCOHOST, ERIC, British Education Index, Child and Adolescent Studies, Education research complete, Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection, Social Policy and Practice Embase, and APAPsychINFO via OvidSP. Articles will be screened using defined inclusion and exclusion criteria and assessed for eligibility by five independent reviewers. Discrepancies will be reviewed by a third reviewer. The selection process of included articles will be reported by using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses flow diagram. A narrative summary will be used to report and synopsise the extracted data.
This systematic review does not require ethical approval. The dissemination strategy for this review comprises peer-reviewed publications, public health conference presentations and providing a valuable reference for healthy-food interventions in school and community-based settings as well as identifying gaps in the current literature and informing policy and practice.
CRD42025633083.
In Canada, many families want to breastfeed, but there are several common challenges they may encounter. Currently, 91% of Canadian families initiate breastfeeding after giving birth, yet only 38% of babies are breastfed exclusively to 6 months. In 1991, the Breastfeeding Committee for Canada (BCC) was established to implement the World Health Organization’s Ten-Step Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, a series of evidence-based in-hospital practices to support families to breastfeed. Then, in recognition of the need to support breastfeeding beyond the hospital setting, the BCC expanded the Baby-Friendly Initiative (BFI) to apply the Ten Steps to both hospitals and community health settings. However, uptake of the BFI Ten Steps in community settings has been low and methodology on how to optimise implementation of the Ten Steps in community is not well developed. Therefore, the objective of this project is to develop and evaluate a quality improvement collaborative with 25 community health services from across Canada to learn how to best support the implementation of the BFI Ten Steps in community, with the ultimate goal of improving breastfeeding outcomes.
This protocol describes the activities of the Community Baby-Friendly Initiative Collaborative (CBFI-C) and the methods used to evaluate its effectiveness. We will use the Institute for Healthcare Information Breakthrough Series (IHI-BTS) model, a proven quality improvement model that has been widely used in clinical settings, but is not yet widely used in community settings. The IHI-BTS combines three virtual learning sessions with action cycles that allow the participating sites time to test and track small practice changes. Sites will be asked to track care indicator and breastfeeding outcome data, engage in monthly webinars, receive coaching from trained mentors, participate in focus groups and participate in a final summative workshop. We will use a multi-site case study approach, combining aggregate care indicator data and qualitative data from webinars, focus groups and workshops to evaluate how the CBFI-C model supports community sites in the process of implementing the BFI Ten Steps.
Ethics approval for this evaluation was obtained from the CHIPER Health Research Ethics Board (Number HS26947-H2025:157)). The results of the CBFI-C evaluation will be shared in a report, peer-reviewed publications and presentations to government and academic audiences. The findings will inform effective quality improvement strategies to enhance uptake of the BFI in community health settings.
The purpose of this article is to present the Gothenland Millennium Cohort, describe the data collection process, present key measures used and summarise some of the key findings to date in order to stimulate collaboration and use of the cohort data. This research programme was originally established to study pathways to alcohol and drug use, behavioural problems, mental health issues, and the factors that promote or prevent these outcomes. The Cohort aims to support scientific research and doctoral education through a longitudinal study that tracks individuals from early adolescence through adulthood. This programme is multidisciplinary (social work, psychology, disability research) with the goal of producing high-quality research that deepens our understanding of how early-life vulnerabilities, risks and protective factors influence long-term wellbeing, including health and welfare, in diverse populations.
In 2013, all school-registered adolescents, in grades 6 and 7 (aged 12 and 13), in four municipalities in Gothenland region (ie, southern Sweden) born in year 2000 or 2001, were invited to participate. Of 2150 invited adolescents, 1885 (88%) accepted participation in the programme and 1760 (93.4%) participated in at least one of the annual data collection waves up to grade 9 (Wave 4), with participation rates ranging from 70% to 85% per wave. Wave 5 questionnaires were collected during the second year of upper secondary school (grade 11). In Wave 5, half (50.4 %; n = 949) of the adolescents participated. In Wave 6, interviews were conducted with a selection of participants in their last year of upper secondary school (grade 12). Parents were surveyed in Waves 1 and 2 by self-report questionnaires (response rate = 32%; 41%). Data were also gathered from teachers (attrition
Over 240 publications have been produced as of September 2025 in the areas of disability and everyday functioning, child-parent relationships, child welfare, substance use and criminal behaviour, mental health, trauma, harassment, and sexuality.
These include continued investigation of wellbeing and its related indicators during adolescence as well as in emerging adulthood, continued efforts to secure funding and an age 25 expansion of the cohort data.
by Ryan D. Parsons, Sarah Bauermeister, Julian Turner, Natalie Coles, Simon Thompson, Emma Squires, Tracey Riseborough, Joshua Bauermeister, Abbie Simpkin, Naomi French, Shankly Cragg, Hazel Lockhart-Jones, Olly Robertson, Abhaya Adlakha, Ian Thompson, John Gallacher
Adolescent mental health and wellbeing are of growing concern globally with increased incidence of mental health disorders in young people. BrainWaves provides a framework for relevant and diverse research programmes into adolescent mental health and wellbeing that can translate into practice and policy. The research programme is a partnership with schools centred on establishing a large (n > 50,000) cohort and trials platform. Reported here is the BrainWaves cohort pilot study. This was designed as proof-of-concept for our recruitment and data capture pipelines, and for cost-modelling. A network of research schools was recruited and a computer-driven questionnaire administered. The eligible population was 16 + year olds who were attending the research schools. Of 41 research schools, 36 (88%) participated over one three-week and one four-week data collection period. From an eligible population of 33,531 young people, 16,010 (48%) attended the study lesson and created an account. Of the 16,010 (100%) who created an account, 15,444 (96%) consented to participate, 9,321 (60%) consented to linkage of research data with educational records, and 6,069 (39%) consented to linkage of research with school/college attendance data. Participants were aged 16–19 years, 59% female, and 76% White. Higher levels of anxiety and depression were found in females than males. Higher levels of media-based social networking were found in females, whereas higher levels of media-based gaming were found in males. Females were more likely to report insufficient sleep whilst males were more likely to report high levels of exercise. This study confirmed an ability to recruit at pace and scale. Whilst the response-rate does not indicate a representative sample, the demographics describe an inclusive and diverse sample. Data collected confirmed findings from previous studies indicating that the electronic data collection methods did not materially bias the findings. Initial cost-modelling suggests these data were collected for around £20 per participant.This scoping review will evaluate and synthesise what is known about the impact of structural and social determinants of health on neurodegeneration among adults of African American or Black (AAB) racial identity with a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI). The primary objective is to examine how structural factors, such as healthcare access, influence disparities in neurodegeneration following TBI. Given higher rates of TBI and worse outcomes among Black individuals compared with White individuals, this review seeks to fill the gap in research concerning underrepresentation of AAB populations.
Guided by the Joanna Briggs Institute Evidence framework, this review will systematically search PubMed (MEDLINE), Embase and Cochrane CENTRAL Library (Wiley) for relevant studies. Eligible studies will involve adult human participants diagnosed with neurodegenerative conditions, including dementia and cognitive impairment, and with a history of TBI. Studies must include participants of AAB and non-Hispanic White (NHW) racial identity to facilitate comparisons. The review will focus on identifying potential factors contributing to disparities in neurodegeneration. Data synthesis will include narrative summaries, comparative tables and visualisations to highlight racial disparities in neurodegeneration risk and AAB representation in TBI research. This approach is its structured framework will evaluate the depth of racial inclusion across studies, allowing for a more nuanced understanding of how structural and social determinants shape outcomes.
As this review involves only previously published literature, institutional review board approval will not be required. The findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations and lay summaries.
Limited literature has focused on people with cancers' preference for care providers in scenarios where trade-offs may have to be made.
To report the results of a comprehensive search and synthesis of discrete choice experiments or best-worst scaling studies (± willingness to pay estimates) in scenarios involving cancer nurses, with a focus on: (1) preferred care provider; and (2) relative importance of attributes of care provision for people with cancer.
A search was conducted across: CINAHL, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, EconLit, Medline, PsycINFO, Scopus, Web of Science Core Collection, and Google Scholar for discrete choice experiments published between January and July 2025. Data were extracted and appraised by two authors. Results were narratively synthesised.
Of 461 studies screened, 11 were included, published in Australia (n = 3), UK (n = 3), and China (n = 5) including people with breast (n = 4), gastric (n = 4), prostate (n = 1), or mixed cancers (n = 2). In six studies exploring scenarios of follow-up care (i.e., survivorship/surveillance), cancer medical specialists were the preferred care provider, followed by cancer nurses, and then general practitioners. In four of the five studies of supportive care scenarios (i.e., diet and exercise advice, anxiety and depression screening), cancer nurses were the preferred care provider, followed by allied health professionals, then cancer medical specialists. The highest WTP estimate was $US226.15 for a medical specialist to provide follow-up care. For supportive care, the highest WTP was $US137.52 for a cancer nurse to provide diet-based lifestyle advice post-treatment for breast cancer.
Cancer nurses are highly valued by people with cancer, particularly for supportive care provision. Opportunities exist for an increase in cancer nurse specialists with expanded scope of practice, to support the preference of people with cancer to have cancer medical specialists, or cancer nurse specialists provide expert cancer follow-up care.
Employees of a cancer patient advocacy group were involved in the design of the study, interpretation of the data, and the preparation of the manuscript. No patients were involved in this work. However, this systematic review prioritized patient voices by including studies that reported on the preferences of people with cancer.
Growing evidence points towards the integral role of both central and peripheral inflammation across all neurodegenerative diseases, including dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The immune alterations observed in these diseases may occur long before the onset of clinical and cognitive symptoms; however, the exact timing and role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disease remains unclear. Findings to date are conflicting, with most work focused on AD rather than other dementias and most studies from single sites and cross-sectional. Through longitudinally examining detailed phenotypes of the peripheral immune system using mass cytometry, the Immune Profiling in Early Cognitive Disorders study aims to uncover specific immune signatures in early AD and DLB, how these signatures change over time and how they relate to disease progression and cognitive changes.
Blood, cerebrospinal fluid, saliva and urine samples will be collected from a cohort of participants with either prodromal (mild cognitive impairment) or early dementia due to Lewy bodies or AD (MCI-LB and DLB; and MCI-AD and AD), alongside healthy controls. Through immunophenotyping with mass cytometry, detailed immune fingerprints will be identified for these groups. We will assess which key combinations of immune cell clusters are predictive of disease phenotype, cognitive decline and progression to dementia. Samples will also be evaluated with novel techniques to measure markers of degenerative pathology and inflammation.
This study was approved by the Preston North West Research Ethics committee (21/NW/0314) and is registered with the ISRCTN registry (ISRCTN62392656). The study is ongoing (since June 2022). Baseline visits are being undertaken, and follow-up visits have started for some participants. Full data analyses will be completed and submitted for publication upon conclusion of the study.