To explore how pre-existing conditions affect the diagnostic process for potential cancer in primary care patients.
Qualitative interview study using thematic analysis underpinned by a critical realist approach.
Primary care practices recruited through four Clinical Research Networks and UK health charities across England.
Interviews were conducted with 75 patients with one or more pre-existing conditions (anxiety/depression, diabetes, obesity, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Parkinson’s disease or multiple long-term conditions (four or more)) and 28 primary care professionals (general practitioners and nurses).
The study identified legitimacy as a central theme influencing patient trajectories in the health system while trying to receive a diagnosis for symptoms with which they presented to primary care. Patients engaged in self-triage to determine whether symptoms were ‘legitimate’ enough to seek care. Subsequent triaging steps (by receptionists, nurses and online systems) acted as gatekeepers, with decisions influenced by effectiveness of describing the symptom and subjective impressions. During consultations, clinicians relied on a mix of symptom narrative clarity, medical history and objective ‘metrics’ (eg, blood results, family history) to determine legitimacy for further investigations. Pre-existing conditions could either lower the threshold for referrals or obscure potential cancer symptoms. The stigma associated with mental health diagnoses often undermined perceived legitimacy and contributed to delays.
Legitimacy is continuously negotiated throughout the diagnostic pathway. It is shaped by social, moral and biomedical judgements. To promote early cancer diagnosis for patients with pre-existing conditions, clinicians must make legitimacy assessments explicit, reduce stigma especially around mental health and standardise triage processes.
Numerous published case reports have described retained drug needle fragments in soft tissue as causes of localised pain and infections in persons who inject drugs (PWIDs). Furthermore, there are case reports of PWIDs with lung and heart embolisations caused by needle emboli. Subcutaneously retained needles also pose a risk of needlestick injury to medical staff. There are no previous epidemiological attempts to evaluate how common X-ray-confirmed retained drug needle fragments are among community-dwelling PWIDs. Due to the unclear clinical relevance of needle fragment retentions, there is a need to systematically evaluate the prevalence of retained needles, related complications and risk factors predisposing needle fragmentations.
We have planned a prospective cross-sectional study covering multiple ambulatory clinics that manage PWIDs in Tampere, Finland. PWIDs will be asked to give their written informed consent prior to any study procedures. Initially, we aim to recruit a sample for a pilot study of 20 adults (≥18 years) who will be asked to fill out a questionnaire related to their drug use history and their suspicions of having retained needle fragments. Subsequently, participants will undergo X-ray imaging of the injection sites as part of the study. Female participants of childbearing age (
We submitted the study protocol for ethics review to the Tampere University Hospital Ethics Committee and received their favourable opinion (study code: R22037). We subsequently sought organisational permission from the clinics to conduct the study. To be enrolled, PWIDs must provide written informed consent. The study results will be published in international peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings.
Objetivo: describir las vivencias del “YO PURO” en mujeres privadas de libertad con antecedentes de consumo de drogas. Metodología: estudio cualitativo descriptivo de enfoque fenomenológico, utilizando un análisis de contenido temático e inductivo. La selección de participantes se realizó mediante un muestreo no probabilístico e intencional, incluyendo a seis mujeres privadas de su libertad. Para la recolección de datos, se aplicó una entrevista en profundidad basada en una pregunta detonadora. El análisis se llevó a cabo siguiendo los planteamientos propuestos por Edmund Husserl. Resultados: emergieron siete temas con sus unidades de significado. Experiencia en prisión, experiencia vivida del consumo de sustancias, dependencia y necesidad, reflexión y cuestionamiento del “YO PURO”, Sentimientos de culpa y pérdida, resignificación del presente a través de “YO PURO” y Anhelo de reconstrucción familiar. Conclusión: Este estudio exploró las vivencias de mujeres en reclusión, destacando los factores que influyen en su realidad diaria. Desde el enfoque fenomenológico de Edmund Husserl, se evidenció que la prisión no solo implica sufrimiento, sino que también propicia reflexión y transformación personal.
The ‘Developing and evaluating an adapted behavioural activation intervention for depression and diabetes in South Asia (DiaDeM)’ trial investigates a psychological intervention, behavioural activation (BA), on people with both diabetes and depression in Bangladesh and Pakistan. This study aimed to aid the intervention and trial design.
This was a modelling study using microsimulation to assess the intervention’s cost-effectiveness. Diabetes was modelled using the UK Prospective Diabetes Study model based on Pakistani patients and depression was modelled using Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) trajectories allowing for multiple depressive episodes. It was assumed that diabetes-related adverse events increased depression recurrence, while depression impacted haemoglobin A1c, increasing diabetes-related events. The model estimated (1) maximum cost of BA which would be cost-effective (headroom analysis) to inform intervention design, and (2) value of reducing uncertainty around different measures (value of information analysis) to prioritise data collection in the DiaDeM study.
Analysis was conducted from a Pakistani healthcare perspective over a lifetime with costs and outcomes discounted at 3%.
BA plus usual care was compared against usual care. BA involved six sessions by a trained (non-mental health) facilitator. The usual care comparator was the prevailing mix of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments used in Pakistan.
The primary outcome was disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs). Secondary outcomes included life years, healthcare costs and the rate of depression and diabetes-related events.
Over their lifetime, individuals receiving BA plus usual care avoid 3.2 (95% credible interval: 2.7 to 3.8) years of mild depression and experience fewer diabetes-related events. BA plus usual care resulted in an additional 0.27 (0.03 to 0.52) life years, 0.98 (0.45 to 1.86) DALYs averted and had incremental healthcare costs of –US$97 (–US$517 to US$142), excluding BA costs. The maximum cost per BA course at which was cost-effective is US$83 (US$9 to US$214). Value of information analysis found the most important measures to include in the trial are the impact of depression on diabetes and PHQ-9 over time.
This is the first model to jointly model depression and diabetes for South Asia and uses novel methods to reflect the diseases and inform intervention and trial design. This evidence has helped to inform the design of the DiaDeM intervention and the trial to evaluate it.
DiaDeM trial: ISRCTN40885204, DOI: ; pre-results, DOI:
The PREgnancy Care Integrating translational Science, Everywhere Network was established to investigate specific placental disorders (pregnancy hypertension, preterm birth, fetal growth restriction and stillbirth) in sub-Saharan Africa. We created a repository of clinical and social data with associated biological samples from pregnant and non-pregnant women. Alongside this, local infrastructure and expertise in the field of maternal and child health research were enhanced.
Pregnant women were recruited in participating health facilities in The Gambia, Kenya and Mozambique at their first antenatal visit or at the time a placental disorder was diagnosed (Kenya and The Gambia only). Follow-up study visits were conducted in the third trimester, delivery and 6 weeks to 6 months postpartum. To elucidate the difference between pregnancy and non-pregnancy biology in these settings, non-pregnant nulliparous and parous women, aged 16–49 years, were recruited opportunistically primarily from family planning clinics in Kenya and Mozambique, and randomly through the Health and Demographic Surveillance System in The Gambia. Non-pregnant participants only had one study visit. Biological samples were processed rapidly and locally, stored initially in liquid nitrogen and then at –80°C, and details entered into an OpenSpecimen database linked to their social determinants and clinical research data.
A total of 6932 pregnant and 1825 non-pregnant women were recruited to the study, providing a repository of clinical and social data and a biorepository of 482 448 samples. To date, baseline descriptive analysis of the cohort has been undertaken, as well as a substudy on the prevalence of COVID-19 in the cohort.
Analysis of data and samples will include an analysis of biomarker and social and physical determinants of health and how these interact in a systemic approach to understanding the origins of common placental disorders. The data from non-pregnant women will provide control data for comparison with the data from normal and complicated pregnancies. Findings will be disseminated to local stakeholders and communities through meetings and ongoing community engagement and globally by publication and presentations at scientific meetings.
The diverse cultural landscape of Europe underscores the importance of culturally safe healthcare. There is a necessity to assess cultural competence among European nursing faculty to provide an international perspective on cultural competence.
A descriptive, cross-sectional study.
An assessment of cultural competencies was conducted using the Cultural Competence Assessment scale, either in its original language (English) or in its translated and validated versions in Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Turkish. An online questionnaire was used to collect data.
The study was conducted in 71 higher institutions, distributed across 17 countries through a consecutive sample of 1364 nursing faculty.
The ethical principles of biomedical research were respected during the study, and the confidentiality of the data was guaranteed.
The mean level of cultural competence of the European nursing faculty was at the level of ‘good’. They showed greater cultural awareness and sensitivity than cultural competence behaviors. Significant associations were found between cultural competence level and the language of the questionnaire, level of education, having a nursing degree, leisure stays abroad, having friends from other countries or cultures, and international experiences abroad and at home. The better levels of cultural competence were found in profiles with the categories of: women with a Nursing Degree, a higher level of education, and with an ERASMUS+ stay experience.
This study offers an international overview of the cultural competence of nursing faculty. While the overall level of cultural competence was good, there is a need to reinforce the behaviors and factors that influence it.
Introducción: Existe una tendencia mundial de incremento en los índices de sobrepeso y obesidad en niños menores de 5 años. Las creencias, percepciones y actitudes de las madres hacia las prácticas de alimentación y la obesidad tienen implicaciones directas sobre la salud del hijo. Objetivo: Explorar creencias sobre prácticas de alimentación y obesidad infantil entre madres con hijos menores de cinco años del noroeste de México. Metodología: Estudio cualitativo de aproximación etnográfica. Mediante un muestreo propositivo se realizaron nueve entrevistas semiestructuradas a mujeres que contaban con un promedio de 12 años de educación. Resultados: Las creencias incluyeron inseguridad para asumir el rol de madre, una baja percepción de apoyo familiar y creencias que no se alineaban con las recomendaciones de la lactancia materna exclusiva e introducción de alimentos complementarios. Además, estas tenían la creencia de que la obesidad no es un problema debido a la corta edad de sus hijos. Conclusiones: Existe una ambivalencia entre las creencias de las participantes y sus prácticas con relación a la alimentación y la obesidad infantil. Es imperativo desarrollar estrategias de educación y comunicación que proporcionen información basada en evidencia, de fácil acceso y disponible para madres con la intención de prevenir problemas de nutrición durante la primera infancia.
Los cuidados invisibles se engloban en la práctica de los cuidados y se relacionan con la parte emocional, la humanización y la trascendencia. Es la parte no técnica, pero que acompaña a los diferentes procedimientos y técnicas de unos cuidados profesionalizados. Objetivo. Analizar los cuidados que realizan los profesionales de enfermería sobre las dimensiones de los cuidados invisibles para un mayor conocimiento y reconocimiento de estos, por los profesionales y la institución. Metodología. Se trata de una investigación mixta. Una parte, con un diseño cualitativo fenomenológico, y otra, con un diseño observacional descriptivo y transversal. Los participantes implicados serán los pacientes y los profesionales de enfermería de las diferentes unidades y servicios del Hospital Universitario Son Espases. Para la recogida de los datos cualitativos se utilizará la entrevista grupal para explorar la percepción de los cuidados invisibles. Para la recogida de los datos cuantitativos se utilizará la herramienta Microsoft Forms 365® para la recogida de las respuestas del cuestionario de percepción del cuidado invisible de enfermería (PCIE, dirigido a los pacientes), y el cuestionario Care-Q que evalúa las dimensiones de los cuidados invisibles y el cuestionario ad hoc para identificar acciones de cuidados invisibles (dirigidos a los profesionales). Posteriormente, se implantará en el programa Millennium® para el registro de los cuidados invisibles en los planes de cuidados y visibilizar el valor que representan en el cuidado global y el tiempo dedicado en la jornada laboral.
Abstract
Invisible care is included in the practice of care and is related to the emotional part, humanization and transcendence. It is the non-technical part, but it accompanies the different procedures and techniques of professionalized care. Objective. Analyze the care provided by nursing professionals on the dimensions of invisible care for greater knowledge and recognition of these, by professionals and the institution. Methodology. It is a mixed investigation. One part, with a qualitative phenomenological design, and another, with a descriptive and cross-sectional observational design. The participants involved will be the patients and nurses from the different units and services of the Son Espases University Hospital (HUSE). For the collection of qualitative data, the group interview will be used to explore the perception of invisible care. For the collection of quantitative data, the Microsoft Forms 365® tool will be used to collect the responses to the perception questionnaire of invisible nursing care (PCIE, aimed at patients), and the Care-Q questionnaire that evaluates the dimensions of invisible care and the ad hoc questionnaire to identify invisible care actions (aimed at nurses). Later, it will be implemented in the Millennium® program to record invisible care in care plans and make visible the value they represent in global care and the time spent during the workday.
Objetivo principal: Valorar los conocimientos, actitudes y motivaciones de los profesionales de enfermería en el Hospital Universitario Son Espases (HUSE) y Evaluar la actividad de la Unidad de Investigación de Enfermería (UINE) y su impacto en los profesionales de enfermería hacia la investigación
Metodología: Diseño cuasi-experimental de grupos no equivalentes. Participarán una muestra estimada de 118 enfermeros/as del HUSE que cumplan unos criterios de selección. Los participantes contestarán a un cuestionario validado sobre conocimientos y motivaciones hacia la investigación enfermera. Se llevará a cabo mediante enlace google forms que se les enviará al correo corporativo. Las respuestas serán registradas automáticamente. Los datos recogidos serán analizados para obtener los resultados, presentar en congresos y elaborar posibles publicaciones.
Resultados principales: se pretende que los resultados confirmen la hipótesis planteada y por tanto, se cumplan los objetivos planteados.
Conclusión principal: Los/as enfermeros/as del HUSE adquirirán mayor conciencia, conocimientos y actitudes hacia la investigación enfermera. Esto provocará un cambio que fomentará que la práctica asistencial de los cuidados se fundamente en la evidencia científica la cual permita aproximarse a la excelencia de los cuidados.
Palabras clave: cambio, cuidados, enfermera, investigación, hospital