1,720,961 research outputs found
Magnet Hospitals – are they better places for staff?
No full textJob-related stress and burnout are prevalent amongst healthcare staff; in particular, nurses in the UK have one of the highest levels of burnout in any country in Europe. Tackling this problem is a high priority in the UK and in other countries where shortages of healthcare professionals are affecting healthcare delivery. ‘Magnet’ hospitals are reputed to attract and retain staff, and to achieve better outcomes for patients. But what do we know about whether Magnet hospitals are ‘better’ places for staff to work, and whether they improve staff wellbeing
The completeness of intervention descriptions in published National Institute of Health Research HTA-funded trials: a cross-sectional study
No full textObjectivesThe objective of this study was to assess whether National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment (HTA)-funded randomised controlled trials (RCTs) published in the HTA journal were described in sufficient detail to replicate in practice.SettingRCTs published in the HTA journal.Participants98 RCTs published in the HTA journal up to March 2011. Completeness of the intervention description was assessed independently by two researchers using a checklist, which included assessments of participants, intensity, schedule, materials and settings. Disagreements in scoring were discussed in the team; differences were then explored and resolved.Primary and secondary outcome measuresProportion of trials rated as having a complete description of the intervention (primary outcome measure). The proportion of drug trials versus psychological and non-drug trials rated as having a complete description of the intervention (secondary outcome measures).ResultsComponents of the intervention description were missing in 68/98 (69.4%) reports. Baseline characteristics and descriptions of settings had the highest levels of completeness with over 90% of reports complete. Reports were less complete on patient information with 58.2% of the journals having an adequate description. When looking at individual intervention types, drug intervention descriptions were more complete than non-drug interventions with 33.3% and 30.6% levels of completeness, respectively, although this was not significant statistically. Only 27.3% of RCTs with psychological interventions were deemed to be complete, although again these differences were not significant statistically.ConclusionsEnsuring the replicability of study interventions is an essential part of adding value in research. All those publishing clinical trial data need to ensure transparency and completeness in the reporting of interventions to ensure that study interventions can be replicated
Automated analysis of free-text comments and dashboard representations in patient experience surveys:: a multimethod co-design study
No full textHIS-UK Condom Study: an intervention development study working with young men to improve condom use skills and enhance condom use experiences. Technical Report (MR/M026191/1)
No full textThe evidence for behavioural interventions addressing condom use fit and feel issues to improve condom use: a systematic review
Full text linkAbstract. Background. Continuing high rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in many countries highlight the need to identify effective behavioural interventions. Consistent and correct use of male condoms is a key strategy for the prevention of STIs. Some men, however, report problems with condom fit (e.g., size and shape of the condom) and feel (e.g., tightness, irritation, sensitivity) which inhibits their use. Methods. We conducted a systematic review to identify existing interventions addressing condom use fit and feel problems. We searched electronic databases for peer-reviewed articles and searched reference lists of retrieved studies. Results. Five studies met the inclusion criteria. These were generally small-scale pilot studies evaluating behavioural interventions to promote safer sex with men aged under 30 years, addressing, amongst other things, barriers to condom use relating to fit and feel. There were significant increases in the reported use of condoms, including condom use with no errors and problems. Improvements in some condom use mediators were reported, such as condom use self-efficacy, knowledge, intentions and condom use experience. There were mixed findings in terms of the ability of interventions to reduce STI acquisition. Conclusions. Behavioural interventions addressing condom fit and feel are promising in terms of effectiveness but require further evaluation. <br/
The completeness of intervention descriptions in published NIHR HTA funded trials: a cross sectional study
No full textObjectives: the objective of this study is to assess whether NIHR HTA funded randomised controlled trials (RCTs) published in Health Technology Assessment journal were described in sufficient detail to replicate in practice.Methods: a checklist for assessing intervention descriptions was applied to NIHR HTA funded RCTs published in Health Technology Assessment. The checklist was piloted twice on a sample of 10 reports. Kappa scores were generated to assess agreement in the checklist application. The checklist was modified and applied to all 98 NIHR HTA funded single trial RCTs published in the journal from January 1999 - March 2011. Three assessors independently applied the checklist. Disagreements in scoring were discussed in the team; differences were then explored and resolved.Results: components of the intervention description were missing in 68 / 98 (69.4%) reports. Baseline characteristics and descriptions of settings had the highest levels of completeness with over 90% of reports complete. Reports were less complete on patient information with 58.2% of the monographs having an adequate description. Intervention descriptions were more complete for drug interventions than non-drug interventions with 33.3% and 30.6% levels of completeness respectively. Only 27.3% of RCTs with psychological interventions were deemed to be complete, although numbers were too small for differences to be significant statistically.Conclusions: ensuring the replicability of a study intervention is an essential part of adding value in research. Research funders need to ensure transparency in the reporting of interventions, methods and findings and their responses to identified areas of improvement
Enhancing condom use experiences among young men to improve correct and consistent condom use: Feasibility of a Home-Based Intervention Strategy (HIS-UK)
Full text linkAbstract Background Condoms remain the main protection against sexually transmitted infections (STIs) when used correctly and consistently. Yet, there are many reported barriers to their use such as negative attitudes, reduced sexual pleasure, fit-and-feel problems and erection difficulties. The UK home-based intervention strategy (HIS-UK) is a behaviour change condom promotion intervention for use among young men (aged 16–25 years) designed to increase condom use by enhancing enjoyment of condom-protected intercourse. The objective of this feasibility study was to test HIS-UK for viability, operability and acceptability. Along with an assessment of the recruitment strategy and adherence to the intervention protocol, the study tested the reliability and suitability of a series of behavioural and condom use outcome measures to assess condom use attitudes, motivations, self-efficacy, use experience, errors and problems and fit and feel. Methods The HIS-UK intervention and associated assessment instruments were tested for feasibility using a single-arm, repeated measures design with baseline measurement and two follow-up measurements over 3 months. A 3-month target of 50 young men completing the baseline questionnaire was set. Twenty process and acceptability evaluation interviews with participants and health promotion professionals were conducted post trial. Results Of the 61 young men who registered for the study, 57 completed the baseline questionnaire and 33 met with the study researcher to receive the HIS-UK condom kit. Twenty-one young men remained for the duration of the study (64% retention). The Cronbach’s alpha scores for the condom use outcome measures were 0.84 attitudes, 0.78 self-efficacy, 0.83 use experience, 0.69 errors and problems and 0.75 fit and feel. Participant and health professional feedback indicated strong acceptability of the intervention. Conclusions The feasibility study demonstrated that our recruitment strategy was appropriate and the target sample size was achieved. Adherence was favourable when compared to other similar studies. The condom use measures tested proved to be fit-for-purpose with good internal consistency. Some further development and subsequent piloting of HIS-UK is required prior to a full randomised controlled trial, including the feasibility of collecting STI biomarkers, and assessment of participant acceptance of randomisation. Trial registration Research registry, RR2315, 27th March 2017 (retrospectively registered)
Developing a matrix to identify and prioritise research recommendations in HIV prevention
No full textBACKGROUND: HIV prevention continues to be problematic in the UK, as it does globally. The UK Department of Health has a strategic direction with greater focus on prevention as part of its World Class Commissioning Programme. There is a need for targeted evidence-based prevention initiatives. This is an exploratory study to develop an evidence mapping tool in the form of a matrix: this will be used to identify important gaps in contemporary HIV prevention evidence relevant to the UK. It has the potential to aid prioritisation in future research.METHODS: Categories for prevention and risk groups were developed for HIV prevention in consultation with external experts. These were used as axes on a matrix tool to map evidence. Systematic searches for publications on HIV prevention were undertaken using electronic databases for primary and secondary research undertaken mainly in UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, 2006-9. Each publication was screened for inclusion then coded. The risk groups and prevention areas in each paper were counted: several publications addressed multiple risk groups. The counts were exported to the matrix and clearly illustrate the concentrations and gaps of literature in HIV prevention.RESULTS: 716 systematic reviews, randomised control trials and other primary research met the inclusion criteria for HIV prevention. The matrix identified several under researched areas in HIV prevention.CONCLUSIONS: This is the first categorisation system for HIV prevention and the matrix is a novel tool for evidence mapping. Some important yet under-researched areas have been identified in HIV prevention evidence: identifying the undiagnosed population; international adaptation; education; intervention combinations; transgender; sex-workers; heterosexuals and older age groups.<br/
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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