1,720,970 research outputs found
An Apt Investigation: Exploring the Impact of Symptom Tracking Apps for People with IBS
No full textFrom smart watches to apps, technology has transformed how people track their health. Although this technology aims to improve health, research has found that health tracking can increase symptom reporting. The current study investigates the impact of health tracking apps on people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a group often recommended to track food and symptoms to identify triggers.
Ninety-seven participants with IBS were randomised to use one of three versions of a symptom tracking app for four weeks. The versions differed in the number and type of
symptoms participants tracked: low tracking (bowel movements, mood and energy); gastrointestinal (GI) symptom tracking; GI and non-specific symptom tracking. The primary outcome was the number of symptoms reported, along with symptoms attributed to IBS, symptom attribution scores, GI symptom-specific anxiety, and state anxiety. Outcomes were measured at baseline and two-week, four-week and three-month follow-ups.
Contrary to our expectations, the number of symptoms reported by participants dropped from 13.5 to 11.3 after using the app for four weeks (p = .006). This reduction occurred regardless of the version of the app used or the frequency of usage (p = .973, p = .404, respectively). Symptoms attributed to IBS and GI-specific anxiety also decreased (p < .001, p < .001, respectively). Changes in state anxiety varied based on the app version (p = .003). For the low-tracking group, state anxiety increased at two weeks, while there were no significant changes for the other groups. By the three-month follow-up, these differences were no longer significant.
Several factors can likely explain the reduction in symptoms. The app itself likely helped by accurately identifying symptom triggers. Additionally, tracking IBS symptoms alongside more general symptoms may have reduced anxiety towards symptoms through exposure. The placebo effect may have also contributed, as participant’s positive expectations of the app may have reduced symptoms. The placebo effect may also explain why participants’ symptoms decreased even if they did not use the app frequently.
Overall, the study suggests that this symptom tracking app did not increase symptom reporting or anxiety in people with IBS. However, research must continue to investigate the impacts of digital health tools as their usage becomes more integrated into daily life
Can an Enhanced Medication Information Sheet Affect Drug Responsiveness?
No full textBackground: Medication information sheets are essential for educating patients about their
medication. However, the current design of medication information sheets could be more
patient-friendly and impactful for patients. Additionally, medication information sheets do
not encourage positive treatment expectations, which research has demonstrated elicits a
better response to treatment. Moreover, medication information sheets use a suboptimal
approach to communicate information about side effects, which increases the likelihood of
side effect reporting.
Aim: A randomised control trial was conducted to investigate if enhancing the presentation
of a medication information sheet and making the content more user-friendly improved
participants’ satisfaction with the information sheet without compromising the perceived
credibility of the information. This study also aimed to investigate if modifying the content of
the information sheet could boost treatment expectations to increase participants’
responsiveness to the drug. Lastly, the study aimed to investigate if including an explanation
of the nocebo response and positively framing side effect information could reduce the
nocebo response by lowering side effect reporting.
Method: Eighty-two participants from the general population attended a study session at the
University of Auckland Research Centre, ostensibly investigating if modifying a medication
information sheet could affect participants' responsiveness to metoprolol. After completing
baseline measures, participants were randomised to read an enhanced medication information
sheet or a standard medication information sheet and then asked to take a tablet of
‘metoprolol’, which was actually a placebo. Participants completed questionnaires assessing
treatment expectations, satisfaction with and the credibility of the assigned medicine
information sheet. Participants then completed the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) to
influence anxiety, blood pressure and heart rate in order to test the placebo effect of the tablet
and information sheets. Participants completed post-TSST measures of blood pressure, heart
rate, anxiety and side effects. A follow-up questionnaire was completed 24 hours after the
study session, assessing anxiety, side effects and usage of the information sheet post-study
session.
Results: Participants who read the enhanced medication information sheet group reported
significantly higher treatment expectations (p = .001) and ratings of satisfaction with the
information sheet (p = .010) compared to participants who read the standard medication
information sheet. Credibility ratings did not differ between the two information sheets (p =
.249). During the 24 hours following the study session, the enhanced information sheet was
reread significantly more times than the standard information sheet (p = .021). Participants in
the enhanced information sheet group did not demonstrate a significantly greater placebo
response than the standard information sheet group, illustrated by no differences in blood
pressure, heart rate and anxiety post-TSST (p’s > .05). However, participants in the enhanced
information sheet demonstrated a reduced nocebo response by reporting significantly fewer
side effects at 24-hour follow-up (M = 0.29, SE = 0.08) compared to those in the standard
information sheet (M = 0.74, SE = 0.14), p = .007.
Conclusion: The present study was the first to investigate whether an enhanced medication
information sheet could be improved to simultaneously increase patient-friendliness, boost
the placebo effect and decrease the nocebo response. The results showed that enhancing a
medication information sheet can increase treatment expectations, receive greater satisfaction
ratings and reduce the side effect reporting compared to the standard design. These findings
highlight an improved method of communicating written medication information that is
better liked by the general public and may enhance response to treatment by increasing treatment expectations and lowering side effect reporting
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
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Impact of media coverage on side effect reports from the COVID-19 vaccine
No full textOBJECTIVE: Past research shows that media coverage of medicine side effects can produce a nocebo response. New Zealand news media discussed myocarditis following the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. This study examined whether side effects mentioned in the media increased compared to control symptoms not mentioned. METHODS: The study analysed 64,086 vaccine adverse reaction reports, retrieved from the medicine safety authority. Generalised linear regressions compared the side effect rate during three discrete periods of media reporting (August 2021, December 2021, April 2022) with the pre-media baseline rate. The outcomes were weekly reports of chest discomfort, monthly reports of chest, heart and breathing symptoms, and myocarditis, pericarditis, and anxiety. Control symptoms were fever, numbness, and musculoskeletal pain. Logistic regressions investigated factors associated with side effect reporting. RESULTS: The reporting rate of chest discomfort was 190% greater in the five weeks after the first media item (p < .001). The monthly reporting rates of the symptoms mentioned in the media were significantly greater after the news coverage (ps ≤ 0.001). There was no effect of media on the control side effect fever (p = .06). There was an effect of media on myocarditis, pericarditis and anxiety (ps < 0.001). Anxiety, male gender, and younger age were significantly associated with side effects. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that a media-induced nocebo response occurred. This is most likely due to increased expectations and awareness of COVID-19 vaccine side effects, elevated symptom experience from anxiety, and consequently greater reporting of the symptoms in line with the media coverage
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
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