1,721,006 research outputs found
Weight management experiences of overweight and obese Royal Navy personnel
No full textInterviews with 21 overweight and obese Royal Navy (RN) personnel were conducted to understand their perceived facilitators and barriers to weight management. It was found that the following themes were perceived as relevant to participants’ weight management experiences in the RN: the naval environment and culture; influences of others; motivations to manage weight; perceptions of self with regard to excess weight; perceptions of weight management; and explanations for successful and unsuccessful weight management. Future research that tests the efficacy of interventions for overcoming the perceived barriers to weight management within this population is warranted
How often should self-monitoring of blood pressure be repeated?:A secondary analysis of data from two randomized controlled trials
No full textBackground: Little evidence exists around the optimal frequency of self-monitoring of blood pressure (BP). Testing too frequently can lead to erroneous management changes due to random “noise” leading to raised measurements by chance. This study used recent trial data to evaluate self-monitored BP over time, aiming to determine how frequently patients should self-monitor.Methods: Data from patients with home BP ≤135/85 mmHg on stable medication in the self-monitoring groups of two trials were analysed using a mixed effects model. The primary outcome was mean change in BP per month. Secondary outcomes included intra-individual BP variability, and probability of truly raised BP over time.Results: 232 participants from HOMEBP, and 582 participants from TASMINH4 were included. The mean changes in systolic BP per month per study were −0.1 mmHg [standard deviation (SD) 0.6 mmHg], and −0.2mmHg [SD 0.7 mmHg], respectively. Intra-individual systolic variability (SD) per month was 4.7 and 5.1 mmHg respectively. Using TASMINH4 data, from a starting systolic BP of 130 mmHg, re-testing BP after 6 months resulted in a probability of 18% that BP ≥135 mmHg, with a 25% probability that this reflected truly raised BP; after 12 months the probability of a raised reading was 26% with a 65% probability this reflected a true rise.Conclusions: In the absence of medication changes, there was very little change in mean self-monitored BP per month, with larger variability within an individual's monthly submitted readings. For people with initially controlled BP and stable medication, repeating self-monitoring at 12 months is likely to be appropriate in guiding management
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
Combining qualitative research with PPI: reflections on using the person-based approach for developing behavioural interventions
Full text linkBackgroundThe value and importance of qualitative research and Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) for developing complex health interventions is widely recognised. However, there is often confusion between the two, with researchers relying on just one of these approaches, rather than using the two alongside one another.MethodsThe Person-Based Approach (PBA) to developing health-related behaviour change interventions adapts and integrates methods from user-centred design and qualitative research. The PBA involves qualitative research at multiple stages of interventions to ensure they are acceptable, feasible, meaningful, and optimally engaging to the people who will use them. The qualitative research is carried out with research participants from a target population, who have no prior or continuing involvement in the wider research process and see the intervention from a fresh perspective. This enables in-depth understanding of the views and experiences of a wide range of target users and the contexts within which they engage with behavioural change.PPI in research is carried out with or by members of the public and is a key part of the research process. PPI contributors are involved at all stages of research design and interpretation. PPI provides input into interventions as members of the research team alongside other stakeholders, such as health professionals and behaviour change experts.ResultsWe advocate using qualitative research alongside PPI at all stages of intervention planning, development, and evaluation. We illustrate this with examples from recent projects developing complex health interventions, highlighting examples where PPI and PBA have pulled in different directions and how we have approached this, how PPI have helped optimise interventions based on PBA feedback, and how we have engaged PPI in community settings.ConclusionsPPI provides a valuable alternative to the traditional researcher-led approaches, which can be poorly matched to the needs of target users. Combining PPI with the PBA can help to create optimally engaging interventions by incorporating a greater diversity of feedback than would have been possible to achieve through PPI or qualitative approaches alone
Preventing within household transmission of COVID-19: Is the provision of accommodation feasible and acceptable?
No full textBackgroundWithin-household transmission of COVID-19 is responsible for a significant number of infections. The risk of within-household infection is greatly increased among those from Black Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) and low income communities. Efforts to protect these communities are urgently needed. The aim of this study is to explore the acceptability of the availability of accommodation to support isolation among at risk populations.MethodsOur study used a mixed methods design structured in two phases. In phase 1, we conducted a survey study of a sample of volunteers from our existing database of 300 individuals who had provided consent to be contacted about ongoing research projects into infection control. In phase 2, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 19 participants from BAME communities and low income communities recruited through social media.ResultsParticipants from the survey and interview phase of the study viewed the provision of accommodation as important and necessary. Factors influencing likely uptake of accommodation included perceived 1) vulnerability of household 2) exposure to the virus and 3) options for isolation at home. Barriers to accepting the offer of accommodation included 1) being able to isolate at home 2) wanting to be with family 3) caring responsibilities 4) concerns about mental wellbeing 5) upheaval of moving when ill and 6) concerns about infection control. Participants raised a series of issues that should be addressed before accommodation is offered. These included questions regarding who should use temporaryaccommodation and at what stage to effectively reduce transmission in the home, and how infection control in temporary accommodation would be managed.ConclusionThis research provides evidence that the provision of accommodation to prevent within household transmission of the virus is viewed as acceptable, feasible and necessary by many people who are concerned about infection transmission in the home. We explore ways in which accommodation might be offered. In particular, vulnerable members of the household could be protected if accommodation is offered to individuals who are informed through test trace and isolate that they have been in contact with the virus
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
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
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