1,720,960 research outputs found
PEPS: Patient experiences of pancreatic cystic lesion surveillance
No full textPancreatic cystic lesions (PCLs) are considered a premalignant condition to pancreatic cancer with varying degrees of cancerous potential. Management for individuals who do not require surgical treatment involves imaging surveillance to assess for cancerous progression. Due to the increasing prevalence of diagnostic imaging and screening the number of individuals living with PCL surveillance is growing. The impact of individuals living with a PCL diagnosis and surveillance has not previously been explored. This research comprises three phases to identify the experiences, information, and support needs of the PCL surveillance population and inform future interventions that improve patient experience. The phases include a qualitative literature review of patient experience of surveillance for premalignant and low risk cancer, a mixed-methods review of interventions to improve experience during surveillance of conditions with the potential for cancer progression and qualitative semi-structured interview study with PCL patients under surveillance. Both literature reviews were comprehensively undertaken using systematic approach and methods, using interpretative thematic analysis (qualitative review) and the pillar-integration process (mixed-methods review). 27 semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted using topic guides developed by conceptual framework and findings from the prior reviews. Interviews were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings from the three phases are used to inform elements of a suitable intervention for the PCL population. A journey to PCL diagnosis is complex and multifaceted. A PCL diagnosis is unexpected and for some, the ignition to a disruptive experience. The significance of the diagnosis’ anatomical location and the negative perception of pancreatic diseases led to fears that were also influenced by personal experiences of pancreatic cancer and explanations from clinicians. A lack of understanding of the diagnosis and its meaning to their future led to an overarching theme of uncertainty for the PCL population. Surveillance for PCL could be seen as a reminder of fears of PCL and cancer, or as an opportunity for reassurance. This thesis demonstrates several barriers to individuals with PCLs receiving the personalised and patient-centred care they desire, influenced by organisational design. For the first time, the work presented demonstrates how there is a lack of standardisation within and between institutions for management and care for this population, leading to varied information and support provision. Communication of information and explanations at diagnosis are influential in how individuals make sense of the unexpected diagnosis, the prognostic uncertainty and lack of information. The PCL population require clear information about the diagnosis and the impact it may have on an individual’s life at the right time (diagnosis), using appropriate terminology, signposting to further information and support can reduce uncertainty and fears associated with the PCL diagnosis. The findings from the work in this thesis have been aligned using a person-based approach to identify the components and guiding principles of an information resource intervention have been outlined in the integration chapter. Further work is now required to evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of the proposed intervention
BMUS journal club on Twitter: An analysis of the first #BMUS_JC discussions
No full textIntroduction: Journal clubs have evolved over recent years within healthcare to encourage continuing professional development. More recently, there has been a move from face-to-face group meetings to virtual groups utilising social media platforms. This article aims to explore the discussions and narrative following the inaugural BMUS journal club, highlighting the key discussions and themes from the participants and to provide a narrative for the future of ultrasound continuing professional development. Methods: The August 2020 journal club chat was focussed on the article featured in Ultrasound: “Sonographers’ level of autonomy in communication in Australian obstetric settings: Does it affect their professional identity?” by Thomas et al. Data consisting of Twitter correspondence were extracted and analysed from the advanced search function on Twitter using #BMUS_JC thread. An initial review ensured related content was included. A second review and semantic thematic analysis was then conducted on the 123 tweets. Results: In total, seven overall themes were identified between the three sub-threads within the journal club discussions. Those participating in the Twitter discussion recognised the limitations and barriers for communicating results to patients, acknowledging that training, support and regulatory involvement is required for sonographers to change practice locally and internationally. Conclusion: The group discussions on Twitter highlight the ongoing issues for sonographers’ professional identity worldwide. Furthermore, our analysis echo other contemporary studies which indicate that Twitter journal clubs act as a fruitful and dynamic source of continuing professional development, particularly in an era where social distancing is encouraged. The outcomes of the first BMUS journal club support the wider evidence that online journal clubs can provide a successful platform for professional discussion and debate.</p
Audit in ultrasound: An introduction and overview
No full textThis article highlights the importance of clinical audits within ultrasound and provides an overview of how audits can guide high-quality clinical care and lead advanced practice within Ultrasound. We outline the who, what when and where of audit and how it can be used in contemporary medicine. Utilising the frameworks within the United Kingdom from the British Medical Ultrasound Society and others as well as drawing from personal experience the authors demonstrate practical examples of audits that have improved the quality of care within the United Kingdom and lead the way for Advanced Practitioner roles where individuals undertake interventional procedures such as Fine Needle Aspirations. The aim of this articles is to demonstrate how Sonographers can take their audits forward and implement the clinical environment
Exploring patient experiences of surveillance for pancreatic cystic neoplasms: a qualitative study
No full textBackground Pancreatic cystic neoplasms (PCN) are considered premalignant conditions to pancreatic adenocarcinoma with varying degrees of cancerous potential. Management for individuals who do not require surgical treatment involves surveillance to assess for cancerous progression. Little is known about patients’ experience and the impact of living with surveillance for these lesions.Aims To explore the experiences of patients living with surveillance for PCNs.Methods Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with patients under surveillance for pancreatic cystic neoplasms in the UK. Age, gender, time from surveillance and surveillance method were used to purposively sample the patient group. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.Results A PCN diagnosis is incidental and unexpected and for some, the beginning of a disruptive experience. How patients make sense of their PCN diagnosis is influenced by their existing understanding of pancreatic cancer, explanations from clinicians and the presence of coexisting health concerns. A lack of understanding of the diagnosis and its meaning for their future led to an overarching theme of uncertainty for the PCN population. Surveillance for PCN could be seen as a reminder of fears of PCN and cancer, or as an opportunity for reassurance.Conclusions Currently, individuals living with surveillance for PCNs experience uncertainty with a lack of support in making sense of a prognostically uncertain diagnosis with no immediate treatment. More research is needed to identify the needs of this population to make improvements to patient care and reduce negative experiences
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
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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