Akrivia Health Database–deep patient characterisation using a secondary mental healthcare dataset in England and Wales: cohort profile
Akrivia Health Database–deep patient characterisation using a secondary mental healthcare dataset in England and Wales: cohort profile
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Purpose
The Akrivia Health cohort was created to extract data from electronic health records in secondary mental health and dementia care services in England and Wales. The data are anonymised, structured and harmonised from the source electronic health records across a range of information technology systems, enabling for unified, privacy-preserving access for research purposes.
Participants
The cohort contains data from electronic health records for over 4.6 million patients in England and Wales, as of January 2024. The data are refreshed with regularity, and the dataset expands whenever a new healthcare provider joins the Akrivia network. 13% of the database are patients under 18 years old (n=590 160), 56% are adults 18–65 years old (n=2 631 690) and 31% are older people (n=1 422 609). About 11.5% are deceased (n=538 371).
Findings to date
Structured data include patient demographics and service pathways. Akrivia Health also uses a bespoke natural language processing model to further extract the research-relevant information from free-text progress notes, including diagnoses, medications and clinical symptoms. This allows for an in-depth longitudinal description of patient journeys.
Future plans
The anonymised data can be accessed in collaboration with Akrivia Health, following the National Health Service guidelines and without requiring a separate ethics application. There is no planned end date for data collection.
Purpose
The Akrivia Health cohort was created to extract data from electronic health records in secondary mental health and dementia care services in England and Wales. The data are anonymised, structured and harmonised from the source electronic health records across a range of information technology systems, enabling for unified, privacy-preserving access for research purposes.
Participants
The cohort contains data from electronic health records for over 4.6 million patients in England and Wales, as of January 2024. The data are refreshed with regularity, and the dataset expands whenever a new healthcare provider joins the Akrivia network. 13% of the database are patients under 18 years old (n=590 160), 56% are adults 18–65 years old (n=2 631 690) and 31% are older people (n=1 422 609). About 11.5% are deceased (n=538 371).
Findings to date
Structured data include patient demographics and service pathways. Akrivia Health also uses a bespoke natural language processing model to further extract the research-relevant information from free-text progress notes, including diagnoses, medications and clinical symptoms. This allows for an in-depth longitudinal description of patient journeys.
Future plans
The anonymised data can be accessed in collaboration with Akrivia Health, following the National Health Service guidelines and without requiring a separate ethics application. There is no planned end date for data collection.
Developing the ‘Life Threads approach to support families after traumatic brain injury in UK community settings: protocol for a qualitative prefeasibility study
Developing the ‘Life Threads approach to support families after traumatic brain injury in UK community settings: protocol for a qualitative prefeasibility study
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Introduction
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) brings about inevitable and significant changes for family members. Mental health effects for family members are well documented but there are significant gaps in support options across services. Here, we describe our protocol for a study that seeks to investigate the potential for a narrative, creative approach, the ‘Life Threads’ approach, as a low intensity, accessible means of support that can be applied across service contexts.
Methods
We will recruit 20 family members of someone who sustained a TBI from services in an area of the UK with a diverse demographic. Family members will be provided with the ‘Life Threads’ approach materials and guided in their use. The study is planned to run from March 2023 to July 2024.
Analysis
Collection of data on potential usefulness, feasibility and acceptability will be through focus groups and individual interviews. Transcripts will be analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, conducted within a relativist, constructivist orientation.
Ethics and dissemination
Ethical approvals have been sought and gained (Nottingham 1 Research Ethics Committee, 23/EM/0185, 4 September 2023), and the study has been registered with ISRCTN. As a research team, we are guided by our own personal, professional and research experiences of TBI which we will consider reflexively throughout the research process. Results will be disseminated in collaboration with our patient and public involvement group through open peer-reviewed journal publication and scientific conference, with lay summaries shared via recruitment sites.
Trial registration number
Introduction
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) brings about inevitable and significant changes for family members. Mental health effects for family members are well documented but there are significant gaps in support options across services. Here, we describe our protocol for a study that seeks to investigate the potential for a narrative, creative approach, the ‘Life Threads’ approach, as a low intensity, accessible means of support that can be applied across service contexts.
Methods
We will recruit 20 family members of someone who sustained a TBI from services in an area of the UK with a diverse demographic. Family members will be provided with the ‘Life Threads’ approach materials and guided in their use. The study is planned to run from March 2023 to July 2024.
Analysis
Collection of data on potential usefulness, feasibility and acceptability will be through focus groups and individual interviews. Transcripts will be analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, conducted within a relativist, constructivist orientation.
Ethics and dissemination
Ethical approvals have been sought and gained (Nottingham 1 Research Ethics Committee, 23/EM/0185, 4 September 2023), and the study has been registered with ISRCTN. As a research team, we are guided by our own personal, professional and research experiences of TBI which we will consider reflexively throughout the research process. Results will be disseminated in collaboration with our patient and public involvement group through open peer-reviewed journal publication and scientific conference, with lay summaries shared via recruitment sites.
Trial registration number
ISRCTN17392794.
Mapping the landscape of mental health and long COVID: a protocol for scoping review
Mapping the landscape of mental health and long COVID: a protocol for scoping review
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Introduction
Mental health concerns are prevalent among adult patients with long COVID (LC), but the current state of knowledge regarding mental health in the context of LC is not fully understood. The objective of this scoping review is to map and summarise the existing research on mental health conditions among LC patients and highlight the knowledge gaps. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the evolving landscape of research in the area.
Methods and analysis
The concept of interest is mental health in adult LC patients. This scoping review will be guided by the Joanna Briggs Institute Manual for Evidence Synthesis and reported according to the recommendations in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Review guidelines. Using predefined search parameters, a comprehensive search of two electronic databases (Medline and APA PsycINFO) and grey literature sources identified 3104 potentially eligible articles published from 1 January 2020 to 4 April 2024. Following the removal of duplicates, 2767 articles were imported for screening in Covidence. The study selection process involves screening titles, abstracts and full text of potentially relevant articles, which will then be analysed using thematic analysis. Data will be extracted using a predefined extraction form.
Ethics and dissemination
Ethical approval is not required because this study does not involve human participants or primary data collection. The findings from this review will be disseminated through a peer-reviewed publication, conference presentations and professional networks. In addition, a summary of the results will be shared with patient partners and other relevant stakeholders.
Public health implications
The findings from this scoping review will contribute to a better understanding of mental health issues arising in LC patients and inform future research directions and public health interventions in this area.
Introduction
Mental health concerns are prevalent among adult patients with long COVID (LC), but the current state of knowledge regarding mental health in the context of LC is not fully understood. The objective of this scoping review is to map and summarise the existing research on mental health conditions among LC patients and highlight the knowledge gaps. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the evolving landscape of research in the area.
Methods and analysis
The concept of interest is mental health in adult LC patients. This scoping review will be guided by the Joanna Briggs Institute Manual for Evidence Synthesis and reported according to the recommendations in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Review guidelines. Using predefined search parameters, a comprehensive search of two electronic databases (Medline and APA PsycINFO) and grey literature sources identified 3104 potentially eligible articles published from 1 January 2020 to 4 April 2024. Following the removal of duplicates, 2767 articles were imported for screening in Covidence. The study selection process involves screening titles, abstracts and full text of potentially relevant articles, which will then be analysed using thematic analysis. Data will be extracted using a predefined extraction form.
Ethics and dissemination
Ethical approval is not required because this study does not involve human participants or primary data collection. The findings from this review will be disseminated through a peer-reviewed publication, conference presentations and professional networks. In addition, a summary of the results will be shared with patient partners and other relevant stakeholders.
Public health implications
The findings from this scoping review will contribute to a better understanding of mental health issues arising in LC patients and inform future research directions and public health interventions in this area.
Acupoint catgut embedding advantage in treating gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (ACE-GERD): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial
Acupoint catgut embedding advantage in treating gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (ACE-GERD): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial
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Background
Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a highly prevalent disorder worldwide and developing effective treatment strategies for GERD is a clinical priority. GERD is associated with anxiety and depression. Several approaches have been developed to improve GERD, although effectiveness is limited. Acupoint catgut embedding (ACE) is an established technique in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of anxiety and depression. This study will investigate the effects of ACE on anxiety, depression, acid reflux and heartburn in patients with GERD.
Methods
The ACE-GERD trial is a single-centre, prospective randomised controlled trial. 62 patients will be randomly assigned equally to the experimental and control groups. Patients will be treated with ACE or sham ACE. In the experimental group, absorbable polyglycolic acid sutures will be implanted at the acupoints using sterile disposable injection needles. The sham ACE treatment will exhibit similar surface characteristics but lack absorbable polyglycolic acid sutures. Treatments will be administered every 2 weeks for a period of 10 weeks. The main outcome measure is the Reflux Disease Questionnaire symptom score. Secondary outcomes are the endoscopic assessment, 24-hour pH/impedance monitoring test, oesophageal high-resolution manometer, Gastro-oesophageal Reflux Disease Questionnaire score, Gastro-oesophageal Reflux Disease Health-related Quality of Life, Self-rating Anxiety Scale and Self-rating Depression Scale scores.
Discussion
The ACE-GERD trial aims to evaluate the efficacy of ACE treatment as a therapeutic tool for improving anxiety, depression, acid reflux and heartburn in patients with GERD and to provide the evidence base for future clinical studies.
Ethics and Dissemination
The trial has been approved by the Ethics Committee of Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine (ethics no. BF2023-113-01). Results will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at scientific conferences and meetings.
Trial registration number
ChiCTR2300074643.
Background
Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a highly prevalent disorder worldwide and developing effective treatment strategies for GERD is a clinical priority. GERD is associated with anxiety and depression. Several approaches have been developed to improve GERD, although effectiveness is limited. Acupoint catgut embedding (ACE) is an established technique in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of anxiety and depression. This study will investigate the effects of ACE on anxiety, depression, acid reflux and heartburn in patients with GERD.
Methods
The ACE-GERD trial is a single-centre, prospective randomised controlled trial. 62 patients will be randomly assigned equally to the experimental and control groups. Patients will be treated with ACE or sham ACE. In the experimental group, absorbable polyglycolic acid sutures will be implanted at the acupoints using sterile disposable injection needles. The sham ACE treatment will exhibit similar surface characteristics but lack absorbable polyglycolic acid sutures. Treatments will be administered every 2 weeks for a period of 10 weeks. The main outcome measure is the Reflux Disease Questionnaire symptom score. Secondary outcomes are the endoscopic assessment, 24-hour pH/impedance monitoring test, oesophageal high-resolution manometer, Gastro-oesophageal Reflux Disease Questionnaire score, Gastro-oesophageal Reflux Disease Health-related Quality of Life, Self-rating Anxiety Scale and Self-rating Depression Scale scores.
Discussion
The ACE-GERD trial aims to evaluate the efficacy of ACE treatment as a therapeutic tool for improving anxiety, depression, acid reflux and heartburn in patients with GERD and to provide the evidence base for future clinical studies.
Ethics and Dissemination
The trial has been approved by the Ethics Committee of Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine (ethics no. BF2023-113-01). Results will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at scientific conferences and meetings.
Trial registration number
ChiCTR2300074643.
Wealth-related inequalities in the utilisation of modern contraceptives in Papua New Guinea: evidence from the 2016-2018 Demographic and Health Survey data
Wealth-related inequalities in the utilisation of modern contraceptives in Papua New Guinea: evidence from the 2016-2018 Demographic and Health Survey data
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Objective
To examine the wealth-related disparities in modern contraceptives use among women in Papua New Guinea.
Design
We performed a cross-sectional analysis of the 2016–2018 Papua New Guinea Demographic and Health Survey data. We included 11 618 women of reproductive age in our final analysis. Percentages were used to present the results on utilisation of modern contraceptives. A concentration curve was used to summarise the cumulative use of modern contraceptives by wealth index (ranked into groups: richest, richer, middle, poorer and poorest). We used a decomposition analysis to estimate the contributions of individual factors towards wealth-related inequality in modern contraceptives use. We estimated the slope index of inequality (SII) and the relative index of inequality (RII) in modern contraceptive utilisation to provide summary evidence of inequality.
Setting
Papua New Guinea.
Participants
Women aged 15–49 years.
Outcome measure
Modern contraceptives utilisation.
Results
Overall, 27.5% of Papua New Guinea women used modern contraceptives. The concentration curve showed that the use of modern contraceptives was highly concentrated among women of the richest household wealth index as the concentration curve lies below the equality line. The SII (0.210, CI 0.182 to 0.239) indicates that the richest group uses more modern contraceptives. The RII depicts a relative difference of 2.044 between the richest and the poorest women in the use of modern contraceptives.
Conclusions
Our study has shown that modern contraceptives use among women in Papua New Guinea is low. Women from the richest household wealth index group had the highest propensity to use modern contraceptives in comparison with those from poorer homes. The Ministry of Health and other organisations must design and carry out initiatives aimed at enhancing the availability of and use of modern contraceptives among women from less affluent backgrounds.
Objective
To examine the wealth-related disparities in modern contraceptives use among women in Papua New Guinea.
Design
We performed a cross-sectional analysis of the 2016–2018 Papua New Guinea Demographic and Health Survey data. We included 11 618 women of reproductive age in our final analysis. Percentages were used to present the results on utilisation of modern contraceptives. A concentration curve was used to summarise the cumulative use of modern contraceptives by wealth index (ranked into groups: richest, richer, middle, poorer and poorest). We used a decomposition analysis to estimate the contributions of individual factors towards wealth-related inequality in modern contraceptives use. We estimated the slope index of inequality (SII) and the relative index of inequality (RII) in modern contraceptive utilisation to provide summary evidence of inequality.
Setting
Papua New Guinea.
Participants
Women aged 15–49 years.
Outcome measure
Modern contraceptives utilisation.
Results
Overall, 27.5% of Papua New Guinea women used modern contraceptives. The concentration curve showed that the use of modern contraceptives was highly concentrated among women of the richest household wealth index as the concentration curve lies below the equality line. The SII (0.210, CI 0.182 to 0.239) indicates that the richest group uses more modern contraceptives. The RII depicts a relative difference of 2.044 between the richest and the poorest women in the use of modern contraceptives.
Conclusions
Our study has shown that modern contraceptives use among women in Papua New Guinea is low. Women from the richest household wealth index group had the highest propensity to use modern contraceptives in comparison with those from poorer homes. The Ministry of Health and other organisations must design and carry out initiatives aimed at enhancing the availability of and use of modern contraceptives among women from less affluent backgrounds.
Exploring the application status of qualitative studies in the research area of acupuncture: a scoping review protocol
Exploring the application status of qualitative studies in the research area of acupuncture: a scoping review protocol
What are your thoughts on this?
Introduction
With the wide development of acupuncture clinical practice, acupuncture research has been conducted worldwide, of which the most common method is quantitative study. However, research questions around acupuncture cannot always be addressed by quantitative studies due to their intrinsic characteristics. Qualitative studies can perfectly complement this knowledge gap in acupuncture research. To date, few qualitative studies on acupuncture research have been summarised. The objective of this scoping review is to review the application status of qualitative studies in the field of acupuncture research.
Methods
In accordance with the framework put forward by Arksey and O’Malley, this proposed scoping review (registration DOI: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/VYBMT) will be applied as the following steps: (1) identifying the research questions, (2) identifying relevant studies, (3) study selection, (4) charting the data and (5) collating, summarising and reporting the results. Six databases with Google Scholar and Baidu Scholar will be searched with a comprehensive searching strategy, and two reviewers finishing uniform training and pilot test will independently screen the potential literature to include eligible ones. Endnote 20 will be used to manage the literature; a predesigned, standardised Excel sheet will be used to load all information extracted. Findings of this scoping review will be reported and described in a narrative manner. Tables, charts or figures will be used to present the results and qualitative content analysis and thematic analysis based on grounded theory will be adopted to analyse the data. We initiated our search on 13 March 2024.
Ethics and dissemination
As scoping reviews are a form of secondary data analysis, ethical review is not required. Our research results will provide future research direction for qualitative studies of acupuncture and be disseminated through a peer-reviewed publication and related scientific conferences.
Introduction
With the wide development of acupuncture clinical practice, acupuncture research has been conducted worldwide, of which the most common method is quantitative study. However, research questions around acupuncture cannot always be addressed by quantitative studies due to their intrinsic characteristics. Qualitative studies can perfectly complement this knowledge gap in acupuncture research. To date, few qualitative studies on acupuncture research have been summarised. The objective of this scoping review is to review the application status of qualitative studies in the field of acupuncture research.
Methods
In accordance with the framework put forward by Arksey and O’Malley, this proposed scoping review (registration DOI: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/VYBMT) will be applied as the following steps: (1) identifying the research questions, (2) identifying relevant studies, (3) study selection, (4) charting the data and (5) collating, summarising and reporting the results. Six databases with Google Scholar and Baidu Scholar will be searched with a comprehensive searching strategy, and two reviewers finishing uniform training and pilot test will independently screen the potential literature to include eligible ones. Endnote 20 will be used to manage the literature; a predesigned, standardised Excel sheet will be used to load all information extracted. Findings of this scoping review will be reported and described in a narrative manner. Tables, charts or figures will be used to present the results and qualitative content analysis and thematic analysis based on grounded theory will be adopted to analyse the data. We initiated our search on 13 March 2024.
Ethics and dissemination
As scoping reviews are a form of secondary data analysis, ethical review is not required. Our research results will provide future research direction for qualitative studies of acupuncture and be disseminated through a peer-reviewed publication and related scientific conferences.
Influence of social media and the digital environment on international migration of health workforce from low- and middle-income countries post COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review protocol
Influence of social media and the digital environment on international migration of health workforce from low- and middle-income countries post COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review protocol
What are your thoughts on this?
Introduction
Migration of the health workforce from low- and middle-income countries (LMCIs) is increasingly becoming a phenomenon of interest within migration governance systems. The COVID-19 pandemic aggravated health workforce shortages that have created job opportunities in high-income countries such as the USA, UK, Canada and Germany among others. Conditions of service in LMCIs are unattractive, leading to the search for better opportunities. The digital environment is becoming one of the facilitators of migration intentions due to the activities of recruitment agencies and the search for job opportunities on the World Wide Web. The digital environment creates opportunities for migration but also poses a security threat, economic loss and a brain drain to departure countries. However, there is a paucity of evidence on how the proliferation of advertisements on health workforce recruitment within social media, unsolicited emails and activities of recruitment agencies in the digital environment influence the migration of the health workforce and the implications of migration governance.
Method and analysis
This scoping review protocol describes a comprehensive systematic extraction and examination of existing literature to map key concepts and identify previous literature, noting the gaps in how social media and the digital environment are influencing the migration of the health workforce. We lean on Arksey and O’Malley’s scoping framework in developing this protocol. This involves the following: identifying research questions, searching for the literature, selecting articles or studies, charting the data and organising and reporting the outcome of the review. The review question is informed by the population, concept and context framework, which details the population as the health workforce (doctors, nurses, midwives and pharmacists), the key concepts as migration, social media and digital environment, and the context as LMICs. The search strategy was developed with the assistance of an experienced librarian who will work with the team to conduct a Peer Review of Electronic Search Strategies to evaluate titles, abstracts and full-text articles for inclusion from databases such as Scopus, PubMed, MEDLINE and Google Scholar. Additionally, we will search grey literature sources including online news media, social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter), web pages of WHO, UN and migration-related agencies, and interfaces like EBSCO host. Two members of the team will screen titles and abstracts, and all team members will screen full text for data extraction. Data from grey sources will be converted to transcripts, coded and grouped into themes and subthemes consistent with thematic analysis strategies. All authors will be involved in the synthesis of the data. We intend to follow Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines in reporting the outcome of peer-review sources.
Ethics and dissemination
This is a scoping review protocol that addresses a subject of interest that poses no risk to individuals or groups. All the information will be retrieved from open sources only. The protocol was registered with the Open Science Framework registry (osf.oi/zan3q) to serve as an audit trail. Reports from the review will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at conferences.
Introduction
Migration of the health workforce from low- and middle-income countries (LMCIs) is increasingly becoming a phenomenon of interest within migration governance systems. The COVID-19 pandemic aggravated health workforce shortages that have created job opportunities in high-income countries such as the USA, UK, Canada and Germany among others. Conditions of service in LMCIs are unattractive, leading to the search for better opportunities. The digital environment is becoming one of the facilitators of migration intentions due to the activities of recruitment agencies and the search for job opportunities on the World Wide Web. The digital environment creates opportunities for migration but also poses a security threat, economic loss and a brain drain to departure countries. However, there is a paucity of evidence on how the proliferation of advertisements on health workforce recruitment within social media, unsolicited emails and activities of recruitment agencies in the digital environment influence the migration of the health workforce and the implications of migration governance.
Method and analysis
This scoping review protocol describes a comprehensive systematic extraction and examination of existing literature to map key concepts and identify previous literature, noting the gaps in how social media and the digital environment are influencing the migration of the health workforce. We lean on Arksey and O’Malley’s scoping framework in developing this protocol. This involves the following: identifying research questions, searching for the literature, selecting articles or studies, charting the data and organising and reporting the outcome of the review. The review question is informed by the population, concept and context framework, which details the population as the health workforce (doctors, nurses, midwives and pharmacists), the key concepts as migration, social media and digital environment, and the context as LMICs. The search strategy was developed with the assistance of an experienced librarian who will work with the team to conduct a Peer Review of Electronic Search Strategies to evaluate titles, abstracts and full-text articles for inclusion from databases such as Scopus, PubMed, MEDLINE and Google Scholar. Additionally, we will search grey literature sources including online news media, social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter), web pages of WHO, UN and migration-related agencies, and interfaces like EBSCO host. Two members of the team will screen titles and abstracts, and all team members will screen full text for data extraction. Data from grey sources will be converted to transcripts, coded and grouped into themes and subthemes consistent with thematic analysis strategies. All authors will be involved in the synthesis of the data. We intend to follow Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines in reporting the outcome of peer-review sources.
Ethics and dissemination
This is a scoping review protocol that addresses a subject of interest that poses no risk to individuals or groups. All the information will be retrieved from open sources only. The protocol was registered with the Open Science Framework registry (osf.oi/zan3q) to serve as an audit trail. Reports from the review will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at conferences.
Petition urges NMC to prioritise mental health during FtP
Petition urges NMC to prioritise mental health during FtP
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The post Petition urges NMC to prioritise mental health during FtP appeared first on Nursing Times.
A new petition has urged the Nursing and Midwifery Council to prioritise mental health support for nurses going through the fitness to practise process.
The post Petition urges NMC to prioritise mental health during FtP appeared first on Nursing Times.
How professional development can be supported for health and care research methodologists: results of the PROfesSionnal develoPmEnt for Research methodologists (PROSPER) e-Delphi and consensus study
How professional development can be supported for health and care research methodologists: results of the PROfesSionnal develoPmEnt for Research methodologists (PROSPER) e-Delphi and consensus study
What are your thoughts on this?
Objective
Research methodologists play a pivotal role in health and care research, yet they face many challenges relating to their professional development. The PROfesSional develoPmEnt for Research methodologists study was designed to understand and prioritise the professional development and capacity-building needs of research methodologists in the UK.
Design, setting and participants
Three-round electronic Delphi (e-Delphi) survey, with input from stakeholders in the development of the candidate list of professional development aspects followed by a national consensus meeting of health and care research methodologists in the UK.
Main outcome measures
Rated importance of each professional development aspects on a 9-point scale.
Results
207 participants gave their consent to participate in the e-Delphi survey. 189 (91%) completed round 1 and 76% completed all three rounds. In round 1, 35 professional development aspects were rated by priority, with 21 additional aspects suggested by participants and included in subsequent rounds. Rounds 2 and 3 involved rating 56 aspects: 22 achieved ‘consensus in’, 20 were ‘consensus out’ and 14 had ‘no consensus’. The top ‘consensus in’ aspects were supportive line managers, clear career pathways and promotion criteria and time for training. A consensus meeting with 18 participants rerated the 14 ‘no consensus’ aspects, adding three more to the final list. The final list includes 25 priority areas for research methodologists’ professional development.
Conclusions
This study has established the priorities from a professional development perspective for research methodologists. These priorities particularly focus on the importance of support from others, training and development, the value and recognition of the role, employer/contractual agreements and methodological research funding. The list of priorities could help individuals, managers, employers and research funders to improve professional development opportunities and could form the start of the development of a ‘methodologists’ charter’.
Objective
Research methodologists play a pivotal role in health and care research, yet they face many challenges relating to their professional development. The PROfesSional develoPmEnt for Research methodologists study was designed to understand and prioritise the professional development and capacity-building needs of research methodologists in the UK.
Design, setting and participants
Three-round electronic Delphi (e-Delphi) survey, with input from stakeholders in the development of the candidate list of professional development aspects followed by a national consensus meeting of health and care research methodologists in the UK.
Main outcome measures
Rated importance of each professional development aspects on a 9-point scale.
Results
207 participants gave their consent to participate in the e-Delphi survey. 189 (91%) completed round 1 and 76% completed all three rounds. In round 1, 35 professional development aspects were rated by priority, with 21 additional aspects suggested by participants and included in subsequent rounds. Rounds 2 and 3 involved rating 56 aspects: 22 achieved ‘consensus in’, 20 were ‘consensus out’ and 14 had ‘no consensus’. The top ‘consensus in’ aspects were supportive line managers, clear career pathways and promotion criteria and time for training. A consensus meeting with 18 participants rerated the 14 ‘no consensus’ aspects, adding three more to the final list. The final list includes 25 priority areas for research methodologists’ professional development.
Conclusions
This study has established the priorities from a professional development perspective for research methodologists. These priorities particularly focus on the importance of support from others, training and development, the value and recognition of the role, employer/contractual agreements and methodological research funding. The list of priorities could help individuals, managers, employers and research funders to improve professional development opportunities and could form the start of the development of a ‘methodologists’ charter’.
Optimised treatment of patients with enlarged lateral lymph nodes in rectal cancer: protocol of an international, multicentre, prospective registration study after extensive multidisciplinary training (LaNoReC)
Optimised treatment of patients with enlarged lateral lymph nodes in rectal cancer: protocol of an international, multicentre, prospective registration study after extensive multidisciplinary training (LaNoReC)
What are your thoughts on this?
Introduction
Inadequate treatment of enlarged lateral lymph nodes (LLNs) in rectal cancer patients is associated with an increased lateral local recurrence (LLR) risk, despite neoadjuvant treatment and total mesorectal excision (TME) surgery. There is a promising role for LLN dissection (LLND) to lower this risk, but this challenging procedure requires appropriate training. This study protocol describes a prospective evaluation of oncological outcomes after standardised treatment based on multidisciplinary training, thereby aiming for a 50% reduction in LLR rate.
Methods and analysis
A prospective registration study will be opened in hospitals in which the involved multidisciplinary team members (radiologists, radiation oncologists, surgeons and pathologists) have received dedicated training to enhance knowledge and awareness of LLNs and in which standardised treatment including LLND has been implemented. Patients with rectal cancer and at least one enlarged LLN (short-axis ≥7.0 mm), or intermediate LLN (short-axis 5.0–6.9 mm) with at least one malignant feature on primary MRI, evaluated by a trained radiologist, are eligible. Patients will undergo neoadjuvant treatment by trained radiation oncologists, followed by TME surgery in combination with a minimally invasive, nerve-sparing LLND performed by trained surgeons. LLND specimens are evaluated by trained pathologists or grossing assistants. The primary outcome is LLR rate 3 years postoperatively. Secondary outcomes are morbidity, disease-free survival, overall survival and quality of life. To demonstrate a significant reduction in LLR rate from 13% (based on historical control data) to 6% after optimised treatment, 200 patients with enlarged LLNs are required.
Ethics and dissemination
The medical ethics board of the Vrije Universiteit Medical Centre (VUMC), the Netherlands, approved the study on 23 November 2022 (reference: 2021.0524). Participating centres must obtain local approval and participants are required to provide written informed consent. Results obtained from this study will be communicated via peer-reviewed medical journals and presentations at conferences.
Trail registration number
NCT04486131, 24 July 2020, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04486131.
Introduction
Inadequate treatment of enlarged lateral lymph nodes (LLNs) in rectal cancer patients is associated with an increased lateral local recurrence (LLR) risk, despite neoadjuvant treatment and total mesorectal excision (TME) surgery. There is a promising role for LLN dissection (LLND) to lower this risk, but this challenging procedure requires appropriate training. This study protocol describes a prospective evaluation of oncological outcomes after standardised treatment based on multidisciplinary training, thereby aiming for a 50% reduction in LLR rate.
Methods and analysis
A prospective registration study will be opened in hospitals in which the involved multidisciplinary team members (radiologists, radiation oncologists, surgeons and pathologists) have received dedicated training to enhance knowledge and awareness of LLNs and in which standardised treatment including LLND has been implemented. Patients with rectal cancer and at least one enlarged LLN (short-axis ≥7.0 mm), or intermediate LLN (short-axis 5.0–6.9 mm) with at least one malignant feature on primary MRI, evaluated by a trained radiologist, are eligible. Patients will undergo neoadjuvant treatment by trained radiation oncologists, followed by TME surgery in combination with a minimally invasive, nerve-sparing LLND performed by trained surgeons. LLND specimens are evaluated by trained pathologists or grossing assistants. The primary outcome is LLR rate 3 years postoperatively. Secondary outcomes are morbidity, disease-free survival, overall survival and quality of life. To demonstrate a significant reduction in LLR rate from 13% (based on historical control data) to 6% after optimised treatment, 200 patients with enlarged LLNs are required.
Ethics and dissemination
The medical ethics board of the Vrije Universiteit Medical Centre (VUMC), the Netherlands, approved the study on 23 November 2022 (reference: 2021.0524). Participating centres must obtain local approval and participants are required to provide written informed consent. Results obtained from this study will be communicated via peer-reviewed medical journals and presentations at conferences.
Trail registration number
NCT04486131, 24 July 2020, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04486131.