Journal of evaluation in clinical practice
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Secondary care pharmacists are well positioned within the healthcare system to communicate with patients and provide guidance and advice regarding drug treatments. They are able to broaden the opportunities to raise the profile of Clinical Trials of Investigational Medicinal Products (CTIMPs) and positively influence research. This research aimed to investigate the perceived benefits and barriers of secondary care pharmacists being involved in CTIMPs, their current role, and the perceived benefits and barriers of developing their role in facilitating patient participation for CTIMPs (eg, by identifying or recruiting potential participants). ⋯ Most respondents do not currently have a role in identifying or recruiting potential participants. Despite this, being involved in CTIMPs and the facilitation of patient participation was suggested to offer several benefits. Given many participants agreed there are barriers to their involvement, future research should focus on exploring organizational and individual challenges with the aim of enabling pharmacists to support recruitment activities.
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Observational Study
GheOP3 S tool and START/STOPP criteria version 2 for screening of potentially inappropriate medications and omissions in nursing home residents.
There is limited information about the comparative effectiveness of the START/STOPP (Screening Tool of Older Person's Prescriptions/Screening Tool to Alert doctors to Right Treatment) criteria and the Ghent Older People's Prescriptions community Pharmacy Screening tool (GheOP3 S tool) for the screening of potentially inappropriate prescribing (PIP) in the geriatric population. Considering this, the aim of this study was to compare the ability of the START/STOPP criteria and GheOP3 S tool to identify the PIP and potential prescribing omissions (PPOs) among elderly patients visiting their primary care physician. ⋯ The results of this study indicate that both tested tools demonstrated efficiency to detect PIPs and PPOs. The GheOP3 S tool detected significantly more PIPs than did the STOPP criteria. On the other hand, the START criteria performed much better for the screening of PPOs.
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Consumer-based activity trackers aim at quantifying physical activity in a wide range of contexts. Nevertheless, they need to be validated before they are confidently used. This study assessed the concurrent validity of the Nokia Go against reference devices, according to different sensor locations, in two measurement conditions: during a walking task and during a 24-hour free-living condition. ⋯ There are high discrepancies in step count between devices because of the different types of activities in daily life. The Nokia Go may be confidently used for step counting during pure walking tasks, at different locations. However, the lack of concurrent validity with ActiGraph call for caution regarding their use in daily living conditions.
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The challenges of becoming a mature adult may distract young adults with type 1 diabetes from disease self-management, increasing risks for premature morbidity and mortality. Despite the importance of young adults with type 1 diabetes engaging with preventative diabetes-related health care services, few studies report health care professionals' experiences and perceptions of the support that is available, including during the period of transition. This study sought to determine these factors across diverse contexts in one health jurisdiction. ⋯ Findings identify opportunities for development in the planning and provision of specialist multidisciplinary health care support for this population. New ideas are needed for policy and practice innovation and for the infrastructure to facilitate this, to ensure that young adults with type 1 diabetes have access to consistent and coordinated diabetes health care services, particularly in nonmetropolitan settings.
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Prevention offers the most cost-effective long-term strategy for cancer control. The objective of this study was to ascertain opinions, attitudes, and professional practices towards cancer prevention among primary care professionals and to assess differences between family physicians (FP) and nursing professionals (NP). ⋯ Group and community interventions are rarely practised, especially among FP. Actions targeting improved ability and knowledge could lead to higher involvement in the promotion of health. It would also be necessary to intervene in the examination of the utility of such interventions.