Journal of evaluation in clinical practice
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Electronic health records (EHR) are frequently used for epidemiological research including drug utilisation studies in a defined population such as the population with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). We sought to describe the process of defining a cohort of patients with KOA from a large UK primary care database and estimate the annual incidence of diagnosed KOA between 2000 and 2015. ⋯ This study logically/sensibly defined a cohort of patients with diagnosed KOA through the application of several strategies. This was an essential step to avoid subsequent over or underestimation of the prevalence of drug utilisation and the associated adverse clinical outcomes within primary care patients with KAO.
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Patient navigation is a recommended practice to improve cancer screenings among underserved populations including those residing in rural areas with care access barriers. We report on patient navigation programme adaptations to increase follow-up colonoscopy rates after abnormal fecal testing in rural primary care practices. ⋯ While unplanned adaptations were implemented to address the contextual impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on care access patterns and staffing, the changes to training content and context were beneficial to the rural setting overall and should be sustained. Our findings can guide future efforts to optimise the success of such programmes in other rural settings and highlight the important role of adaptations in implementation projects.
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The underreporting of occupational diseases in many countries significantly hampers the development of intervention programs, posing a significant public health problem. Our study aimed to contribute to the occupational diseases surveillance by examining the data of hospitals authorized to issue reports throughout Turkey. ⋯ This study is reflecting national data in Turkey and is the country's first nationwide study. The number of occupational diseases in Turkey is lower than expected. It would be more accurate to express the data in a way that includes medical diagnoses instead of using the number of compensated files corresponding to legal diagnoses.
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The birthweight of a newborn is critical to their health, development, and well-being. Previous studies that used maternal characteristics to predict birthweight did not employ a harmonised scale to assess the risk of low birthweight (LBW). ⋯ The scale, termed birthweight questionnaire, is a valuable tool for collecting data that could assist in assessing the risk of an LBW at every stage of pregnancy.
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This paper explores how frontline nurses experienced the onset of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic to provide appropriate care during a global health crisis. ⋯ Understanding the challenges faced by frontline nurses during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic may help healthcare practitioners and policy makers to implement targeted interventions, support mechanisms and resource allocation strategies that enhance the well-being of frontline nurses and optimise patient care delivery during health crises.