BMJ open
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This study aimed to assess the impact of using different weighting procedures for the German Index of Multiple Deprivation (GIMD) investigating their link to mortality rates. ⋯ The association between area deprivation and mortality proved to be stable, regardless of different weighting of the GIMD domains. The theory-based weighting of the GIMD should be maintained, due to the stability of the GIMD scores and the relationship to mortality.
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Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is common among older surgical patients, and delirium is a frequent and serious postoperative complication. Emerging evidence suggests that OSA increases the risk for postoperative delirium. We hypothesise that OSA is an independent risk factor for postoperative delirium, and that in patients with OSA, perioperative adherence to positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy decreases the incidence of postoperative delirium and its sequelae. The proposed retrospective cohort analysis study will use existing datasets to: (i) describe and compare the incidence of postoperative delirium in surgical patients based on OSA diagnosis and treatment with PAP; (ii) assess whether preoperatively untreated OSA is independently associated with postoperative delirium; and (iii) explore whether preoperatively untreated OSA is independently associated with worse postoperative quality of life (QoL). The findings of this study will inform on the potential utility and approach of an interventional trial aimed at preventing postoperative delirium in patients with diagnosed and undiagnosed OSA. ⋯ This study has been approved by the Human Research Protection Office at Washington University School of Medicine. We will publish the results in a peer-reviewed venue. Because the data are secondary and high risk for reidentification, we will not publicly share the data. Data will be destroyed after 1 year of completion of active Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved projects.
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Emotional disclosure (ED) is a term used to describe the therapeutic expression of emotion. ED underlies a variety of therapies aimed at improving well-being for various populations, including people with palliative-stage disease and their family carers. Systematic reviews of ED-based psychotherapy have largely focused on expressive writing as a way of generating ED. However, heterogeneity in intervention format and outcome measures has made it difficult to analyse efficacy. There is also debate about the mechanisms proposed to explain the potential effects of ED.We present a scoping review protocol to develop a taxonomy of ED-based interventions to identify and categorise the spectrum of interventions that could be classified under the umbrella term of 'emotional disclosure' in the palliative care setting. By mapping these to associated treatment objectives, outcome measures and explanatory frameworks, the review will inform future efforts to design and evaluate ED-based therapies in this population. ⋯ This review does not require ethical approval as it is a secondary analysis of pre-existing, published data. The results will inform future research in the development of ED-based interventions and evaluation of their efficacy in the palliative care setting. We will disseminate findings through peer-reviewed journals.
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Erectile dysfunction (ED) is the most common male sexual disorder that severely impacts the sexual performance and quality of life of men. As the main subtype of ED, psychogenic ED (pED) has been demonstrated to be a genitourinary disease and also associated with alterations in both brain structure and function. However, the scattered neuroimaging evidence from individual studies has not yet been integrated, and the central pathological alterations associated with pED remain unclear. The objective of this systematic review is to integrate and assess the evidence of the impact of pED on brain structure and function. ⋯ CRD42019117206.
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The Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS) set criteria for the delivery of healthcare services in Australia. While a voluntary process, continual accreditation with ACHS is an expectation of, and for, Australian healthcare providers. Juxtapositioned with the ACHS, the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) set the mandatory practice requirements of, and for, Australian nurses. Despite these overarching quality and governance directives, a regional Queensland Hospital and Health Service (HHS) demonstrated deficits in the quality of nursing care. Accordingly, a HHS project was commissioned with the aim of producing a quantum shift in the quality of nursing services such that the service was ready-everyday for accreditation assessment, and nursing practice exemplified the NMBA standards.Several barriers to achieving the aim were identified and it was considered that the implementation of critical system changes would structurally and operationally support the achievement of the aim. The system changes are pivoted around an interactive matrix that links nursing care services to the array of nursing professional and practice standards and provides real-time quantitative output measures. This paper outlines the protocol that will be used to establish, implement and evaluate the matrix. ⋯ The project has ethics approval from a Queensland Health Human Research Ethics Committee. Results will be reported to participants and other stakeholders at seminars and conferences and through peer-reviewed publications.