Systematic reviews
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Loneliness and social isolation are prevalent public health concerns among community-dwelling older adults. One approach that is becoming an increasingly popular method of reducing levels of loneliness and social isolation among older adults is through technology-driven solutions. This protocol outlines a research trajectory whereby a scoping review will be initiated in order to illustrate and map the existing technological approaches that have been utilized to diminish levels of loneliness and social isolation among community-dwelling older adults aged 60 years or older. We will address the question: what are the most common and less used technological approaches to reduce loneliness and social isolation among community-dwelling older adults? ⋯ The information gleaned in this scoping review will be essential to understand the degree to which technological interventions influence social isolation and loneliness among older adults and identify gaps for further research.
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Polypharmacy, often defined as the concomitant use of ≥ 5 medications, has been identified as a significant global public health threat. Aging and multimorbidity are key drivers of polypharmacy and have been linked to a broad range of adverse health outcomes and mortality. Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are particularly at high risk of polypharmacy and use of potentially inappropriate medications given the numerous risk factors and complications associated with CKD. The aim of this systematic review will be to assess the prevalence of polypharmacy among adult patients with CKD, and the potential association between polypharmacy and adverse health outcomes within this population. ⋯ PROSPERO registration number: [ CRD42020206514 ].
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Polypharmacy is inevitable and appropriate for many conditions, but in some cases, it can be problematic resulting in an increased risk of harm and reduced quality of life. There has been an increasing interest to reduce cardioprotective medications in older adults to potentially reduce the risk of harm due to treatment; however, there is no evidence on safety and efficacy to support this practice currently. This paper describes a protocol for a systematic review on the safety and efficacy of reducing cardioprotective medication in older populations. ⋯ PROSPERO CRD42020208223.
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Substantial literature has highlighted the importance of patient-reported outcome and experience measures (PROMs and PREMs, respectively) to collect clinically relevant information to better understand and address what matters to patients. The purpose of this systematic review is to synthesize the evidence about how healthcare providers implement individual-level PROMs and PREMs data into daily practice. ⋯ PROSPERO CRD42020182904 .
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Current text mining tools supporting abstract screening in systematic reviews are not widely used, in part because they lack sensitivity and precision. We set out to develop an accessible, semi-automated "workflow" to conduct abstract screening for systematic reviews and other knowledge synthesis methods. ⋯ The workflow was a sensitive, precise, and efficient alternative to the recommended practice of screening abstracts with 2 reviewers. All eligible studies were identified in the first case, while 6 studies (1.5%) were missed in the second that would likely not impact the review's conclusions. We have described the workflow in language accessible to reviewers with limited exposure to natural language processing and machine learning, and have made the code available to reviewers.