Systematic reviews
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Vasomotor symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats are a common concern of perimenopausal and postmenopausal women and are associated with a decreased quality of life. These symptoms can be effectively managed with hormone therapy, but safety concerns limit its use. Thus, understanding the effectiveness of nonpharmacologic therapies such as acupuncture or yoga is critical to managing these common symptoms in older women. Our review seeks to address the following question: In women with menopause-associated vasomotor symptoms, what are the effects on health-related quality of life, vasomotor symptoms, and adverse events of the following nonpharmacologic, nonherbal interventions as compared with any inactive control or active comparator: (a) acupuncture, (b) yoga, tai chi, and qigong, (c) structured exercise, and (d) meditation, mindfulness-based practices, and relaxation? ⋯ PROSPERO CRD42016029335.
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HIV is still a global public health problem. More than 75 % of HIV-infected people are in Africa, and most of them are unaware of their HIV status, which is a barrier to accessing antiretroviral treatment. Our review aims, firstly, to determine whether HIV self-testing is an effective method to increase the uptake of testing, the yield of new HIV-positive diagnoses, and the linkage to antiretroviral treatment. Secondly, we aim to review the factors that facilitate or impede the uptake of HIV self-testing. ⋯ PROSPERO CRD42015023935.
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Sleep disturbance is a common and significant health problem that has been linked to decreased quality of life. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) can be a potentially effective intervention for insomnia. In previous systematic review examining the effects of MBSR for people with sleep disturbance, the authors highlighted the need for additional well-designed randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to assess the effects of MBSR practice. Recently, several RCTs of the effectiveness of MBSR for individuals who have difficulties in sleep have been published. Therefore, the aim of this review is to update and synthesize evidence on the effects of MBSR for people with sleep disturbance or insomnia. ⋯ PROSPERO CRD42015027963 .
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Comparative Study
A comparison of the performance of seven key bibliographic databases in identifying all relevant systematic reviews of interventions for hypertension.
Bibliographic databases are the primary resource for identifying systematic reviews of health care interventions. Reliable retrieval of systematic reviews depends on the scope of indexing used by database providers. Therefore, searching one database may be insufficient, but it is unclear how many need to be searched. We sought to evaluate the performance of seven major bibliographic databases for the identification of systematic reviews for hypertension. ⋯ The coverage of bibliographic databases varies considerably due to differences in their scope and content. Researchers wishing to identify systematic reviews should not rely on one database but search multiple databases.
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Review Meta Analysis
Thoracic dysfunction in whiplash-associated disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol.
Whiplash-associated disorder (WAD) research has largely focused on the neck, yet symptoms often include other areas. The prevalence of acute thoracic spine pain is reported ~66 %, which is perhaps unsurprising given the mechanism of injury involves a forceful loading/eccentric contraction of posterior thoracic structures such as the trapezius. Many individuals with WAD experience disability and pain beyond normal tissue healing time, termed chronic WAD. With the thoracic spine contributing to neck mobility, and 23 % of individuals complaining of thoracic pain 1 year post injury, it is time to look beyond the neck to fully understand the anatomical dysfunction in WAD. ⋯ PROSPERO CRD42015026983.