Stressful life events during the perimenopause: longitudinal observations from the seattle midlife women's health study.

BACKGROUND: Midlife is a time of increased responsibilities for women who have multiple roles including taking care of children, caring for elderly parents, managing households, and working outside the home. With little time for themselves, women additionally experience stressful life events (SLEs). The purpose of this study was to describe the longitudinal patterns of SLEs of women during midlife and to identify predictors of the SLE longitudinal patterns using baseline data of socio-economic factors and demographic characteristics. METHODS: Women who were part of the Seattle Midlife Women's Health Study (SMWHS), a longitudinal study spanning more than 23 years, who had SLEs measured at baseline and at years 2, 7, and 10 were included in these analyses (N = 380 women at baseline). The Life Event Scale (LES), a 70-item scale based on a yes/no response and a Likert-based scoring system with 0 (no effect) to 4 (large effect), was used to determine the total and impact scores of midlife women. The LES was adapted to midlife women from the Norbeck Scale for younger, pregnant women. Analytic strategies consisted of a group-based trajectory model (GBTM) to examine subgroups of women with similar exposure to SLEs using socio-economic factors (gross family income, education, race/ethnicity, employment), demographic variables (age, marital status, being a parent), and menopausal transition stage to differentiate trajectories over time. RESULTS: Approximately 86% of women had medium high exposure to undesirable SLEs with a slight decrease (65.5%), or a sharp decrease (20.1%), over 10 years. The majority (approximately 64%) had moderate, sustained impact ratings, while approximately 35% had impact ratings that decreased over time. Most women (approximately 88%) reported desirable life events, which were sustained over the ten years, and which may help to balance or offset the high ratings of undesirable stressful life events. The rated impact of these desirable events decreased slightly over time for 65% of the sample. Socio-economic factors, demographic variables, and menopausal transition stages were not significant predictors of any of the four GBTMs. CONCLUSION: Midlife women experience SLEs throughout the menopausal transition. Most of these midlife women had had a large amount of sustained stress over 10 years although all trajectories decreased to some extent over time. Since the menopausal transition stages were not significant predictors of the ratings of SLEs, a more complex set of factors, including social as well as biological, may explain the ratings of the women over the course of this ten-year observational study.

External quality assessment practices in medical laboratories: an IFCC global survey of member societies.

OBJECTIVES: Clinical laboratory results are required for critical medical decisions, underscoring the importance of quality results. As part of total quality management, external quality assessment (EQA) is a vital component to ensure laboratory accuracy. The goal of this survey was to evaluate the current status of global laboratory quality systems and assess the need for implementation, expansion, or harmonization of EQA programs (EQAP) for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine. METHODS: The International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC) Task Force on Global Laboratory Quality (TF-GLQ) conducted a survey of IFCC full and affiliate members (n=110) on laboratory quality practice. A total of 41 (37.3%) countries representing all IFCC regions except North America provided responses about EQA availability and practices. RESULTS: All 41 countries perform EQA, 38 reported that their laboratories had EQA policies and procedures, and 39 further act/evaluate unacceptable EQA results. 39 countries indicated they have international and/or national EQAP and 30 use alternative performance assessments. EQA frequency varied among countries. Generally, an EQAP provided the EQA materials (40/41) with four countries indicating that they did not have an EQAP in their country. CONCLUSIONS: Globally, most laboratories participate in an EQAP and have defined quality procedures for EQA. There remain gaps in EQA material availability and implementation of EQA as a part of a total laboratory quality system. This survey highlights the need for education, training, and harmonization and will guide efforts of the IFCC TF-GLQ in identifying areas for enhancing global laboratory quality practices.

Stakeholder and Equity Data-Driven Implementation: a Mixed Methods Pilot Feasibility Study.

We conducted a mixed methods pilot feasibility study of a Stakeholder and Equity Data-Driven Implementation (SEDDI) process to facilitate using healthcare data to identify patient groups experiencing gaps in the use of evidence-based interventions (EBIs) and rapidly adapt EBIs to achieve greater access and equitable outcomes. We evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of SEDDI in a pilot hybrid type 2 effectiveness-implementation trial of a paired colorectal cancer (CRC) and social needs screening intervention at four federally qualified community health centers (CHCs). An external facilitator partnered with CHC teams to support initial implementation, followed by the SEDDI phase focused on advancing health equity. Facilitation sessions were delivered over 8 months. Preliminary evaluation of SEDDI involved convergent mixed methods with quantitative survey and focus group data. CHCs used data to identify gaps in outreach and completion of CRC screening with respect to race/ethnicity, gender, age, and language. Adaptations to improve access and use of the intervention included cultural, linguistic, and health literacy tailoring. CHC teams reported that facilitation and systematic review of data were helpful in identifying and prioritizing gaps. None of the four CHCs completed rapid cycle testing of adaptations largely due to competing priorities during the COVID-19 response. SEDDI has the potential for advancing chronic disease prevention and management by providing a stakeholder and data-driven approach to identify and prioritize health equity targets and guide adaptations to improve health equity. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04585919.

Analytical performance specifications for external quality assessment - definitions and descriptions.

External Quality Assurance (EQA) is vital to ensure acceptable analytical quality in medical laboratories. A key component of an EQA scheme is an analytical performance specification (APS) for each measurand that a laboratory can use to assess the extent of deviation of the obtained results from the target value. A consensus conference held in Milan in 2014 has proposed three models to set APS and these can be applied to setting APS for EQA. A goal arising from this conference is the harmonisation of EQA APS between different schemes to deliver consistent quality messages to laboratories irrespective of location and the choice of EQA provider. At this time there are wide differences in the APS used in different EQA schemes for the same measurands. Contributing factors to this variation are that the APS in different schemes are established using different criteria, applied to different types of data (e.g. single data points, multiple data points), used for different goals (e.g. improvement of analytical quality; licensing), and with the aim of eliciting different responses from participants. This paper provides recommendations from the European Federation of Laboratory Medicine (EFLM) Task and Finish Group on Performance Specifications for External Quality Assurance Schemes (TFG-APSEQA) and on clear terminology for EQA APS. The recommended terminology covers six elements required to understand APS: 1) a statement on the EQA material matrix and its commutability; 2) the method used to assign the target value; 3) the data set to which APS are applied; 4) the applicable analytical property being assessed (i.e. total error, bias, imprecision, uncertainty); 5) the rationale for the selection of the APS; and 6) the type of the Milan model(s) used to set the APS. The terminology is required for EQA participants and other interested parties to understand the meaning of meeting or not meeting APS.

Assessment of a semi-quantitative screening method for diagnosis of ethylene glycol poisoning.

Background Ethylene glycol poisoning remains a rare but important presentation to acute toxicology units. Guidelines recommended that ethylene glycol should be available as an 'urgent' test within 4 h, but these are difficult to deliver in practice. This study assessed a semi-quantitative enzymatic spectrophotometric assay for ethylene glycol compatible with automated platforms. Methods The ethylene glycol method was assessed in 21 samples from patients with an increased anion gap and metabolic acidosis not due to ethylene glycol ingestion, and seven samples known to contain ethylene glycol. All samples were analysed in random order in a blinded manner to their origin on a laboratory spectrophotometer. Results In this study, seven samples were known to contain ethylene glycol at concentrations >100 mg/L. The method correctly identified all seven samples as containing ethylene glycol. No false-positives were observed. Thirteen samples gave clear negative results. Ethylene glycol was present at <20 mg/L in one sample, but this sample remained within the limits of the negative control. Passing-Bablock correlation of estimates of ethylene glycol concentration against results obtained when the samples had been analysed using the quantitative method on an automated analyser showed a good correlation (R = 0.84) but with an apparent under-recovery. Conclusions A semi-quantitative assay for ethylene glycol was able to discriminate well between samples containing ethylene glycol and those with other causes of acidosis. It is a practical small-scale assay for rapid identification of cases of ethylene glycol poisoning.