Factors within the clinical encounter that impact upon risk assessment within child and adolescent mental health services: a rapid realist synthesis.

Background: Risk assessment is a key process when a child or adolescent presents at risk for self-harm or suicide in a mental health crisis or emergency. Risk assessment by a healthcare professional should be included within a biopsychosocial assessment. However, the predictive value of risk-screening tools for self-harm and suicide in children and adolescents is consistently challenged. A review is needed to explore how best to undertake risk assessment and the appropriate role for tools/checklists within the assessment pathway. Aims: To map research relating to risk assessment for child and adolescent mental health and to identify features that relate to a successful risk assessment. Objectives: To review factors within the clinical encounter that impact upon risk assessments for self-harm and suicide in children and adolescents: i. to conduct a realist synthesis to understand mechanisms for risk assessment, why they occur and how they vary by context ii. to conduct a mapping review of primary studies/reviews to describe available tools of applicability to the UK. Data sources: Databases, including MEDLINE, PsycINFO®, EMBASE, CINAHL, HMIC, Science and Social Sciences Citation Index and the Cochrane Library, were searched (September 2021). Searches were also conducted for reports from websites. Review methods: A resource-constrained realist synthesis was conducted exploring factors that impact upon risk assessments for self-harm and suicide. This was accompanied by a mapping review of primary studies/reviews describing risk-assessment tools and approaches used in UK child and adolescent mental health. Following piloting, four reviewers screened retrieved records. Items were coded for the mapping and/or for inclusion in the realist synthesis. The review team examined the validity and limitations of risk-screening tools. In addition, the team identified structured approaches to risk assessment. Reporting of the realist synthesis followed RAMESES guidelines. Results: From 4084 unique citations, 249 papers were reviewed and 41 studies (49 tools) were included in the mapping review. Eight reviews were identified following full-text screening. Fifty-seven papers were identified for the realist review. Findings highlight 14 explanations (programme theories) for a successful risk assessment for self-harm and suicide. Forty-nine individual assessment tools/approaches were identified. Few tools were developed in the UK, specifically for children and adolescents. These lacked formal independent evaluation. No risk-screening tool is suitable for risk prediction; optimal approaches incorporate a relationship of trust, involvement of the family, where appropriate, and a patient-centred holistic approach. The objective of risk assessment should be elicitation of information to direct a risk formulation and care plan. Limitations: Many identified tools are well-established but lack scientific validity, particularly predictive validity, or clinical utility. Programme theories were generated rapidly from a survey of risk assessment. Conclusions: No single checklist/approach meets the needs of risk assessment for self-harm and suicide. A whole-system approach is required, informed by structured clinical judgement. Useful components include a holistic assessment within a climate of trust, facilitated by family involvement. Study registration: This study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42021276671. Funding: This award was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health and Social Care Delivery Research programme (NIHR award ref: NIHR135079) and is published in full in Health and Social Care Delivery Research; Vol. 12, No. 1. See the NIHR Funding and Awards website for further award information.

When young people up to 18 years of age present to health services, having tried to poison themselves, take an overdose or injure themselves, a health professional needs to work out whether this is likely to happen again (risk assessment). Lists of questions or things to look for (risk screening) have proved unreliable. Thorough discussion with the child or teenager may be helpful but takes much time. How can a health professional best use time spent with a young person to prevent further harm and make sure that they get the treatment that they need? This review focuses on young persons who use health services in the UK. Included studies report how health professionals work out whether young people are likely to harm themselves; either how to handle the overall discussion or to use memory aids or checklists (known as tools) to help the discussion. Tools developed in the USA many years ago have not been tested well enough with UK populations. Recent approaches within the UK are used inconsistently. Young persons do not like how they are assessed. Health professionals may use methods that have not been shown to work or use tools differently from how they were designed. This review identified 14 ways to help a young person have valued discussions with a health professional. Health professionals should not simply 'tick boxes'; tools should help them gain a full picture, including input from other family members. Health professionals should create a trusted relationship where the young person feels respected and heard. Tools should not label someone 'at risk' but should support care that reduces the risk of further harm. Health professionals should gather good-quality information that includes asking about thoughts of suicide. Staff should be supported by training, guidance and feedback from experienced colleagues.

Effectiveness of iodine-impregnated incise drapes for preventing surgical site infection in patients with clean or clean contaminated wounds: A systematic literature review and cost-consequence analysis.

BACKGROUND: Surgical site infection is a serious complication associated with significant morbidity, mortality and health care expenditure. AIMS: To determine the clinical effectiveness and economic impact of using iodine-impregnated incise drapes for preventing surgical site infection. METHODS: MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library and CINAHL databases were systematically searched. Critical appraisal and synthesis of clinical evidence informed a decision analytical cost-consequence model. FINDINGS: Nine studies were included in the systematic literature review. Evidence from cardiac surgery patients was considered appropriate to inform the cost analysis. The economic model evaluation estimated cost savings of £549 per patient with the iodophor-impregnated drape in the deterministic analysis and a mean cost saving per patient of £554,172 per 1000 in the probabilistic analysis. CONCLUSION: Using iodine-impregnated drapes in cardiac surgery patients may effectively reduce infections and provide cost-savings, but further research is required.

Equity in healthcare access and service coverage for older people: a scoping review of the conceptual literature.

There is currently no global review of the conceptual literature on the equity of healthcare coverage (including access) for older people. It is important to understand the factors affecting access to health and social care for this group, so that policy and service actions can be taken to reduce potential inequities. A scoping review of published and grey literature was conducted with the aim of summarising how health and social care service access and coverage for older people has been conceptualised. PubMed, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Web of Science, SciELO, LILACS, BIREME and Global Index Medicus were searched. Selection of sources and data charting were conducted independently by two reviewers. The database searches retrieved 10 517 citations; 32 relevant articles were identified for inclusion from a global evidence base. Data were summarised and a meta-framework and model produced listing concepts specific to equitable health and social care service coverage relating to older people. The meta-framework identified the following relevant factors: acceptability, affordability, appropriateness, availability and resources, awareness, capacity for decision-making, need, personal social and cultural circumstances, physical accessibility. This scoping review is relevant to the development and specification of policy for older people. It conceptualises those factors, such as acceptability and affordability, that affect an older person's ability and capacity to access integrated, person-centred health and social care services in a meaningful way. These factors should be taken into account when seeking to determine whether equity in service use or access is being achieved for older people.

Risk assessment models for venous thromboembolism in hospitalised adult patients: a systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: Hospital-acquired thrombosis accounts for a large proportion of all venous thromboembolism (VTE), with significant morbidity and mortality. This subset of VTE can be reduced through accurate risk assessment and tailored pharmacological thromboprophylaxis. This systematic review aimed to determine the comparative accuracy of risk assessment models (RAMs) for predicting VTE in patients admitted to hospital. METHODS: A systematic search was performed across five electronic databases (including MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library) from inception to February 2021. All primary validation studies were eligible if they examined the accuracy of a multivariable RAM (or scoring system) for predicting the risk of developing VTE in hospitalised inpatients. Two or more reviewers independently undertook study selection, data extraction and risk of bias assessments using the PROBAST (Prediction model Risk Of Bias ASsessment Tool) tool. We used narrative synthesis to summarise the findings. RESULTS: Among 6355 records, we included 51 studies, comprising 24 unique validated RAMs. The majority of studies included hospital inpatients who required medical care (21 studies), were undergoing surgery (15 studies) or receiving care for trauma (4 studies). The most widely evaluated RAMs were the Caprini RAM (22 studies), Padua prediction score (16 studies), IMPROVE models (8 studies), the Geneva risk score (4 studies) and the Kucher score (4 studies). C-statistics varied markedly between studies and between models, with no one RAM performing obviously better than other models. Across all models, C-statistics were often weak (<0.7), sometimes good (0.7-0.8) and a few were excellent (>0.8). Similarly, estimates for sensitivity and specificity were highly variable. Sensitivity estimates ranged from 12.0% to 100% and specificity estimates ranged from 7.2% to 100%. CONCLUSION: Available data suggest that RAMs have generally weak predictive accuracy for VTE. There is insufficient evidence and too much heterogeneity to recommend the use of any particular RAM. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: Steve Goodacre, Abdullah Pandor, Katie Sworn, Daniel Horner, Mark Clowes. A systematic review of venous thromboembolism RAMs for hospital inpatients. PROSPERO 2020 CRD42020165778. Available from https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=165778https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=165778.