Synthesizing Core Outcome Sets for outcomes research in cohort studies: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Life course studies are designed to "collect once, use multiple times" for observational and, increasingly, interventional research. Core Outcome Sets (COS) are minimum sets developed for clinical trials by multi-stakeholder consensus methodologies. We aimed to synthesize published COS that might guide outcomes selection for early life cohorts with an interventional focus. METHODS: We searched PubMed, Medline, COMET, and CROWN for COS published before January 2021 relevant to four life stages (pregnancy, newborns, children <8 years, and parents (adults aged 18-50 years)). We synthesized core outcomes into overarching constructs. RESULTS: From 46 COS we synthesized 414 core outcomes into 118 constructs. "Quality of life", "adverse events", "medication use", "hospitalization", and "mortality" were consistent across all stages. For pregnancy, common constructs included "preterm birth", "delivery mode", "pre-eclampsia", "gestational weight gain", "gestational diabetes", and "hemorrhage"; for newborns, "birthweight", "small for gestational age", "neurological damage", and "morbidity" and "infection/sepsis"; for pediatrics, "pain", "gastrointestinal morbidity", "growth/weight", "breastfeeding", "feeding problems", "hearing", "neurodevelopmental morbidity", and "social development"; and for adults, "disease burden", "mental health", "neurological function/stroke", and "cardiovascular health/morbidity". CONCLUSION: This COS synthesis generated outcome constructs that are of high value to stakeholders (participants, health providers, services), relevant to life course research, and could position cohorts for trial capabilities. IMPACT: We synthesized existing Core Outcome Sets as a transparent methodology that could prioritize outcomes for lifecourse cohorts with an interventional focus. "Quality of life", "adverse events", "medication use", "hospitalization", and "mortality" are important outcomes across pregnancy, newborns, childhood, and early-to-mid-adulthood (the age range relevant to parents). Other common outcomes (such as "birthweight", "cognitive function/ability", "psychological health") are also highly relevant to lifecourse research. This synthesis could assist new early life cohorts to pre-select outcomes that are of high value to stakeholders (participants, health providers, services), are relevant to lifecourse research, and could position them for future trials and interventional capability.

Australian healthcare workers experiences of peer support during COVID-19: Hand-n-Hand peer support.

INTRODUCTION: Founded at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hand-n-Hand Peer Support (HnH) offers free, confidential peer support to healthcare workers (HCWs) across Australia and New Zealand. This survey aimed to evaluate HCWs experiences of peer support and collect demographic data about what groups of HCWs were seeking support. METHODS: An online survey was conducted in November 2021 of HCWs who were either active or past HnH participants (n = 158). Questions included 5-point Likert scales, multiple choice and free text responses. RESULTS: We received 66 responses (42% response rate). The median age range of respondents was 41-45 years and most were female (87.9%). Most respondents (57.4%) reported experiencing no barriers to accessing peer support. The vast majority (81.4%) of HCWs reported a 'good' or 'very good' peer support experience. Respondents felt peer support helped in multiple ways, particularly in feeling less alone and having a safe space to discuss issues. CONCLUSION: Australian HCWs accessing peer support tended to be female and more senior clinicians. Most HCWs engaged in HnH reported overall very positive experiences. Our survey helped to identify several areas for improvement in HnH, including clearer marketing about peer support and more targeted triage assessments.