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1.
BMC Med Inform Decis Mak ; 24(1): 130, 2024 May 21.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38773562

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: In Indonesia, the adoption of telepharmacy was propelled by the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting the need for a user-friendly application to support both the general population and pharmacists in accessing healthcare services. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate usability and user feedback of a pioneering telepharmacy application known as Tanya Obat (translating to "Ask about Medications") in Indonesia, from the perspectives of the general population and pharmacists. METHODS: A mixed-methods sequential study was conducted with the early-stage Tanya Obat application in Bandung City. Participants, including the general population and pharmacists, were instructed to use the application for a week. Questionnaires for the general population and pharmacists were distributed from March to May and February to June 2023, respectively. The System Usability Scale questionnaire was adopted to describe usability of the developed application. Further exploration of the quantitative results required collecting open-ended feedback to assess the impressions of the participants, difficulties encountered, and desired features for enhanced user-friendliness. The collected statements were summarized and clustered using thematic analysis. Subsequently, the association between the characteristics of participants and perceived usability was determined with the Chi-square test. RESULT: A total of 176 participants, comprising 100 individuals from the general population and 76 pharmacists, engaged in this study. In terms of usability, the questionnaire showed that Tanya Obat application was on the borderline of acceptability, with mean scores of 63.4 and 64.1 from the general population and pharmacists, respectively. Additionally, open-ended feedback targeted at achieving a more compelling user experience was categorized into two themes, including concerns regarding the functionality of certain features and recommendations for improved visual aesthetics and bug fixes. No significant associations were observed between the characteristics of participants and perceived usability (p-value > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The results showed that the perceived usability of Tanya Obat developed for telepharmacy was below average. Therefore, feature optimizations should be performed to facilitate usability of this application in Indonesia.


Subject(s)
Pharmacists , Telemedicine , Humans , Indonesia , Telemedicine/standards , Female , Adult , Male , COVID-19 , Middle Aged , Surveys and Questionnaires , User-Computer Interface , Young Adult
2.
Hum Resour Health ; 22(1): 29, 2024 May 21.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38773594

ABSTRACT

Undoubtedly, the mental health of healthcare workers (HCWs) was negatively affected because of caring for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, literature is limited on mapping the challenges and needs of HCWs during COVID-19 pandemic. A widely used framework in public health for mapping evidence includes the socio-ecological models, suggesting behavior can be influenced by individual, interpersonal, organizational, and community factors. The aim of this rapid scoping review was to use the socio-ecological model to map and compile lessons learnt from the literature regarding primarily the challenges and needs and secondly available psychological interventions for HCWs caring for COVID-19 patients. PubMed, CINAHL and Scopus databases were searched, with 21 studies finally included examining challenges and needs of HCWs and 18 studies presenting psychological interventions. Organizational-level challenges and needs such as inadequate staff preparation and supplies of protective equipment, flexible work policies and paid rest periods were the most reported. Individual-level challenges and needs included COVID-19-related fears and reduced mental health, whereas interpersonal-related needs included support provision. Community-level challenges included societal stigma. Certain psychological interventions were found to be promising for HCWs, but these were utilized to address only individual-level challenges and needs. Given that well-being entails an interaction of factors, multi-level interventions addressing multiple socio-ecological levels (interpersonal, organizational, community) and that place HCWs in their social context should be administrated to increase and maintain intervention' effects long-term and possibly aid in better coping with future pandemics.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Health Personnel , SARS-CoV-2 , Humans , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/therapy , Health Personnel/psychology , Mental Health , Pandemics
3.
J Health Psychol ; : 13591053241227003, 2024 Jan 28.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38282383

ABSTRACT

Medication adherence (MA) to recommended treatment is a multi-faceted problem and an ongoing challenge for healthcare providers (HCPs) to monitor. This qualitative study with 10 HCPs in Cyprus aims to explore HCPs' perceptions and strategies used on addressing medication non-adherence (MNA) in patients with chronic conditions. Two main themes emerged from the analysis reflecting the ways that HCPs described their reactions to MNA of their patients: (1) "Relying on information provision to improve MA" and (2) "Trying to understand patients' perspective." HCPs reported empathizing with patients and engaging in discussions to understand patients' perspective and reasons for MNA, so as to explore alternative solutions. Simultaneously, some HCPs reflected that the techniques used to improve MA are solely centered around information on medication and side-effects. HCPs experienced an internal conflict between providing patient-centered care versus using directive approaches to improve MA. Findings suggest how HCPs could thoroughly address patients' individual barriers.

4.
Hum Vaccin Immunother ; 19(2): 2260038, 2023 08.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37758300

ABSTRACT

Vaccination attitudes and uptake can spread within social networks. This study aims to understand the perceived social contagion mechanisms of vaccination uptake in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. Eleven semi-structured interviews were conducted following a purposive sampling of three hesitant, three anti- COVID-19 vaccine and five pro- COVID-19 vaccine (27% females). Thematic Analysis suggested two general themes reflecting the type of contagion: 1) information contagion and 2) behavior contagion. Transcending these themes was the notion of ownership of choice/decision. Almost all participants used the media and experts as the main source of information regarding vaccination. They influenced - and they were being influenced by - friends and family members with whom they share similar traits and attitudes and have a close relationship of trust and intimacy. Also, being exposed to positive attitudes and beliefs toward vaccination and COVID-19 vaccines, enhanced vaccination behaviors. However, the vaccination decision-making process was not perceived as a passive process - there was ownership over the decisions made. This study highlights the perceived mechanisms of social contagion. It also suggests that the meaning individuals pose on their social world is crucial on their decision-making. Policymakers are advised to consider including social networks of individuals and trusted sources (i.e. healthcare providers) when delivering interventions or educational campaigns on vaccinations.


The social contagion theory suggests that people's attitudes and behaviors can spread from one individual to another in different types of social networks such as families, schools and communities. This study explores how this theory can be applied in vaccination for COVID-19 using a series of interviews with individuals in Cyprus that hold differing views about vaccinations. Participants were screened first on their attitudes toward vaccines and therefore purposively recruited individuals who hold positive, negative and hesitant views toward vaccines. A sample of 11 interviews were included for analysis. Study participants first provided information on their exposure to information about vaccines mainly from the media and the web and most discussed their concerns with a healthcare provider whom they consider the most trusted source of information irrespective of their personal views about vaccines. They further elaborated that other influences such as politicians were not perceived as experts. Participants were mostly influenced on their decision to vaccinate by their family and friends thus those with whom they trusted more and felt more intimate with or they share similar views with. Participants finally demonstrated that exposure to positive attitudes had an impact on themselves and contributed to vaccination. Therefore the meaning people pose on their surrounding world is of utmost importance on their decision-making. In terms of policymaking this study suggests that public health interventions could include trusted sources when delivering campaigns and interventions.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 Vaccines , COVID-19 , Female , Humans , Male , COVID-19/prevention & control , Pandemics , Vaccination , Educational Status
5.
Sci Rep ; 13(1): 12194, 2023 07 27.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37500807

ABSTRACT

This study aims to understand the levels of fear experienced by individuals regarding future pandemics and/or epidemics among the general population of Cyprus and comprehensively examine the diverse factors that influence this perceived fear. The cross-sectional study was conducted from October 1st, 2022, to February 19th, 2023. A proportionate quota sampling method was used for the recruitment, by recruiting a fixed number of participants from each age group, sex, and place of residence. The study collected information on sociodemographic and health-related characteristics, health literacy, trust, COVID-19 vaccination information, and perceived fear of future epidemics and/or pandemics using a self-administered questionnaire. The survey included 1075 participants, with 53.7% of them reporting fear of future pandemics. Logistic regression analysis revealed that women (OR = 2.37, 95% CI 1.78, 3.16) and individuals vaccinated against COVID-19 (OR = 1.57, 95% CI 1.02, 2.43) were significantly more likely to experience fear of future pandemics. Moreover, higher levels of trust (OR = 1.04, 95% CI 1.02, 1.06) and higher health literacy (OR = 1.05, 95% CI 1.03, 1.08) were associated with an increased likelihood of fearing future pandemics. Conversely, unemployment (OR = 0.30, 95% CI 0.13, 0.65) and having a postgraduate education decreased the likelihood of fearing future pandemics (OR = 0.56, 95% CI 0.34, 0.90). The linear regression model revealed that older age (ß = - 0.10, 95% CI - 0.14, - 0.05) was negatively associated with a higher score of fear regarding future pandemics. Conversely, being in a vulnerable group (ß = 2.02, 95% CI 0.75, 3.28) and having at least one chronic disease (ß = 1.76, 95% CI 0.68, 2.84) showed positive associations with increased fear of future epidemics and/or pandemics. The findings emphasize the need for relevant authorities to prioritize mental health and disseminate information in a manner that avoids spreading fear and panic, particularly among vulnerable population groups.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Pandemics , Humans , Female , Cross-Sectional Studies , Cyprus/epidemiology , COVID-19 Vaccines , COVID-19/epidemiology , Fear
7.
PLoS One ; 18(4): e0284433, 2023.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37068083

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: We aim to understand the factors that drive citizens of different countries to adhere to recommended self-protective behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Survey data was obtained through the COVID-19 Impact project. We selected countries that presented a sufficiently complete time series and a statistically relevant sample for running the analysis: Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. To identify country-specific differences in self-protective behaviors, we used previous evidence and change-point detection analysis to establish variations across participating countries whose effect was then assessed by means of interrupted series analysis. RESULTS: A high level of compliance with health and governmental authorities' recommendations were generally observed in all included countries. The level of stress decreased near the period when countries such as Cyprus, Greece or the United Kingdom relaxed their prevention behavior recommendations. However, this relaxation of behaviors did not occur in countries such as Germany, Ireland, or the United States. As observed in the change-point detection analysis, when the daily number of recorded COVID-19 cases decreased, people relaxed their protective behaviors (Cyprus, Greece, Ireland), although the opposite trend was observed in Switzerland. DISCUSSION: COVID-19 self-protective behaviors were heterogeneous across countries examined. Our findings show that there is probably no single winning strategy for exiting future health crises, as similar interventions, aimed to promote self-protective behaviors, may be received differently depending on the specific population groups and on the particular geographical context in which they are implemented.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Humans , United States/epidemiology , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/prevention & control , Pandemics/prevention & control , Surveys and Questionnaires , Government , Perception
8.
Global Health ; 19(1): 25, 2023 04 17.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37069677

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Identifying common factors that affect public adherence to COVID-19 containment measures can directly inform the development of official public health communication strategies. The present international longitudinal study aimed to examine whether prosociality, together with other theoretically derived motivating factors (self-efficacy, perceived susceptibility and severity of COVID-19, perceived social support) predict the change in adherence to COVID-19 containment strategies. METHOD: In wave 1 of data collection, adults from eight geographical regions completed online surveys beginning in April 2020, and wave 2 began in June and ended in September 2020. Hypothesized predictors included prosociality, self-efficacy in following COVID-19 containment measures, perceived susceptibility to COVID-19, perceived severity of COVID-19 and perceived social support. Baseline covariates included age, sex, history of COVID-19 infection and geographical regions. Participants who reported adhering to specific containment measures, including physical distancing, avoidance of non-essential travel and hand hygiene, were classified as adherence. The dependent variable was the category of adherence, which was constructed based on changes in adherence across the survey period and included four categories: non-adherence, less adherence, greater adherence and sustained adherence (which was designated as the reference category). RESULTS: In total, 2189 adult participants (82% female, 57.2% aged 31-59 years) from East Asia (217 [9.7%]), West Asia (246 [11.2%]), North and South America (131 [6.0%]), Northern Europe (600 [27.4%]), Western Europe (322 [14.7%]), Southern Europe (433 [19.8%]), Eastern Europe (148 [6.8%]) and other regions (96 [4.4%]) were analyzed. Adjusted multinomial logistic regression analyses showed that prosociality, self-efficacy, perceived susceptibility and severity of COVID-19 were significant factors affecting adherence. Participants with greater self-efficacy at wave 1 were less likely to become non-adherence at wave 2 by 26% (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.74; 95% CI, 0.71 to 0.77; P < .001), while those with greater prosociality at wave 1 were less likely to become less adherence at wave 2 by 23% (aOR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.75 to 0.79; P = .04). CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence that in addition to emphasizing the potential severity of COVID-19 and the potential susceptibility to contact with the virus, fostering self-efficacy in following containment strategies and prosociality appears to be a viable public health education or communication strategy to combat COVID-19.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Adult , Humans , Female , Male , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/prevention & control , SARS-CoV-2 , Pandemics/prevention & control , Longitudinal Studies , Europe , Surveys and Questionnaires
9.
Br J Health Psychol ; 28(4): 952-971, 2023 Nov.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37060265

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Recommendations for exclusive breastfeeding are not often adhered to despite the robust evidence of its benefits. This systematic review aims to collate evidence on the attitudes mothers and health care providers have towards breastfeeding interventions to understand what aspects best contribute to acceptability and feasibility. METHODS: This review further investigates the value of identifiable behaviour change techniques (BCTs) to uncover which components of an intervention are perceived to be most useful and acceptable. The main biomedical databases were searched, and 17 (n = 17) studies met the inclusion criteria. RESULTS: A total of nine BCTs were identified within the interventions. The thematic analysis produced four main domains: usefulness, accessibility, value and sustainability. Women discussed the importance of the support they received in these interventions and demonstrated a positive view towards three BCTs: 'social support (unspecified)', 'instruction on how to perform behaviour' and 'demonstration of behaviour'. Additionally, women highlighted the benefit of personal, non-clinical and flexible emotional and practical support from peers, lactation consultants and support groups. Health care providers echoed these opinions and specifically highlighted the usefulness of interventions that allowed for continuity of care and more personal breastfeeding support. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that ongoing practical as well as emotional support is crucial for standard in-hospital support to succeed at increasing breastfeeding rates. Future research would need to better understand the nuances of the interventions among women and providers to enhance their implementation.

10.
Gen Hosp Psychiatry ; 82: 47-61, 2023.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36958130

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: To date, dozens of systematic reviews (SRs) and meta-analyses (MAs) summarize the effectiveness of preventive interventions for perinatal depression. However, the results are inconclusive, making an urgent need to step up to higher levels of evidence synthesis. AIMS: To summarize and compare the evidence from the SR&MA examining the effectiveness of all types of interventions for preventing perinatal depression. METHOD: PubMed, PsycINFO, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and OpenGrey were searched from inception to December 2022. We selected SR&MA of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared all types of preventive interventions for perinatal depression with control groups whose outcome was the reduction of depressive symptoms and/or incidence of new cases of perinatal depression (PROSPERO: CRD42020173125). RESULTS: A total of 19 SRs and MAs evaluated 152 unique RCTs that included 83,408 women from 26 countries and five continents. The median effect size for any intervention was SMD = 0.29 (95% CI: 0.20 to 0.38). Exercise/physical activity-based, psychological, and any type of intervention showed median effect sizes of 0.43, 0.28 and 0.36, respectively. The degree of overlap among RCTs was slight. According to AMSTAR-2, 79% of them were rated as low or critically low-quality. The strength of evidence, according to GRADE, was poorly reported and, in most cases, was low. CONCLUSIONS: Exercise/physical activity-based and psychological interventions have a small-to-medium effect on reducing perinatal depressive symptoms. There is insufficient evidence to conclude that dietary supplements and pharmacological interventions are effective in preventing perinatal depression. There is a need for high-quality SR&MA of RCTs, mainly focusing on universal preventive interventions.


Subject(s)
Depression , Depressive Disorder , Female , Humans , Pregnancy , Depression/prevention & control , Depression/diagnosis , Depressive Disorder/prevention & control , Depressive Disorder/diagnosis , Psychosocial Intervention , Systematic Reviews as Topic , Meta-Analysis as Topic
11.
Syst Rev ; 12(1): 56, 2023 03 28.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36973729

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Systematic reviews (SRs) are invaluable evidence syntheses, widely used in biomedicine and other scientific areas. Tremendous resources are being spent on the production and updating of SRs. There is a continuous need to automatize the process and use the workforce and resources to make it faster and more efficient. METHODS: Information gathered by previous EVBRES research was used to construct a questionnaire for round 1 which was partly quantitative, partly qualitative. Fifty five experienced SR authors were invited to participate in a Delphi study (DS) designed to identify the most promising areas and methods to improve the efficient production and updating of SRs. Topic questions focused on which areas of SRs are most time/effort/resource intensive and should be prioritized in further research. Data were analysed using NVivo 12 plus, Microsoft Excel 2013 and SPSS. Thematic analysis findings were used on the topics on which agreement was not reached in round 1 in order to prepare the questionnaire for round 2. RESULTS: Sixty percent (33/55) of the invited participants completed round 1; 44% (24/55) completed round 2. Participants reported average of 13.3 years of experience in conducting SRs (SD 6.8). More than two thirds of the respondents agreed/strongly agreed the following topics should be prioritized: extracting data, literature searching, screening abstracts, obtaining and screening full texts, updating SRs, finding previous SRs, translating non-English studies, synthesizing data, project management, writing the protocol, constructing the search strategy and critically appraising. Participants have not considered following areas as priority: snowballing, GRADE-ing, writing SR, deduplication, formulating SR question, performing meta-analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Data extraction was prioritized by the majority of participants as an area that needs more research/methods development. Quality of available language translating tools has dramatically increased over the years (Google translate, DeepL). The promising new tool for snowballing emerged (Citation Chaser). Automation cannot substitute human judgement where complex decisions are needed (GRADE-ing). TRIAL REGISTRATION: Study protocol was registered at https://osf.io/bp2hu/ .


Subject(s)
Records , Research Design , Humans , Surveys and Questionnaires
12.
Behav Med ; 49(4): 362-373, 2023.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35546258

ABSTRACT

Vaccination hesitancy is an important barrier for the effective control of the COVID-19 pandemic. Identifying determinants of COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy is essential in order to reduce mortality rates. Further, given the variability of the factors and the different recommendations used in each country, it is important to conduct cross-country research to profile individuals who are hesitant toward COVID-19 vaccinations. This cross-sectional study aimed to examine cross-country differences and the behavioral, attitudinal and demographic characteristics of vaccine hesitant individuals. Adults living in six European countries (Cyprus, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Spain) were eligible to participate. A total of 832 individuals completed the online survey, with 17.9% reporting being hesitant to COVID-19 vaccination. Vaccine accepters were significantly older (M = 38.9, SD = 14.3), more educated (master/postgraduate studies) and lived in a place with a higher number of residents (>500,000 people) compared to those hesitant to COVID-19 vaccination. Discriminant analysis confirmed that the hesitant profile includes a person of younger age, living alone in smaller communities, and without children. Additionally, hesitant participants reported COVID-19-specific characteristics such as lower institutional trust, less adherence to COVID-19 protective behaviors and higher pandemic fatigue. When tackling COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy both socio-demographic and behavioral/attitudinal aspects should be taken into account. Stakeholders are advised to implement targeted vaccination programs while at the same time building trust with population illness cognitions addressed in order to reduce hesitancy rates. Further, stakeholders and public health authorities in each country are suggested to target interventions according to different population characteristics as behavioral and attitudinal determinants of COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy differed between countries.

13.
Pilot Feasibility Stud ; 8(1): 175, 2022 Aug 09.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35945609

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: To outline the planning, development and optimisation of a psycho-educational behavioural intervention for patients on active surveillance for prostate cancer. The intervention aimed to support men manage active surveillance-related psychological distress. METHODS: The person-based approach (PBA) was used as the overarching guiding methodological framework for intervention development. Evidence-based methods were incorporated to improve robustness. The process commenced with data gathering activities comprising the following four components: • A systematic review and meta-analysis of depression and anxiety in prostate cancer • A cross-sectional survey on depression and anxiety in active surveillance • A review of existing interventions in the field • A qualitative study with the target audience The purpose of this paper is to bring these components together and describe how they facilitated the establishment of key guiding principles and a logic model, which underpinned the first draft of the intervention. RESULTS: The prototype intervention, named PROACTIVE, consists of six Internet-based sessions run concurrently with three group support sessions. The sessions cover the following topics: lifestyle (diet and exercise), relaxation and resilience techniques, talking to friends and family, thoughts and feelings, daily life (money and work) and information about prostate cancer and active surveillance. The resulting intervention has been trialled in a feasibility study, the results of which are published elsewhere. CONCLUSIONS: The planning and development process is key to successful delivery of an appropriate, accessible and acceptable intervention. The PBA strengthened the intervention by drawing on target-user experiences to maximise acceptability and user engagement. This meticulous description in a clinical setting using this rigorous but flexible method is a useful demonstration for others developing similar interventions. TRIAL REGISTRATION AND ETHICAL APPROVAL: ISRCTN registered: ISRCTN38893965 . NRES Committee South Central - Oxford A. REC reference: 11/SC/0355.

15.
Int J Infect Dis ; 122: 356-364, 2022 Sep.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35709963

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: In times of unprecedented infectious disease threats, it is essential to understand how to increase individual protective behaviors and support for collective measures. The present study therefore examines factors associated with individual and collective pathways. METHODS: Data was collected through an online survey from 4483 participants (70.8% female, M = 41.2 years) across 10 countries from April 15, 2020 to June 2, 2020 as part of the "EUCLID" project (https://euclid.dbvis.de). Structural equation modeling was used to examine individual and collective pathways across and within countries. RESULTS: Overall, the adoption of individual protective behaviors and support for collective measures were high. Risk perception on the individual level and perceived effectiveness at the collective level were positively associated with both individual protective behaviors and support for collective measures. Furthermore, the model explained considerable variance in individual (40.7%) and collective protective behaviors (40.8%) and was largely replicated across countries. CONCLUSIONS: The study extends previous research by demonstrating that individual risk perception and perceived effectiveness of collective measures jointly affect individual protective health behaviors and support for collective measures. These findings highlight the need to jointly consider a variety of behavioral actions against infectious disease threats, acknowledging interactions between individual and collective pathways.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/prevention & control , Female , Health Behavior , Humans , Male , Pandemics/prevention & control , Surveys and Questionnaires
16.
BMC Med Educ ; 22(1): 365, 2022 May 13.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35550085

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Use of virtual patient educational tools could fill the current gap in the teaching of clinical reasoning skills. However, there is a limited understanding of their effectiveness. The aim of this study was to synthesise the evidence to understand the effectiveness of virtual patient tools aimed at improving undergraduate medical students' clinical reasoning skills. METHODS: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, ERIC, Scopus, Web of Science and PsycINFO from 1990 to January 2022, to identify all experimental articles testing the effectiveness of virtual patient educational tools on medical students' clinical reasoning skills. Quality of the articles was assessed using an adapted form of the MERSQI and the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. A narrative synthesis summarised intervention features, how virtual patient tools were evaluated and reported effectiveness. RESULTS: The search revealed 8,186 articles, with 19 articles meeting the inclusion criteria. Average study quality was moderate (M = 6.5, SD = 2.7), with nearly half not reporting any measurement of validity or reliability for their clinical reasoning outcome measure (8/19, 42%). Eleven articles found a positive effect of virtual patient tools on reasoning (11/19, 58%). Four reported no significant effect and four reported mixed effects (4/19, 21%). Several domains of clinical reasoning were evaluated. Data gathering, ideas about diagnosis and patient management were more often found to improve after virtual patient use (34/47 analyses, 72%) than application of knowledge, flexibility in thinking and problem-solving (3/7 analyses, 43%). CONCLUSIONS: Using virtual patient tools could effectively complement current teaching especially if opportunities for face-to-face teaching or other methods are limited, as there was some evidence that virtual patient educational tools can improve undergraduate medical students' clinical reasoning skills. Evaluations that measured more case specific clinical reasoning domains, such as data gathering, showed more consistent improvement than general measures like problem-solving. Case specific measures might be more sensitive to change given the context dependent nature of clinical reasoning. Consistent use of validated clinical reasoning measures is needed to enable a meta-analysis to estimate effectiveness.


Subject(s)
Students, Medical , Clinical Competence , Clinical Reasoning , Humans , Problem Solving , Reproducibility of Results
17.
Soc Sci Med ; 303: 114946, 2022 06.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35605431

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: Physical distancing, defined as keeping 1-2m apart when co-located, can prevent cases of droplet or aerosol transmitted infectious diseases such as SARS-CoV2. During the COVID-19 pandemic, distancing was a recommendation or a requirement in many countries. This systematic review aimed to determine which interventions and behavior change techniques (BCTs) are effective in promoting adherence to distancing and through which potential mechanisms of action (MOAs). METHODS: Six databases were searched. The review included studies that were (a) conducted on humans, (b) reported physical distancing interventions, (c) included any comparator (e.g., pre-intervention versus post-intervention; randomized controlled trial), and (d) reported actual distancing or predictors of distancing behavior. Risk of bias was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. BCTs and potential MoAs were identified in each intervention. RESULTS: Six articles (with seven studies and 19 comparisons) indicated that distancing interventions could successfully change MoAs and behavior. Successful BCTs (MoAs) included feedback on behavior (e.g., motivation); information about health consequences, salience of health consequences (e.g., beliefs about consequences), demonstration (e.g., beliefs about capabilities), and restructuring the physical environment (e.g., environmental context and resources). The most promising interventions were proximity buzzers, directional systems, and posters with loss-framed messages that demonstrated the behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: The evidence indicates several BCTs and potential MoAs that should be targeted in interventions and highlights gaps that should be the focus of future research.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Communicable Diseases , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/prevention & control , Humans , Pandemics/prevention & control , Physical Distancing , RNA, Viral , SARS-CoV-2
18.
Front Psychol ; 13: 718422, 2022.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35360583

ABSTRACT

Considering the high impact strain that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has put on medical personnel worldwide, identifying means to alleviate stress on healthcare professionals and to boost their subjective and psychological wellbeing is more relevant than ever. This study investigates the extent to which the relationships between the status of working in healthcare and the subjective and psychological wellbeing are serially mediated by work recovery experiences and the need for recovery. Data were collected from 217 Romanian employees (44 health professionals and 173 employees from other domains) using a cross-sectional design with self-report instruments, during the first stage of the nationwide lockdown. The results of the serial mediation analyses revealed that working in the medical field is indirectly related to subjective and psychological wellbeing through the following: (i) mastery experiences and (ii) mastery experiences as an antecedent of the need for recovery. As such, our findings indicate that (i) working in the medical field is, in fact, linked to healthcare professionals' subjective and psychological wellbeing, and they provide some input on (ii) how recovery experiences and the need for recovery intervene in these relationships. Based on these findings, theoretical, methodological, and practical implications were suggested, and future research directions were proposed to maximize healthcare professionals' wellbeing.

19.
Breast Cancer ; 29(2): 193-208, 2022 Mar.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34989962

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Despite evidence that physical activity (PA) can help reduce recurrence and mortality, many breast cancer survivors are less active than recommended levels. The aim of this systematic review is to advance our understanding of which behaviour change techniques (BCTs) have been used in interventions promoting breast cancer survivors' PA and to evaluate their potential to increase PA. METHODS: A systematic search was conducted in five databases (Medline; PsycInfo; Embase; CINAHL and Scopus) for studies published between 2005 and 2019. Following a rigorous screening process, 27 studies were retained. These were reviewed and analysed for quality, coded for BCTs (k = 0.65) and interventions categorised according to their potential to increase PA using an established methodology. RESULTS: The majority of studies were moderate quality (64%). Demonstration on how to perform the behaviour was the most commonly used BCT (n = 23). Adding objects to the environment, (pedometer or accelerometer) was the BCT with the highest potential to increase PA. This was followed by, goal setting and self-monitoring of behaviour. A theory-based approach to evaluation was used in only 59% (n = 16) of the studies. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this review inform which BCTs have the potential to increase PA for breast cancer survivors and inform intervention development. Future research, is encouraged to properly report intervention procedures around dose and frequency of intervention components to allow for review and replication.


Subject(s)
Breast Neoplasms , Cancer Survivors , Behavior Therapy , Breast Neoplasms/therapy , Exercise , Female , Humans , Survivors
20.
Ann Behav Med ; 56(12): 1201-1217, 2022 11 18.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34570875

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Medication nonadherence of patients with chronic conditions is a complex phenomenon contributing to increased economic burden and decreased quality of life. Intervention development relies on accurately assessing adherence but no "gold standard" method currently exists. PURPOSE: The present scoping review aimed to: (a) review and describe current methods of assessing medication adherence (MA) in patients with chronic conditions with the highest nonadherence rates (asthma, cancer, diabetes, epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, hypertension), (b) outline and compare the evidence on the quality indicators between assessment methods (e.g., sensitivity), and (c) provide evidence-based recommendations. METHODS: PubMed, PsycINFO and Scopus databases were screened, resulting in 62,592 studies of which 71 met criteria and were included. RESULTS: Twenty-seven self-report and 10 nonself-report measures were identified. The Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS-5) was found to be the most accurate self-report, whereas electronic monitoring devices such as Medication Event Monitoring System (MEMS) corresponded to the most accurate nonself-report. Higher MA rates were reported when assessed using self-reports compared to nonself-reports, except from pill counts. CONCLUSIONS: Professionals are advised to use a combination of self-report (like MARS-5) and nonself-report measures (like MEMS) as these were found to be the most accurate and reliable measures. This is the first review examining self and nonself-report methods for MA, across chronic conditions with the highest nonadherence rates and provides evidence-based recommendations. It highlights that MA assessment methods are understudied in certain conditions, like epilepsy. Before selecting a MA measure, professionals are advised to inspect its quality indicators. Feasibility of measures should be explored in future studies as there is presently a lack of evidence.


Subject(s)
Epilepsy , Quality of Life , Humans , Medication Adherence , Self Report , Chronic Disease
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