BMJ Open
2044-6055
2044-6055
Anh Quốc
Cơ quản chủ quản: BMJ Publishing Group
Lĩnh vực:
Medicine (miscellaneous)
Phân tích ảnh hưởng
Thông tin về tạp chí
BMJ Open is a medical journal. We consider papers addressing research questions in clinical medicine, public health and epidemiology. We also welcome studies in health services research, health economics, surgery, qualitative research, research methods, medical education, medical publishing and any other field that directly addresses patient outcomes or the practice and delivery of healthcare. Our focus is on research that is relevant to patients and clinicians. We do not publish studies conducted in animals, laboratory studies not linked to patient outcomes, papers reporting solely physiological or biomechanical results from healthy participants, anatomy, cell biology or non-clinical psychology. All research study types are considered, from study protocols through phase I trials to meta-analyses. This includes specialist studies and studies reporting negative results.
Các bài báo tiêu biểu
Hearing Norton Sound: a community randomised trial protocol to address childhood hearing loss in rural Alaska Introduction The population in rural Alaska experiences a disproprionately high burden of infection-mediated hearing loss. While the state mandates school hearing screening, many children with hearing loss are not identified or are lost to follow-up before ever receiving treatment. A robust, tribally owned healthcare system exists in Alaska, but children with hearing loss must first be identified and referred for existing infrastructure to be used. This trial will evaluate a new school hearing screening and referral process in rural Alaska, with the goal of improving timely identification and treatment of childhood hearing loss. Methods and analysis Comparative effectiveness community randomised trial testing digital innovations to improve school hearing screening and referral in 15 communities in the Norton Sound region of northwest Alaska, with data collection from October 2017 to February 2020. All children (K-12) attending school in Bering Strait School District with parental informed consent and child assent will be eligible (target recruitment n=1500). Participating children will undergo both the current school hearing screen and new mobile health (mHealth) screen, with screening test validity evaluated against an audiometric assessment. Communities will be cluster randomised to continue the current primary care referral process or receive telemedicine referral for follow-up diagnosis and treatment. The primary outcome will be time to International Statistical Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, ear/hearing diagnosis from screening date, measured in days. Secondary outcomes will include: sensitivity and specificity of current school and mHealth screening protocols measured against a benchmark audiometric assessment (air and bone conduction audiometry, tympanometry and digital otoscopy); hearing loss prevalence; hearing-related quality of life; and school performance (AIMSweb). Intention-to-treat analysis will be used. Ethics and dissemination This study has been approved by the Institutional Review Boards of Alaska Area, Norton Sound and Duke University and is registered on clinicaltrials.gov. Results will be distributed with equal emphasis on scientific and community dissemination. Trial registration number NCT03309553 ; Pre-results.
Tập 9 Số 1 - Trang e023078 - 2019
mHealth application for improving treatment outcomes for patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Vietnam: an economic evaluation protocol for the V-SMART trial
Tập 13 Số 12 - Trang e076778 - 2023
Introduction The Strengthen the Management of Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis in Vietnam (V-SMART) trial is a randomised controlled trial of using mobile health (mHealth) technologies to improve adherence to medications and management of adverse events (AEs) in people with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) undergoing treatment in Vietnam. This economic evaluation seeks to quantify the cost-effectiveness of this mHealth intervention from a healthcare provider and societal perspective.
Methods and analysis The V-SMART trial will recruit 902 patients treated for MDR-TB across seven participating provinces in Vietnam. Participants in both intervention and control groups will receive standard community-based therapy for MDR-TB. Participants in the intervention group will also have a purpose-designed App installed on their smartphones to report AEs to health workers and to facilitate timely management of AEs. This economic evaluation will compare the costs and health outcomes between the intervention group (mHealth) and the control group (standard of care). Costs associated with delivering the intervention and health service utilisation will be recorded, as well as patient out-of-pocket costs. The health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of study participants will be captured using the 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36) questionnaire and used to calculate quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) will be based on the primary outcome (proportion of patients with treatment success after 24 months) and QALYs gained. Sensitivity analysis will be conducted to test the robustness of the ICERs. A budget impact analysis will be conducted from a payer perspective to provide an estimate of the total budget required to scale-up delivery of the intervention.
Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval for the study was granted by the University of Sydney Human Research Ethics Committee (2019/676), the Scientific Committee of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Vietnam (08/QD-HDQL-NAFOSTED) and the Institutional Review Board of the National Lung Hospital, Vietnam (13/19/CT-HDDD). Study findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings.
Trial registration number ACTRN12620000681954.
Effects of health and social care spending constraints on mortality in England: a time trend analysis Objective Since 2010, England has experienced relative constraints in public expenditure on healthcare (PEH) and social care (PES). We sought to determine whether these constraints have affected mortality rates. Methods We collected data on health and social care resources and finances for England from 2001 to 2014. Time trend analyses were conducted to compare the actual mortality rates in 2011–2014 with the counterfactual rates expected based on trends before spending constraints. Fixed-effects regression analyses were conducted using annual data on PES and PEH with mortality as the outcome, with further adjustments for macroeconomic factors and resources. Analyses were stratified by age group, place of death and lower-tier local authority (n=325). Mortality rates to 2020 were projected based on recent trends. Results Spending constraints between 2010 and 2014 were associated with an estimated 45 368 (95% CI 34 530 to 56 206) higher than expected number of deaths compared with pre-2010 trends. Deaths in those aged ≥60 and in care homes accounted for the majority. PES was more strongly linked with care home and home mortality than PEH, with each £10 per capita decline in real PES associated with an increase of 5.10 (3.65–6.54) (p<0.001) care home deaths per 100 000. These associations persisted in lag analyses and after adjustment for macroeconomic factors. Furthermore, we found that changes in real PES per capita may be linked to mortality mostly via changes in nurse numbers. Projections to 2020 based on 2009-2014 trend was cumulatively linked to an estimated 152 141 (95% CI 134 597 and 169 685) additional deaths. Conclusions Spending constraints, especially PES, are associated with a substantial mortality gap. We suggest that spending should be targeted on improving care delivered in care homes and at home; and maintaining or increasing nurse numbers.
Tập 7 Số 11 - Trang e017722 - 2017
A retrospective analysis of long-term outcomes following a single episode of transscleral cyclodiode laser treatment in patients with glaucoma Objectives To investigate the efficacy of a single cyclodiode laser photocoagulation treatment for refractory glaucoma and its effect on visual outcome in patients with good visual potential as well as to evaluate possible predictive factors in establishing optimal treatment parameters. Design Retrospective observational study. Setting Tertiary referral centre. Participants The notes of 87 patients with refractory glaucoma who underwent cyclodiode photocoagulation as a first surgical intervention over a 7-year period. Main outcome measures Maintenance of intraocular pressure (IOP) reduction, number of medications and visual acuity outcomes post-treatment. Results The mean IOP after a single treatment decreased from 39.5±1.3 to 17.8±1.5 mm Hg after a 6-week follow-up period (p<0.0001). This reduction in IOP was maintained over a 3-year period. Here, 61.5% of patients were able to reduce the number of medications used, with mean reduction from 2.6 to 1.5 medications (p<0.05). The mean initial visual field loss prior to treatment was 8.74 dB and at 6 months post-treatment was measured at 9.06 dB (p>0.05), suggesting no significant overall change. Visual acuity remained unchanged or improved for 83.6% of patients (p>0.05) with relatively good visual potential (average vision preoperatively was 0.57 logMAR). Hypotony occurred in 5.3% of patients. No patients required enucleation or evisceration. Conclusions A single session of cyclodiode laser therapy was associated with significant IOP reduction in a majority of patients with refractory glaucoma. The majority were able to maintain the IOP reduction over a 3-year period without the need for a further surgical intervention. Additionally, over 80% of the patients in our study were able to maintain their baseline visual acuity. These results support the view that a single cyclodiode treatment can be sufficient in achieving long-term IOP control and may be considered in eyes with relatively good visual potential.
Tập 3 Số 7 - Trang e002793 - 2013
Multicentre validation of a sepsis prediction algorithm using only vital sign data in the emergency department, general ward and ICU Objectives We validate a machine learning-based sepsis-prediction algorithm (InSight ) for the detection and prediction of three sepsis-related gold standards, using only six vital signs. We evaluate robustness to missing data, customisation to site-specific data using transfer learning and generalisability to new settings. Design A machine-learning algorithm with gradient tree boosting. Features for prediction were created from combinations of six vital sign measurements and their changes over time. Setting A mixed-ward retrospective dataset from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center (San Francisco, California, USA) as the primary source, an intensive care unit dataset from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (Boston, Massachusetts, USA) as a transfer-learning source and four additional institutions’ datasets to evaluate generalisability. Participants 684 443 total encounters, with 90 353 encounters from June 2011 to March 2016 at UCSF. Interventions None. Primary and secondary outcome measures Area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve for detection and prediction of sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock. Results For detection of sepsis and severe sepsis,InSight achieves an AUROC curve of 0.92 (95% CI 0.90 to 0.93) and 0.87 (95% CI 0.86 to 0.88), respectively. Four hours before onset,InSight predicts septic shock with an AUROC of 0.96 (95% CI 0.94 to 0.98) and severe sepsis with an AUROC of 0.85 (95% CI 0.79 to 0.91). Conclusions InSight outperforms existing sepsis scoring systems in identifying and predicting sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock. This is the first sepsis screening system to exceed an AUROC of 0.90 using only vital sign inputs.InSight is robust to missing data, can be customised to novel hospital data using a small fraction of site data and retains strong discrimination across all institutions.
Tập 8 Số 1 - Trang e017833 - 2018
Are socioeconomic disparities in tobacco consumption increasing in India? A repeated cross-sectional multilevel analysis Objectives India bears a significant portion of the global tobacco burden with high prevalence of tobacco use. This study examines the socioeconomic patterning of tobacco use and identifies the changing gender and socioeconomic dynamics in light of theCigarette Epidemic Model . Design Secondary analyses of second and third National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data. Setting and participants Data were analysed from 201 219 men and 255 028 women over two survey rounds. Outcomes and methods Outcomes includedsmoking (cigarettes,bidis and pipes/cigar),chewed tobacco (paan masala ,gutkha and others) anddual use , examined by education, wealth, living environment and caste. Standardised prevalence and percentage change were estimated. Pooled multilevel models estimated the effect of socioeconomic covariates on the log odds of tobacco use by gender, along with fixed and random parameters. Findings Among men (2005−2006), gradients in smoking by education (illiterates: 44% vs postgraduates: 15%) and chewing (illiterates: 47% vs postgraduates: 19%) were observed. Inverse gradients were also observed by wealth, living environment and caste. Chewed tobacco use by women showed inverse socioeconomic status (SES) gradients comparing the illiterates (7.4%) versus postgraduates (0.33%), and poorest (17%) versus richest (2%) quintiles. However, proportional increases in smoking were higher among more educated (postgraduates (98%) vs high schooling only (17%)) and chewing among richer (richest quintile (49%) vs poorest quintile (35%)). Among women, higher educated showed larger declines for smoking—90% (postgraduates) versus 12% (illiterates). Younger men (15–24 years) showed increasing tobacco use (smoking: 123% and chewing: 112%). Older women (35–49 years) show higher prevalence of smoking (3.2%) compared to younger women (0.3%). Conclusions Indian tobacco use patterns show significant diversions from theCigarette Epidemic Model —from gender and socioeconomic perspectives. Separate analysis by type is needed to further understand social determinants of tobacco use in India.
Tập 2 Số 5 - Trang e001348 - 2012
A scoping review of malaria forecasting: past work and future directions Objectives There is a growing body of literature on malaria forecasting methods and the objective of our review is to identify and assess methods, including predictors, used to forecast malaria. Design Scoping review. Two independent reviewers searched information sources, assessed studies for inclusion and extracted data from each study. Information sources Search strategies were developed and the following databases were searched: CAB Abstracts, EMBASE, Global Health, MEDLINE, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses and Web of Science. Key journals and websites were also manually searched. Eligibility criteria for included studies We included studies that forecasted incidence, prevalence or epidemics of malaria over time. A description of the forecasting model and an assessment of the forecast accuracy of the model were requirements for inclusion. Studies were restricted to human populations and to autochthonous transmission settings. Results We identified 29 different studies that met our inclusion criteria for this review. The forecasting approaches included statistical modelling, mathematical modelling and machine learning methods. Climate-related predictors were used consistently in forecasting models, with the most common predictors being rainfall, relative humidity, temperature and the normalised difference vegetation index. Model evaluation was typically based on a reserved portion of data and accuracy was measured in a variety of ways including mean-squared error and correlation coefficients. We could not compare the forecast accuracy of models from the different studies as the evaluation measures differed across the studies. Conclusions Applying different forecasting methods to the same data, exploring the predictive ability of non-environmental variables, including transmission reducing interventions and using common forecast accuracy measures will allow malaria researchers to compare and improve models and methods, which should improve the quality of malaria forecasting.
Tập 2 Số 6 - Trang e001992 - 2012
Drowning mortality by intent: a population-based cross-sectional study of 32 OECD countries, 2012–2014 Objective To compare the drowning mortality rates and proportion of deaths of each intent among all drowning deaths in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries in 2012–2014. Design A population-based cross-sectional study. Setting 32 OECD countries. Participants Individuals in OECD countries who died from drowning. Main outcome measures Drowning mortality rates (deaths per 100 000 population) and proportion (%) of deaths of each intent (ie, unintentional intent, intentional self-harm, assault, undetermined intent and all intents combined) among all drowning deaths. Results Countries with the highest drowning mortality rates (deaths per 100 000 population) were Estonia (3.53), Japan (3.49) and Greece (2.40) for unintentional intent; Ireland (0.96), Belgium (0.96) and Korea (0.89) for intentional self-harm; Austria (0.57), Korea (0.56) and Hungary (0.44) for undetermined intent and Japan (4.35), Estonia (3.70) and Korea (2.73) for all intents combined. Korea ranked 12th and 3rd for unintentional intent and all intents combined, respectively. By contrast, Belgium ranked 2nd and 15th for intentional self-harm and all intents combined, respectively. The proportion of deaths of each intent among all drowning deaths in each country varied greatly: from 26.2% in Belgium to 96.8% in Chile for unintentional intent; 0.7% in Mexico to 57.4% in Belgium for intentional self-harm; 0.0% in nine countries to 4.9% in Mexico for assault and 0.0% in Israel and Turkey to 38.3% in Austria for undetermined intent. Conclusions A large variation in the practice of classifying undetermined intent in drowning deaths across countries was noted and this variation hinders valid international comparisons of intent-specific (unintentional and intentional self-harm) drowning mortality rates.
Tập 8 Số 7 - Trang e021501 - 2018
Understanding vulnerability to self-harm in times of economic hardship and austerity: a qualitative study Objective Self-harm and suicide increase in times of economic recession, but little is known about why people self-harm when in financial difficulty, and in what circumstances self-harm occurs. This study aimed to understand events and experiences leading to the episode of self-harm and to identify opportunities for prevention or mitigation of distress. Setting Participants’ homes or university rooms. Participants 19 people who had attended hospital following self-harm in two UK cities and who specifically cited job loss, economic hardship or the impact of austerity measures as a causal or contributory factor. Primary and secondary outcome measures Semistructured, in-depth interviews. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and analysed cross-sectionally and as case studies. Results Study participants described experiences of severe economic hardship; being unable to find employment or losing jobs, debt, housing problems and benefit sanctions. In many cases problems accumulated and felt unresolvable. For others an event, such as a call from a debt collector or benefit change triggered the self-harm. Participants also reported other current or past difficulties, including abuse, neglect, bullying, domestic violence, mental health problems, relationship difficulties, bereavements and low self-esteem. These contributed to their sense of despair and worthlessness and increased their vulnerability to self-harm. Participants struggled to gain the practical help they felt they needed for their economic difficulties or therapeutic support that might have helped with their other co-existing or historically damaging experiences. Conclusions Economic hardships resulting from the recession and austerity measures accumulated or acted as a ‘final straw’ to trigger self-harm, often in the context of co-existing or historically damaging life-experiences. Interventions to mitigate these effects should include providing practical advice about economic issues before difficulties become insurmountable and providing appropriate psychosocial support for vulnerable individuals.
Tập 6 Số 2 - Trang e010131 - 2016
Depressive symptoms and cardiovascular disease: a population-based study of older adults in rural Burkina Faso Objectives To contribute to the current understanding of depressive disorders in sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries by examining the association of depressive symptoms with cardiovascular and cardiometabolic conditions in a population-based study of middle-aged and older adults in rural Burkina Faso. Setting This study was conducted in the Nouna Health and Demographic Surveillance System in north-western Burkina Faso, in a mixed rural and small-town environment. The data were obtained between May and July 2018. Participants Consenting adults over 40 years of age (n=3026). Primary and secondary outcome measures Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire depression module (PHQ-9). Chronic cardiometabolic conditions were assessed via a lipid panel and glycated haemoglobin measures from serum, alongside anthropometry and blood pressure measurements and a self-reported questionnaire. Multivariable linear regression was used to test the relationship between depressive symptoms and cardiovascular/cardiometabolic conditions after controlling for sociodemographic factors. Results Depressive symptoms were not associated with the metabolic syndrome (standardised beta coefficient=0.00 (95% CI −0.04 to 0.03)), hypertension (beta=0.01 (95% CI −0.02 to 0.05)), diabetes mellitus (beta=0.00 (95% CI −0.04 to 0.04)) and past diagnosis of elevated blood pressure or blood sugar. Prior stroke diagnosis (beta=0.04 (95% CI 0.01 to 0.07)) or heart disease (beta=0.08 (95% CI 0.05 to 0.11)) was positively associated with the standardised PHQ-9 score as were self-reported stroke symptoms. Conclusion Objectively measured cardiometabolic conditions had no significant association with depressive symptoms in an older, poor, rural SSA population, in contrast to observations in high income countries. However, consequences of cardiovascular disease such as stroke and heart attack were associated with depressive symptoms in older adults in Burkina Faso.
Tập 10 Số 12 - Trang e038199 - 2020