PeerJ Comput Sci. 2022 Dec 8;8:e1163. doi: 10.7717/peerj-cs.1163. eCollection 2022.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:36532807 | PMC:PMC9748814 | DOI:10.7717/peerj-cs.1163

Front Public Health. 2022 Dec 2;10:1056575. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.1056575. eCollection 2022.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:36530722 | PMC:PMC9755165 | DOI:10.3389/fpubh.2022.1056575

Comput Biol Med. 2022 Dec 6;152:106415. doi: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2022.106415. Online ahead of print.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:36527782 | DOI:10.1016/j.compbiomed.2022.106415

Acc Chem Res. 2022 Dec 14. doi: 10.1021/acs.accounts.2c00617. Online ahead of print.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:36516456 | DOI:10.1021/acs.accounts.2c00617

Cancer Epidemiol. 2023 Feb;82:102296. doi: 10.1016/j.canep.2022.102296. Epub 2022 Dec 9.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are environmental contaminants that are potentially harmful to health. We examined if rates of selected cancers and causes of deaths were elevated in three Australian communities with local environmental contamination caused by firefighting foams containing PFAS. The affected Australian communities were Katherine in Northern Territory, Oakey in Queensland and Williamtown in New South Wales.

METHODS: All residents identified in the Medicare Enrolment File (1983-2019)-a consumer directory for Australia's universal healthcare-who ever lived in an exposure area (Katherine, Oakey and Williamtown), and a sample of those who ever lived in selected comparison areas, were linked to the Australian Cancer Database (1982-2017) and National Death Index (1980-2019). We estimated standardised incidence ratios (SIRs) for 23 cancer outcomes, four causes of death and three control outcomes, adjusting for sex, age and calendar time of diagnosis.

FINDINGS: We observed higher rates of prostate cancer (SIR=1·76, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1·36-2·24) in Katherine; laryngeal cancer (SIR=2·71, 95 % CI 1·30-4·98), kidney cancer (SIR=1·82, 95 % CI 1·04-2·96) and coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality (SIR=1·81, 95 % CI 1·46-2·33) in Oakey; and lung cancer (SIR=1·83, 95 % CI 1·39-2·38) and CHD mortality (SIR=1·22, 95 % CI 1·01-1·47) in Williamtown. We also saw elevated SIRs for control outcomes. SIRs for all other outcomes and overall cancer were similar across exposure and comparison areas.

INTERPRETATION: There was limited evidence to support an association between living in a PFAS exposure area and risks of cancers or cause-specific deaths.

PMID:36508965 | DOI:10.1016/j.canep.2022.102296

Sci Rep. 2022 Dec 12;12(1):21459. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-11698-4.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:36509768 | PMC:PMC9744829 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-022-11698-4

Proc Int Conf Distrib Comput Syst. 2022 Jul;2022:1306-1309. doi: 10.1109/icdcs54860.2022.00143. Epub 2022 Oct 13.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:36506615 | PMC:PMC9732836 | DOI:10.1109/icdcs54860.2022.00143

Med Phys. 2022 Dec 9. doi: 10.1002/mp.16105. Online ahead of print.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:36493420 | DOI:10.1002/mp.16105

Geospat Health. 2022 Nov 29;17(2). doi: 10.4081/gh.2022.1171.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:36468586 | DOI:10.4081/gh.2022.1171

Health Policy. 2023 Jan;127:44-50. doi: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2022.10.010. Epub 2022 Oct 21.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: In line with affordability and equity principles, Medicare-Australia's universal health care program-has measures to contain out-of-pocket (OOP) costs, particularly for lower income households. This study examined the distribution of OOP costs for Medicare-subsidised out-of-hospital services and prescription medicines in Australian households, according to their ability to pay.

METHODS: OOP costs for out-of-hospital services and medicines in 2017-18 were estimated for each household, using 2016 Australian Census data linked to Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) and Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme (PBS) claims. We derived household disposable income by combining income information from the Census linked to income tax and social security data. We quantified OOP costs as a proportion of equivalised household disposable income and calculated Kakwani progressivity indices (K).

RESULTS: Using data from 82% (n = 6,830,365) of all Census private households, OOP costs as a percentage of equivalised household disposable income decreased from 1.16% in the poorest decile to 0.63% in the richest decile for MBS services, and from 1.35% to 0.35% for PBS medicines. The regressive trend was less pronounced for MBS services (K = -0.06), with percentage OOP cost relatively stable between the 2nd and 9th income deciles; while percentage OOP cost decreased with increasing income for PBS medicines (K = -0.24).

CONCLUSION: OOP costs for out-of-hospital Medicare services were mildly regressive while those for prescription medicines were distinctly regressive. Actions to reduce inequity in OOP costs, particularly for medicines, should be considered.

PMID:36456400 | DOI:10.1016/j.healthpol.2022.10.010

Lancet. 2022 Nov;400 Suppl 1:S29. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(22)02239-5.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) is an early home visiting service supporting young mothers. A randomised controlled trial of FNP in England found no effect on short-term primary outcomes or maltreatment in children up to age 7 years, but positive impacts on some educational outcomes. We report preliminary results of a national evaluation of FNP using linked administrative data.

METHODS: We constructed a cohort of all mothers in England aged 13-19 years who gave birth between April 1, 2010, and March 31, 2019, to their firstborn child or children, using linked administrative data from hospital admissions (Hospital Episode Statistics) and education and social care (National Pupil Database). We evaluated differences in a range of policy relevant child and maternal outcomes, comparing mothers who were enrolled in FNP with those who were not, using propensity score matching.

FINDINGS: Of 110 960 mothers in our linked cohort, 26 290 (24%) were enrolled in FNP. FNP mothers were younger, more deprived, and more likely to have adversity or social care histories than mothers not enrolled. Compared with mothers not enrolled in FNP, those in FNP did not have fewer unplanned hospital admissions for injury or maltreatment in children by age 2 years, lower rates of children looked after in out-of-home care by age 7 years, or improved maternal outcomes, but were more likely to achieve a good level of development at school entry. We present findings among subgroups of younger maternal age (13-15 years), increased deprivation according to quintile of Index of Multiple Deprivation, and adversity and social care history. We also present sensitivity analyses that aim to minimise confounding.

INTERPRETATION: Our study supports findings from previous trials of FNP showing little benefit for measured child maltreatment and maternal outcomes, but some evidence of benefit for school readiness. Interpretation of results needs careful consideration of the impact of residual confounding due to unmeasured or undisclosed factors (eg, family violence) linked to targeting of FNP to higher risk mothers, and surveillance bias.

FUNDING: National Institute for Health and Care Research.

PMID:36448115 | DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(22)02239-5

Accid Anal Prev. 2023 Jan;179:106897. doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2022.106897. Epub 2022 Nov 23.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:36434986 | DOI:10.1016/j.aap.2022.106897

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Nov 15;19(22):15012. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192215012.

ABSTRACT

Social media data reveal patterns of knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours of users on a range of topics. This study analysed 4398 tweets gathered between 17 January 2022 and 3 February 2022 related to ecosystem services, using the keyword and hashtag "ecosystem services". The Microsoft Excel plugin, NodeXL was used for social and semantic network analysis. The results reveal a loosely dense network in which information is conveyed slowly, with homogeneous, medium-sized subgroups typical of the community cluster structure. Citizens, NGOs, and governmental administrations emerged as the main gatekeepers of information in the network. Various semantic themes emerged such as the protection of natural capital for the sustainable production of ecosystem services; nature-based solutions to protect human structures and wellbeing against natural hazards; socio-ecological systems as the interaction between human beings and the environment; focus on specific services such as the storage of atmospheric CO2 and the provision of food. In conclusion, the perception of social users of the role of ecosystem services can help policymakers and forest managers to outline and implement efficient forest management strategies and plans.

PMID:36429730 | DOI:10.3390/ijerph192215012

Lancet. 2022 Nov;400 Suppl 1:S29. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(22)02239-5.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) is an early home visiting service supporting young mothers. A randomised controlled trial of FNP in England found no effect on short-term primary outcomes or maltreatment in children up to age 7 years, but positive impacts on some educational outcomes. We report preliminary results of a national evaluation of FNP using linked administrative data.

METHODS: We constructed a cohort of all mothers in England aged 13-19 years who gave birth between April 1, 2010, and March 31, 2019, to their firstborn child or children, using linked administrative data from hospital admissions (Hospital Episode Statistics) and education and social care (National Pupil Database). We evaluated differences in a range of policy relevant child and maternal outcomes, comparing mothers who were enrolled in FNP with those who were not, using propensity score matching.

FINDINGS: Of 110 960 mothers in our linked cohort, 26 290 (24%) were enrolled in FNP. FNP mothers were younger, more deprived, and more likely to have adversity or social care histories than mothers not enrolled. Compared with mothers not enrolled in FNP, those in FNP did not have fewer unplanned hospital admissions for injury or maltreatment in children by age 2 years, lower rates of children looked after in out-of-home care by age 7 years, or improved maternal outcomes, but were more likely to achieve a good level of development at school entry. We present findings among subgroups of younger maternal age (13-15 years), increased deprivation according to quintile of Index of Multiple Deprivation, and adversity and social care history. We also present sensitivity analyses that aim to minimise confounding.

INTERPRETATION: Our study supports findings from previous trials of FNP showing little benefit for measured child maltreatment and maternal outcomes, but some evidence of benefit for school readiness. Interpretation of results needs careful consideration of the impact of residual confounding due to unmeasured or undisclosed factors (eg, family violence) linked to targeting of FNP to higher risk mothers, and surveillance bias.

FUNDING: National Institute for Health and Care Research.

PMID:36426444 | DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(22)02239-5

BMJ Health Care Inform. 2022 Nov;29(1):e100671. doi: 10.1136/bmjhci-2022-100671.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Patients frequently miss their medical appointments. Therefore, short message service (SMS) has been used as a strategy for medical and healthcare service appointment reminders. This systematic review aimed to identify barriers to SMS appointment reminders across African regions.

METHODS: PubMed, Google Scholar, Semantic Scholar and Web of Science were used for searching, and hand searching was done. Original studies written in English, conducted in Africa, and published since 1 December 2018, were included. The standard quality assessment checklist was used for the quality appraisal of the included studies. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses flowchart diagram was used for study selection and screening, and any disagreements were resolved via discussions.

RESULTS: A total of 955 articles were searched, 521 studies were removed due to duplication and 105 studies were assessed for eligibility. Consequently, nine studies met the inclusion criteria. Five out of nine included studies were done by randomised control trials. The barriers that hampered patients, mothers and other parental figures of children when they were notified via SMS of medical and health services were identified. Among the 11 identified barriers, illiteracy, issues of confidentiality, familiarised text messages, inadequate information communication technology infrastructure, being a rural resident and loss of mobile phones occurred in at least two studies.

CONCLUSIONS: SMS is an effective and widely accepted appointment reminder tool. However, it is hampered by numerous barriers. Hence, we gathered summarised information about users' barriers to SMS-based appointment reminders. Therefore, stakeholders should address existing identified barriers for better Mhealth interventions.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42022296559.

PMID:36423934 | DOI:10.1136/bmjhci-2022-100671

Front Res Metr Anal. 2022 Nov 7;7:982435. doi: 10.3389/frma.2022.982435. eCollection 2022.

ABSTRACT

With the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) project and the new Multi-Purpose Reactor (MPR) soon coming on-line, South Africa and other collaborating countries in Africa will need to make the management, analysis, publication, and curation of "Big Scientific Data" a priority. In addition, the recent draft Open Science policy from the South African Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) requires both Open Access to scholarly publications and research outputs, and an Open Data policy that facilitates equal opportunity of access to research data. The policy also endorses the deposit, discovery and dissemination of data and metadata in a manner consistent with the FAIR principles - making data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable (FAIR). The challenge to achieve Open Science in Africa starts with open access for research publications and the provision of persistent links to the supporting data. With the deluge of research data expected from the new experimental facilities in South Africa, the problem of how to make such data FAIR takes center stage. One promising approach to make such scientific datasets more "Findable" and "Interoperable" is to rely on the Dataset representation of the Schema.org vocabulary which has been endorsed by all the major search engines. The approach adds some semantic markup to Web pages and makes scientific datasets more "Findable" by search engines. This paper does not address all aspects of the Open Science agenda but instead is focused on the management and analysis challenges of the "Big Scientific Data" that will be produced by the SKA project. The paper summarizes the role of the SKA Regional Centers (SRCs) and then discusses the goal of ensuring reproducibility for the SKA data products. Experiments at the new MPR neutron source will also have to conform to the DSI's Open Science policy. The Open Science and FAIR data practices used at the ISIS Neutron source at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the UK are then briefly described. The paper concludes with some remarks about the important role of interdisciplinary teams of research software engineers, data engineers and research librarians in research data management.

PMID:36419537 | PMC:PMC9676438 | DOI:10.3389/frma.2022.982435

Intern Emerg Med. 2022 Nov 19. doi: 10.1007/s11739-022-03151-1. Online ahead of print.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:36401715 | DOI:10.1007/s11739-022-03151-1

Healthc Inform Res. 2022 Oct;28(4):332-342. doi: 10.4258/hir.2022.28.4.332. Epub 2022 Oct 31.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: Symptomatic treatment is an essential component in the overall treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). However, knowledge in this regard is confusing and scattered. Physicians also have challenges in choosing symptomatic treatment based on the patient's condition. To share, update, and reuse this knowledge, the aim of this study was to provide an ontology for MS symptomatic treatment.

METHODS: The Symptomatic Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis Ontology (STMSO) was developed according to Ontology Development 101 and a guideline for developing good ontologies in the biomedical domain. We obtained knowledge and rules through a systematic review and entered this knowledge in the form of classes and subclasses in the ontology. We then mapped the ontology using the Basic Formal Ontology (BFO) and Ontology for General Medical Sciences (OGMS) as reference ontologies. The ontology was built using Protégé Editor in the Web Ontology Language format. Finally, an evaluation was done by experts using criterion-based approaches in terms of accuracy, clarity, consistency, and completeness.

RESULTS: The knowledge extraction phase identified 110 articles related to the ontology in the form of 626 classes, 40 object properties, and 139 rules. Five general classes included "patient," "symptoms," "pharmacological treatment," "treatment plan," and "measurement index." The evaluation in terms of standards for biomedical ontology showed that STMSO was accurate, clear, consistent, and complete.

CONCLUSIONS: STMSO is the first comprehensive semantic representation of the symptomatic treatment of MS and provides a major step toward the development of intelligent clinical decision support systems for symptomatic MS treatment.

PMID:36380430 | DOI:10.4258/hir.2022.28.4.332

BMC Geriatr. 2022 Nov 15;22(1):858. doi: 10.1186/s12877-022-03579-2.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Routinely collected health administrative data can be used to estimate the prevalence or incidence of dementia at a population level but can be inaccurate. This study aimed to examine the accuracy of hospital and death data for diagnosing dementia compared with a clinical diagnosis in community dwelling older men in Australia.

METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of the Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project (CHAMP) in Sydney, Australia. Of the 1705 men aged ≥70 years in the CHAMP study, 1400 had available linked administrative data records from 1 year prior to 1 year post the date of clinical dementia diagnosis. The primary outcome was the accuracy of dementia diagnosis using linked administrative data records compared to clinical dementia diagnosis. The linked data diagnosis was based on hospital and death records for the 1 year pre and post the clinical diagnosis. Clinical dementia diagnosis was a two-stage process with initial screening, followed by clinical assessment for those meeting a validated cut-off. A final clinical diagnosis of dementia based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th edition) criteria was reached by a consensus panel.

RESULTS: Administrative data identified 28 participants as having dementia, compared to 88 identified through clinical assessment. Administrative data had a sensitivity of 20% (95% CI: 13-30%, 18/88), specificity of 99% (95% CI: 99-100%, 1301/1312), positive predictive value (PPV) of 62% (95% CI: 44-77%), negative predictive value of 95% (95% CI: 94-95%), positive likelihood ratio of 24.4 (95% CI: 11.9-50.0) and negative likelihood ratio of 0.80 (0.72-0.89).

CONCLUSIONS: Administrative hospital and death data has limited accuracy for dementia diagnosis with poor sensitivity and PPV. The prevalence of dementia is likely underestimated using hospital and deaths data.

PMID:36380274 | DOI:10.1186/s12877-022-03579-2

Eur J Haematol. 2023 Mar;110(3):243-252. doi: 10.1111/ejh.13899. Epub 2022 Nov 25.

ABSTRACT

Studies have shown higher survival rates for patients with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) treated within clinical trials compared to patients treated outside clinical trials. However, endpoints are often limited to overall survival (OS). In this retrospective cohort study, we investigated the effect of trial participation on OS, the incidence of relapse, second cancer, and cardiovascular disease (CVD). The study population consisted of patients with HL, aged between 14 and 51 years at diagnosis, who started their treatment between 1962 and 2002 at three Dutch cancer centres. Patients were either included in the EORTC Lymphoma Group trials (H1-H9) or treated according to standard guidelines at the time. After adjusting for differences in baseline characteristics, trial participation was associated with longer OS (median OS: 29.4 years [95%CI: 27.0-31.6] for treatment inside trials versus 27.4 years [95%CI: 26.0-28.5] for treatment outside trials, p = .046), a lower incidence of relapse (HR = 0.79, 95%CI: 0.63-0.98, p = .036) and a higher incidence of CVD (HR = 1.49, 95%CI: 1.23-1.79, p < .001). The trial effect for CVD was present only for patients treated before 1983. No evidence of differences in the incidence of second cancer was found. Consequently, essential results from clinical trials should be implemented into standard practice without undue delay.

PMID:36369842 | DOI:10.1111/ejh.13899