Consumer attitudes towards deprescribing: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Harmful and/or unnecessary medications use in older adults is common. This indicates deprescribing (supervised withdrawal of inappropriate medicines) is not happening as often as it should. This study aimed to synthesise the results of the Patients’ Attitudes Towards Deprescribing (PATD) questionnaire (and revised versions). Methods Databases were searched from January 2013 to March 2020. Google Scholar was used for citation searching of the development and validation manuscripts to identify original research using the validated PATD, revised PATD (older adult and caregiver versions) and the version for people with cognitive impairment (rPATDcog).Two authors extracted data independently. A meta-analysis of proportions (random-effects model) was conducted with sub-group meta-analyses for setting and population.The primary outcome was the question: “If my doctor said it was possible, I would be willing to stop one or more of my medicines”. Secondary outcomes were associations between participant characteristics and primary outcome and other (r)PATD results. Results We included 46 articles describing 40 studies (n = 10,816 participants). The meta-analysis found the proportion of participants who agreed or strongly agreed with this statement was 84% ((95% CI 81% - 88%) and 80% (95% CI 74% - 86%) in patients and caregivers respectively, with significant heterogeneity (I2 = 95% and 77%). Conclusion Consumers reported willingness to have a medication deprescribed although results should be interpreted with caution due to heterogeneity. The findings from this study moves towards understanding attitudes towards deprescribing, which could increase the discussion and uptake of deprescribing recommendations in clinical practice.

A systematic review assessing the quality of patient reported outcomes measures in dry eye diseases

Background Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) can provide valuable insights on the impact of a disease or treatment on a patient’s health-related quality of life. In ophthalmology, particularly in dry eye disease (DED) and ocular surface disease (OSD), it is unclear whether the available PROMs were developed using comprehensive guidelines. To address this, we evaluated the methodological quality of studies assessing the psychometric properties of PROMs in DED and OSD [PROSPERO registration number CRD42019142328]. Methods Four databases were searched; reference list and citation searching of included studies was also conducted. The COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist was used to appraise the quality of the studies evaluating the psychometric properties of PROMs used in DED and OSD. Results The search strategy (S3 Table) retrieved 5,761 records, 573 duplicates were removed, 5,188 abstracts were screened and 127 full-text articles were retrieved for further review. Of these, 118 full-text articles did not meet the eligibility criteria and were excluded. Reference list and citation searching, identified an additional 8 articles bringing the total numbers of papers reviewed to 17. In general, psychometric properties such as content validity, measurement error and structural validity were not assessed by the studies included in this review. Studies reviewing The Impact of Dry Eye on Everyday Life (IDEEL) presented with the highest quality scores together with the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) questionnaire. Conclusions The quality of studies evaluating PROMs in DED and OSD was considered using the COSMIN standards. The majority of the studies evaluating PROMs included in this review did not meet the recommended COSMIN criteria and the quality of the PROMs evaluated is not assured. Further evaluation of their psychometric properties is required if these are going to be used in clinical practice or research.

Altmetrics

According to information scientists, information is modified into knowledge by adding experience. Researchers need powerful and successful filters to help them stay abreast of literature in their field, as well as methods to track the impact of their own research in often very specialized areas of interest. Traditional mechanisms such as peer review and citation searching using bibliometrics are no longer sufficient tools to aid researchers. How can librarians become leaders and powerful allies in this new landscape? Enter the world of Altmetrics. Altmetrics, or alternative citation metrics, provides researchers and scholars with new ways to track influence across a wide range of media and platforms. Altmetrics are metrics and qualitative data that are complementary to traditional, citation-based metrics. Altmetrics is a field of web-based metrics that accounts for total author influence which also looks beyond journal and monographic citation counts to the social web. The aim of this chapter is to explain the concept of library and librarian involvement with altmetrics.

OP26 Search Approaches In Information Retrieval Presented In HTAi SuRe Info

IntroductionIt is a challenge to stay up-to-date with the latest developments in information retrieval for health technology assessment (HTA). Summarized Research in Information Retrieval for HTA (SuRe Info) is a well-established open-access website with a selection of up-to-date key papers presented in summarized overviews. SuRe Info is maintained by the HTAi Interest Sub-Group on Information Resources; its main target group are information specialists. SuRe Info is updated twice a year by experienced information specialists. Publications on information retrieval methods are identified by running topic-specific search strategies in relevant databases. Publications fulfilling the SuRe Info inclusion criteria receive a structured abstract together with a brief critical appraisal prepared by one SuRe Info information specialist and checked by another. The key messages from the appraisals are summarized in topic-specific chapters.MethodsThe structure and work of SuRe Info is presented on the basis of the chapter “Value of using different search approaches”.ResultsThe chapter “Value of using different search approaches” was last updated in September 2018. It examines various alternative search approaches in bibliographic databases beyond the conventional Boolean search. According to this chapter, the most well-known approach, offering the most evidence, is citation searching (direct or indirect citation relationships). In contrast, little research has so far been conducted on other approaches such as full-text searches, automated retrieval methods or hand searching.ConclusionsSuRe Info is an important resource for information specialists to keep up-to-date with the literature on information retrieval. In particular when information specialists work alone and not within a larger team, it is necessary to rely on collaboration projects such as SuRe Info.

Continued citation of retracted radiation oncology literature - Do we have a problem?

This project aimed to characterise the number and nature of citations attracted by retracted articles in the field of radiation oncology after publication of the retraction notice. Three unique citation searching platforms were used to identify 407 English and 169 foreign-language studies citing 34 retracted articles after their withdrawal. Of the 358 English-language citing articles that were available for review, 92% (N=331) referred to the retracted article as legitimate work.

The state of mHealth development and use by palliative care services in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review of the literature

BackgroundCurrent coverage of palliative care services in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remains woefully inadequate, but harnessing mHealth could be one approach to facilitate greater service coverage and engagement with patients with life-limiting progressive disease.AimsA systematic literature review to identify the development and use of mHealth in palliative care services in SSA.Methods13 electronic databases from 1990 to 2015 were searched alongside the manual searching of journals and citation searching of included article reference lists. Articles were assessed against inclusion and exclusion criteria and study details extracted and tabulated by two researchers. Studies were plotted against a modified WHO mHealth and ICT framework to classify how they are targeting health system strengthening.ResultsOf the 1110 articles identified, 5 met the inclusion criteria, describing mHealth use in Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya and Malawi. Descriptive analysis has shown that existing mHealth interventions for palliative care services in SSA are limited in number and are being developed for use at the palliative treatment, guidance and coordination stage of care provision. Levels of detail about the development and structure of interventions are low.ConclusionsmHealth interventions for palliative care in SSA are limited. This is an opportune time to explore how evidence-based mHealth interventions could form part of the evolving palliative care services in the region.