Setting research priorities for management and treatment of hyperhidrosis: the results of the James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership.

Background: Hyperhidrosis is a common skin condition characterized by excessive sweating, which can negatively impact on quality of life. It is under-researched compared with other conditions of similar prevalence.

Aim: To generate a Top 10 list of research priorities for the treatment and management of hyperhidrosis, with equal input from people with hyperhidrosis and healthcare professionals (HCPs).

Peer support for people with schizophrenia or other serious mental illness.

Background: Peer support provides the opportunity for peers with experiential knowledge of a mental illness to give emotional, appraisal and informational assistance to current service users, and is becoming an important recovery-oriented approach in healthcare for people with mental illness.

Objectives: To assess the effects of peer-support interventions for people with schizophrenia or other serious mental disorders, compared to standard care or other supportive or psychosocial interventions not from peers.

Search Methods: We searched the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group's Study-Based Register of Trials on 27 July 2016 and 4 July 2017.

Valproate preparations for agitation in dementia.

Background: Agitation has been reported in up to 90% of people with dementia. Agitation in people with dementia worsens carer burden, increases the risk of injury, and adds to the need for institutionalisation. Valproate preparations have been used in an attempt to control agitation in dementia, but their safety and efficacy have been questioned.

HIV prevention advice for people with serious mental illness.

Background: People with serious mental illness have rates of Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV) infection higher than expected in the general population for the same demographic area. Despite this elevated prevalence, UK national strategies around sexual health and HIV prevention do not state that people with serious mental illness are a high risk group. However, a significant proportion in this group are sexually active and engage in HIV-risk behaviours including having multiple sexual partners, infrequent use of condoms and trading sex for money or drugs.

Oral health education (advice and training) for people with serious mental illness.

Background: People with serious mental illness not only experience an erosion of functioning in day-to-day life over a protracted period of time, but evidence also suggests that they have a greater risk of experiencing oral disease and greater oral treatment needs than the general population. Poor oral hygiene has been linked to coronary heart disease, diabetes, and respiratory disease and impacts on quality of life, affecting everyday functioning such as eating, comfort, appearance, social acceptance, and self esteem. Oral health, however, is often not seen as a priority in people suffering with serious mental illness.

Smoking cessation advice for people with serious mental illness.

Background: People with a serious mental illness are more likely to smoke more and to be more dependent smokers than the general population. This may be due to a wide range of factors that could include a common aetiology to both smoking and the illness, self medication, smoking to alleviate adverse effects of medications, boredom in the existing environment, or a combination of these factors. It is important to undertake this review to facilitate improvements in both the health and safety of people with serious mental illness who smoke, and to reduce the overall burden of costs (both financial and health) to the smoker and, eventually, to the taxpayer.

HIV prevention advice for people with serious mental illness.

Background: People with serious mental illness have rates of Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV) infection higher than expected in the general population for the same demographic area. Despite this elevated prevalence, UK national strategies around sexual health and HIV prevention do not state that people with serious mental illness are a high risk group. However, a significant proportion in this group are sexually active and engage in HIV-risk behaviours including having multiple sexual partners, infrequent use of condoms and trading sex for money or drugs.

General physical health advice for people with serious mental illness.

Background: There is currently much focus on provision of general physical health advice to people with serious mental illness and there has been increasing pressure for services to take responsibility for providing this.

Objectives: To review the effects of general physical healthcare advice for people with serious mental illness.

Search Methods: We searched the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group's Trials Register (last update search October 2012) which is based on regular searches of CINAHL, BIOSIS, AMED, EMBASE, PubMed, MEDLINE, PsycINFO and registries of Clinical Trials.

Physical health care monitoring for people with serious mental illness.

Background: Current guidance suggests that we should monitor the physical health of people with serious mental illness, and there has been a significant financial investment over recent years to provide this.

Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of physical health monitoring, compared with standard care for people with serious mental illness.

Search Methods: We searched the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group Trials Register (October 2009, update in October 2012), which is based on regular searches of CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE and PsycINFO.