Usability of the BigO system in pediatric obesity treatment: A mixed-methods evaluation of clinical end-users.

Objective: To assess technical usability of the BigO app and clinical portal among diverse participants and explore the overall user experiences of both.

Methods: Methods included technical usability testing by measuring the relative user efficiency score (RUS) for the app and measuring Relative User Efficiency (RUE) using the 'think aloud' method with the clinical portal. Qualitative approaches involved focus groups with adolescent app users and semi-structured one-to-one interviews with clinician participants.

Achieving consensus on the language of obesity: a modified Delphi study.

Background: Obesity is recognized by the World Health Organization as a chronic disease. As such, it should be referred to using the language of chronic diseases, with correct and established terminology and definitions. This study was designed to map the current language used to discuss obesity and to compare this with the standard language used for chronic disease.

Addressing child and adolescent obesity management in Ireland: identifying facilitators and barriers in clinical practice.

Background: Ireland's Model of Care for the Management of Overweight and Obesity outlines a plan for treating adolescent and child obesity (CO). However, engagement with key stakeholders is required to support its implementation and improve health services.

Aim: This study aims to map the perceived barriers and facilitators related to CO management across healthcare settings, professional disciplines, and regions in the Republic of Ireland (ROI).

Guidelines for treating child and adolescent obesity: A systematic review.

Obesity is a chronic disease that compromises the physical and mental health of an increasing proportion of children globally. In high-income countries, prevalence of paediatric obesity is increasing faster in those from marginalised populations such as low-income households, suggesting the disease as one that is largely systemic. Appropriate treatment should be prioritised in these settings to prevent the development of complications and co-morbidities and manage those that already exist.

Obesity in Adults: A 2022 Adapted Clinical Practice Guideline for Ireland.

Background: This Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) for the management of obesity in adults in Ireland, adapted from the Canadian CPG, defines obesity as a complex chronic disease characterised by excess or dysfunctional adiposity that impairs health. The guideline reflects substantial advances in the understanding of the determinants, pathophysiology, assessment, and treatment of obesity.

Summary: It shifts the focus of obesity management toward improving patient-centred health outcomes, functional outcomes, and social and economic participation, rather than weight loss alone.

Usability and Engagement Testing of mHealth Apps in Paediatric Obesity: A Narrative Review of Current Literature.

Mobile health (mHealth) platforms have become increasingly popular for delivering health interventions in recent years and particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Childhood obesity treatment is an area where mHealth interventions may be useful due to the multidisciplinary nature of interventions and the need for long-term care. Many mHealth apps targeting youth exist but the evidence base underpinning the methods for assessing technical usability, user engagement and user satisfaction of such apps with target end-users or among clinical populations is unclear, including for those aimed at paediatric overweight and obesity management.

Barriers and Facilitators for Implementing Paediatric Telemedicine: Rapid Review of User Perspectives.

COVID-19 has brought to the fore an urgent need for secure information and communication technology (ICT) supported healthcare delivery, as the pertinence of infection control and social distancing continues. Telemedicine for paediatric care warrants special consideration around logistics, consent and assent, child welfare and communication that may differ to adult services. There is no systematic evidence synthesis available that outlines the implementation issues for incorporating telemedicine to paediatric services generally, or how users perceive these issues.

The spontaneous reporting of adverse drug reactions by nurses.

In an attempt to improve the low reporting rate of adverse drug reactions (ADR) we examined the potential for hospital nurses to report ADRs through a spontaneous 'yellow card' system. Over 14 months 100 cards were received (compared with 28 cards from doctors). Although reports from doctors for the same period were of a more substantial nature, nurses nevertheless reported many life threatening (17%) or moderately severe (76%) reactions.