Publications by authors named "Jan W Van Der Scheer"

Article Synopsis
  • The study addresses the increasing occurrence of impacted fetal heads during cesarean sections and the need for effective prevention and management techniques, emphasizing a lack of high-quality evidence in the area.
  • Researchers conducted a thorough review of various medical databases, including MEDLINE and Cochrane, to identify randomized and non-randomized studies focused on this issue, employing specific criteria to assess risks and certainty of the evidence.
  • Out of 24 eligible studies involving 3,558 women, the analysis revealed low to very low certainty in outcomes across different techniques, indicating no significant differences in effectiveness while highlighting some questionable maternal outcome differences related to specific methods.
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Clinical tools for use in practice-such as medicine reconciliation charts, diagnosis support tools and track-and-trigger charts-are endemic in healthcare, but relatively little attention is given to how to optimise their design. User-centred design approaches and co-design principles offer potential for improving usability and acceptability of clinical tools, but limited practical guidance is currently available. We propose a framework (FRamework for co-dESign of Clinical practice tOols or 'FRESCO') offering practical guidance based on user-centred methods and co-design principles, organised in five steps: (1) establish a multidisciplinary advisory group; (2) develop initial drafts of the prototype; (3) conduct think-aloud usability evaluations; (4) test in clinical simulations; (5) generate a final prototype informed by workshops.

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Background: Implementation of national multiprofessional training for managing the obstetric emergency of impacted fetal head (IFH) at caesarean birth has potential to improve quality and safety in maternity care, but is currently lacking in the UK.

Objectives: To evaluate a training package for managing IFH at caesarean birth with multiprofessional maternity teams.

Methods: The training included an evidence-based lecture supported by an animated video showing management of IFH, followed by hands-on workshops and real-time simulations with use of a birth simulation trainer, augmented reality and management algorithms.

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Introduction: This study assessed views, understanding and current practices of maternity professionals in relation to impacted fetal head at cesarean birth, with the aim of informing a standardized definition, clinical management approaches and training.

Material And Methods: We conducted a survey consultation including the range of maternity professionals who attend emergency cesarean births in the UK. Thiscovery, an online research and development platform, was used to ask closed-ended and free-text questions.

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Objective: The aim of this study was to compare handrim wheelchair propulsion technique between individuals with spinal cord injury with and without shoulder pain.

Design: A cross-sectional study including 38 experienced handrim wheelchair users with spinal cord injury was conducted. Participants were divided into the "shoulder pain" ( n = 15) and "no-shoulder pain" ( n = 23) groups using the Local Musculoskeletal Discomfort scale.

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Article Synopsis
  • A study aimed to examine the impact of submaximal exercise on cognition and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI), involving eight adult participants.
  • The results showed that the exercise did not affect BDNF levels or cognitive performance, as measured by specific tests comparing pre- and post-exercise conditions.
  • Interestingly, researchers found that the longer individuals had been injured, the higher their resting BDNF levels, although this did not relate to how BDNF responded to exercise, suggesting further research is needed to explore exercise benefits in this population.
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Persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) often report high levels of neuropathic pain (NP) and poor well-being, which may result from increased inflammation. This study examined the impact of sub-maximal aerobic exercise on NP, inflammation and psychological affect among adults with SCI. Eight active adults with tetraplegia (-4, AIS A-C) and paraplegia ( = 4, AIS A-C) performed 30-min of arm-crank aerobic exercise and reported their ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) each minute.

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Individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) may experience cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and organ function dysregulation. Sequelae include reduced catecholamine secretion and attenuated immune responses which may impact exercise-induced leukocytosis. The purpose of this study was to characterize major leukocyte subtypes following 30 minutes of acute, submaximal aerobic exercise, in line with updated international SCI exercise guidelines for adults.

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Background: Workplace programmes to test staff for asymptomatic COVID-19 infection have become common, but raise a number of ethical challenges. In this article, we report the findings of a consultation that informed the development of an ethical framework for organisational decision-making about such programmes.

Methods: We conducted a mixed-method consultation - a survey and semi-structured interviews during November-December 2020 in a UK case study organisation that had introduced asymptomatic testing for all staff working on-site in its buildings.

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Study Design: Experimental study.

Objectives: To compare lipid metabolism in individuals with a cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) and able-bodied (AB) persons in response to mild cold stress.

Settings: Laboratory of Wakayama Medical University, Japan.

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Asymptomatic COVID-19 testing programmes are being introduced in higher education institutions, but stakeholder views regarding the acceptability of mandating or incentivizing participation remain little understood. A mixed-method study (semi-structured interviews and a survey including open and closed questions) was undertaken in a case study university with a student testing programme. Survey data were analysed descriptively; analysis for interviews was based on the framework method.

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Context: Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Thailand.

Objective: To culturally validate and translate the Scientific Exercise Guidelines for Adults with Spinal Cord Injury (SEG-SCI) for use in four Asian countries.

Design: Systematic Review.

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Article Synopsis
  • The review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of functional electrical stimulation (FES) cycling exercise for adults with spinal cord injury (SCI) in order to inform clinical guidelines.
  • A comprehensive search across multiple databases identified 92 studies involving nearly 1,000 participants, focusing on various health outcomes related to muscle health and fitness.
  • The findings suggest FES cycling significantly improves lower-body muscle health, power output, and aerobic fitness in individuals with SCI, leading to recommendations for evidence-based clinical practices.
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Study Design: Secondary analysis of aggregated case series data.

Objectives: To examine the effects of a high-fat/high-carbohydrate meal on leukocyte populations in adults with a chronic SCI.

Setting: University-based laboratories in British Columbia, Canada.

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Background: Practical methods for facilitating process improvement are needed to support high quality, safe care. How best to specify (identify and define) process improvements - the changes that need to be made in a healthcare process - remains a key question. Methods for doing so collaboratively, rapidly and remotely offer much potential, but are under-developed.

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The objective of this scoping review was to map the evidence on measurement properties of body composition tools to assess whole-body and regional fat and fat-free mass in adults with SCI, and to identify research gaps in order to set future research priorities. Electronic databases of PubMed, EMBASE and the Cochrane library were searched up to April 2020. Included studies employed assessments related to whole-body or regional fat and/or fat-free mass and provided data to quantify measurement properties that involved adults with SCI.

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Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted specialty chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) care. We examined the degree to which care has moved to remote approaches, eliciting clinician and patient perspectives on what is appropriate for ongoing remote delivery.

Methods: Using an online research platform, we conducted a survey and consensus-building process involving clinicians and patients with COPD.

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Study Design: Protocol for a pragmatic randomized controlled trial (the Exercise guideline Promotion and Implementation in Chronic SCI [EPIC-SCI] Trial).

Primary Objectives: To test if home-/community-based exercise, prescribed according to the international SCI exercise guidelines, significantly reduces chronic bodily pain in adults with SCI.

Secondary Objectives: To investigate: (1) the effects of exercise on musculoskeletal and neuropathic chronic pain; (2) if reduced inflammation and increased descending inhibitory control are viable pathways by which exercise reduces pain; (3) the effects of chronic pain reductions on subjective well-being; and (4) efficiency of a home-/community-based exercise intervention.

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Background: Shoulder pain is the most common complaint for wheelchair athletes. Scapular orientation and dyskinesia are thought to be associated with shoulder pathology, yet no previous studies have examined the bilateral scapula kinematics of wheelchair athletes during propulsion.

Research Question: To examine bilateral scapular kinematics of highly trained wheelchair rugby (WR) players and any associations with self-reported shoulder pain during everyday wheelchair propulsion.

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Background: Altered scapular kinematics have been associated with shoulder pain and functional limitations. To understand kinematics in persons with spinal cord injury during manual handrim wheelchair propulsion, a description of normal scapular behaviour in able-bodied persons during this specific task is a prerequisite for accurate interpretation. The primary aim of this study is to describe scapular kinematics in able-bodied persons during manual wheelchair propulsion.

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