Publications by authors named "M Clowes"

Aim: Extending faecal immunochemical tests for haemoglobin (FIT) to all primary care patients with symptoms suggestive of colorectal cancer (CRC) could identify people who are likely to benefit from colonoscopy and facilitate earlier treatment. The aim of this work was to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of FIT across different analysers at different thresholds, as a single test or in duplicate (dual FIT).

Method: This systematic review and meta-analysis searched 10 sources (December 2022).

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Objectives: In public health, access to research literature is critical to informing decision-making and to identify knowledge gaps. However, identifying relevant research is not a straightforward task since public health interventions are often complex, can have positive and negative impacts on health inequalities and are applied in diverse and rapidly evolving settings. We developed a "living" database of public health research literature to facilitate access to this information using Natural Language Processing tools.

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Background: Poor social connectedness has been identified as a risk factor for poor mental health but there is a lack of standardisation in how it is measured. This systematic review aimed to identify suitable measures of social connectedness for use in UK adult general populations.

Methods: Searches were undertaken in two stages to identify: (1) measures of social connectedness from review articles and grey literature and (2) studies reporting on the psychometric properties of the identified measures.

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Objectives: Health inequities are unjust and avoidable differences in health outcomes across populations and between population groups. Though these arise predominantly from social determinants of health, healthcare is estimated to contribute around 20 % and primary healthcare reduces inequities in healthcare outcomes. As each provider works in their local context, we sought to provide an evidence-informed framework for designing, implementing, and evaluating local health inequity interventions in primary care.

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Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased use of digital clinical consultations (phone or video calls) within UK maternity services. This project aimed to review the evidence on digital clinical consultations in maternity systems to illuminate how, for whom and in what contexts, they can be used to support safe, personalised and equitable care.

Design: A realist synthesis, drawing on diverse sources of evidence (2010-present) from OECD countries, alongside insights from knowledge user groups (representing healthcare providers and service users).

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