Maximising the Quality of Stroke Care: Reporting of Data Collection Methods and Resourcing in National Stroke Registries: A Systematic Review.

Stroke registries are tools for improving care and advancing research. We aim to describe the methodology and resourcing of existing national stroke registries. We conducted a systematic search of the published, peer-reviewed literature and grey literature examining descriptions of data collection methods and resourcing of national stroke registries published from 2012 to 2023.

Effect of interventions to improve safety culture on healthcare workers in hospital settings: a systematic review of the international literature.

Background: In an era of safety systems, hospital interventions to build a culture of safety deliver organisational learning methodologies for staff. Their benefits to hospital staff are unknown. We examined the literature for evidence of staff outcomes.

Videos of simulated after action reviews: a training resource to support social and inclusive learning from patient safety events.

Innovation in the education and training of healthcare staff is required to support complementary approaches to learning from patient safety and everyday events in healthcare. Debriefing is a commonly used learning tool in healthcare education but not in clinical practice. Little is known about how to implement debriefing as an approach to safety learning across a health system.

'What effect do safety culture interventions have on health care workers in hospital settings?' A systematic review of the international literature.

: Interventions designed to improve safety culture in hospitals foster organisational environments that prevent patient safety events and support organisational and staff learning when events do occur. A safety culture supports the required health workforce behaviours and norms that enable safe patient care, and the well-being of patients and staff. The impact of safety culture interventions on staff perceptions of safety culture and patient outcomes has been established.

A blended model to support brief interventions in primary care: A qualitative study of usability and acceptability of HealthEir in community pharmacy.

Background: Brief interventions for lifestyle behaviour change are effective health promotion interventions. Primary care settings, including pharmacies, are the most frequently visited healthcare facilities and are well placed to provide brief health interventions. However, despite the evidence-based and policy guidance, barriers to brief interventions have limited their implementation.

Medication safety incidents associated with the remote delivery of primary care: a rapid review.

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic triggered rapid, fundamental changes, notably increased remote delivery of primary care. While the impact of these changes on medication safety is not yet fully understood, research conducted before the pandemic may provide evidence for possible consequences. To examine the published literature on medication safety incidents associated with the remote delivery of primary care, with a focus on telemedicine and electronic prescribing.

Pharmacist and patient experiences of primary care during the COVID-19 pandemic: An interview study.

Introduction: A number of significant changes designed to reduce the spread of COVID-19 were introduced in primary care during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Ireland, these included fundamental legislative and practice changes such as permitting electronic transfer of prescriptions, extending duration of prescription validity, and encouraging virtual consultations. Although such interventions served an important role in preventing the spread of infection, their impact on practice and patient care is not yet clear.

Interventions for increasing immunosuppressant medication adherence in solid organ transplant recipients.

Background: Non-adherence to immunosuppressant therapy is a significant concern following a solid organ transplant, given its association with graft failure. Adherence to immunosuppressant therapy is a modifiable patient behaviour, and different approaches to increasing adherence have emerged, including multi-component interventions. There has been limited exploration of the effectiveness of interventions to increase adherence to immunosuppressant therapy.

Changes to primary care delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic and perceived impact on medication safety: A survey study.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the delivery of primary care around the world. In Ireland, the use of technologies such as virtual consultations and the electronic transfer of prescriptions became widespread in order to deliver care to patients while minimising infection risk. The impact of these changes on medication safety is not yet known.

Effect of after action review on safety culture and second victim experience and its implementation in an Irish hospital: A mixed methods study protocol.

Background: After Action Review is a form of facilitated team learning and review of events. The methodology originated in the United States Army and forms part of the Incident Management Framework in the Irish Health Services. After Action Review has been hypothesized to improve safety culture and the effect of patient safety events on staff (second victim experience) in health care settings.

Physical Therapy and Sedation While on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for COVID-19-Associated Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine whether patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) achieved lower rates of physical therapy participation and required more sedation than those on ECMO without COVID-19.

Design: Retrospective, observational, matched-cohort study.

Setting: Bicenter academic quaternary medical centers.

Research methods from human-centered design: Potential applications in pharmacy and health services research.

Challenges faced by health systems have become increasingly complex, and expanding the range of methodological options available via interdisciplinary collaboration is important to enable researchers to address them. As complexity increases, it can be more difficult to ensure solutions remain patient-centered. Human-centered design is an approach that focuses on engaging with and understanding the needs of all services users while retaining a systems perspective.

Factors Associated With Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration and Victimization in Asylum Seeking and Refugee Populations: A Systematic Review.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a common and serious health and justice problem. Asylum seekers and refugees are generally vulnerable to violence and may be particularly vulnerable to IPV. The aim of this study is to identify factors associated with IPV perpetration and victimization in asylum seeking and refugee populations through a systematic review of the literature.

Prognostic Importance of Pathological Fractures in Osteosarcomas.

Aims To investigate whether pathological fractures impact on osteosarcoma patient prognosis in Ireland. Methods This was a retrospective study over 22 years in a National Orthopaedic Oncology Centre. There were 117 nonfracture cases and 15 fracture cases.

Cognitive impairment and medication adherence post-stroke: A five-year follow-up of the ASPIRE-S cohort.

Background: Control of vascular risk factors is essential for secondary stroke prevention. However, adherence to secondary prevention medications is often suboptimal, and may be affected by cognitive impairment. Few studies to date have examined associations between cognitive impairment and medication adherence post-stroke, and none have considered whether adherence to secondary prevention medications might affect subsequent cognitive function.

The Impact of Cognitive Impairment on Poststroke Outcomes: A 5-Year Follow-Up.

Aim: To explore the impact of cognitive impairment poststroke on outcomes at 5 years.

Methods: Five-year follow-up of the Action on Secondary Prevention Interventions and Rehabilitation in Stroke (ASPIRE-S) prospective cohort. Two hundred twenty-six ischemic stroke survivors completed Montreal Cognitive Assessments at 6 months poststroke.

Does stroke health promotion increase awareness of appropriate behavioural response? Impact of the face, arm, speech and time (FAST) campaign on population knowledge of stroke risk factors, warning signs and emergency response.

Introduction: Inability to identify stroke warning signs accurately is an important cause of delay in seeking medical attention, leading to potential ineligibility for acute intervention. We report on post-campaign findings (wave 2) of national surveys to estimate changes in population knowledge following a media-based Face, Arm, Speech, Time stroke awareness campaign, comparing findings to those of a pre-campaign population survey (wave 1). One thousand and ten randomly selected adults (18+) completed the Stroke Awareness Questionnaire on knowledge of warning signs, risk factors and response to stroke at wave 2 and findings were compared to wave 1 survey results.

Early Progressive Mobilization of Patients with External Ventricular Drains: Safety and Feasibility.

Background/objective: Early mobilization of critically ill patients has been shown to improve functional outcomes. Neurosurgery patients with an external ventricular drain (EVD) due to increased intracranial pressure often remain on bed rest while EVD remains in place. The prevalence of mobilizing patients with EVD has not been described, and the literature regarding the safety and feasibility of mobilizing patients with EVDs is limited.

A systematic review and meta-analysis: Do absorbable or non-absorbable suture materials differ in cosmetic outcomes in patients requiring primary closure of facial wounds?

Introduction: Surgeons are often judged based on the cosmetic appearance of any scar after surgery rather than the functional outcome of treatment, especially when considering facial wounds.

Objective: We performed a systematic review of the literature to determine whether absorbable or non-absorbable suture materials result in different cosmetic outcomes for patients requiring primary closure of facial wounds.

Methods: An extensive systematic review was carried out to identify studies meeting our inclusion criteria.

Cognitive Impairment, Vulnerability, and Mortality Post Ischemic Stroke: A Five-Year Follow-Up of the Action on Secondary Prevention Interventions and Rehabilitation in Stroke (ASPIRE-S) Cohort.

Background: The aim of this study was to examine predictors of mortality in patients 5 years after ischemic stroke, focusing on cognitive impairment, vulnerability, and vascular risk factors assessed at 6 months post stroke.

Materials And Methods: Patients from the Action on Secondary Prevention Interventions and Rehabilitation in Stroke (ASPIRE-S) cohort were followed up 5 years post ischemic stroke. Vascular risk factors, cognitive impairment, and vulnerability were assessed at 6 months post stroke.

Medical student INtervention to promote effective nicotine dependence and tobacco HEalthcare (MIND-THE-GAP): single-centre feasibility randomised trial results.

Background: Although brief cessation advice from healthcare professionals increases quit rates, smokers typically do not get this advice during hospitalisation, possibly due to resource issues, lack of training and professionals' own attitudes to providing such counselling. Medical students are a potentially untapped resource who could deliver cessation counselling, while upskilling themselves and changing their own attitudes to delivering such advice in the future; however, no studies have investigated this. We aimed to determine if brief student-led counselling could enhance motivation to quit and smoking cessation behaviours among hospitalised patients.

Interarm blood pressure difference in a post-stroke population.

An increased interarm systolic blood pressure (SBP) difference of ≥10 mm Hg is associated with increased cardiovascular risk and a difference of ≥15 mm Hg with increased cerebrovascular risk. The stroke population presents a high-risk group for future cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events and therefore estimation of interarm SBP difference as a predictive tool may assist with further secondary stroke prevention. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of interarm SBP and diastolic blood pressure difference in a post-stroke population.

The INCA (Inhaler Compliance Assessment): A comparison with established measures of adherence.

Objective: To compare the Inhaler Compliance Assessment (INCA), a novel audio-recording device objectively measuring timing and proficiency of inhaler use, against established adherence measures, and explore its discriminant and predictive validity.

Design: Prospective observational study; 184 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients used an INCA-enabled salmeterol/fluticasone inhaler for one-month post-hospital discharge.

Main Outcome Measures: INCA (Attempted, Attempted Interval, Actual) adherence correlated with Doses Used Rate, self-reported adherence and prescription refill for concurrent validity.

STROKOG (stroke and cognition consortium): An international consortium to examine the epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of neurocognitive disorders in relation to cerebrovascular disease.

Introduction: The Stroke and Cognition consortium (STROKOG) aims to facilitate a better understanding of the determinants of vascular contributions to cognitive disorders and help improve the diagnosis and treatment of vascular cognitive disorders (VCD).

Methods: Longitudinal studies with ≥75 participants who had suffered or were at risk of stroke or TIA and which evaluated cognitive function were invited to join STROKOG. The consortium will facilitate projects investigating rates and patterns of cognitive decline, risk factors for VCD, and biomarkers of vascular dementia.