Publications by authors named "Norman Gill"

Objectives: There is no guidance to support the reporting of systematic reviews of mobile health (mhealth) apps (app reviews), so authors attempt to use/modify the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). There is a need for reporting guidance, building on PRISMA where appropriate, tailored to app reviews. The objectives were to describe the reporting quality of published mHealth app reviews, identify the need for, and develop potential candidate items for a reporting guideline.

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Introduction: Hip hemiarthroplasty is a surgical procedure that requires the adhesion of the prosthetic implant by utilizing a fixation technique, either cemented or noncemented. The current literature does not provide a clear recommendation on a superior technique, although many countries outside the US have guidelines recommending cemented over noncemented procedures. Further, surgeon perceptions and beliefs related to the cemented and noncemented techniques in hip arthroplasty fractures are generally unknown.

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Objective: Systematically review and critically appraise the evidence for the association between delirium and falls in community-dwelling adults aged ≥60 years.

Methods: We searched EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, CINAHL and Evidence-Based Medicine Reviews databases in April 2023. Standard methods were used to screen, extract data, assess risk of bias (using Newcastle-Ottawa scale), provide a narrative synthesis and, where appropriate, conduct meta-analysis.

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Introduction: Nurse researchers often lack awareness of how to start a clinical academic research career and often lack clear entry routes. This scoping review aims to identify the range and nature of clinical academic opportunities available for nurses. This will also identify the knowledge gaps and provide the basis for future research.

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Background: Intravenous fluid therapy is a ubiquitous intervention for the management of patients with sepsis, however excessive cumulative fluid balance has been shown to result in worse outcomes. Hyperoncotic albumin is presented in low volumes, is an effective resuscitation fluid and may have effects beyond plasma volume expansion alone. This systematic review aimed to assess the efficacy, safety and effectiveness of hyperoncotic albumin solutions in the management of sepsis.

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Background: Women experiencing problematic menopausal symptoms report lower health-related quality of life and greater healthcare use than women without symptoms. Not all women want to or are able to take hormone replacement therapy. Strengthening the evidence for menopause symptom-management options, including physical activity, improves agency for women.

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Introduction: Reviews of commercial and publicly available smartphone (mobile) health applications (mHealth app reviews) are being undertaken and published. However, there is variation in the conduct and reporting of mHealth app reviews, with no existing reporting guidelines. Building on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we aim to develop the Consensus for APP Review Reporting Items (CAPPRRI) guidance, to support the conduct and reporting of mHealth app reviews.

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Article Synopsis
  • A prospective cohort study was conducted to analyze opioid use after spine surgery, comparing low-intensity and high-intensity procedures using health data from a military hospital.
  • The study found that patients undergoing high-intensity surgeries required more opioid prescriptions and had a longer total days' supply of opioids post-surgery compared to those with low-intensity surgeries.
  • However, while chronic opioid use rates post-surgery were higher for the high-intensity group after adjusting for complications, overall long-term opioid usage did not show significant differences when factoring in pre-operative usage.
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Objective: Groups which are marginalised, disadvantaged or otherwise vulnerable have lower uptake of vaccinations. This differential has been amplified in COVID-19 vaccination compared to (e.g.

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Purpose: To gain an understanding of the nursing professionals who treat people with malignant fungating wounds (MFW) in the UK and their current practices, including perceived barriers and facilitators to providing MFW care.

Method: An online anonymous questionnaire was created with questions about the role of nursing professionals who reported caring for patients with MFW, the number of people with MFW they regularly cared for, treatment aims, treatments used, and challenges faced. These questions were developed with professional input and piloted.

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Introduction: Fall prevention is a global health priority. Strength and balance exercise programmes are effective at reducing falls. Emerging literature suggests dance is an enjoyable and sociable form of exercise.

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Introduction: Lung transplantation is the gold-standard treatment for end-stage lung disease for a small group of patients meeting strict acceptance criteria after optimal medical management has failed. Physical frailty is prevalent in lung transplant candidates and has been linked to worse outcomes both on the waiting list and postoperatively. Exercise has been proven to be beneficial in optimising exercise capacity and quality of life in lung transplant candidates, but its impact on physical frailty is unknown.

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Background: Technology-enabled inpatient-level care at home services, such as virtual wards and hospital at home, are being rapidly implemented. This is the first systematic review to link the components of these service delivery innovations to evidence of effectiveness to explore implications for practice and research.

Methods: For this review (registered here https://osf.

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Background: Access to quality healthcare education across the world is disproportionate. This study explores the potential for Cardiovascular Perfusion education to be delivered online to reach international students.

Methods: Exploratory mixed methods were used to identify the barriers, facilitators, and early outcomes of online international health professions education.

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Objective: Falls are a common cause of potentially preventable death, disability and loss of independence with an annual estimated cost of £4.4bn. People living with dementia (PlwD) or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) have an increased fall risk.

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Article Synopsis
  • This text outlines objectives for improving the quality and methodology of commercial smartphone health app reviews (mHealth reviews).
  • It describes a systematic approach based on the researchers' experiences over five years, highlighting seven essential steps and introducing the TECH framework for determining eligibility and developing research questions.
  • The conclusion emphasizes that thorough reviews can provide valuable insights into the health app market, enhancing the understanding of app quality and functionality.
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Background: Virtual wards are being rapidly developed within the National Health Service in the UK, and frailty is one of the first clinical pathways. Virtual wards for older people and existing hospital at home services are closely related.

Methods: In March 2022, we searched Medline, CINAHL, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and medRxiv for evidence syntheses which addressed clinical-effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, barriers and facilitators, or staff, patient or carer experience for virtual wards, hospital at home or remote monitoring alternatives to inpatient care.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The COVID-19 pandemic created a heightened demand for fast assessments of health and social care innovations, prompting a scoping review of various rapid evaluation methods and their effectiveness.
  • - The review analyzed 16,759 records and included 162 studies, identifying four main approaches to rapid evaluation: specialized rapid methodologies, reduced processes, alternative technologies, and adaptations of non-rapid methods.
  • - Findings highlighted a lack of clarity around the concept of 'rapid evaluation' and noted a scarcity of research comparing rapid and traditional evaluation methods, underscoring a need for better definitions and understanding.
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Objective: Outpatient no-shows have important implications for costs and the quality of care. Predictive models of no-shows could be used to target intervention delivery to reduce no-shows. We reviewed the effectiveness of predictive model-based interventions on outpatient no-shows, intervention costs, acceptability, and equity.

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Background: The rapid identification and adoption of effective innovations in healthcare is a known challenge. The strongest evidence base for innovations can be provided by evidence synthesis, but this is frequently a lengthy process and even rapid versions of this can be time-consuming and complex. In the UK, the Accelerated Access Review and Academic Health Science Network (AHSN) have provided the impetus to develop a consistently rapid process to support the identification and adoption of high-value innovations in the English NHS.

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Background: There are several possible interventions for managing pressure ulcers (sometimes referred to as pressure injuries), ranging from pressure-relieving measures, such as repositioning, to reconstructive surgery. The surgical approach is usually reserved for recalcitrant wounds (where the healing process has stalled, or the wound is not responding to treatment) or wounds with full-thickness skin loss and exposure of deeper structures such as muscle fascia or bone. Reconstructive surgery commonly involves wound debridement followed by filling the wound with new tissue.

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Article Synopsis
  • Researchers investigated how skin pigmentation affects the accuracy of pulse oximetry measurements for oxygen saturation during the COVID-19 pandemic, comparing it to the more reliable method CO-oximetry.
  • The review included 32 studies with over 6,500 participants and found that pulse oximetry tends to overestimate oxygen saturation in individuals with high skin pigmentation, particularly among Black/African American individuals, although the overall biases were small.
  • Despite the small biases, the study highlighted significant imprecision in pulse oximetry results across all subgroups, suggesting that while the method may be generally acceptable, caution is needed regarding its accuracy based on skin tone.
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Article Synopsis
  • The study conducted a prospective cohort analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of the cervical rotation lateral flexion (CRLF) test for predicting improvements in neck pain after manipulative treatment on the first and second ribs.
  • A total of 50 participants underwent the CRLF test and subsequent manipulation, with clinical improvements measured via the Neck Disability Index one week post-treatment.
  • Results indicated that the CRLF test was not predictive of improvement, but factors like being male, older age, and specific restricted end-feel showed a correlation with better outcomes.
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Background: Indications for the use of negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) are broad and include prophylaxis for surgical site infections (SSIs). Existing evidence for the effectiveness of NPWT on postoperative wounds healing by primary closure remains uncertain.

Objectives: To assess the effects of NPWT for preventing SSI in wounds healing through primary closure, and to assess the cost-effectiveness of NPWT in wounds healing through primary closure.

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Introduction: After elective orthopaedic surgery, many individuals go on to become long-term opioid users. Mitigating this risk has become a priority for surgeons, other members of the medical care team, and healthcare systems. The purpose of this study was to compare opioid utilization after lower extremity orthopaedic surgery between patients who received an interactive video education session highlighting the risks of opioid use and those who did not.

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