Association between intracranial vessel calcifications, structural brain damage, and cognitive impairment after minor strokes: a prospective study.

Background: Vascular calcifications are a hallmark of atherosclerosis, and in the coronary arteries are routinely used as a prognostic marker. Calcifications of intracranial vessels (ICC) are frequently observed on non-contrast CT (NCCT) and their effect on post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) remains unclear. Our aim was to explore the association of ICC with prospective long-term cognitive function and advanced MRI-measures in a large prospective cohort of cognitively intact mild stroke survivors.

COVID-19: Identifying countries with indicators of success in responding to the outbreak.

In designing responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is critical to understand what has already worked well. We aimed to identify countries with emerging success stories from whom policymakers might draw important lessons.  We developed a process to first include countries with large enough populations that results were unlikely to be due to chance, that had sufficient cases for response mechanisms to be tested, and that shared the necessary publicly available data.

A framework for identifying and learning from countries that demonstrated exemplary performance in improving health outcomes and systems.

This paper introduces a framework for conducting and disseminating mixed methods research on positive outlier countries that successfully improved their health outcomes and systems. We provide guidance on identifying exemplar countries, assembling multidisciplinary teams, collecting and synthesising pre-existing evidence, undertaking qualitative and quantitative analyses, and preparing dissemination products for various target audiences. Through a range of ongoing research studies, we illustrate application of each step of the framework while highlighting key considerations and lessons learnt.

Understanding multifactorial drivers of child stunting reduction in Exemplar countries: a mixed-methods approach.

Background: Several countries have notably reduced childhood stunting relative to economic growth over the past 15-20 y. The Exemplars in Stunting Reduction project, or "Exemplars," studies success factors among these countries with a lens toward replicability.

Objectives: This paper details the standardized mixed-methods framework for studying determinants of childhood stunting reduction applied in Exemplars studies.

Human errors in medical practice: systematic classification and reduction with automated information systems.

We review the general nature of human error(s) in complex systems and then focus on issues raised by Institute of Medicine report in 1999. From this background we classify and categorize error(s) in medical practice, including medication, procedures, diagnosis, and clerical error(s). We also review the potential role of software and technology applications in reducing the rate and nature of error(s).