Interventional clinical studies of convalescent plasma to treat COVID-19 were predominantly funded and led by public sector actors, including blood services operators. We aimed to analyze the processes of clinical studies of convalescent plasma to understand alternatives to pharmaceutical industry biopharmaceutical research and development, particularly where public sector actors play a dominant role. We conducted a qualitative, critical case study of purposively sampled prominent and impactful clinical studies of convalescent plasma during 2020-2021.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: The quality of life (QOL) experiences of children and adolescents living with advanced cancer have been under-explored. Enhancing QOL for this population is a dominant goal of their healthcare yet, there has been little research identifying aspects that impact their QOL. The purpose of this meta-synthesis was to identify themes of QOL informed from the voices of children and adolescents living with advanced cancer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAcute leukemia is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow with a high symptom burden and a high mortality rate in adults. The quality of end-of-life care among this patient population is deemed to be low based on health care administrative data, though the patient experience is not included in this evaluation. This scoping review aims at exploring and mapping the current research literature on the experience of care among adults with incurable acute leukemia near the end of life.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: To understand motivations and deterrents to donate COVID-19 convalescent plasma for a clinical trial and determine whether they predict intention to donate source plasma.
Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadian Blood Services was involved in three nationally coordinated convalescent plasma clinical trials, requiring the recruitment of several thousand prospective convalescent plasma donors. Understanding the motivations and deterrents of donors in the unique context of a clinical trial and ongoing pandemic can inform recruitment for source plasma donation beyond a clinical trial.