Publications by authors named "Robin S T Ho"

Background/objective: This paper aimed to summarize the findings of the third (2022) Active Healthy Kids Hong Kong Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Adolescents and evaluate the secular trends of physical activity related indicators.

Methods: Five behavioral indicators (Overall Physical Activity, Organized Sport and Physical Activity, Active Play, Active Transportation, and Sedentary Behavior), three outcome indicators (Physical Fitness, Sleep, and Obesity) and four sources of influence indicators (Family and Peers, School, Community and Environment, and Government) were assigned a letter grade (ranging from A+ to F or incomplete) based on the best available evidence following a harmonized approach developed by the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance. Data sources included published journal articles, government reports, manual searches, and personal contacts; and consisted of both pre-COVID-19 and after-COVID-19 evidence.

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We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis comparing motor control, isometric, and isotonic trunk training intervention for pain, disability, and re-injury risk reduction in chronic low back pain patients. The EMBASE, MEDLINE, CENTRAL, PsycINFO, SPORTDiscus, and CINAHL databases were searched from inception until 25 February 2021 for chronic low back pain intervention based on any trunk training. Outcomes include the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) for disability, the Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) for pain, and the Sorensen Test (ST) for future risk of re-injury.

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Background: Postprandial dysmetabolism, an important cardiovascular disease risk factor, can be improved by exercise. Further systematic review and meta-analysis is needed to compare the effects of accumulated exercise with a single session of energy-matched continuous exercise on postprandial glucose (PPG), insulin, and triglycerides in adults with or without diabetes.

Methods: Eight electronic databases were searched on August 28, 2020, and updated on April 27, 2021.

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Background: Non-specific effect of acupuncture constitutes part of the overall effect generated via clinical encounter beyond needle insertion and stimulation. It is unclear how responders and non-responders of acupuncture experience non-specific effects differently. We aimed to compare their experiences in a nested qualitative study embedded in an acupuncture randomized trial on functional dyspepsia.

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Purpose: Systematic reviews (SRs) provide the best evidence on the effectiveness of treatment strategies for osteoporosis. Carefully conducted SRs provide high-quality evidence for supporting decision-making, but the trustworthiness of conclusions can be hampered by limitation in rigor. We aimed to appraise the methodological quality of a representative sample of SRs on osteoporosis treatments in a cross-sectional study.

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WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2014-23 recommended evidence-based healthcare (EBHC) education for traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) professionals, including Chinese medicine practitioners (CMPs). We evaluated the impact of a customized educational workshop on Hong Kong CMPs' knowledge, attitude and practice of EBHC. Two validated instruments, Evidence-based Practice Questionnaire (EPQ) and Evidence-based Practice Inventory (EPI), were used to assess the impact of EBHC education.

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Background: An overview of systematic reviews (SRs) and a network meta-analysis (NMA) were conducted to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of acupuncture and related therapies used either alone, or as an add-on to other irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) treatments.

Methods: A total of eight international and Chinese databases were searched for SRs of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The methodological quality of SRs was appraised using the AMSTAR instrument.

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Background: Pharmacotherapy, including prokinetics and proton pump inhibitors for functional dyspepsia (FD) have limited effectiveness, and their safety has been recently questioned. Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) could be considered as an alternative. A systematic review (SR) of SRs was performed to evaluate the potential effectiveness and safety of CHM.

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Prokinetics for functional dyspepsia (FD) have relatively higher number needed to treat values. Acupuncture and related therapies could be used as add-on or alternative. An overview of systematic reviews (SRs) and network meta-analyses (NMA) were performed to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of different acupuncture and related therapies.

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Methodological quality of meta-analyses on hypertension treatments can affect treatment decision-making. The authors conducted a cross-sectional study to investigate the methodological quality of meta-analyses on hypertension treatments. One hundred and fifty-eight meta-analyses were identified.

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Objective: Well-conducted meta-analyses (MAs) are considered as one of the best sources of clinical evidence for treatment decision. MA with methodological flaws may introduce bias and mislead evidence users. The aim of this study is to investigate the characteristics and methodological quality of MAs on diabetes mellitus (DM) treatments.

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In China, Community Health Centers (CHCs) are major providers of primary care services, but their potential in empowering patients' self-management capacity has not been assessed. This study aims to describe self-care practice patterns amongst CHC attendees in urban China.In this cross-sectional quantitative study, 3360 CHC patients from 6 cities within the Pearl Delta Region were sampled using multistage cluster sampling.

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Background: The effectiveness of acupuncture for managing carpal tunnel syndrome is uncertain, particularly in patients already receiving conventional treatments (e.g., splinting).

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Among Chinese populations worldwide, Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) are often used as an adjunct to pharmacotherapy in managing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, the relative performance among different CHM is unknown.The aim of this study was to evaluate comparative effectiveness of different CHM when used with salmeterol and fluticasone propionate (SFP), compared with SFP alone.

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This study aims to examine the level of empathy perceived by patients receiving care from herbalists, acupuncturists and massage therapists and to investigate the factors that influence levels of perceived empathy.Participants who were 18 years or above; able to provide written informed consent; and able to read and write in Chinese without assistance were included. A total of 514 participants sampled from charity and semipublic Chinese medicine (CM) clinics in Hong Kong were recruited to assess levels of empathy perceived during various length of consultations (1-20 minutes) by the Chinese Consultation and Relational Empathy Measure (Chinese CARE).

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Chinese herbal medicines (CHM) are often used in managing cancer related symptoms but their effectiveness and safety is controversial. We conducted this overview of meta-analyses to summarize evidence on CHM for cancer palliative care. We included systematic reviews (SRs) with meta-analyses of CHM clinical trials on patients diagnosed with any type of cancer.

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Acupuncture and related therapies such as moxibustion and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation are often used to manage cancer-related symptoms, but their effectiveness and safety are controversial. We conducted this overview to summarise the evidence on acupuncture for palliative care of cancer. Our systematic review synthesised the results from clinical trials of patients with any type of cancer.

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Background: Meta-analysis (MA) of randomised trials is considered to be one of the best approaches for summarising high-quality evidence on the efficacy and safety of treatments. However, methodological flaws in MAs can reduce the validity of conclusions, subsequently impairing the quality of decision making.

Aims: To assess the methodological quality of MAs on COPD treatments.

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Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Meta-analysis (MA) on Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) trials is increasingly published and indexed in major international databases but their trustworthiness and clinical applicability is uncertain. We aimed to assess the characteristics and methodological quality of MA on CHM.

Materials And Methods: Cross-sectional study.

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