Publications by authors named "Sarah Markham"
Article Synopsis
- A systematic review and meta-analysis examined the mortality risk from infectious diseases (excluding COVID-19) in individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
- The analysis included 29 studies, revealing that those with SMI are more than twice as likely to die from any infectious disease and over three times more likely to die from respiratory infections compared to the general population.
- Variations in findings were influenced by factors such as the specific SMI diagnosis, gender, and the type of infection studied.
Importance: Test accuracy studies often use small datasets to simultaneously select an optimal cutoff score that maximizes test accuracy and generate accuracy estimates.
Objective: To evaluate the degree to which using data-driven methods to simultaneously select an optimal Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) cutoff score and estimate accuracy yields (1) optimal cutoff scores that differ from the population-level optimal cutoff score and (2) biased accuracy estimates.
Design, Setting, And Participants: This study used cross-sectional data from an existing individual participant data meta-analysis (IPDMA) database on PHQ-9 screening accuracy to represent a hypothetical population.
Individuals diagnosed with autism, attachment disorders, emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD) or complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) can present with similar features. This renders differential and accurate diagnosis of these conditions difficult, leading to diagnostic overshadowing and misdiagnosis. The purpose of this study was to explore professionals' perspectives on the differential diagnosis of autism, attachment disorders and CPTSD in young people; and of autism, CPTSD and EUPD in adults.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDepression questionnaire cutoffs are calibrated for screening accuracy and not to assess prevalence, but the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) is often used to estimate diagnostic prevalence among older adults, most commonly with scores of ≥ 5. We conducted an individual participant data meta-analysis to compare depression prevalence based on GDS-15 ≥ 5 to Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (SCID) diagnoses and assessed whether an alternative cutoff could be more accurate. We used generalized linear mixed models to estimate prevalence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Randomised controlled trials often use surrogate endpoints instead of direct outcomes to enhance efficiency and reduce costs, but this can lead to increased uncertainty regarding treatment effects and intervention harms.
- A new guideline, known as CONSORT-Surrogate, provides a checklist for reporting trials that utilize surrogate endpoints, ensuring better clarity and transparency in the results.
- The recommended checklist, tailored for all stakeholders involved in clinical trials, aims to improve the reporting quality of these studies and ultimately reduce wasted research efforts.
Article Synopsis
- Randomised controlled trials often use surrogate endpoints instead of direct outcomes to save time, cost, and ethical concerns, but this can create uncertainty about the actual treatment effects and potential harms.
- The SPIRIT-Surrogate is a new guideline to enhance the reporting standards for trial protocols that use surrogate endpoints, building on the existing SPIRIT checklist.
- This guideline includes nine modified items, encouraging all stakeholders to adopt it, which aims to improve trial design, transparency, and ultimately reduce wasted research efforts.
Purpose: Although comprehensive and widespread guidelines on how to conduct systematic reviews of outcome measurement instruments (OMIs) exist, for example from the COSMIN (COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments) initiative, key information is often missing in published reports. This article describes the development of an extension of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guideline: PRISMA-COSMIN for OMIs 2024.
Methods: The development process followed the Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research (EQUATOR) guidelines and included a literature search, expert consultations, a Delphi study, a hybrid workgroup meeting, pilot testing, and an end-of-project meeting, with integrated patient/public involvement.
Purpose: Although comprehensive and widespread guidelines on how to conduct systematic reviews of outcome measurement instruments (OMIs) exist, for example from the COSMIN (COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments) initiative, key information is often missing in published reports. This article describes the development of an extension of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guideline: PRISMA-COSMIN for OMIs 2024.
Methods: The development process followed the Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research (EQUATOR) guidelines and included a literature search, expert consultations, a Delphi study, a hybrid workgroup meeting, pilot testing, and an end-of-project meeting, with integrated patient/public involvement.
Purpose: Although comprehensive and widespread guidelines on how to conduct systematic reviews of outcome measurement instruments (OMIs) exist, for example from the COSMIN (COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments) initiative, key information is often missing in published reports. This article describes the development of an extension of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guideline: PRISMA-COSMIN for OMIs 2024.
Methods: The development process followed the Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research (EQUATOR) guidelines and included a literature search, expert consultations, a Delphi study, a hybrid workgroup meeting, pilot testing, and an end-of-project meeting, with integrated patient/public involvement.
Objectives: To use individual participant data meta-analysis (IPDMA) to estimate the minimal detectable change (MDC) of the Geriatric Depression Scale-15 (GDS-15) and to examine whether MDC may differ based on participant characteristics and study-level variables.
Study Design And Setting: This was a secondary analysis of data from an IPDMA on the depression screening accuracy of the GDS. Datasets from studies published in any language were eligible for the present study if they included GDS-15 scores for participants aged 60 or older.
Article Synopsis
- * Statistically significant differential item functioning (DIF) was found for most questionnaire items, but this had minimal impact on total scores.
- * Researchers and clinicians can choose the administration method based on what works best for patients, considering preferences, feasibility, or cost, as score differences were negligible.
Background And Objective: Although comprehensive and widespread guidelines on how to conduct systematic reviews of outcome measurement instruments (OMIs) exist, for example from the COSMIN (COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments) initiative, key information is often missing in published reports. This article describes the development of an extension of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guideline: PRISMA-COSMIN for OMIs 2024.
Methods: The development process followed the Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research (EQUATOR) guidelines and included a literature search, expert consultations, a Delphi study, a hybrid workgroup meeting, pilot testing, and an end-of-project meeting, with integrated patient/public involvement.
Background: Disability is often an essentialised and oversimplified concept. We propose refining this while incorporating the multidimensional nature of disability by increasing the use of existing survey questions and their corresponding data to enrich, broaden and inform understandings of disability.
Methods: We combined patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) with focus groups and concept mapping to collaboratively map disability survey questions into conceptual models of disability with six members of the public with lived experiences of disability.
Background: In recent years, projects to develop reporting guidelines have attempted to integrate the perspectives of patients and public members. Best practices for patient and public involvement (PPI) in such projects have not yet been established. We recently developed an extension of PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses), to be used for systematic reviews of outcome measurement instruments (OMIs): PRISMA-COSMIN (COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments) for OMIs 2024.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Cognitive remediation (CR) can reduce the cognitive difficulties experienced by people with psychosis. Adapting CR to be delivered remotely provides new opportunities for extending its use. However, doing so requires further evaluation of its acceptability from service users' views.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Approximately 30% of patients experience substantial improvement in depression after 2 months without treatment, and 45% with antidepressants. The smallest worthwhile difference (SWD) refers to an intervention's smallest beneficial effect over a comparison patients deem worthwhile given treatment burdens (harms, expenses and inconveniences), but is undetermined for antidepressants.
Objective: Estimating the SWD of commonly prescribed antidepressants for depression compared to no treatment.
Article Synopsis
- The paper discusses the increasing use of surrogate endpoints in interventional trials and introduces a framework for better defining and reporting them.
- A series of studies, including reviews and surveys involving various stakeholders, revealed inconsistencies in how surrogate endpoints are currently defined and understood.
- It was found that while traditional surrogate endpoints focus on biomarkers, broader interpretations including intermediate outcomes like function or symptoms also require clearer consensus among stakeholders, particularly between patients and health technology experts.
This article advocates for integrating procedural justice principles into forensic mental health services to enhance patient engagement and autonomy. Procedural justice, broadly defined as fair decision-making processes, is introduced and key principles including voice, neutrality, respect and trustworthiness are described. Evidence suggestive of positive outcomes following procedural justice experiences, such as improved satisfaction, collaboration and reduced perceptions of coercion is outlined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: There is an ambitious target to create a UK clinical academic workforce representing 1% of clinicians from nursing, midwifery, the allied health professions, healthcare science, pharmacy and psychology (NMAHPPs). Understanding and recording the impact that clinical academics make across healthcare services is crucial if we are to grow, value and support this highly skilled workforce group. However, it is currently difficult to systematically record, collate and report the impacts associated with NMAHPP research activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe SPIN-CHAT Program was designed to support mental health among individuals with systemic sclerosis (SSc; commonly known as scleroderma) and at least mild anxiety symptoms at the onset of COVID-19. The program was formally evaluated in the SPIN-CHAT Trial. Little is known about program and trial acceptability, and factors impacting implementation from the perspectives of research team members and trial participants.
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