Evaluating an interactive tool that reasons about quality of life to support life planning by older people.

Objectives: In response to the lack of digital support for older people to plan their lives for quality of life, research was undertaken to co-design and then evaluate a new digital tool that combined interactive guidance for life planning with a computerised model of quality of life.

Method: First, a workshop-based process for co-designing the SCAMPI tool with older people is reported. A first version of this tool was then evaluated over eight consecutive weeks by nine older people living in their own homes.

Acceptability and Feasibility of a Mindfulness Intervention Delivered via Videoconferencing for People With Parkinson's.

Mindfulness-based group therapy is a rapidly growing psychological approach that can potentially help people adjust to chronic illness and manage unpleasant symptoms. Emerging evidence suggests that mindfulness-based interventions may benefit people with Parkinson's. The objective of the paper is to examine the appropriateness, feasibility, and potential cost-effectiveness of an online mindfulness intervention, designed to reduce anxiety and depression for people with Parkinson's.

Effectiveness of probiotic in preventing and treating antibiotic-associated diarrhoea and/or Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea in patients with spinal cord injury: a protocol of systematic review of randomised controlled trials.

Background: Probiotics may prevent antibiotic-associated and Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea (AAD/CDAD). Many spinal cord injury centre (SCIC) practitioners consider probiotics generically and may not realise that efficacy can be strain-, dose- and disease-specific. In order to confirm these effects and fully evaluate the extent of probiotic effectiveness in these patients, a systematic review and meta-analysis is indicated.

A comparison of remote therapy, face to face therapy and an attention control intervention for people with aphasia: a quasi-randomised controlled feasibility study.

Objective: To test the feasibility of a randomised controlled trial comparing face to face and remotely delivered word finding therapy for people with aphasia.

Design: A quasi-randomised controlled feasibility study comparing remote therapy delivered from a University lab, remote therapy delivered from a clinical site, face to face therapy and an attention control condition.

Setting: A University lab and NHS outpatient service.

Effect of telecare on use of health and social care services: findings from the Whole Systems Demonstrator cluster randomised trial.

Objective: to assess the impact of telecare on the use of social and health care. Part of the evaluation of the Whole Systems Demonstrator trial.

Participants And Setting: a total of 2,600 people with social care needs were recruited from 217 general practices in three areas in England.

An investigation of abdominal muscle recruitment for sustained phonation in 25 healthy singers.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the baseline muscle thickness and recruitment patterns of the transversus abdominis muscle (TAM) and the internal oblique muscle (IOM) during semisupine phonation in a group of healthy performers.

Study Design: This was a 2 × 3×2 within-group, repeated-measure study in which 25 professional vocalists--12 male and 13 female performed a series of sustained pitches in differing vocal qualities. Measurements were taken with ultrasound (Sonosite Micromaxx Ultrasound System) of the baseline thickness and % recruitment during voicing, of two deep abdominal muscles--TAM and the IOM.

Effect of telehealth on use of secondary care and mortality: findings from the Whole System Demonstrator cluster randomised trial.

Objective: To assess the effect of home based telehealth interventions on the use of secondary healthcare and mortality.

Design: Pragmatic, multisite, cluster randomised trial comparing telehealth with usual care, using data from routine administrative datasets. General practice was the unit of randomisation.

Investigation of the impact of thyroid surgery on vocal tract steadiness.

Introduction: Subjective nonspecific upper aerodigestive symptoms are not uncommon after thyroid surgery. These are postulated to be related to injury of an extrinsic perithyroid nerve plexus that innervates the muscles of the supraglottic and glottic larynx. This plexus is thought to receive contributing branches from both the recurrent and superior laryngeal nerves.