Variation in day surgery rates across Irish public hospitals.

The appropriate use of day surgery has been shown to provide the same or better outcomes for patients and to increase hospital efficiency. However, it is often underutilised, and rates can vary widely across hospitals. This study examines variation in day-surgery rates across Irish public hospitals and identifies the characteristics associated with these variations.

Lives of Irish Adolescents Who Were Born With a Cleft (LIA-Cleft).

Objective: The objective was to describe the lives of adolescents, who were born with cleft lip and palate (CL/P), in comparison to the general population as recorded in Growing up in Ireland (GUI), the national longitudinal study of children and youth.

Design: This was a cross-sectional study. The study was performed in a cleft center at a university teaching hospital.

Impact of the Cooperative Health Insurance System in Saudi Arabia on Universal Health Coverage-A Systematic Literature Review.

Background: This systematic review assesses the role of the Cooperative Health Insurance System (CHIS) in achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Saudi Arabia's evolving healthcare system by consolidating and analyzing findings from diverse studies to provide a comprehensive overview of CHIS's impact and also identifies contextual challenges and practical insights that can inform similar reforms globally.

Methods: We report results following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The following six databases were searched for relevant studies: PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, Business Source Complete, APA PsycINFO, and SocIndex.

Access to healthcare for children with CHDs in middle and low-income countries: a systematic literature review.

CHD includes a wide range of cardiac disorders present at birth. If appropriate care is delivered in time, the prognosis is relatively good. However, in many parts of the world, access to healthcare continues to be a problem for these patients, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

Evaluations of digital public health interventions in the WHO Southeast Asia Region: a systematic literature review.

Introduction: Digital health technologies have been enhancing the capacity of healthcare providers and, thereby, the delivery of targeted health services. The Southeast Asia Region (SEAR) has invested in strengthening digital public health. Many digital health interventions have been implemented in public health settings but are rarely assessed using the holistic health technology assessment (HTA) approach.

An evaluation of the impact of a national Minimum Unit Price on alcohol policy on alcohol behaviours.

Background: In 2018, Scotland pioneered national legislation which set a Minimum Unit Price (MUP) of 50 pence (∼US$0.64, €0.59) per unit of UK alcohol sold (8 g/10 ml).

Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights and Service Use among Undocumented Migrants in the EU: A Systematic Literature Review.

Most EU member states fail to provide essential sexual and reproductive health services to undocumented migrants, a vulnerable population facing limited access, utilization, and worse health-related outcomes. This study systematically reviewed the literature on access to and use of these services, as well as related health, economic, and migratory outcomes for undocumented migrants in the EU-EFTA region. The systematic review is reported based on the PRISMA 2020 checklist and includes 37 studies published between 2017 and 2024.

Does personality matter? Exploring its moderating role on the relationship between neighbourhood ethnic outgroup-size and preferences for Brexit.

Prior research has examined the relationship between ethnic outgroup-size at the neighbourhood level and Brexit support, yet there is a lack of understanding on the factors that moderate these effects. This paper critically extends prior debate by focusing on how personality traits moderate not only the extent to which the levels (2011) of ethnic outgroup-size in individuals' residential neighbourhoods but also the increase thereof (2001-2011) are associated with individuals' preferences about the 2016 Brexit referendum. Using data from Understanding Society, we find that two personality traits, agreeableness and openness, are key moderators affecting the above-mentioned relationship.

The Potential Impact of Large Language Models on Doctor-Patient Communication: A Case Study in Prostate Cancer.

Background: In recent years, the integration of large language models (LLMs) into healthcare has emerged as a revolutionary approach to enhancing doctor-patient communication, particularly in the management of diseases such as prostate cancer.

Methods: Our paper evaluated the effectiveness of three prominent LLMs-ChatGPT (3.5), Gemini (Pro), and Co-Pilot (the free version)-against the official Romanian Patient's Guide on prostate cancer.

Health technology assessment implementation in WHO South-East Asia Region: a realist review protocol.

Background: A robust Health Technology Assessment (HTA) framework is crucial to address the rising burden of healthcare costs and to inform decision-making to promote high-quality health systems. This research aims to describe the HTA methods and mechanisms for the successful implementation of HTA in the WHO South-East Asia region, and contextualize the synthesized evidence relevant to Indian settings.

Methods: Realist review involves developing a program theory by conducting a systematic search strategy, screening, study selection, data extraction, and data synthesis.

An investigation of inequalities in exposure to PM air pollution across small areas in Ireland.

The link between exposure to air pollution and adverse effects on human health is well documented. Yet, in a European context, research on the spatial distribution of air pollution and the characteristics of areas is relatively scarce, and there is a need for research using different spatial scales, a wider variety of socioeconomic indicators (such as ethnicity) and new methodologies to assess these relationships. This study uses comprehensive data on a wide range of demographic and socioeconomic indicators, matched to data on PM concentrations for small areas in Ireland, to assess the relationship between social vulnerability and PM air pollution.

Long-term exposure to PM air pollution and mental health: a retrospective cohort study in Ireland.

Background: Mental illness is the leading cause of years lived with disability, and the global disease burden of mental ill-health has increased substantially in the last number of decades. There is now increasing evidence that environmental conditions, and in particular poor air quality, may be associated with mental health and wellbeing.

Methods: This cross-sectional analysis uses data on mental health and wellbeing from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), a nationally representative survey of the population aged 50+ in Ireland.

An unlevel playing field: Immigrant assimilation and welfare utilization.

This paper investigates the existence and mechanisms of segmentation in the welfare assimilation process of first-generation immigrants in the Netherlands. Using longitudinal administrative data (2007-2015) from Statistics Netherlands (CBS), we estimate the welfare utilization trajectories of migrants over the working-age life course vis-à-vis two reference groups representing different economic segments from the population, namely: average Dutch natives and Dutch natives with low education level. Empirical evidence shows a predominant trend of mainstream assimilation; however, two findings with more concerning implications should be highlighted.

Trust in cervical screening and attributions of blame for interval cancers following a national controversy.

Objectives: This study investigated levels of trust and attributions of blame in connection with a cervical screening programme following a controversy related to the programme's audit, incorporating an experimental test of the effectiveness of new information materials.

Design: We compared responses in Ireland (N = 872) to equivalent responses in Scotland (N = 400). Participants in Ireland were randomly assigned to either a treatment group that received the information materials or a control group that did not.

Romania's Pioneering Law: Establishing the Right to Personalized Medicine.

This analysis and commentary discuss Romania's landmark law, the first globally, acknowledging the right of citizens and patients to personalized medicine. Initiated following the EU Council's 2015 policy on personalized medicine, the law is a result of intersectoral collaborative efforts led by the Centre for Innovation in Medicine in Romania using a quadruple (later evolved to penta) helix model involving academia, public, private, and civil society sectors. Promulgated on May 24, 2023, the law legally entitles patients to personalized health care and in ways informed by individual genetic and phenotypic consideration.

"We have been so patient because we know where we are coming from" Exploring the acceptability and feasibility of a mobile electronic medical record system designed for community-based antiretroviral therapy in Lilongwe, Malawi.

Background: Mobile health (mHealth) is reshaping healthcare delivery, especially in HIV management. The World Health Organization advocates for mHealth to provide healthcare workers (HCWs) with real-time data, enhancing patient care. However, in Malawi's Lighthouse Trust antiretroviral therapy (ART) clinic, the nurse-led community-based ART (NCAP) program faces hurdles with data management due to lack of access to electronic medical records systems (EMRS) in the community setting.

Barriers to healthcare access for children with congenital heart disease in eight Latin American countries.

Background: Mortality from congenital heart disease has decreased considerably in the last two decades due to improvements in overall health care. However, there are barriers to access to healthcare in Latin America for this population, which could be related to factors such as healthcare system, policies, resources, geographic, cultural, educational, and psychological factors. Understanding the barriers to access to care is of paramount importance for the design and implementation of policies and facilitate the provision of care.

Place of Death for Adults Receiving Specialist Palliative Care in Their Last 3 Months of Life: Factors Associated With Preferred Place, Actual Place, and Place of Death Congruence.

Congruence between the preferred and actual place of death is recognised as an important quality indicator in end-of-life care. However, there may be complexities about preferences that are ignored in summary congruence measures. This article examined factors associated with preferred place of death, actual place of death, and congruence for a sample of patients who had received specialist palliative care in the last three months of life in Ireland.

Migration and sustainable development.

To understand the implications of migration for sustainable development requires a comprehensive consideration of a range of population movements and their feedback across space and time. This Perspective reviews emerging science at the interface of migration studies, demography, and sustainability, focusing on consequences of migration flows for nature-society interactions including on societal outcomes such as inequality; environmental causes and consequences of involuntary displacement; and processes of cultural convergence in sustainability practices in dynamic new populations. We advance a framework that demonstrates how migration outcomes result in identifiable consequences on resources, environmental burdens and well-being, and on innovation, adaptation, and challenges for sustainability governance.

Assessing the status of oral health integration in South East Asian Regional Office countries' Universal Health Coverage-A scoping review.

Background: Oral diseases affect close to 3.5 billion people worldwide and there has been a call by the World Health Organization (WHO) to integrate oral health into the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) agenda.

Objectives: To collate and synthesise information regarding the status of integration of oral health into the health systems covered by UHC across the 11 countries in the South East Asian Regional Office.

Behavioural evidence on COVID-19 vaccine uptake.

Objectives: The World Health Organization has declared that COVID-19 is no longer a public health emergency of international concern. Nevertheless, it remains a public health issue, and seasonal vaccinations, at the same time of year as influenza vaccinations, will be necessary. When the first vaccines were administered in 2020, decision-makers had to make assumptions about the best methods to communicate and administer vaccines to increase uptake.