Academic Articles & Research Papers

Why did an effective Dutch complex psycho-social intervention for people with dementia not work in the German healthcare context? Lessons learnt from a process evaluation alongside a multicentre RCT

Background The positive effects of the Dutch Community Occupational Therapy in Dementia programme on patients' daily functioning were not found in a multicentre randomised controlled trial (RCT) in Germany.Objectives To evaluate possible ef...

Group-format, peer-facilitated mental health promotion interventions for students in higher education settings: a scoping review protocol

Introduction Young people in higher education face various stressors that can make them vulnerable to mental ill-health. Mental health promotion in this group therefore has important potential benefits. Peer-facilitated and group-format int...

Robotic Arthroplasty Clinical and cost Effectiveness Randomised controlled trial (RACER-knee): a study protocol

Introduction Robotic-assisted knee replacement systems have been introduced to healthcare services worldwide in an effort to improve clinical outcomes for people, although high-quality evidence that they are clinically, or cost-effective re...

Yoga Outcomes Get Assessed in Cystic Fibrosis (YOGA-CF): protocol of a multicentre interventional randomised controlled clinical trial—investigating effects of a 12-week yoga intervention for adults with cystic fibrosis

Introduction Yoga is an emerging exercise choice for people with cystic fibrosis (CF), but evidence of its effect in this population is scarce, with a recent systematic review advocating for further research. Yoga Outcomes Get Assessed in C...

Effect of falls prevention interventions on falls and the risk factors for falls among cancer survivors: protocol for a systematic review

Introduction Falls are a significant health concern and associated with cancer survivorship. Falls can result in negative psychosocial consequences for cancer survivors and economic sequelae for healthcare delivery. There are cancer-specifi...

Wellbeing intervention for chronic kidney disease (WICKD): a randomised controlled trial study protocol

Abstract Background Incidence of end stage kidney disease (ESKD) for Indigenous Australians is especially high in remote and very remote areas of Australia (18 and 20 times the rate of comparable non-Indigenous people). Relocating away from...

Cross-national validation of the MHQoL: psychometric evaluation and open-source tools for assessing mental health quality of life

Objectives To validate the cross-national psychometric properties of the Mental Health Quality of Life questionnaire (MHQoL) and to develop an open-source toolbox for its scoring, transformation and presentation.Design Secondary analysis of...

Clinical and cost-effectiveness of a standardised diagnostic assessment for children and adolescents with emotional difficulties: the STADIA multi-centre RCT

Background Emotional disorders are common in children and young people and can significantly impair their quality of life. Evidence-based treatments require a timely and appropriate diagnosis. The utility of standardised diagnostic assessme...

Effectiveness of Back care education Programme among school children: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials

Abstract Study design Systematic review of Randomised controlled trials. Objectives With the increasing incidence of back pain among children and its untold implications to their future, back education tailored in an effective way would be ...

Bayesian methods in health technology assessment: a review.

BACKGROUND: Bayesian methods may be defined as the explicit quantitative use of external evidence in the design, monitoring, analysis, interpretation and reporting of a health technology assessment. In outline, the methods involve formal co...

Electronic symptom monitoring of patient-reported outcomes among patients with hepatocellular carcinoma during immunotherapy (PRIME-HCC): protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Introduction Electronic patient-reported outcome (ePROs)-based symptom monitoring benefits health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in various cancers. However, despite the high disease and economic burden of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) an...

Meeting unmet needs following minor stroke: the SUN randomised controlled trial protocol

Abstract Background Whilst there are comprehensive guidelines for the rehabilitation of people with severe impairments from stroke, there has been less attention on the health and rehabilitation needs of people with minor stroke. Our study ...

sEMG-controlled forearm bracelet and serious game-based rehabilitation for training manual dexterity in people with multiple sclerosis: a randomised controlled trial

Abstract Background Muscle strength and dexterity impairments are common among patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) producing limitations in activities of daily living related to the upper limb (UL). This study aimed to evaluate the effect...

Protocol for a mixed methods process evaluation for a randomised controlled trial to improve shared decision-making about, and uptake of, osteoporosis medicines: the iFraP study [version 3; peer review: 2 approved, 1 approved with reservations]

Background High quality shared decision-making (SDM) conversations involve people with or at risk of osteoporosis and clinicians working together to decide, where appropriate, which evidence-based medicines best fit the person’s life, belie...

The effect of replacing saturated fat with mostly n-6 polyunsaturated fat on coronary heart disease: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

Abstract Background A cornerstone of conventional dietary advice is the recommendation to replace saturated fatty acids (SFA) with mostly n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). Many clinic...

Integrating palliative care into respiratory care for people with advanced COPD: study protocol for the international EU PAL-COPD stepped wedge cluster randomised controlled trial of the ICLEAR-EU intervention.

Randomised controlled trial of direct brow lift: conventional technique versus fixed-periosteum technique in brow ptosis.

Robotic-assisted total knee arthroplasty demonstrates superior early functional outcomes compared with conventional total knee arthroplasty: a quasi-randomised controlled trial.