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    Electrification and specialist training associated with decreased neonatal mortality and increased admissions in Sierra Leone
    (John Wiley and Sons Inc., 2024-09-20) Conroy, Niall; Barr, David Adam; Nalley, Joy; Conteh, Juliana Emilia Mamie; Mitchell, Louise; Bury, Gerard; Irish Research eLibrary
    Aim The aim of this study was to describe the evolution of a regional neonatal service in Sierra Leone and changes in mortality and service use as it transitioned from a non-specialist service to a dedicated special care baby unit (SCBU). Methods This was a retrospective observational study. Anonymised data were taken from the ward admissions books at Bo Government Hospital, and trends in admissions and mortality within the neonatal service were examined for each stage of the department's evolution. Results Four phases of the service's development were identified between November 2015 and October 2019. Records of 2377 admissions and 333 deaths were identified. The average number of admissions per month and deaths per month varied by service development phase. There was a trend towards reduced death rates and increased numbers of admissions as the unit evolved into a dedicated neonatal unit with a reliable electricity supply. Conclusions The development of an adequately sized SCBU with a reliable electricity supply and specially trained staff was associated with a reduction in the death rate and an increase in admissions.
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    Indoor plants’ effect on occupants’ performance, perceived comfort, and affect in an open-plan space in composite climatic regions, India
    (Elsevier, 2025) Budaniya, Mukesh; Mishra, Asit Kumar; Rai, Aakash C.; Dasgupta, M. S.; Horizon 2020; Government of India
    Biophilic designs with indoor plants are being increasingly recognized for their potential to enhance indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and occupant satisfaction. This can contribute to sustainable and green buildings. However, evidence on the specific benefits of indoor plants remains ambiguous. Particularly, for the buildings in India, there is dearth of evidence of the impact of plants on occupants. We conducted a between-subjects study, with (WP) and without plants (WoP), to investigate effect of indoor plants on Indian building occupants in the composite climatic region of India. Subjective questionnaires queried participants’ indoor climate perception, sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms, emotional state, self-assessed performance, and overall satisfaction with the space. Participants undertook a cognitive task targeting working memory (Operations Span). Air quality perception, SBS symptoms, and subjectively and objectively assessed performance did not differ significantly between WP and WoP groups. The WP group perceived the space to be better decorated (|r|, effect size = 0.42, p <0.0001), cleaner (|r| = 0.16, p = 0.04), visually more comfortable (|r| = 0.22, p = 0.01), and cooler (r = 0.18, p =0.02). The WP group also had enhanced positive emotions (|r| = 0.21 to 0.45, p < 0.0001 to 0.02) and reduced negative emotions (r = 0.18, p = 0.02). Our findings indicated that potted plants improved occupant perception of indoor environment and can potentially lower cooling energy use by over 8 %.
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    Psychological interventions for women with non-metastatic breast cancer
    (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2023-01-11) Jassim, Ghufran A.; Doherty, Sally; Whitford, David L.; Khashan, Ali S.
    Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women worldwide. It is a distressing diagnosis and, as a result, considerable research has examined the psychological sequelae of being diagnosed and treated for breast cancer. Breast cancer is associated with increased rates of depression and anxiety and reduced quality of life. As a consequence, multiple studies have explored the impact of psychological interventions on the psychological distress experienced after a diagnosis of breast cancer. This review is an update of a Cochrane Review first published in 2015. Objectives: To assess the effect of psychological interventions on psychological morbidities and quality of life among women with non‐metastatic breast cancer. Search methods: We searched the Cochrane Breast Cancer Group Specialised Register, CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (WHO ICTRP) and ClinicalTrials.gov up to 16 March 2021. We also scanned the reference lists of relevant articles. Selection criteria: Randomised controlled trials that assessed the effectiveness of psychological interventions for women with non‐metastatic breast cancer. Data collection and analysis: Two review authors independently appraised, extracted data from eligible trials, and assessed risk of bias and certainty of the evidence using the GRADE approach. Any disagreement was resolved by discussion. Extracted data included information about participants, methods, the intervention and outcomes. Main results: We included 60 randomised controlled trials comprising 7998 participants. The most frequent reasons for exclusion were non‐randomised trials and the inclusion of women with metastatic disease. The updated review included 7998 randomised women; the original review included 3940 women. A wide range of interventions was evaluated. Most interventions were cognitive‐ or mindfulness‐based, supportive‐expressive, and educational. The interventions were mainly delivered face‐to‐face (56 studies) and in groups (50 studies) rather than individually (10 studies). Most intervention sessions were delivered on a weekly basis with an average duration of 14 hours. Follow‐up time ranged from two weeks to 24 months. Pooled standardised mean differences (SMD) from baseline indicated that the intervention may reduce depression (SMD ‐0.27, 95% confidence interval (CI) ‐0.52 to ‐0.02; P = 0.04; 27 studies, 3321 participants, I2 = 91%, low‐certainty evidence); anxiety (SMD ‐0.43, 95% CI ‐0.68 to ‐0.17; P = 0.0009; 22 studies, 2702 participants, I2 = 89%, low‐certainty evidence); mood disturbance in the intervention group (SMD ‐0.18, 95% CI ‐0.31 to ‐0.04; P = 0.009; 13 studies, 2276 participants, I2 = 56%, low‐certainty evidence); and stress (SMD ‐0.34, 95% (CI) ‐0.55 to ‐0.12; P = 0.002; 8 studies, 564 participants, I2 = 31%, low‐certainty evidence). The intervention is likely to improve quality of life in the intervention group (SMD 0.78, 95% (CI) 0.32 to 1.24; P = 0.0008; 20 studies, 1747 participants, I2 = 95%, low‐certainty evidence). Adverse events were not reported in any of the included studies. Authors' conclusions: Based on the available evidence, psychological intervention may have produced favourable effects on psychological outcomes, in particular depression, anxiety, mood disturbance and stress. There was also an improvement in quality of life in the psychological intervention group compared to control group. Overall, there was substantial variation across the studies in the range of psychological interventions used, control conditions, measures of the same outcome and timing of follow‐up.
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    Knowledge translation interventions for facilitating evidence-informed decision-making amongst health policymakers
    (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2022-10-13) Toomey, Elaine; Wolfenden, Luke; Armstrong, Rebecca; Booth, Debbie; Christensen, Robin; Byrne, Molly; Dobbins, Maureen; Katikireddi, Srinivasa Vittal; Lavis, John N.; Maguire, Teresa; McHugh, Sheena; Schmidt, Bey-Marrié; Mulholland, Deirdre; Smith, Maureen; Devane, Declan
    This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: The aim of this review is to determine the effectiveness of knowledge translation interventions for facilitating evidence-informed decision-making amongst health policymakers.
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    Grand Rounds in Methodology: a new series to contribute to continuous improvement of methodology and scientific rigour in quality and safety
    (BMJ Publishing Group, 2022-12-22) Marang-van de Mheen, Perla J.; Browne, John P.; Thomas, Eric J.; Franklin, Bryony Dean; National Institute for Health and Care Research; Public Health England
    In clinical practice, ‘grand rounds’ are well known as a method for continuing medical education. In the early 1900s, grand rounds involved bedside teaching, but teaching sessions later moved to the auditorium when they gained popularity to accommodate a larger audience.1 Nowadays, grand rounds are generally targeted to a diverse audience and include topics that will have broad appeal but may also be organised for specific specialties, for example, medical,2 surgical,3 nursing4 or diagnostic5 grand rounds. Grand rounds are a way to help doctors and other healthcare professionals keep up to date in evolving areas that may be outside their core practice. While bedside rounding with a senior physician is an important part of on-the-job training with the primary focus on immediate patient care, grand rounds are often multidisciplinary and present the ‘bigger picture’, as well as the newest research and treatments in a given area.