scholarly journals Improving social participation of adolescents with a visual impairment with community-based mentoring: results from a randomized controlled trial

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (22) ◽  
pp. 3215-3226
Author(s):  
Eline C. M. Heppe ◽  
Agnes M. Willemen ◽  
Sabina Kef ◽  
Carlo Schuengel
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhe WANG ◽  
Shujuan CHEN ◽  
Junning CHEN ◽  
Chunfeng XU ◽  
Zhikang CHEN ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Relapse is very common in patients with illicit drug use disorder and contributes to a series of bad consequences that substantially impact their physical and social functions. Due to the limited existence of effective addiction treatment, the majority of patients with drug use disorder could not access help when needing. Mobile health (mHealth) offers a potential solution to improving recovery outcome for patients in community. OBJECTIVE This paper is a protocol for a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a smart phone application called community-based addiction rehabilitation electronic system (CAREs). This interactive system consists of an APP for clients and a webpage for service providers, with the aim of teaching clients craving and emergency coping skills and helping service providers to improve their work efficiency and effectiveness in community. METHODS A randomized controlled trial (RCT) will be conducted. Sixty drug illicit users who are newly ordered to undergo community rehabilitation will be recruited from the community in Shanghai. Participants will be 1:1 randomly assigned to receive integrated community rehabilitation by using CAREs or only receiving routine community rehabilitation for 6 months. Corresponding anti-drug social workers will provide service and monitor their drug use behavior in accordance with the routine work-flow. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline and in the 6th month. The primary study outcome is the performance on illicit drug urine test which will be carried on regularly twice per week during the study period. Secondary study outcomes include longest duration of sustained abstinence, days that participants interact with anti-drug social workers, and the decrease rate of addiction-related issues severity index. RESULTS Recruitment is currently underway with the aim of recruiting 60 subjects with drug use disorder. Recruitment will continue until the end of 2018. CONCLUSIONS This is the first known trial of a smartphone-based psychotherapy program for improving recovery outcomes in illicit drug users in community. The study provides evidence for the feasibility and effectiveness of the "CAREs" system through comparing the results of the intervention group with the control group. This paper describes the design and methodology of the study. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03451344, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03451344


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Peter Neal ◽  
Yvonne J. F. Kerkhof ◽  
Teake P. Ettema ◽  
Majon Muller ◽  
Judith Bosmans ◽  
...  

Abstract Background For the rising number of people living with dementia, cost-effective community-based interventions to support psychosocial care are needed. The FindMyApps intervention has been developed with and for people with dementia and their caregivers, to help them use tablets to facilitate self-management and engagement in meaningful social activities. A feasibility study and exploratory pilot trial evaluating FindMyApps have been carried out. This definitive trial further evaluates the effectiveness of the intervention and, for the first time, the cost-effectiveness. Methods A randomized controlled non-blinded single-center two-arm superiority trial will be conducted. Community-dwelling people with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), or dementia with a Mini Mental-State Examination (MMSE) of > 17 and < 26, or Global Deterioration Scale 3 or 4, with an informal caregiver and access to a wireless internet connection will be included. In total, 150 patient-caregiver dyads will be randomly allocated to receive either usual care (control arm – tablet computer; n = 75 dyads) or usual care and the FindMyApps intervention (experimental arm – tablet computer and FindMyApps; n = 75 dyads). The primary outcomes are: for people with dementia, self-management and social participation; for caregivers, sense of competence. In addition to a main effect analysis, a cost-effectiveness analysis will be performed. In line with MRC guidance for evaluation of complex interventions a process evaluation will also be undertaken. Discussion Results of the trial are expected to be available in 2023 and will be submitted for publication in international peer-reviewed scientific journals, in addition to conference presentations and reporting via the EU Marie Sklodowska-Curie DISTINCT ITN network. By providing evidence for or against the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the FindMyApps intervention, the results of the trial will influence national implementation of FindMyApps. We hope that the results of the trial will further stimulate research and development at the intersection of technology and psycho-social care in dementia. We hope to further demonstrate that the randomized controlled trial is a valuable and feasible means of evaluating new digital technologies, to stimulate further high-quality research in this growing field. Trial registration number Netherlands Trial Register: NL8157; registered 15th November 2019.


Medicines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Raghuram Nagarathna ◽  
Saurabh Kumar ◽  
Akshay Anand ◽  
Ishwara N. Acharya ◽  
Amit Kumar Singh ◽  
...  

Background: Dyslipidemia poses a high risk for cardiovascular disease and stroke in Type 2 diabetes (T2DM). There are no studies on the impact of a validated integrated yoga lifestyle protocol on lipid profiles in a high-risk diabetes population. Methods: Here, we report the results of lipid profile values of 11,254 (yoga 5932 and control 5322) adults (20–70 years) of both genders with high risk (≥60 on Indian diabetes risk score) for diabetes from a nationwide rural and urban community-based two group (yoga and conventional management) cluster randomized controlled trial. The yoga group practiced a validated integrated yoga lifestyle protocol (DYP) in nine day camps followed by daily one-hour practice. Biochemical profiling included glycated hemoglobin and lipid profiles before and after three months. Results: There was a significant difference between groups (p < 0.001 ANCOVA) with improved serum total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein, and high-density lipoprotein in the yoga group compared to the control group. Further, the regulatory effect of yoga was noted with a significant decrease or increase in those with high or low values of lipids, respectively, with marginal or no change in those within the normal range. Conclusion: Yoga lifestyle improves and regulates (lowered if high, increased if low) the blood lipid levels in both genders of prediabetic and diabetic individuals in both rural and urban Indian communities.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S824-S825
Author(s):  
Matthew C Fullen ◽  
Mary Chase Mize ◽  
Laura R Shannonhouse

Abstract A challenge in preventing late-life suicide is identifying and responding to persons-at-risk prior to a suicide attempt. Distressed older adults are less likely to turn to a mental health professional, meaning that community-based prevention strategies are vitally important to comprehensive prevention frameworks. Due to their “natural helper” role, nutrition services (NS) volunteers may be well-positioned to identify suicide warning signs and respond accordingly. Unfortunately, there is a lack of systematic, empirically-tested evaluations of the effectiveness of community-based strategies to prevent older adult suicide, including the use of NS volunteers. To remedy this, the authors partnered with several home- and community-based service organizations to measure the impact of training nutrition services volunteers in suicide prevention skills. The authors will present preliminary findings from this federally-funded randomized, controlled trial of suicide prevention training (i.e., ASIST; safeTALK) on late-life suicidality and its correlates.


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