scholarly journals Evidence appraisal: a scoping review, conceptual framework, and research agenda

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 1192-1203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Goldstein ◽  
Eric Venker ◽  
Chunhua Weng

Abstract Objective Critical appraisal of clinical evidence promises to help prevent, detect, and address flaws related to study importance, ethics, validity, applicability, and reporting. These research issues are of growing concern. The purpose of this scoping review is to survey the current literature on evidence appraisal to develop a conceptual framework and an informatics research agenda. Methods We conducted an iterative literature search of Medline for discussion or research on the critical appraisal of clinical evidence. After title and abstract review, 121 articles were included in the analysis. We performed qualitative thematic analysis to describe the evidence appraisal architecture and its issues and opportunities. From this analysis, we derived a conceptual framework and an informatics research agenda. Results We identified 68 themes in 10 categories. This analysis revealed that the practice of evidence appraisal is quite common but is rarely subjected to documentation, organization, validation, integration, or uptake. This is related to underdeveloped tools, scant incentives, and insufficient acquisition of appraisal data and transformation of the data into usable knowledge. Discussion The gaps in acquiring appraisal data, transforming the data into actionable information and knowledge, and ensuring its dissemination and adoption can be addressed with proven informatics approaches. Conclusions Evidence appraisal faces several challenges, but implementing an informatics research agenda would likely help realize the potential of evidence appraisal for improving the rigor and value of clinical evidence.

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (13) ◽  
pp. 285-290
Author(s):  
Nurul Ashikin Mabahwi ◽  
Hitoshi Nakamura

Objectives of this study is to identify the real issues and challenges of flood related agencies in Malaysia. By using qualitative thematic analysis, this study found that limited authorities, lack of enforcement power, lack of cooperation among agencies, lack of man-power and assets for logistics, insufficient funding for flood risk management and communication problems are the issues faced by the flood-related agencies. The government needs to solve the issues and challenges in order to strengthen the flood-related agencies capacities.Keywords: flood risk management; flood-related agencies; issues; authorityeISSN: 2398-4287 © 2020. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v5i13.2069


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 46-66
Author(s):  
Irena Smetáčková ◽  
Petr Pavlík

Career choices of most pupils at the end of the primary school conform to gender norms. Only a few of them continue to study in a field traditionally considered appropriate for the opposite sex. The qualitative study presented here maps the reasons for such choices based on a sample of 25 female and 31 male students who study gender-atypical secondary school program for one to three years. The data were collected using a questionnaire with open-ended items and analysed using the qualitative thematic analysis. The results revealed that the reasons for school choices of boys and girls differ to certain extent. Their situation also differs with respect to the support they receive from their close ones and the acceptance by their classmates. The parents of girls disapproved of their choices more often than the parents of boys. Girls were also ridiculed more frequently by their peer groups.


Author(s):  
Minna Lyons ◽  
Gayle Brewer

AbstractPrevious studies have demonstrated that there is an increase in Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) during times of crisis (e.g., financial, environmental, or socio-political situations). The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered an unprecedented global health and financial tragedy, but research is yet to establish exactly how the situation may impact on IPV. The present study investigates victims’ experience of IPV during lockdown and the COVID-19 pandemic. We report a qualitative thematic analysis of 50 discussion forum posts written by victims of IPV. Of these, 48 forum posts were written by female victims of male perpetrated violence. All forum posts were obtained from the popular online platform, Reddit. We identified four themes associated with IPV victims’ experiences during lockdown and the global pandemic: (i) Use of COVID-19 by the Abuser, (ii) Service Disruption, (iii) Preparation to Leave, and (iv) Factors Increasing Abuse or Distress. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial impact on those living with IPV, often increasing the severity of IPV experienced. The experiences of those affected by IPV during this period inform interventions and the guidance and support provided to IPV victims during times of crisis.


Author(s):  
Tan Yigitcanlar ◽  
Juan M. Corchado ◽  
Rashid Mehmood ◽  
Rita Yi Man Li ◽  
Karen Mossberger ◽  
...  

The urbanization problems we face may be alleviated using innovative digital technology. However, employing these technologies entails the risk of creating new urban problems and/or intensifying the old ones instead of alleviating them. Hence, in a world with immense technological opportunities and at the same time enormous urbanization challenges, it is critical to adopt the principles of responsible urban innovation. These principles assure the delivery of the desired urban outcomes and futures. We contribute to the existing responsible urban innovation discourse by focusing on local government artificial intelligence (AI) systems, providing a literature and practice overview, and a conceptual framework. In this perspective paper, we advocate for the need for balancing the costs, benefits, risks and impacts of developing, adopting, deploying and managing local government AI systems in order to achieve responsible urban innovation. The statements made in this perspective paper are based on a thorough review of the literature, research, developments, trends and applications carefully selected and analyzed by an expert team of investigators. This study provides new insights, develops a conceptual framework and identifies prospective research questions by placing local government AI systems under the microscope through the lens of responsible urban innovation. The presented overview and framework, along with the identified issues and research agenda, offer scholars prospective lines of research and development; where the outcomes of these future studies will help urban policymakers, managers and planners to better understand the crucial role played by local government AI systems in ensuring the achievement of responsible outcomes.


2021 ◽  
pp. 152483802110160
Author(s):  
Noa Cohen ◽  
Carmit Katz

There is a worldwide consensus that the prevention of child maltreatment (CM) is critical in promoting children’s safety. Furthermore, a significant part of the prevention efforts targets the children themselves. This scoping review aimed to map the characteristics of CM prevention programs that targeted children by examining studies that described the relevant implemented programs, published in peer-reviewed journals over the last decade. Thirty-one relevant manuscripts were identified from the online databases. The analysis, guided by scoping review guidelines, examined these programs in terms of content, context of delivery, and practitioners involved. A thematic analysis identified the key messages conveyed to the children. The findings showed that the vast majority of programs are school-based and focused on preventing child sexual abuse (CSA) with considerably less attention given to other forms of maltreatment. In addition, most programs did not promote active parental participation. The content descriptions of the CSA prevention programs revealed several common key messages that focused on children’s individual safety skills, specifically recognition, refusal strategies, and disclosure. The discussion addresses the concepts of blame and guilt as crucial to rethinking the CM prevention messages conveyed to children. Key conclusions that were drawn from the current scoping review highlight the need to better align prevention efforts and recent CM research. Additionally, ceiling effects in several studies indicated that children’s participation, as information sources and partners in program development, should be promoted, so that prevention efforts will meet their needs within their various relevant life contexts.


Antibiotics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 745
Author(s):  
Wenjuan Cong ◽  
Ak Narayan Poudel ◽  
Nour Alhusein ◽  
Hexing Wang ◽  
Guiqing Yao ◽  
...  

This scoping review provides new evidence on the prevalence and patterns of global antimicrobial use in the treatment of COVID-19 patients; identifies the most commonly used antibiotics and clinical scenarios associated with antibiotic prescribing in the first phase of the pandemic; and explores the impact of documented antibiotic prescribing on treatment outcomes in COVID-19 patients. The review complies with PRISMA guidelines for Scoping Reviews and the protocol is registered with the Open Science Framework. In the first six months of the pandemic, there was a similar mean antibiotic prescribing rate between patients with severe or critical illness (75.4%) and patients with mild or moderate illness (75.1%). The proportion of patients prescribed antibiotics without clinical justification was 51.5% vs. 41.9% for patients with mild or moderate illness and those with severe or critical illness. Comparison of patients who were provided antibiotics with a clinical justification with those who were given antibiotics without clinical justification showed lower mortality rates (9.5% vs. 13.1%), higher discharge rates (80.9% vs. 69.3%), and shorter length of hospital stay (9.3 days vs. 12.2 days). In the first 6 months of the pandemic, antibiotics were prescribed for COVID-19 patients regardless of severity of illness. A large proportion of antibiotic prescribing for mild and moderate COVID-19 patients did not have clinical evidence of a bacterial co-infection. Antibiotics may not be beneficial to COVID-19 patients without clinical evidence of a bacterial co-infection.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eiad Zinah ◽  
Heba M. Al-Ibrahim

Abstract Introduction Europe has been experiencing a flow of refugees and asylum seekers driven by conflicts or poverty. Their oral health is often neglected despite its clear impact on quality of life. Objective To explore the status of oral health among refugees and asylum seekers groups by examining the available literature and to determine which evidence exists regarding the problems they face in terms of oral health. Methods The current paper followed PRISMA guidelines. A scoping review methodology was followed to retrieve 2911 records from five databases and grey literature. Twelve articles met the following inclusion criteria: experimental research concentrated on the oral and dental health of refugees and/or asylum seekers between 1995 and 2020 in English. Analysis was both descriptive and thematic, whilst a critical appraisal was applied using the Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP). Results Seven studies (58,3%) were quantitative, while five studies (41,6%) were qualitative. In general, the quality of most of the studies (83.3%) was good. Limited access to oral health care services was shown with a higher prevalence of oral diseases compared to the native populations of the host countries. Approaches to improve oral health have been implemented in some studies and have shown positive outcomes. Conclusions Oral health care strategies should consider the oral health problems facing refugees in Europe, and oral health promotion campaigns are essential to give adequate guidance on how to access oral health care in the host countries.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. e045345
Author(s):  
Marie Stenberg ◽  
Elisabeth Mangrio ◽  
Mariette Bengtsson ◽  
Elisabeth Carlson

ObjectivesFormative peer assessment focuses on learning and development of the student learning process. This implies that students are taking responsibility for assessing the work of their peers by giving and receiving feedback to each other. The aim was to compile research about formative peer assessment presented in higher healthcare education, focusing on the rationale, the interventions, the experiences of students and teachers and the outcomes of formative assessment interventions.DesignA scoping review.Data sourcesSearches were conducted until May 2019 in PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Education Research Complete and Education Research Centre. Grey literature was searched in Library Search, Google Scholar and Science Direct.Eligibility criteriaStudies addressing formative peer assessment in higher education, focusing on medicine, nursing, midwifery, dentistry, physical or occupational therapy and radiology published in peer-reviewed articles or in grey literature.Data extractions and synthesisOut of 1452 studies, 37 met the inclusion criteria and were critically appraised using relevant Critical Appraisal Skills Programme, Joanna Briggs Institute and Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool tools. The pertinent data were analysed using thematic analysis.ResultThe critical appraisal resulted in 18 included studies with high and moderate quality. The rationale for using formative peer assessment relates to giving and receiving constructive feedback as a means to promote learning. The experience and outcome of formative peer assessment interventions from the perspective of students and teachers are presented within three themes: (1) organisation and structure of the formative peer assessment activities, (2) personal attributes and consequences for oneself and relationships and (3) experience and outcome of feedback and learning.ConclusionHealthcare education must consider preparing and introducing students to collaborative learning, and thus develop well-designed learning activities aligned with the learning outcomes. Since peer collaboration seems to affect students’ and teachers’ experiences of formative peer assessment, empirical investigations exploring collaboration between students are of utmost importance.


2021 ◽  
pp. 053901842199956
Author(s):  
Gerard Delanty

This essay is a comment on the research program launched by Frank Adloff and Sighard Neckel. My comment is specifically focused on their research agenda as outlined in their trend-setting article, ‘Futures of sustainability as modernization, transformation, and control: A conceptual framework’. The comment is also addressed more generally to the research program of the Humanities Centre for Advanced Studies ‘Futures of Sustainability’. I raise three issues: the first relates to the very idea of the future; the second concerns the notion of social imaginaries and the third question is focused on the idea of social transformation.


2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zohreh Shahhosseini ◽  
Zeinab Hamzehgardeshi

Abstract Background: Adolescent girls have little knowledge about health information, especially about more sensitive issues. We know little about the perspectives of adolescents about their educational health needs. Objective: The aim of this study is to explore the perceptions of Iranian female adolescents about their educational health needs. Subjects: The study participants were 67 female adolescents aged 12–19 years currently in junior high and high schools in the city of Sari, located in northern Iran. Methods: The present study is a qualitative study of thematic analysis. The 67 female adolescents participated in eight focus group discussions (FGDs). The participants were selected from schools in Mazandaran, Iran. The sampling methods were purposeful sampling and a maximum variance sampling method. All tape-recorded data was fully transcribed, and thematic analysis was performed to identify key themes. Results: The findings of this research around adolescent health education needs emphasized four overarching themes, including appropriate content, suitable method, well-informed sources and an appropriate age for education. Conclusion: Our results show that the promotion of reproductive health knowledge and life skills are the most important health education needs. Education about these issues via parents, schools and health care providers could promote the health status of adolescents.


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