From nowhere to nowhere. Homelessness and incarceration: a systematic review and meta-analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Y. Bashir ◽  
Noreen Moloney ◽  
Musaab E. Elzain ◽  
Isabelle Delaunois ◽  
Ali Sheikhi ◽  
...  

Purpose This study aims to review international literature systematically to estimate the prevalence of homelessness among incarcerated persons at the time of imprisonment and the time of discharge. Design/methodology/approach A systematic review methodology was used to identify quantitative observational studies that looked at the prevalence of homelessness at the time of imprisonment, or up to 30 days prior to that point (initial homelessness), and at the time of discharge from prisons. Studies reported in English from inception to 11 September 2019 were searched for using eight databases (PsycInfo, Medline, Embase, CINAHL, PsycArticles, Scopus, Web of Science and the Campbell Collaboration), in addition to grey literature. Studies were screened independently by three researchers. Results of studies meeting inclusion criteria were meta-analysed using a random effects model to generate pooled prevalence data. Findings A total of 18 out of 2,131 studies met the inclusion criteria. All studies originated from the USA, Canada, UK, Ireland or Australia. The estimated prevalence of initial homelessness was 23.41% and at time of discharge was 29.94%. Substantial heterogeneity was observed among studies. Originality/value People in prisons are over twenty times more likely to be homeless than those in the general population. This is likely attributable to a range of health and social factors. Studies in this analysis suggest higher rates of homelessness in minority populations and among those with mental illnesses and neurodevelopmental disorders. While there was significant heterogeneity among studies, the results highlight the global burden of this issue and a clear necessity for targeted interventions to address homelessness in this population.

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. e000193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick J Campbell ◽  
Mira Patel ◽  
Jennifer R Martin ◽  
Ana L Hincapie ◽  
David Rhys Axon ◽  
...  

ImportanceWhile much is known about hospital pharmacy error rates in the USA, comparatively little is known about community pharmacy dispensing error rates.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to determine the rate of community pharmacy dispensing errors in the USA.MethodsEnglish language, peer-reviewed observational and interventional studies that reported community pharmacy dispensing error rates in the USA from January 1993 to December 2015 were identified in 10 bibliographic databases and topic-relevant grey literature. Studies with a denominator reflecting the total number of prescriptions in the sample were necessary for inclusion in the meta-analysis. A random effects meta-analysis was conducted to estimate an aggregate community pharmacy dispensing error rate. Heterogeneity was assessed using the I2 statistic prior to analysis.ResultsThe search yielded a total of 8490 records, of which 11 articles were included in the systematic review. Two articles did not have adequate data components to be included in the meta-analysis. Dispensing error rates ranged from 0.00003% (43/1 420 091) to 55% (55/100). The meta-analysis included 1 461 128 prescriptions. The overall community pharmacy dispensing error rate was estimated to be 0.015 (95% CI 0.014 to 0.018); however, significant heterogeneity was observed across studies (I2=99.6). Stratification by study error identification methodology was found to have a significant impact on dispensing error rate (p<0.001).Conclusion and relevanceThere are few published articles that describe community pharmacy dispensing error rates in the USA. Thus, there is limited information about the current rate of community pharmacy dispensing errors. A robust investigation is needed to assess dispensing error rates in the USA to assess the nature and magnitude of the problem and establish prevention strategies.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natasha Marcella Vaselli ◽  
Daniel Hungerford ◽  
Ben Shenton ◽  
Arwa Khashkhusha ◽  
Nigel A. Cunliffe ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundA year following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, new infections and deaths continue to increase in Europe. Serological studies, through providing evidence of past infection, can aid understanding of the population dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 infection.ObjectivesThis systematic review of SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence studies in Europe was undertaken to inform public health strategies including vaccination, that aim to accelerate population immunity.MethodsWe searched the databases Web of Science, MEDLINE, EMBASE, SCOPUS, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and grey literature sources for studies reporting seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in Europe published between 01/12/2019 - 30/09/20. We provide a narrative synthesis of included studies. Studies were categorized into subgroups including healthcare workers (HCWs), community, outbreaks, pregnancy and children/school. Due to heterogeneity in other subgroups, we only performed a random effects meta-analysis of the seroprevalence amongst HCWs stratified by their country.Results109 studies were included spanning 17 European countries, that estimated the seroprevalence of SAR-CoV2 from samples obtained between November 2019 – August 2020. A total of 53/109 studies included HCWs with a reported seroprevalence among HCWs ranging from 0.7% to 45.3%, which did not differ significantly by country. In community studies significant heterogeneity was reported in the seroprevalence among different age groups and the majority of studies reported there was no significant difference by gender.ConclusionThis review demonstrates a wide heterogeneity in reported seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies between populations. Continued evaluation of seroprevalence is required to understand the impact of public health measures and inform interventions including vaccination programmes.


Author(s):  
Hyder Osman Mirghani ◽  
Salem Ahmed S. Shaman S. Shaman ◽  
Ibrahim Mahmoud Hussain Aljwah

Background and Objectives: Sitagliptin is a dipepidyl peptidase inhibitor (DPP-4i) with gentle antidiabetic effects with a lower risk of hypoglycemia. The association with acute pancreatitis is controversial. The current meta-analysis aimed to assess the relationship of sitagliptin and acute pancreatitis. Methods: The literature in PubMed and Google Scholar was searched for relevant articles published in the last ten years up to September 2021. The keywords sitagliptins, DPP-4i, acute pancreatitis were used with the protean AND or OR. Among the 204 articles retrieved, 24 full-texts were assessed for eligibility and only five studies (Three from the USA, one from Asia, and one from Canada) met the inclusion criteria for the systematic review. The author name, year of publication, country, type of study, number of patients, and the duration of the study were reported. Results: There were five studies. The total number of patients were 729808 with 6459 events. The studies showed no increased rate of acute pancreatitis following sitagliptin use, odd ratio, 0.79, 95% CI, 0.29-2.15, a significant heterogeneity was observer, I2 for heterogeneity=98%, P-value, <001, the P-value for overall effect was 0.65 and the chi-square, 160.15. Interpretation and Conclusion: Sitagliptin use is not associated with acute pancreatitis.


BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. e029537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek Chew ◽  
Ranjani Somayaji ◽  
John Conly ◽  
Derek Exner ◽  
Elissa Rennert-May

ObjectivesInitial management of cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) infection requires removal of the infected CIED system and treatment with systemic antibiotics. However, the optimal timing to device reimplantation is unknown. The aim of this study was to quantify the incidence of reinfection after initial management of CIED infection, and to assess the effect of timing to reimplantation on reinfection rates.DesignSystematic review and meta-analysis.InterventionsA systematic review and meta-analysis was performed of studies published up to February 2018. Inclusion criteria were: (a) documented CIED infection, (b) studies that reported the timing to device reimplantation and (c) studies that reported the proportion of participants with device reinfection. A meta-analysis of proportions using a random effects model was performed to estimate the pooled device reinfection rate.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe primary outcome measure was the rate of CIED reinfection. The secondary outcome was all-cause mortality.ResultsOf the 280 screened studies, 8 met inclusion criteria with an average of 96 participants per study (range 15–220 participants). The pooled incidence rate of device reinfection was 0.45% (95% CI, 0.02% to 1.23%) per person year. A longer time to device reimplantation >72 hours was associated with a trend towards higher rates of reinfection (unadjusted incident rate ratio 4.8; 95% CI 0.9 to 24.3, p=0.06); however, the meta-regression analysis was unable to adjust for important clinical covariates. There did not appear to be a difference in reinfection rates when time to reimplantation was stratified at 1 week. Heterogeneity was moderate (I2=61%).ConclusionsThe incident rate of reinfection following initial management of CIED infection is not insignificant. Time to reimplantation may affect subsequent rates of device reinfection. Our findings are considered exploratory and significant heterogeneity limits interpretation.PROSERO registration numberCRD4201810960.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aline Pereira da Rocha ◽  
Alvaro Nagib Atallah ◽  
Ana Carolina Pereira Nunes Pinto ◽  
César Ramos Rocha-Filho ◽  
Felipe Sebastião de Assis Reis ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTCONTEXT AND OBJECTIVEWe propose to systematically review the available evidence to evaluate if patients with immune mediated inflammatory diseases under pharmacological treatment with immunosuppressants, immunobiologics, Disease-Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs (DMARD) or targeted synthetic DMARDs have better or worse outcomes when infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). This study is a protocol for our rapid living systematic review. METHODS: Protocol for a rapid living systematic review methodology following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) guidance. To conduct the rapid systematic review, we will employ abbreviated systematic review methods, including: not performing independent screens of abstracts and not searching grey literature. As this will be a living review, it will be continuously updated.


Author(s):  
Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz ◽  
Lea Merone

AbstractAn important unknown during the COVID-19 pandemic has been the infection-fatality rate (IFR). This differs from the case-fatality rate (CFR) as an estimate of the number of deaths as a proportion of the total number of cases, including those who are mild and asymptomatic. While the CFR is extremely valuable for experts, IFR is increasingly being called for by policy-makers and the lay public as an estimate of the overall mortality from COVID-19.MethodsPubmed and Medrxiv were searched using a set of terms and Boolean operators on 25/04/2020. Articles were screened for inclusion by both authors. Meta-analysis was performed in Stata 15.1 using the metan command, based on IFR and confidence intervals extracted from each study. Google/Google Scholar was used to assess the grey literature relating to government reports.ResultsAfter exclusions, there were 13 estimates of IFR included in the final meta-analysis, from a wide range of countries, published between February and April 2020.The meta-analysis demonstrated a point-estimate of IFR of 0.75% (0.49-1.01%) with significant heterogeneity (p<0.001).ConclusionBased on a systematic review and meta-analysis of published evidence on COVID-19 until the end of April, 2020, the IFR of the disease across populations is 0.75% (0.49-1.01%). However, due to very high heterogeneity in the meta-analysis, it is difficult to know if this represents the ‘true’ point estimate. It is likely that different places will experience different IFRs. More research looking at age-stratified IFR is urgently needed to inform policy-making on this front.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriano Winterton ◽  
Linn Rødevand ◽  
Lars T. Westlye ◽  
Nils Eiel Steen ◽  
Ole A. Andreassen ◽  
...  

AbstractBackground: A growing number of studies suggest that social isolation and loneliness are associated with premature mortality and are more prevalent among people with mental illness than in the general population, outlining many potential paths to disease still to be elucidated. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to examine the relationship between loneliness, social isolation and established cardiovascular/metabolic risk factors and disorders, especially in severe mental illness, and to account for potential heterogeneity in the literature. Methods/design: Studies that report measures of loneliness and/or social isolation along with cardiovascular/metabolic risk factors will be identified. PubMed, EMBASE (through Ovid SP), Scopus and PsycINFO (through Ovid SP) will be searched, along with citation lists of retrieved articles and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Grey literature will be searched using Google Scholar. Data will be extracted from eligible studies for a random-effects meta-analysis. For each study, a summary effect size, heterogeneity, risk of bias, publication bias, and the effect of categorical and continuous moderator variables will be determined.Discussion: This proposed systematic review and meta-analysis will identify and synthesize evidence to determine if there is an association between loneliness, social isolation and cardiovascular/metabolic risk factors, with a special focus on severe mental illnesses. The results will help determine links and promising avenues of further research.


2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 733-764 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prince Agwu ◽  
Uzoma Okoye ◽  
Prince Ekoh ◽  
Ngozi Chukwu ◽  
Chinyere Onalu ◽  
...  

PurposeSex work migration involves a huge number of females from Nigeria, and has attracted concerns within and across the country. To add to ongoing conversations about responsible migration, our review underscores the prevalence of sex work migration in Edo State, Nigeria, the drivers and interventions.Design/methodology/approachThe review adopted exhaustive search terms coined with the aid of “Boolean Operators”. Search terms were entered into several search engines and databases to elicit peer-reviewed and grey literature within sex work migration and human trafficking for commercial sex. An output of 578 studies was recorded with 76 (43 academic papers and 33 grey literature) meeting the inclusion criteria.FindingsThe study acknowledged wide-spread prevalence of sex work migration involving Nigerian females who are largely from Edo State. It achieved a prioritization of the factors that drive sex work migration based on how frequent they were mentioned in reviewed literature: economic (64.4%), cultural (46%), educational (20%), globalization (14.5%) and political factors (13.2%). Several interventions were highlighted together with their several limitations which include funding, absence of grass-roots engagement, dearth of appropriate professionals, corruption, weak political will, among others. A combination of domestic and international interventions was encouraged, and social workers were found to be needful.Originality/valueOur systematic review is the first on this subject, as none was found throughout our search. It seeks to inform policy measures and programmes, as well as horizontal efforts poised to tackle the rising figures of sex work migrants and attendant consequences in Nigeria.


Author(s):  
Jeffrey M. Franc ◽  
Scott W. Kirkland ◽  
Uirá D. Wisnesky ◽  
Sandra Campbell ◽  
Brian H. Rowe

Abstract Introduction: The goal of disaster triage at both the prehospital and in-hospital level is to maximize resources and optimize patient outcomes. Of the disaster-specific triage methods developed to guide health care providers, the Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment (START) algorithm has become the most popular system world-wide. Despite its appeal and global application, the accuracy and effectiveness of the START protocol is not well-known. Objectives: The purpose of this meta-analysis was two-fold: (1) to estimate overall accuracy, under-triage, and over-triage of the START method when used by providers across a variety of backgrounds; and (2) to obtain specific accuracy for each of the four START categories: red, yellow, green, and black. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted that searched Medline (OVID), Embase (OVID), Global Health (OVID), CINAHL (EBSCO), Compendex (Engineering Village), SCOPUS, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global, Cochrane Library, and PROSPERO. The results were expanded by hand searching of journals, reference lists, and the grey literature. The search was executed in March 2020. The review considered the participants, interventions, context, and outcome (PICO) framework and followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Accuracy outcomes are presented as means with 95% confidence intervals (CI) as calculated using the binomial method. Pooled meta-analyses of accuracy outcomes using fixed and random effects models were calculated and the heterogeneity was assessed using the Q statistic. Results: Thirty-two studies were included in the review, most of which utilized a non-randomized study design (84%). Proportion of victims correctly triaged using START ranged from 0.27 to 0.99 with an overall triage accuracy of 0.73 (95% CI, 0.67 to 0.78). Proportion of over-triage was 0.14 (95% CI, 0.11 to 0.17) while the proportion of under-triage was 0.10 (95% CI, 0.072 to 0.14). There was significant heterogeneity of the studies for all outcomes (P < .0001). Conclusion: This meta-analysis suggests that START is not accurate enough to serve as a reliable disaster triage tool. Although the accuracy of START may be similar to other models of disaster triage, development of a more accurate triage method should be urgently pursued.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. e0250541
Author(s):  
Natasha Marcella Vaselli ◽  
Daniel Hungerford ◽  
Ben Shenton ◽  
Arwa Khashkhusha ◽  
Nigel A. Cunliffe ◽  
...  

Background A year following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, new infections and deaths continue to increase in Europe. Serological studies, through providing evidence of past infection, can aid understanding of the population dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Objectives This systematic review of SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence studies in Europe was undertaken to inform public health strategies including vaccination, that aim to accelerate population immunity. Methods We searched the databases Web of Science, MEDLINE, EMBASE, SCOPUS, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and grey literature sources for studies reporting seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in Europe published between 01/12/2019–30/09/20. We provide a narrative synthesis of included studies. Studies were categorized into subgroups including healthcare workers (HCWs), community, outbreaks, pregnancy and children/school. Due to heterogeneity in other subgroups, we only performed a random effects meta-analysis of the seroprevalence amongst HCWs stratified by their country. Results 115 studies were included spanning 17 European countries, that estimated the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 from samples obtained between November 2019 –August 2020. A total of 54/115 studies included HCWs with a reported seroprevalence among HCWs ranging from 0.7% to 45.3%, which did not differ significantly by country. In community studies significant heterogeneity was reported in the seroprevalence between different age groups and the majority of studies reported there was no significant difference by gender. Conclusion This review demonstrates a wide heterogeneity in reported seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies between populations. Continued evaluation of seroprevalence is required to understand the impact of public health measures and inform interventions including vaccination programmes.


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