scholarly journals Racial and socioeconomic disparities in patient experience of clinician empathy: a protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. e034247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian W Roberts ◽  
Christian J Trzeciak ◽  
Nitin K Puri ◽  
Anthony J Mazzarelli ◽  
Stephen Trzeciak

IntroductionClinician empathy is a vital component of high-quality healthcare. Healthcare disparities may reflect a societal lack of empathy for disadvantaged persons in general, and recent research suggests that socioeconomic disparities exist in patient satisfaction with clinicians. However, it is currently unclear if there are disparities in patient experience of empathy from clinicians. Our objective is to systematically analyse the scientific literature to test the hypothesis that racial and socioeconomic status (SES) disparities exist in patient-reported experience of clinician empathy.Methods and analysisIn accordance with published methodological guidelines for conducting a systematic review, we will analyse studies reporting patient assessment of clinician empathy using the Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE) measure, which to date is the most commonly used and well-validated methodology in clinical research for measuring clinician empathy from the patient’s perspective. We will use a standardised data collection template and assess study quality (risk of bias) using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. We will abstract data for the CARE measure stratified by race and SES, and we will contact the corresponding authors to obtain stratified data by race/SES if not reported in the original manuscript. Where appropriate, we will pool the data and perform quantitative meta-analysis to test if non-white (compared to white) patients and low SES (compared to high SES) patients report lower scores for clinician empathy.Ethics and disseminationNo individual patient-level data will be collected and thus the proposed systematic review does not require ethical approval. This systematic review will test if racial and SES differences exist in patient experience of clinician empathy, and will inform future research to help promote healthcare equity.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42019142809.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debra Okafor ◽  
Tanya Su ◽  
Keya Lee ◽  
Bruno Chumpitazi ◽  
Robert J Shulman ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Dietary interventions are the first-line treatment for patients with gastroparesis. It is unclear which diets are the most efficacious as well as clear guidance as to which diets should be recommended to adult versus pediatric patients. We plan to conduct this systematic review to assess the literature on the efficacy and effectiveness of dietary interventions on clinical outcomes in adult and pediatric patients with gastroparesis. Methods: We will search PubMed and EMBASE databases, evaluating randomized control trials and cohort studies that reported dietary interventions in gastroparesis. Our primary outcomes are to evaluate changes in symptom-specific patient-reported outcomes, changes in perception of quality of life, and changes in gastric emptying time. Data collected from the studies will be analyzed using meta-analysis. Depending on the outcome, we will use quantitative summary estimates (e.g., standardized mean difference with 95% Confidence Intervals, 95%CI) or dichotomous outcomes (e.g., odds ratio and 95%CI).Discussion: This review will explore the use of dietary interventions in the treatment of both adult and pediatric patients with gastroparesis, which has yet to be published in the literature. By assessing what has been investigated by researchers as effective non-pharmacologic treatments in patients, and providing a comprehensive overview of treatment options, healthcare providers will be able to better guide patient care. Furthermore, this review will act as a means to provide direction for future research. Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO registration ID: CRD42020210536.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kurt D Shulver ◽  
Nicholas A Badcock

We report the results of a systematic review and meta-analysis investigating the relationship between perceptual anchoring and dyslexia. Our goal was to assess the direction and degree of effect between perceptual anchoring and reading ability in typical and atypical (dyslexic) readers. We performed a literature search of experiments explicitly assessing perceptual anchoring and reading ability using PsycInfo (Ovid, 1860 to 2020), MEDLINE (Ovid, 1860 to 2019), EMBASE (Ovid, 1883 to 2019), and PubMed for all available years up to June (2020). Our eligibility criteria consisted of English-language articles and, at minimum, one experimental group identified as dyslexic - either by reading assessment at the time, or by previous diagnosis. We assessed for risk of bias using an adapted version of the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Six studies were included in this review, but only five (n = 280 participants) were included in the meta-analysis (we were unable to access the necessary data for one study).The overall effect was negative, large and statistically significant; g = -0.87, 95% CI [-1.47, 0.27]: a negative effect size indicating less perceptual anchoring in dyslexic versus non-dyslexic groups. Visual assessment of funnel plot and Egger’s test suggest minimal bias but with significant heterogeneity; Q (4) = 9.70, PI (prediction interval) [-2.32, -0.58]. The primary limitation of the current review is the small number of included studies. We discuss methodological limitations, such as limited power, and how future research may redress these concerns. The variability of effect sizes appears consistent with the inherent variability within subtypes of dyslexia. This level of dispersion seems indicative of the how we define cut-off thresholds between typical reading and dyslexia populations, but also the methodological tools we use to investigate individual performance.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Polona Caserman ◽  
Augusto Garcia-Agundez ◽  
Alvar Gámez Zerban ◽  
Stefan Göbel

AbstractCybersickness (CS) is a term used to refer to symptoms, such as nausea, headache, and dizziness that users experience during or after virtual reality immersion. Initially discovered in flight simulators, commercial virtual reality (VR) head-mounted displays (HMD) of the current generation also seem to cause CS, albeit in a different manner and severity. The goal of this work is to summarize recent literature on CS with modern HMDs, to determine the specificities and profile of immersive VR-caused CS, and to provide an outlook for future research areas. A systematic review was performed on the databases IEEE Xplore, PubMed, ACM, and Scopus from 2013 to 2019 and 49 publications were selected. A summarized text states how different VR HMDs impact CS, how the nature of movement in VR HMDs contributes to CS, and how we can use biosensors to detect CS. The results of the meta-analysis show that although current-generation VR HMDs cause significantly less CS ($$p<0.001$$ p < 0.001 ), some symptoms remain as intense. Further results show that the nature of movement and, in particular, sensory mismatch as well as perceived motion have been the leading cause of CS. We suggest an outlook on future research, including the use of galvanic skin response to evaluate CS in combination with the golden standard (Simulator Sickness Questionnaire, SSQ) as well as an update on the subjective evaluation scores of the SSQ.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 3530
Author(s):  
Fukang Ma ◽  
Shuanlu Zhang ◽  
Zhenfeng Zhao ◽  
Yifang Wang

The hydraulic free-piston engine (HFPE) is a kind of hybrid-powered machine which combines the reciprocating piston-type internal combustion engine and the plunger pump as a whole. In recent years, the HFPE has been investigated by a number of research groups worldwide due to its potential advantages of high efficiency, energy savings, reduced emissions and multi-fuel operation. Therefore, our study aimed to assess the operating characteristics, core questions and research progress of HFPEs via a systematic review and meta-analysis. We included operational control, starting characteristics, misfire characteristics, in-cylinder working processes and operating stability. We conducted the literature search using electronic databases. The research on HFPEs has mainly concentrated on four kinds of free-piston engine, according to piston arrangement form: single piston, dual pistons, opposed pistons and four-cylinder complex configuration. HFPE research in China is mainly conducted in Zhejiang University, Tianjin University, Jilin University and the Beijing Institute of Technology. In addition, in China, research has mainly focused on the in-cylinder combustion process while a piston is free by considering in-cylinder combustion machinery and piston dynamics. Regarding future research, it is very important that we solve the instabilities brought about by chance fluctuations in the combustion process, which will involve the hydraulic system’s efficiency, the cyclical variation, the method of predicting instability and the recovery after instability.


SLEEP ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. A139-A140
Author(s):  
Janannii Selvanathan ◽  
Chi Pham ◽  
Mahesh Nagappa ◽  
Philip Peng ◽  
Marina Englesakis ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction Patients with chronic non-cancer pain often report insomnia as a significant comorbidity. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is recommended as the first line of treatment for insomnia, and several randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have examined the efficacy of CBT-I on various health outcomes in patients with comorbid insomnia and chronic non-cancer pain. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis on the effectiveness of CBT-I on sleep, pain, depression, anxiety and fatigue in adults with comorbid insomnia and chronic non-cancer pain. Methods A systematic search was conducted using ten electronic databases. The duration of the search was set between database inception to April 2020. Included studies must be RCTs assessing the effects of CBT-I on at least patient-reported sleep outcomes in adults with chronic non-cancer pain. Quality of the studies was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias assessment and Yates quality rating scale. Continuous data were extracted and summarized using standard mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results The literature search resulted in 7,772 articles, of which 14 RCTs met the inclusion criteria. Twelve of these articles were included in the meta-analysis. The meta-analysis comprised 762 participants. CBT-I demonstrated a large significant effect on patient-reported sleep (SMD = 0.87, 95% CI [0.55–1.20], p &lt; 0.00001) at post-treatment and final follow-up (up to 9 months) (0.59 [0.31–0.86], p &lt; 0.0001); and moderate effects on pain (SMD = 0.20 [0.06, 0.34], p = 0.006) and depression (0.44 [0.09–0.79], p= 0.01) at post-treatment. The probability of improving sleep and pain following CBT-I at post-treatment was 81% and 58%, respectively. The probability of improving sleep and pain at final follow-up was 73% and 57%, respectively. There were no statistically significant effects on anxiety and fatigue. Conclusion This systematic review and meta-analysis showed that CBT-I is effective for improving sleep in adults with comorbid insomnia and chronic non-cancer pain. Further, CBT-I may lead to short-term moderate improvements in pain and depression. However, there is a need for further RCTs with adequate power, longer follow-up periods, CBT for both insomnia and pain, and consistent scoring systems for assessing patient outcomes. Support (if any):


Author(s):  
Peter Cox ◽  
Sonal Gupta ◽  
Sizheng Steven Zhao ◽  
David M. Hughes

AbstractThe aims of this systematic review and meta-analysis were to describe prevalence of cardiovascular disease in gout, compare these results with non-gout controls and consider whether there were differences according to geography. PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science were systematically searched for studies reporting prevalence of any cardiovascular disease in a gout population. Studies with non-representative sampling, where a cohort had been used in another study, small sample size (< 100) and where gout could not be distinguished from other rheumatic conditions were excluded, as were reviews, editorials and comments. Where possible meta-analysis was performed using random-effect models. Twenty-six studies comprising 949,773 gout patients were included in the review. Pooled prevalence estimates were calculated for five cardiovascular diseases: myocardial infarction (2.8%; 95% confidence interval (CI)s 1.6, 5.0), heart failure (8.7%; 95% CI 2.9, 23.8), venous thromboembolism (2.1%; 95% CI 1.2, 3.4), cerebrovascular accident (4.3%; 95% CI 1.8, 9.7) and hypertension (63.9%; 95% CI 24.5, 90.6). Sixteen studies reported comparisons with non-gout controls, illustrating an increased risk in the gout group across all cardiovascular diseases. There were no identifiable reliable patterns when analysing the results by country. Cardiovascular diseases are more prevalent in patients with gout and should prompt vigilance from clinicians to the need to assess and stratify cardiovascular risk. Future research is needed to investigate the link between gout, hyperuricaemia and increased cardiovascular risk and also to establish a more thorough picture of prevalence for less common cardiovascular diseases.


Author(s):  
Junren Zhang ◽  
Wofhatwa Solomon Ndou ◽  
Nathan Ng ◽  
Paul Gaston ◽  
Philip M. Simpson ◽  
...  

A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-021-06522-x


2021 ◽  
Vol 80 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 1087.1-1087
Author(s):  
M. Van den Dikkenberg, Msc ◽  
N. Luurssen-Masurel ◽  
M. Kuijper ◽  
M. R. Kok ◽  
P. De Jong ◽  
...  

Background:The need to involve patient reported outcomes (PROs) in the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) increases, since PROs quantify patient relevant outcomes. Although PROs have been incorporated in the core-outcome sets in clinical trials, knowledge about the treatment effects on these PROs is scarce. Therefore, we performed a systematic review on the effects of disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), of any type, on relevant PRO domains mentioned in the ICHOM standard set. This might support rheumatologists and RA patients during treatment decisions.Objectives:To get insight in the treatment effects of DMARDs of any type on three PRO domains that matter to patients (pain, activity limitations and fatigue).Methods:A systematic review was performed in Embase, Medline, Web of Science, Cochrane and Google Scholar. Included were all studies that were published before August 2019 and showed DMARD treatment effects in RA on PROs that are part of the ICHOM standard set. Three Bayesian network meta-analyses were performed for the PRO domains pain, activity limitations and fatigue. Preliminary results of DMARDs (in)directly compared to placebo were visualized by forest plots using R.Results:The search strategy yielded n=5974 articles. After selection was performed by 2 independent researchers, n=70 individual articles representing n=53 studies were extracted, over the three PRO domains; pain (n=31), activity limitations (n=41) and fatigue (n=21). In all RCTs, PROs were only reported as secondary or tertiary endpoints. In figure 1, we show the effects on PROs for any type of DMARD investigated compared to placebo. Overall, DMARDs show a greater reduction in pain (standardized mean difference (SMD); -0.97 – -0.22) and most of them in activity limitations (SMD; -0.81 – 0.56). In fatigue, this clear direction is lacking (SMD; -0.86 – 3.5). csDMARDs and anti-TNF seem to perform slightly, but nog significantly, worse than other bDMARDs and tsDMARDs in the first two domains.Conclusion:Within in this systematic review we report a reduction for DMARDs of any type on the domains of pain and activity limitations compared to placebo. However, results are still preliminary and should be interpreted with care. A more comprehensive network analysis might give a more definitive answer which DMARD performs best.Figure 1.Disclosure of Interests:None declared


BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. e033461
Author(s):  
Kyeore Bae ◽  
Si Yeon Song

IntroductionAromatase inhibitor-induced arthralgia (AIA) is a major adverse event of aromatase inhibitors (AIs) and leads to premature discontinuation of AI therapy in breast cancer patients. The objective of this protocol for a systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) is to provide the methodology to compare the change in pain intensity between different AIA treatments and demonstrate the rank probabilities for different treatments by combining all available direct and indirect evidence.Methods and analysisPubMed, the Cochrane Controlled Register of Trials (CENTRAL), EMBASE, Web of Science and ClinicalTrials.gov will be searched to identify publications in English from inception to November 2019. We will include randomised controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the effects of different treatments for AIA in postmenopausal women with stage 0–III hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. The primary endpoints will be the change in patient-reported pain intensity from baseline to post-treatment. The number of adverse events will be presented as a secondary outcome.Both pairwise meta-analysis and NMA with the Frequentist approach will be conducted. We will demonstrate summary estimates with forest plots in meta-analysis and direct and mixed evidence with a ranking of the treatments as the P-score in NMA. The revised Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomised trials will be used to assess the methodological quality within individual RCTs. The quality of evidence will be assessed.Ethics and disseminationAs this review does not involve individual patients, ethical approval is not required. The results of this systematic review and NMA will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. This review will provide valuable information on AIA therapeutic options for clinicians, health practitioners and breast cancer survivors.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42019136967.


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