scholarly journals Exploring the evidence for the effectiveness of health interventions for COVID-19 targeting migrants: a systematic review protocol

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. e057985
Author(s):  
Stefania Mondello ◽  
Carmela Visalli ◽  
Firas Kobeissy ◽  
Laura Cacciani ◽  
Fabio Cruciani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Health Interventions ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Bibliographic Databases ◽  
Cochrane Central Register ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
High Quality Research ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Methodological Guidelines

IntroductionOwing to their inherent vulnerabilities, the burden of COVID-19 and particularly of its control measures on migrants has been magnified. A thorough assessment of the value of the interventions for COVID-19 tailored to migrants is essential for improving their health outcomes as well as promoting an effective control of the pandemic. In this study, based on evidence from primary biomedical research, we aimed to systematically identify health interventions for COVID-19 targeting migrants and to assess and compare their effectiveness. The review will be conducted within a programme aimed at defining and implementing interventions to control the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, funded by the Italian Ministry of Health and conducted by a consortium of Italian regional health authorities.Methods and analysesData sources will include the bibliographic databases MEDLINE, Embase, LOVE Platform COVID-19 Evidence, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Eligible studies must evaluate health interventions for COVID-19 in migrants. Two independent reviewers will screen articles for inclusion using predefined eligibility criteria, extract data of retained articles and assess methodological quality by applying the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. Disagreements will be resolved through consensus or arbitrated by a third reviewer if necessary. In synthesising the evidence, we will structure results by interventions, outcomes and quality. Where studies are sufficiently homogenous, trial data will be pooled and meta-analyses will be performed. Data will be reported according to methodological guidelines for systematic review provided by the Cochrane Collaboration and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement.Ethics and disseminationThis is a review of existing literature, and ethics approval is not required. We will submit results for peer-review publication and present at relevant conferences. The review findings will be included in future efforts to develop evidence-informed recommendations, policies or programmatic actions at the national and regional levels and address future high-quality research in public health.

scholarly journals Lopinavir/ritonavir for the treatment of COVID-19: A living systematic review protocol

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisca Verdugo-Paiva ◽  
Ariel Izcovich ◽  
Martín Ragusa ◽  
Gabriel Rada
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Direct Evidence ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Cochrane Central Register ◽  
Randomised Trials ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Central Register ◽  
Review Protocol ◽  
Meta Analyses

ABSTRACTObjectiveTo assess the efficacy and safety of lopinavir/ritonavir for the treatment of patients with COVID-19.DesignThis is the protocol of a living systematic review.Data sourcesWe will conduct searches in PubMed/Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), grey literature and in a centralised repository in L·OVE (Living OVerview of Evidence). L·OVE is a platform that maps PICO questions to evidence from Epistemonikos database. In response to the COVID-19 emergency, L·OVE was adapted to expand the range of evidence it covers and customised to group all COVID-19 evidence in one place. The search will cover the period until the day before submission to a journal.Eligibility criteria for selecting studies and methodsWe adapted an already published common protocol for multiple parallel systematic reviews to the specificities of this question.We will include randomised trials evaluating the effect of lopinavir/ritonavir— as monotherapy or in combination with other drugs — versus placebo or no treatment in patients with COVID-19. Randomised trials evaluating lopinavir/ritonavir in infections caused by other coronaviruses, such as MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV, and non-randomised studies in COVID-19 will be searched in case no direct evidence from randomised trials is found, or if the direct evidence provides low- or very low-certainty for critical outcomes.Two reviewers will independently screen each study for eligibility, extract data, and assess the risk of bias. We will perform random-effects meta-analyses and use GRADE to assess the certainty of the evidence for each outcome.A living, web-based version of this review will be openly available during the COVID-19 pandemic. We will resubmit it if the conclusions change or there are substantial updates.Ethics and disseminationNo ethics approval is considered necessary. The results of this review will be widely disseminated via peer-reviewed publications, social networks and traditional media.PROSPERO RegistrationSubmitted to PROSPERO (awaiting ID allocation).

scholarly journals Associations of childhood exposure to malaria with cognition and behaviour outcomes: a systematic review protocol

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANDREW SENTOOGO SSEMATA ◽  
JACQUELLINE ANN NAKITENDE ◽  
SIMON KIZITO ◽  
ELIZABETH C WHIPPLE ◽  
PAUL BANGIRANA ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Malaria Infection ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Interrupted Time Series ◽  
Bibliographic Databases ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Cochrane Central Register ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
Cross Sectional

Abstract Background: Malaria is one of the major contributing risk factors for poor development of children living in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs). However, little is known about the specific domains of cognition and behaviour that are impacted by malaria, the extent of these deficits, and the different types of the malaria spectrum that are associated with these deficits. The objective of this systematic review is to determine the association of the different type of malaria infection on cognition and behavioural outcomes among children living in LMICs. Methods and analysis: We will systematically search online bibliographic databases including MEDLINE (via PubMed), CINAHL (via EBSCO), PsycINFO (via EBSCO), Embase and The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) as well as Google Scholar and bibliographies of pertinent articles. We will include studies with a comparison group (e.g., clinical trials, cohort, observational, cross-sectional case–control and controlled before and after or interrupted–time–series studies) involving children under 18 years of age living in LMICs, as determined by World Bank Criteria, with either an active malaria infection or history of malaria. Included articles must also measure cognitive and/or behaviour outcomes determined by standardized psychological assessments (questionnaire-based scales and or neurocognitive assessments). Studies will be excluded if they are not in English, lack a control group, take place in a high-income country, or if a standardized instrument was not used. Two reviewers will independently review all articles to determine if they meet eligibility criteria. Any conflicts will be resolved after discussion with a third reviewer. When a list of included articles is finalized, two reviewers will extract data to populate and then cross check within an electronic table. Risk of bias and the strength of evidence and recommendations will be assessed independently using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) criteria, and a final score will be given upon consensus. For sufficiently homogeneous data on measured outcomes in multiple studies, we will investigate the possibility of pooling data to perform a meta-analysis. Discussion: This systematic review will evaluate the evidence of the association of malaria on the cognitive and behavioural outcomes. Findings from this planned review will generate insight on the domains affected by the different forms malaria infection and may inform subsequent malaria interventions and future research in paediatric care.Systematic review registration: This systematic review has been registered under the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO; registration number: CRD42020154777)

scholarly journals Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19: A living systematic review protocol

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rocío Bravo-Jeria ◽  
María Ximena Rojas Reyes ◽  
Juan Víctor Ariel Franco ◽  
María Paz Acuña ◽  
Luz Ángela Torres López ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Direct Evidence ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Controlled Trials ◽  
Cochrane Central Register ◽  
Randomised Trials ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
Central Register ◽  
Randomised Controlled ◽  
Meta Analyses

ABSTRACTObjectiveTo determine the relative impact of the use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine on outcomes important to patients with COVID 19.DesignThis is the protocol of a living systematic review.Data sourcesWe will conduct searches in PubMed/Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), trial registries, grey literature and in a centralised repository in L·OVE (Living OVerview of Evidence). L·OVE is a platform that maps PICO questions to evidence from Epistemonikos database. In response to the COVID-19 emergency, L·OVE was adapted to expand the range of evidence it covers and customised to group all COVID-19 evidence in one place. The search will cover the period until the day before submission to a journal.Eligibility criteria for selecting studies and methodsWe will follow a common protocol for multiple parallel systematic reviews, already published and submitted to PROSPERO (awaiting ID allocation).We will include randomised controlled trials evaluating the effect of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine — as monotherapy or in combination with other drugs — versus placebo or no treatment in patients with COVID-19. Randomised trials evaluating chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine in infections caused by other coronaviruses, such as MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV, and non-randomised studies in COVID-19 will be searched in case no direct evidence from randomised trials is found, or if the direct evidence provides low- or very low-certainty for critical outcomes.Two reviewers will independently screen each study for eligibility, extract data, and assess the risk of bias. We will perform random-effects meta-analyses and use GRADE to assess the certainty of the evidence for each outcome.A living, web-based version of this review will be openly available during the COVID-19 pandemic. We will resubmit it if the conclusions change or there are substantial updates.Ethics and disseminationNo ethics approval is considered necessary. The results of this review will be widely disseminated via peer-reviewed publications, social networks and traditional media.

scholarly journals What is the effect of giving the grazers access to additional nutrient sources on biodiversity in semi-natural pastures? A systematic review protocol

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ida Envall ◽  
Jan Bengtsson ◽  
Simon Jakobsson ◽  
Maj Rundlöf ◽  
Charlotte Åberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Bibliographic Databases ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
Nutrient Sources ◽  
History Of ◽  
Review Protocol ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Two Stages

Abstract Background Semi-natural pastures are unfertilized grasslands with a long history of traditional low-input grazing management. This kind of pastures are recognized for their high species richness. However, as a consequence of modernization of agriculture, many of the semi-natural pastures have been lost during the last century, leading to a serious threat to farmland biodiversity. Semi-natural pastures are relatively low in productivity. Hence, to increase profitability, farmers may want to give the grazing animals access to additional nutrient sources. This can be done either as supplementary feeding, or by fencing the semi-natural pastures into the same enclosure as improved, more nutrient-rich, pastures. These practices are, however, controversial. It is argued that since semi-natural pastures are species-rich partly because they are nutrient-poor, introducing additional nutrients into the system should be avoided. Accordingly, in Sweden, these interventions are often prohibited while receiving financial subsidies for management of semi-natural pastures. However, since many farmers are dependent on such support to maintain their pastures, these prohibitions often cause problems. The question has been raised whether giving the grazers access to additional nutrient sources really affect the biodiversity in semi-natural pastures, as is assumed. The primary aim of the proposed systematic review is to answer this question. Method Peer-reviewed and grey literature will be searched for using bibliographic databases, search engines, specialist websites and stakeholder contacts. The references will be screened for relevance according to a predefined set of eligibility criteria. The criteria will be tested and clarified iteratively, until consistency in interpretations is achieved. Thereafter, the literature will be screened in two stages, first based upon title and abstract and then by examining full texts. Full text screening will be performed with blinded decisions by two independent reviewers. Each relevant study will then be critically appraised, based on a set of predefined validity criteria. A narrative synthesis will be provided, outlining the evidence base in terms of bibliographic information and study metadata. If possible, quantitative syntheses based on meta-analyses will be performed. Identified relevant knowledge gaps will be highlighted and discussed.

scholarly journals The effects of childhood exposure to malaria on cognition and behaviour. A systematic review protocol.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANDREW SENTOOGO SSEMATA ◽  
JACQUELLINE ANN NAKITENDE ◽  
SIMON KIZITO ◽  
ELIZABETH C WHIPPLE ◽  
PAUL BANGIRANA ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Malaria Infection ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Interrupted Time Series ◽  
Bibliographic Databases ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Cochrane Central Register ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
Cross Sectional

Abstract Background: Malaria is one of the major contributing risk factors for poor development of children living in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs). However, little is known about the specific domains of cognition and behaviour that are impacted by malaria, the extent of these deficits, and the different types of the malaria spectrum that are associated with these deficits. The objective of this systematic review is to determine the effect of the different type of malaria infection on cognition and behaviour among children living in LMICs. Methods and analysis: We will systematically search online bibliographic databases including MEDLINE (via PubMed), CINAHL (via EBSCO), PsycINFO (via EBSCO), EMBASE and The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) as well as Google Scholar and bibliographies of pertinent articles. We will include studies with a comparison group (e.g., clinical trials, cohort, observational, cross-sectional case–control and controlled before and after or interrupted–time–series studies) involving children under 18 years of age living in LMICs, as determined by World Bank Criteria, with either an active malaria infection or history of malaria. Included articles must also measure cognitive and/or behaviour outcomes determined by standardized psychological assessments (questionnaire-based scales and or neurocognitive assessments). Studies will be excluded if they are not in English, lack a control group, take place in a high-income country, or if a standardized instrument was not used. Two reviewers will independently review all articles to determine if they meet eligibility criteria. Any conflicts will be resolved after discussion with a third reviewer. When a list of included articles is finalized, two reviewers will extract data to populate and then cross check within an electronic table. Risk of bias and the strength of evidence and recommendations will be assessed independently using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) criteria, and a final score will be given upon consensus. For sufficiently homogeneous data on measured outcomes in multiple studies, we will investigate the possibility of pooling data to perform a meta-analysis. Discussion: This systematic review will evaluate the evidence of the effect of malaria on the cognitive and behavioural outcomes. Findings from this planned review will generate insight on the domains affected by the different forms malaria infection and may inform subsequent malaria interventions and future research in paediatric care.Systematic review registration: This systematic review has been registered under PROSPERO: CRD42020154777

scholarly journals Postnatal exercise interventions: a systematic review of adherence and effect

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. e044567
Author(s):  
Edward Mullins ◽  
Shalini Sharma ◽  
Alison H McGregor
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Primary Outcome ◽  
Data Extraction ◽  
Controlled Trials ◽  
Cochrane Central Register ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
High Quality Research ◽  
Exercise Interventions ◽  
Postnatal Women

ObjectiveTo evaluate adherence to and effect of postnatal physical activity (PA) interventions.DesignSystematic review of PA intervention randomised controlled trials in postnatal women. The initial search was carried out in September 2018, and updated in January 2021.Data sourcesEmbase, MEDLINE and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) databases, hand-searching references of included studies. The 25 identified studies included 1466 postnatal women in community and secondary care settings.Eligibility criteriaStudies were included if the PA interventions were commenced and assessed in the postnatal year.Data extraction and synthesisData were extracted using a prespecified extraction template and assessed independently by two reviewers using Cochrane ROB 1 tool.Results1413 records were screened for potential study inclusion, full-text review was performed on 146 articles, 25 studies were included. The primary outcome was adherence to PA intervention. The secondary outcomes were the effect of the PA interventions on the studies’ specified primary outcome. We compared effect on primary outcome for supervised and unsupervised exercise interventions. Studies were small, median n=66 (20–130). PA interventions were highly variable, targets for PA per week ranged from 60 to 275 min per week. Loss to follow-up (LTFU) was higher (14.5% vs 10%) and adherence to intervention was lower (73.6% vs 86%) for unsupervised versus supervised studies.ConclusionsStudies of PA interventions inconsistently reported adherence and LTFU. Where multiple studies evaluated PA as an outcome, they had inconsistent effects, with generally low study quality and high risk of bias. Agreement for effect between studies was evident for PA improving physical fitness and reducing fatigue. Three studies showed no adverse effect of PA on breast feeding. High-quality research reporting adherence and LTFU is needed into how and when to deliver postnatal PA interventions to benefit postnatal physical and mental health.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42019114836.

scholarly journals Prognostic factors for severity and mortality in patients infected with COVID-19: A living systematic review protocol

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ariel Izcovich ◽  
Martín Ragusa ◽  
Verónica Sanguine ◽  
Fernando Tortosa ◽  
Federico Espinosa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Prognostic Factors ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Cochrane Central Register ◽  
Traditional Media ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Central Register ◽  
Review Protocol ◽  
Meta Analyses

ABSTRACTObjectiveThe objective of our systematic review is to identify prognostic factors that can potentially be used in decision-making related to the care of patients infected with COVID-19.DesignThis is the protocol of a living systematic review.Data sourcesWe will conduct searches in PubMed/Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), grey literature and in a centralised repository in L·OVE (Living OVerview of Evidence). L·OVE is a platform that maps PICO questions to evidence from Epistemonikos database. In response to the COVID-19 emergency, L·OVE was adapted to expand the range of evidence covered and customised to group all COVID-19 evidence in one place. The search will continue until the day before submission to a journal.Eligibility criteria for selecting studies and methodsWe will follow a common protocol for multiple parallel systematic reviews, already published and submitted to PROSPERO (awaiting ID allocation).We will include studies that assess patients with confirmed or suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection and inform the relation between potential prognostic factors and death or disease severity. Two groups of two reviewers will independently screen studies for eligibility, extract data and assess the risk of bias. We will perform meta-analyses and use GRADE to assess the certainty of evidence for each prognostic factor and outcome.A living, web-based version of this review will be openly available during the COVID-19 pandemic. We will resubmit it if the conclusions change or there are substantial updates.Ethics and disseminationNo ethics approval is considered necessary. The results of this review will be widely disseminated via peer-reviewed publications, social networks and traditional media.PROSPERO RegistrationSubmitted to PROSPERO (awaiting ID allocation).

scholarly journals Impact of Educational Technology on Teacher Stress and Anxiety: A Literature Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 548
Author(s):  
José-María Fernández-Batanero ◽  
Pedro Román-Graván ◽  
Miguel-María Reyes-Rebollo ◽  
Marta Montenegro-Rueda
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Educational Technology ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Web Of Science ◽  
Teacher Stress ◽  
Bibliographic Databases ◽  
Technology In The Classroom ◽  
Stress Symptoms ◽  
Meta Analyses

Educational technology has become an increasingly important element for improving the teaching and learning process of students. To achieve these goals, it is essential that teachers have the skills they need to be able to introduce technology into their teaching practice. However, this is often overwhelming and stressful for many of them. The aim of this review was to find out how research on teacher stress and anxiety associated with the use of educational technology was proceeding. A systematic review was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines through the following bibliographic databases: PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus. Sixteen articles were found from the review. The main findings show that teachers present high levels of anxiety or stress due to their use of educational technology in the classroom. Among the conclusions, the need for research on different strategies to prevent the emergence of these anxiety and stress symptoms in teachers stands out.

scholarly journals Tolerability of statin-based management of patients with a history of statin-associated muscle symptoms: protocol for a systematic review

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. e052341
Author(s):  
Fanny Villoz ◽  
Christina Lyko ◽  
Cinzia Del Giovane ◽  
Nicolas Rodondi ◽  
Manuel R Blum
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Mean Difference ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Cochrane Central Register ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
Clinical Issue ◽  
Standard Data ◽  
Evaluation Approach ◽  
History Of

IntroductionStatin-associated muscle symptoms (SAMSs) are a major clinical issue in the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular events. Current guidelines advise various approaches mainly based on expert opinion. We will lead a systematic review and meta-analysis to explore the tolerability and acceptability and effectiveness of statin-based therapy management of patients with a history of SAMS. We aim to provide evidence on the tolerability and different strategies of statin-based management of patients with a history of SAMS.Methods and analysisWe will conduct a systematic review of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and non-randomised studies with a control group. We will search in Data sources MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Clinical Trials, Scopus, Clinicaltrials.gov and Proquest from inception until April 2021. Two independent reviewers will carry out the study selection based on eligibility criteria. We will extract data following a standard data collection form. The reviewers will use the Cochrane Collaboration’s tools and Newcastle-Ottawa Scale to appraise the study risk of bias. Our primary outcome will be tolerability and our secondary outcomes will be acceptability and effectiveness. We will conduct a qualitative analysis of all included studies. In addition, if sufficient and homogeneous data are available, we will conduct quantitative analysis. We will synthesise dichotomous data using OR with 95% CI and continuous outcomes by using mean difference or standardised mean difference (with 95% CI). We will determine heterogeneity visually with forest plots and quantitatively with I2 and Q-test. We will summarise the confidence in the quantitative estimate by using Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach.Ethics and disseminationAs a systematic review of literature without collection of new clinical data, there will be no requirement for ethical approval. We will disseminate findings through peer-reviewed publications.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42020202619.

Functional cortical changes associated with shoulder instability – a systematic review

2021 ◽  
pp. 175857322110190
Author(s):  
Morissa F Livett ◽  
Deborah Williams ◽  
Hayley Potter ◽  
Melinda Cairns
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Joint Instability ◽  
Glenohumeral Joint ◽  
Controlled Trials ◽  
Cochrane Central Register ◽  
Cortical Function ◽  
High Quality Research ◽  
Central Register ◽  
Rehabilitative Measures ◽  
Randomised Controlled

Background Glenohumeral joint instability is associated with structural deficits and/or alterations in sensory and motor processing; however, a proportion of patients with glenohumeral joint instability fail to respond to surgical and rehabilitative measures. This systematic review aimed to establish if functional cortical changes occur in patients with glenohumeral joint instability. Methods AMED, CINAHL, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, Medline, PEDro, Pubmed, PsychINFO and Scopus were searched from inception to 17 March 2021. Randomised controlled trials and non-randomised trials were included and quality was appraised using the Downs and Black tool. Results One thousand two hundred seventy-nine records were identified of which five were included in the review. All studies showed altered cortical function when comparing instability patients with healthy controls and included areas associated with higher cortical functions. Discussion The findings of this systematic review offer some insight as to why interventions addressing peripheral pathoanatomical factors in patients with glenohumeral joint instability may fail in some cases due to functional cortical changes. However, data are of moderate to high risk of bias. Further high-quality research is required to ascertain the degree of functional cortical changes associated with the type and duration of glenohumeral joint instability.

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