Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Symptom Management in Children and Adolescents With Cancer: A Systematic Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 423-430
Author(s):  
Deborah Tomlinson ◽  
Lillian Sung ◽  
Emily Vettese ◽  
Shelley Murphy ◽  
Erin Plenert
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Symptom Burden ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Chronic Illnesses ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sample Sizes ◽  
Specific Symptom ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Small Sample Sizes

Psychological interventions have shown benefit in reducing symptoms in children and adolescents with cancer. More recently, mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been shown to be a promising approach to symptom intervention in adolescents with chronic illnesses. In this systematic review, we aimed to describe MBIs or focused-breathing interventions that have been used to treat symptoms in children receiving cancer therapy. A systematic review was conducted using MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, and PsycINFO from inception to September 2019. We identified relevant articles in which MBIs or focused-breathing interventions were the primary interventions delivered to improve symptoms in children or adolescents with cancer. Six studies met the inclusion criteria. MBIs included controlled breathing and belly breathing. Intervention effects were found to be beneficial with regard to symptoms that included procedural pain, distress, and quality of life. The interventions were generally well accepted and beneficial. All studies suffered limitations because of methodological flaws, including the lack of randomization, and small sample sizes. Despite the small numbers of studies and participants, MBIs delivered to children with cancer may have beneficial effects on certain symptoms. Implications for future research include interventions tailored to the specific symptom burden. Studies must aim to increase sample sizes as well as to include individuals at high risk for severe symptoms.

scholarly journals Looking for crumbs in the obesity forest: anti-obesity interventions in the Mexican population. History, and systematic review with Meta-Analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esperanza M. Garcia-Oropesa ◽  
Yoscelina E. Martinez-Lopez ◽  
Sonia Maria Ruiz-Cejudo ◽  
Jose Dario Martinez-Ezquerro ◽  
Alvaro Diaz-Badillo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Waist Circumference ◽  
Behavioral Interventions ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Population History ◽  
Sample Sizes ◽  
Obesity And Diabetes ◽  
Small Sample Sizes

Mexicans and Mexican Americans share culture, genetic background, and predisposition for chronic complications associated with obesity and diabetes making imperative efficacious treatments and prevention. Obesity has been treated for centuries focused-on weight loss while other treatments on associated conditions like gout, diabetes (T2D), and hypertriglyceridemia. To date, there is no systematic review that synthetize the origin of obesity clinics in Mexico and the efforts to investigate treatments for obesity tested by randomized clinical trials (RCT). We conducted systematic searches in Pubmed, Scopus, and Web of Science to retrieve anti-obesity RCT through 2019 and without inferior temporal limit. The systematic review included RCT of anti-obesity treatments in the Mexican adult population, including alternative medicine, pharmacological, nutritional, behavioral, and surgical interventions reporting biometric outcomes such as BMI, weight, waist circumference, triglycerides, glucose, among others. Studies with at least three months of treatment were included in the meta-analysis. We found 634 entries, after removal of duplicates and screening the studies based on eligibility criteria, we analyzed 43, and 2 multinational-collaborative studies. Most of the national studies have small sample sizes, and the studied strategies do not have replications in the population. The nutrition/behavioral interventions were difficult to blind, and most studies have medium to high risk of bias. Nutritional/behavioral interventions and medications showed effects on BMI, waist circumference, and blood pressure. Simple measures like plain water instead of sweet beverages decrease triglycerides and systolic blood pressure. Participants with obesity and hypertension can have benefic effects with antioxidants, and treatment with insulin increase weight in those with T2D. The study of obesity in Mexico has been on-going for more than four decades, but the interest on RCT just increased until this millennium, but with small sample sizes and lack of replication. The interventions affect different metabolic syndrome components, which should be analyzed in detail with the population living on the U.S.-Mexico border; therefore, bi-national collaboration is desirable to disentangle the cultural effects on this population's treatment response.

Direct Observation of Searching for Online Health Information: A Systematic Review of Current Evidence

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Branscum ◽  
Logan Hayes ◽  
Lorraine Wallace
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Observational Method ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Small Sample Sizes

Few studies have been conducted to explore how individuals objectively attempt to retrieve health information using some type of observational method. Therefore, the purpose of this review was to systematically describe and summarize studies employing a direct observational method, and/or video/audio recording program, to examine how individuals actively search for online health information. Eleven articles were found to be acceptable. Overall, studies contained fairly small sample sizes, used mostly college students, and no study explicitly recruited any racial or minority groups. Implications for future research and practice is discussed.

scholarly journals A Systematic Review on the Use of Wearable Body Sensors for Health Monitoring: A Qualitative Synthesis

Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 1502 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annica Kristoffersson ◽  
Maria Lindén
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Health Monitoring ◽  
Health Management ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Observational Research ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Qualitative Synthesis ◽  
Body Sensors ◽  
Small Sample Sizes

The use of wearable body sensors for health monitoring is a quickly growing field with the potential of offering a reliable means for clinical and remote health management. This includes both real-time monitoring and health trend monitoring with the aim to detect/predict health deterioration and also to act as a prevention tool. The aim of this systematic review was to provide a qualitative synthesis of studies using wearable body sensors for health monitoring. The synthesis and analysis have pointed out a number of shortcomings in prior research. Major shortcomings are demonstrated by the majority of the studies adopting an observational research design, too small sample sizes, poorly presented, and/or non-representative participant demographics (i.e., age, gender, patient/healthy). These aspects need to be considered in future research work.

scholarly journals Accuracy of Depression Screening Tools to Detect Major Depression in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review

2016 ◽  
Vol 61 (12) ◽  
pp. 746-757 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Roseman ◽  
Lorie A. Kloda ◽  
Nazanin Saadat ◽  
Kira E. Riehm ◽  
Abel Ickowicz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Lower Bound ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Screening Tool ◽  
Diagnostic Interview ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Screening Tools ◽  
Depression Screening ◽  
Screening Programs ◽  
Small Sample Sizes

Objective: Depression screening among children and adolescents is controversial, and no clinical trials have evaluated benefits and harms of screening programs. A requirement for effective screening is a screening tool with demonstrated high accuracy. The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate the accuracy of depression screening instruments to detect major depressive disorder (MDD) in children and adolescents. Method: Data sources included the MEDLINE, MEDLINE In-Process, EMBASE, PsycINFO, HaPI, and LILACS databases from 2006 to September 30, 2015. Eligible studies compared a depression screening tool to a validated diagnostic interview for MDD and reported accuracy data for children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 years. Risk of bias was assessed with QUADAS-2. Results: We identified 17 studies with data on 20 depression screening tools. Few studies examined the accuracy of the same screening tools. Cut-off scores identified as optimal were inconsistent across studies. Width of 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for sensitivity ranged from 9% to 55% (median 32%), and only 1 study had a lower bound 95% CI ≥80%. For specificity, 95% CI width ranged from 2% to 27% (median 9%), and 3 studies had a lower bound ≥90%. Methodological limitations included small sample sizes, exploratory data analyses to identify optimal cut-offs, and the failure to exclude children and adolescents already diagnosed or treated for depression. Conclusions: There is insufficient evidence that any depression screening tool and cut-off accurately screens for MDD in children and adolescents. Screening could lead to overdiagnosis and the consumption of scarce health care resources.

scholarly journals Human Papillomavirus in Sinonasal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 45
Author(s):  
Kim J. W. Chang Sing Pang ◽  
Taha Mur ◽  
Louise Collins ◽  
Sowmya R. Rao ◽  
Daniel L. Faden
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Human Papillomavirus ◽  
Squamous Cell ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Squamous Cell Carcinomas ◽  
Causative Role ◽  
Sample Sizes ◽  
Geographic Regions ◽  
Small Sample Sizes

Human papillomavirus (HPV) drives tumorigenesis in a subset of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (OPSCC) and is increasing in prevalence across the world. Mounting evidence suggests HPV is also involved in a subset of sinonasal squamous cell carcinomas (SNSCC), yet small sample sizes and variability of HPV detection techniques in existing literature hinder definitive conclusions. A systematic review was performed by searching literature through March 29th 2020 using PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science Core Collection databases. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed by two authors independently. A meta-analysis was performed using the random-effects model. Sixty studies (n = 1449) were eligible for statistical analysis estimating an overall HPV prevalence of 25.5% (95% CI 20.7–31.0). When stratified by HPV detection method, prevalence with multiple substrate testing (20.5%, 95% CI 14.5–28.2) was lower than with single substrate testing (31.7%, 95% CI 23.6–41.1), highest in high-exposure anatomic subsites (nasal cavity and ethmoids) (37.6%, 95% CI 26.5–50.2) vs. low-exposure (15.1%, 95% CI 7.3–28.6) and highest in high HPV+ OPSCC prevalence geographic regions (North America) (30.9%, 95% CI 21.9–41.5) vs. low (Africa) (13.1, 95% CI 6.5–24.5)). While small sample sizes and variability in data cloud firm conclusions, here, we provide a new reference point prevalence for HPV in SNSCC along with orthogonal data supporting a causative role for virally driven tumorigenesis, including that HPV is more commonly found in sinonasal subsites with increased exposure to refluxed oropharyngeal secretions and in geographic regions where HPV+ OPSCC is more prevalent.

scholarly journals How to be Successful in Football: A Systematic Review

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannes Lepschy ◽  
Hagen Wäsche ◽  
Alexander Woll
Keyword(s):  
Performance Indicators ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
The Body ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sample Sizes ◽  
Situational Variables ◽  
Critical Success ◽  
Small Sample Sizes

Background:Despite the popularity of football, the analysis of success factors in football remains a challenge. While reviews on performance indicators in football are available, none focuses solely on the identification of success factors and addresses the large and growing body of recent research up until 2016.Objective:To find out what determines success in football and to organize the body of literature, a systematic literature review analyzing existing studies with regard to success factors in football was undertaken.Methods:The studies included in this review had to deal with performance indicators related to success in football. The studies were published in 2016 or before. The initial search revealed 19,161 articles. Finally, sixty-eight articles were included in this review. The studies were clustered with regard to comparative analyses, predictive analyses and analyses of home advantage.Results:In total, 76 different variables were investigated in the reviewed papers. It appeared that the most significant variables are efficiency (number of goals divided by the number of shots), shots on goal, ball possession, pass accuracy/successful passes as well as the quality of opponent and match location. Moreover, new statistical methods were used to reveal interactions among these variables such as discriminant analysis, factor analysis and regression analysis. The studies showed methodological deficits such as clear operational definitions of investigated variables and small sample sizes.Conclusion:The review allows a comprehensive identification of critical success factors in football and sheds light on utilized methodological approaches. Future research should consider precise operational definitions of the investigated variables, adequate sample sizes and the involvement of situational variables as well as their interaction.

Republished: Systematic Review of Handoff Mnemonics Literature

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 446-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee Ann Riesenberg ◽  
Jessica Leitzsch ◽  
Brian W. Little
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Quality Improvement ◽  
English Language ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Research Articles ◽  
Sample Sizes ◽  
Rigorous Research ◽  
Small Sample Sizes ◽  
Research Studies

A systematic review of published English-language articles on handoffs is conducted (1987 to June 4, 2008). Forty-six articles describing 24 handoff mnemonics are identified by trained reviewers. The majority (82.6%) have been published in the last 3 years (2006-2008), and SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) is the most frequently cited mnemonic (69.6%). Of 7 handoff research articles, only 4 study mnemonics. All 4 of these studies have relatively small sample sizes (10-100) and lack validated instruments. Only 1 study has obtained IRB approval. Scientifically rigorous research studies are needed to assess the effectiveness of handoff mnemonics. These should be published in the peer-reviewed literature using the Standards for QUality Improvement Reporting Excellence (SQUIRE) guidelines.

scholarly journals Serotonergic hallucinogens and recognition of facial emotion expressions: a systematic review of the literature

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 204512531984577 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliana M. Rocha ◽  
Flávia L. Osório ◽  
José Alexandre S. Crippa ◽  
José Carlos Bouso ◽  
Giordano N. Rossi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Web Of Science ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Lysergic Acid ◽  
Facial Emotion ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Amygdala Activity ◽  
Small Sample Sizes

Background: Recognition of emotions in facial expressions (REFE) is a key aspect of social cognition. Anxiety and mood disorders are associated with deficits in REFE, and anxiolytics and antidepressants reverse these deficits. Recent studies have shown that serotonergic hallucinogens (i.e. ayahuasca, dimethyltryptamine, psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide [LSD], and mescaline) have anxiolytic and antidepressant properties, but their effects on REFE are not well understood. The purpose of the study was to conduct a systematic review analyzing the effects of serotonergic hallucinogens on REFE in humans. Methods: Studies published in the PubMed, PsycINFO, and Web of Science databases until 19 October 2018 which analyzed the effects of serotonergic hallucinogens on REFE in humans were included. Results: Of the 62 studies identified, 8 studies were included. Included studies involved the administration of a single or a few doses of LSD or psilocybin, and most trials were randomized and controlled with placebo. LSD and psilocybin reduced the recognition of negative emotions in most studies and modulated amygdala activity to these stimuli, which was correlated with antidepressive effects in patients. Both drugs were well tolerated. Conclusions: Serotonergic hallucinogens reduced the recognition of negative emotions by modulating amygdala activity. Despite the small sample sizes, results suggest that serotonergic hallucinogens show promising beneficial effects on deficits in REFE.

Issues affecting the level of prosthetics research evidence: Secondary analysis of a systematic review

2014 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian J Hafner ◽  
Andrew B Sawers
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Internal Validity ◽  
Quality Criteria ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Reporting ◽  
Evidence Quality ◽  
Small Sample Sizes

Background:Systematic reviews of scientific literature are valuable sources of synthesized knowledge. Systematic review results may also be used to inform readers about challenges inherent to an area of research, guide future research efforts, and facilitate improvements in evidence quality.Objectives:To identify methodological issues that affected the overall level of scientific evidence reported in a contemporary systematic review and to offer suggestions for enhancing publications’ contribution to the overall evidence.Study design:Secondary analysis of a systematic review.Methods:Publications included in a systematic review related to microprocessor-controlled prosthetic knees were analyzed with respect to established methodological quality criteria. Common issues were identified and discussed.Results:Internal validity was commonly affected by variable comparison conditions, limited justification of accommodation time, potential fatigue and learning effects, lack of blinding, small sample sizes, limited evidence of measurement reliability, subject attrition, and limited descriptions of selection criteria. Similarly, external validity was affected by limited descriptions of the study sample, indeterminate representativeness, and suboptimal description of the interventions.Conclusion:Results suggest that efforts to address methodological limitations, educate evidence consumers, and improve research reporting are needed to advance the quality and use of evidence in the field of prosthetics.Clinical relevanceCritical analysis of the strengths and limitations of publications included in a systematic review can inform evidence consumers and contributors about challenges inherent to a field of research. Results of this analysis suggest that efforts to address identified limitations are needed to enhance the overall level of prosthetics evidence.

The impact of younger-onset dementia on relationships, intimacy, and sexuality in midlife couples: a systematic review

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen Holdsworth ◽  
Marita McCabe
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Roles And Responsibilities ◽  
Small Sample Sizes ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Person With Dementia ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACTBackground:The impact of dementia on relationships, intimacy, and sexuality has been documented in later life couples. However, little is known about the experiences of couples living with younger-onset dementia. The aim of this systematic review was to analyze the literature describing the impact of younger-onset dementia on relationships, intimacy, and sexuality in midlife couples.Methods:A systematic literature search was conducted in July 2016 for relevant research papers. Five databases were searched: Web of Science, PsycINFO, MedLine, Scopus, and CINAHL. A quality appraisal checklist was used to assess the methodological quality of included studies.Results:Eleven studies were identified that explored relationships, intimacy, and sexuality from the perspective of the spouse, the person with dementia or both members of the dyad. Several themes were identified including shifts in roles and responsibilities, declines in relationship quality, changes in identity, and self-esteem, increasing social isolation and loneliness, shifts in intimacy, and changes in sexual activity.Conclusions:Many of the reviewed studies were subject to a range of methodological issues including small sample sizes, small number of studies, and a reliance on the perspective of only one member of the dyad. Future research should follow couples longitudinally to gain a clearer picture of the impact of younger-onset dementia on the couple relationship over time. The inclusion of people living with younger-onset dementia in research will assist in developing a deeper understanding of the experiences of the individual and dyad.

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