Investigating the Association Between Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Symptom Subtypes and Health Anxiety as Impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background Since the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a global pandemic, public health messages have emphasised the importance of frequent handwashing in limiting the transmission of the virus. Whilst crucial in controlling transmission, such messaging may have an adverse effect on individuals with OCD. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted, with a total of 332 participants recruited. Participants who scored above the optimal cut-off score on the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory Revised edition (OCI-R) were included in the analysis (n = 254). Scores on the six subscales of the OCI-R were correlated with responses to a COVID-19 Impact measure. Results Factor analysis of the COVID-19 Impact measure revealed that items loaded on two components of the measure (handwashing and distress-avoidance). Canonical correlation analyses revealed significant associations between the OCI-R subscales and COVID-19 Impact measure, F (12, 490) = 8.14, p = 0.001, and the SHAI subscales with the COVID-19 Impact Measure, F (4, 498) = 8.18, p = 0.001). Specifically, washing and checking OCI-R subscales correlated with both components of the COVID-19 Impact measure, as did the health anxiety and beliefs SHAI subscales. Content analysis revealed disruption to treatment delivery and worsening symptom severity in participants with contamination-related OCD. Discussion Contamination and checking OCD subtypes have been associated with increased hand-washing behaviour and avoidance of distress-inducing cues. Consideration should be given to targeted support tailored to patients with these subtypes of OCD.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on symptom subtypes of obsessive-compulsive disorder: a cross-sectional study

AimsSince the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a global pandemic, public health messages have emphasised the importance of frequent handwashing in limiting the transmission of the virus. Whilst crucial in controlling transmission, such messaging may have an adverse effect on individuals with OCD. The primary aim of this study was to investigate any significant changes to handwashing behaviour, as well as other related hygiene behaviours, across all symptom dimensions of OCD. The frequency of engaging with pandemic-related media coverage was also considered across all symptom subtypes.MethodA cross-sectional study was conducted, with a total of 332 participants recruited. Participants who scored above the optimal cut-off score on the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory Revised edition (OCI-R) were included in the analysis (n = 254). Scores on the six subscales of the OCI-R were correlated with responses to a COVID-19 Impact measure.ResultFactor analysis of the COVID-19 Impact measure revealed that items loaded on two components of the measure (handwashing and distress-avoidance). A significant correlation was revealed between the handwashing component and the OCI-R washing subscale (rs = 0.523, p = 0.0001), as well as between distress-avoidance and the OCI-R washing and ordering subscales (s = −0.227, p = 0.0001; rs = −0.159, p = 0.006). Content analysis revealed disruption to treatment delivery and worsening symptom severity in participants with contamination-related OCD.ConclusionThe pandemic has had a significant impact on individuals with contamination-related OCD symptoms, in relation to symptom severity and treatment disruption. Consideration should be given to targeted support tailored to patients with this subtype of OCD.

The twin purposes of Guided Inquiry: Guiding student inquiry and evidencebased practice

Guided Inquiry is a means by which student enquiry can be facilitated in schools, while simultaneously being the vehicle for evidence-based practice. This paper illustrates this twin purpose in two contexts: An overview discussion of the 2008 NSW Association of Independent Schools’ Project, led by Dr. Todd, and a 2010 Guided Inquiry at Loreto Kirribilli. Both projects are discussed as student practice and as a means of gathering data about student learning using the School Library Impact Measure (SLIM) Toolkit, while highlighting the use of wiki as an organising tool. Lastly, the paper affirms the impact that Guided Inquiry has had on some Sydney schools.

Patient length of stay analysis with machine learning algorithms

In this paper the problem of measuring factor importance on patient length of stay in an emergency department is discussed. Historical dataset contains average patient length of stay per day. Factors are agreed with domain expert. The task is to provide factors? impact measure on specific day that does not belong to the historical dataset (new observation) and average length of stay for that day is higher than specified threshold. Observations are represented as multidimensional numeric vectors. Each dimension represents factor. The basic idea consists of identifying appropriate neighbourhood and measure distances between the new observation and its neighbourhood in the historical dataset with respect to each factor. Impact measure of a factor is derived from the Error Sum of Squares. Factor impact is proportional to distance between the observation and its neighbourhood with respect to the dimension representing that factor. Nearest neighbour and clustering methods for neighbourhood determination are considered.

Validation of the Bronchiectasis Impact Measure (BIM) – a novel patient reported outcome measure

IntroductionExisting quality of life and symptom tools used in bronchiectasis trials are either not disease specific or are complex and have not been consistently responsive. We developed a simple patient reported visual analogue outcome measure, the bronchiectasis impact measure (BIM) for use in clinical research including clinical trials.MethodsPatients with bronchiectasis attending a tertiary referral clinic in the East of Scotland were invited to complete the BIM questionnaire and the Quality of life bronchiectasis questionnaire at baseline with repeat questionnaires after 2 weeks and 6 months. We assessed internal consistency, test-retest reliability, construct validity and responsiveness by evaluating change during an acute exacerbation.Results173 patients were included. The 8 domains (Cough, sputum, breathlessness, tiredness, activity, general health, control, exacerbations) showed excellent internal consistency (Cronbach α 0.93). The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) demonstrated excellent reliability over a 2-week period, cough (0.79 (95%CI 0.70–0.85)), sputum (0.86 (95%CI 0.80–0.90)), dyspnoea (0.82 (95%CI 0.74–0.87)), tiredness (0.88 (95%CI 0.82–0.91)), activity (0.84 (95%CI 0.77–0.89)), general health (0.81 (95%CI 0.74–0.87)), control (0.83 (95%CI (0.75–0.88)) and exacerbation (0.71 (95%CI (0.60–0.79)). Domains correlated strongly with bronchiectasis severity and exacerbation history. Both distribution and patient-based methods estimated the MCID for each domain as 1.5 points on a 10-point scale. Statistically significant changes in all BIM domains were observed during an acute exacerbation.ConclusionThe BIM is a simple patient reported outcome. This study validates the internal consistency, reliability, construct validity and response of the tool at acute exacerbation. Further validation of the tool is now required.