Real-world evidence: a practical toolbox for collecting health state utilities

Health state utilities (HSU) data collected in real-world evidence studies are at risk of bias. Although numerous guidance documents are available, practical advice to avoid bias in HSU studies is limited. Thus, the objective of this article was to develop a concise toolbox intended for investigators seeking to collect HSU in a real-world setting. The proposed toolbox builds on existing guidance and provides practical steps to help investigators perform good quality research. The toolbox aims at increasing the credibility of HSU data for future reimbursement decision making.

Pre-Exercise Whole- or Partial-Body Cryotherapy Exposure to Improve Physical Performance: A Systematic Review

Whole- (WBC) and partial-body cryotherapy (PBC) are commonly used sports medicine modalities for the treatment of injury and exercise recovery. Physiological and perceptual effects have the potential to be utilised in a novel application that involves pre-exercise WBC and PBC exposure to improve physical performance. A systematic literature search of multiple databases was conducted in July 2021 to identify and evaluate the effects of pre-exercise exposure of WBC or PBC on physical performance measures, and any potential translational effects. The following inclusion criteria were applied: (1) use of WBC or PBC exposure pre-exercise, (2) use of WBC or PBC in healthy and/or athletic populations, (3) control group was used in the data collection, and (4) investigated physiological, psychosocial or direct physical performance impacts of pre-exercise cryotherapy exposure. A total of 759 titles were identified, with twelve relevant studies satisfying the inclusion criteria after full-text screening. The twelve studies were categorised into three key areas: performance testing (n = 6), oxidative stress response (n = 4) and lysosomal enzyme activity (n = 2). The potential for eliciting favourable physical and physiological responses from pre-exercise WBC or PBC is currently unclear with a paucity of good quality research available. Furthermore, a lack of standardisation of cryotherapy protocols is a current challenge.

Research and publication ethics in developing countries

The scientific validity of any project relies heavily on the ethically conducted and published research work. Conducting good quality research and publishing it in a scholarly, peer-reviewed journal is the ultimate dream of any researcher. However if not done without any research and publication ethics, the work will be counterproductive. Fortunately, there are several publications on ethics of research and publication guiding an early-stage researcher to follow the underlying principles. Research ethics include upholding the basic ethical principles of human research, namely, respect for persons, beneficence, and justice. Publication ethics involve not committing scientific misconduct, resolving authorship disputes, and avoiding simultaneous submission and duplicate publication. Repercussions of unethical research and publications are often unforgiving. Researchers in developing countries face unique challenges in this regard. However, at no cost should these principles be ignored. This will promote the development of a healthy research and publication culture, so desperately needed in these populations. Researchers, sponsors, ethical boards, publishers, and editors should work hand-in-hand to safeguard the research and publication integrity. In this review, issues surrounding research and publication ethics relevant to developing countries will be discussed.

Mores of the customer base for ecotourism industry: Development and validation of a new measurement scale

To date, there is no such scale that may precisely measure mores of the customer base for the ecotourism industry. Therefore, a thematic analysis of literature has been conducted by examining various good quality research works on intrinsic characteristics eliciting pro-environmental actions. Based upon the thematic analysis, a new scale of measure has been proposed with the help of 17 scholars and 15 practitioners hailing from different countries by mutually agreed intended meanings and breadth of the theoretical concepts. The new scale has 4 dimensions comprising a pool of 32 items, which has been empirically validated through the data collected from 268 Malaysian tourists. The dimensions are: sense of obligation to care for the natural environment, sense of obligation to practice eco-friendly activities, sense of obligation to purchase eco-friendly products, and sense of obligation to support eco-friendly inventions. The theoretical and managerial implications together with research limitations have been discussed.

A systematic review of injectable corticosteroid for osteoarthritis of the first metatarsophalangeal joint

Intra articular steroid injection is a common treatment modality for relief of pain and inflammation associated with degenerative joint disease. Use of injectable steroid preparations is widely accepted as safe and effective for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the 1st metatarsophalangeal joint. Despite the frequency of use, literature specific to pathology of the 1st metatarsophalangeal joint is sparse. The aim of this systematic review was to determine if good quality research exists to enable clinicians to adopt an evidenced based approach to corticosteroid injection of the 1st metatarsophalangeal joint. Despite the frequency of use, this review found no high quality studies that support the use of intra articular corticosteroid injection of the 1st metatarsophalangeal joint in osteoarthritis.

Bridging the research‐policy gap: the importance of effective identity leadership and shared commitment

It is widely agreed that the availability of high quality evidence does not translate readily into influence over policy decisions. This insight has generated long-running debates about the most effective way to ‘bridge the gap’ between policy research and policymaking, and to increase policy research ‘uptake’. The proposed remedies (for example, greater ‘linkage and exchange activity’, ‘knowledge brokering’, ‘joint knowledge production’) tend to be premised on the idea that increased contact will increase preparedness to take on board other stakeholders’ views. We agree that contact is important, along with adequate resourcing and access to good quality research evidence. However, as social and organisational psychologists have shown, trust and mutual understanding do not automatically emerge from more intensive interaction, but require effective ‘identity leadership’, to ensure core values (about shared goals and directions) become internalised in new shared self-understanding. So far, these insights have been neglected in the evidence-based policy literature, and the purpose of this paper is to fill this gap. More specifically, we draw on social-psychological research into ‘identity leadership’, and use illustrative data from interviews with leaders in public agencies and a major NGO partnership, to show (a) that leaders play an important role embedding commitment to evidence-based policy into ‘organisational culture’; and (b) that leaders of successful partnerships go to great lengths to unite stakeholders and to promote a shared (overarching) sense of purpose and ‘mission’.

MinimallyInvasive Radiofrequency Surgery in Sleep-Disordered Breathing

Sleep-disordered breathing encompasses a spectrum of conditions ranging from simple snoring to obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). Radiofrequency surgery represents a relatively new technique available to surgeons involved in managing this condition. Its principal advantage relates to its minimally invasive nature resulting in a reduced morbidity when compared to traditional sleep surgery. The presence of good-quality research evaluating the long-term outcomes is currently scarce, although the short-term data is promising. Careful patient selection appears to be paramount in obtaining a sustained improvement. The role of radiofrequency surgery in sleep-disordered breathing has been reviewed.

Research in palliative care

Research in palliative care is gaining momentum and good quality research is helping form an evidence base which clinicians will be able to work within. There are ongoing challenges with carrying out research in palliative care, including high attrition rates, culture and ethical views around research in patients with terminal illness, funding, and gatekeeping. However, it is essential that to provide the best care that robust research is carried out. This can take the form of qualitative and quantitative research, and both are useful and valid in developing a research base of evidence if they are used in the correct contexts.

Open Science and Educational Research: An Editorial Commentary

Educational technology as a broad and applied interdisciplinary research field faces challenges in achieving consensus on what constitutes good quality research. As the field is embedded in many other disciplines, considering what evidence matters and the optimal methodologies to conduct inquiry is continually evolving and maturing. Inhabiting a boundary between education, and computer science, and viewed through numerous theoretical lenses ranging from disciplines of sociology, politics, psychology, the learning systems, curriculum development, digital humanities, and beyond, the number of approaches contributing to the field is vast. The validity, trustworthiness and integrity of over two decades of research in this domain is continually questioned. Furthermore, as technology itself also changes, there are differing opinions on how best to explore and understand the role it plays in education. How we define, research and evaluate our evidence is central to our understanding of how we learn and how this is enhanced with and through technology in various ways. Whilst scholars continue to critique and debate the veracity of findings, educational technology journals play an important role in allowing us to collectively peer review, and publish the best quality research studies. Changes in the open access publishing world and in the open science movement have the potential to address some of shortfalls in how our understandings are evaluated, critiqued and judged in this domain.