The polypharmacy challenge: time for a new script?

National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) through a Clinician Scientist Award (Swinglehurst)

What do we want to get out of this?:a critical interpretive synthesis of the value of process evaluations, with a practical planning framework

BACKGROUND: Process evaluations aim to understand how complex interventions bring about outcomes by examining intervention mechanisms, implementation, and context. While much attention has been paid to the methodology of process evaluations in health research, the value of process evaluations has received less critical attention. We aimed to unpack how value is conceptualised in process evaluations by identifying and critically analysing 1) how process evaluations may create value and 2) what kind of value they may create. METHODS: We systematically searched for and identified published literature on process evaluation, including guidance, opinion pieces, primary research, reviews, and discussion of methodological and practical issues. We conducted a critical interpretive synthesis and developed a practical planning framework. RESULTS: We identified and included 147 literature items. From these we determined three ways in which process evaluations may create value or negative consequences: 1) through the socio-technical processes of ‘doing’ the process evaluation, 2) through the features/qualities of process evaluation knowledge, and 3) through using process evaluation knowledge. We identified 15 value themes. We also found that value varies according to the characteristics of individual process evaluations, and is subjective and context dependent. CONCLUSION: The concept of value in process evaluations is complex and multi-faceted. Stakeholders in different contexts may have very different expectations of process evaluations and the value that can and should be obtained from them. We propose a planning framework to support an open and transparent process to plan and create value from process evaluations and negotiate trade-offs. This will support the development of joint solutions and, ultimately, generate more value from process evaluations to all. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12874-022-01767-7

Meeting Report: National Workshops for the Communication of Air Pollution and Health Information: Summary of Four Workshops in Different Regions of Europe

AIRNET was a thematic network project (2002–2004) initiated to stimulate the interaction between researchers in air pollution and health in Europe. As part of AIRNET’s communication strategy, a standardized workshop model was developed to organize national meetings on air pollution and health (AIRNET network days). Emphasis was given to tailor the national workshop information and related activities to the specific needs of a wider range of stakeholders (e.g., policy makers, nongovernmental organizations, industry representatives). In this report we present an overview of the results of four workshops held in western, northern, central/eastern, and southern regions of Europe in 2004. Overall, workshop experiences indicated that by actively involving participants in the planning of each meeting, AIRNET helped create an event that addressed participants’ needs and interests. A wide range of communication formats used to discuss air pollution and health also helped stimulate active interaction among participants. Overall, the national workshops held by AIRNET offered a way to improve communication among the different stakeholders. Because a broad stakeholder involvement in decision making can positively affect the development of widely supported policies, such meetings should be continued for Europe and elsewhere

Collaborative and Integrated Working between General Practice and Community Pharmacy: Findings from a Realist Review

The National Health Service (NHS) Long-Term Plan marks a fundamental change in the nature and provision of UK primary care with, for example, General Practice (GP) and Community Pharmacy (CP) organisations encouraged to work towards more collaborative and integrated working. However, efforts can result in direct financial competition; reduced informational and relational continuity; and patient ambiguity about where to seek safe and appropriate help. We conducted a realist review, exploring how GP-CP collaborative and integrated working may work (or not), for whom, when, and why

Human-animal elision: a Darwinian universe in George Eliot’s novels

No abstract available

Supporting Inclusion and Participation for People Living With Dementia: Ethnographic and Participatory Research Methods

Dementia researchers have persuasively argued for using flexible and creative methods with people with dementia, to ensure their historically marginalised voices are now heard. This article builds on that work, using examples from a study of medicines practices of people with dementia and their informal carers. We have two aims: firstly, we show the ways in which two methods – linguistic ethnography and diary-interview method – can support the inclusion and participation of people with dementia. Secondly, we examine the methodological insights and the dilemmas created by using these methods. Our focus on supporting all means of communication (verbal, non-verbal, drawing, photography and writing) underpinned our choice of methods, which in turn facilitated inclusion and participation. Using a linguistic ethnographic approach supported participants to use material objects to tell their stories; video-recording interactions encompassed non-verbal communication; creative diary-methods made non-linguistic means of knowledge production possible. Moving around the home and neighbourhood and using familiar objects enabled people with dementia to explain their medicines in the context of their lives. Paying attention to sensory data created new insights into the skills and knowledge that family members develop and employ when they provide informal care. The methods were not without challenges. Participants experienced a tension in balancing opportunities for self-expression with the time and effort involved in participatory activities. For the researcher, prioritising the affective quality of respectful research relationships whilst not straying into ‘faked friendship’ created situated ethical dilemmas

Assessing the promise of user involvement in health service development: ethnographic study

Objectives To understand how the policy of user involvement is interpreted in health service organisations and to identify factors that influence how user involvement is put into practice