Using research findings for policymaking

Internet-related policy is a topic of fierce global debate, with questions such as, should it be national or international, who should oversee it, what should it relate to, how should it be developed and who should be the main stakeholders? When it comes to children and the internet, things are particularly complex as policies related to child rights tend to be scattered across different domains (health, education, welfare and justice), and are not always linked to broad public policy objectives related to the digital economy, digital society or to internet governance. This Guide examines the relationship between research and policy in this area, and supports researchers to frame their objectives and findings in ways that (directly or indirectly) support policy development processes that affect children. We start by examining the current policy landscape related to children and the internet, and the key issues and drivers behind these policies. We then make concrete suggestions and recommendations about how to ensure evidence is relevant and used to facilitate the policy-making process

Mentoring Experiences of Aging and Disability Rehabilitation Researchers

Objectives. To explore research mentoring experiences and perceived mentoring needs of aging and disability researchers at different career stages. Design. Focus group and individual interviews with rehabilitation researchers at various career stages based in hospitals, universities, and hospital-based research institutes in Ontario, Canada. Results. The overall theme was mentoring for transition. Participants across career stages referred to helpful mentoring experiences as those that assisted them to move from their previous stage into the present stage or from the present stage into their next career progression. Unhelpful mentoring experiences were characterized by mentor actions that were potentially detrimental to transition. Subsumed under this theme were three categories. The first, “hidden information” referred to practical information that was difficult to access. The second “delicate issues” referred to helping the participant work through issues related to sensitive matters, the discussion of which could put the participants or their colleagues in a vulnerable position. The third category was “special challenges of clinician-researchers”. Conclusions. Helpful mentoring for rehabilitation researchers working on concerns related to aging and disability appears to be characterized by interaction with more experienced individuals who aid the researcher work through issues related to career transition

Usability of Operational Performance Support Tools - Findings from Sea Test II

Sea Test II, aka NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 17(NEEMO 17) took place in the Florida Aquarius undersea habitat. This confined underwater environment provides a excellent analog for space habitation providing similarities to space habitation such as hostile environment, difficult logistics, autonomous operations, and remote communications. This study collected subjective feedback on the usability of two performance support tools during the Sea Test II mission, Sept 1014, 2013; Google Glass and iPAD. The two main objectives: - Assess the overall functionality and usability of each performance support tool in a mission analog environment. - Assess the advantages and disadvantages of each tool when performing operational procedures and JustInTimeTraining (JITT)

Exploring perspectives on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in people who smoke heroin: a qualitative study

Background Smoking rather than injecting heroin has become more common over the last twenty years. Although there is an increasing body of evidence describing high levels of COPD in heroin smokers, there is limited evidence documenting the impact this has on this population group. Aim. We aimed to describe the experiences of heroin smokers with COPD in Liverpool, UK Design and Setting Participants were purposefully sampled for this qualitative study. Participants included were adults enrolled in an opioid replacement clinic run by Addaction in Liverpool, UK and whom had already engaged with spirometry testing for COPD as part of a previous study Methods. We preformed semi-structured interviews with participants with spirometrically-confirmed COPD in opioid replacement clinics in Liverpool, UK. Data were analysed using a framework analysis approach. Results. We invited 16 potential participants of whom 10 agreed to take part and were interviewed. Three themes common to all interviews were identified: functional measures of lung health that impacted on their activities of daily living, inhaler and medication perceptions with erratic use that was not concordant with their prescription, and the impact of difficulties accessing care. Conclusion. These findings, along with previous studies highlighting the prevalence of COPD in this population, warrant efforts to integrate community COPD and opioid replacement services to improve outcomes for this vulnerable population

Does digital, multimedia information increase recruitment and retention in a children’s wrist fracture treatment trial, and what do people think of it? A randomised controlled Study Within A Trial (SWAT)

Objectives To evaluate digital, multimedia information (MMI) for its effects on trial recruitment, retention, decisions about participation and acceptability by patients, compared with printed information. Design Study Within A Trial using random cluster allocation within the Forearm Fracture Recovery in Children Evaluation (FORCE) study. Setting Emergency departments in 23 UK hospitals. Participants 1409 children aged 4–16 years attending with a torus (buckle) fracture, and their parents/guardian. Children’s mean age was 9.2 years, 41.0% were female, 77.4% were ethnically White and 90.0% spoke English as a first language. Interventions Participants and their parents/guardian received trial information either via multimedia, including animated videos, talking head videos and text (revised for readability and age appropriateness when needed) on tablet computer (MMI group; n=681), or printed participant information sheet (PIS group; n=728). Outcome measures Primary outcome was recruitment rate to FORCE. Secondary outcomes were Decision Making Questionnaire (nine Likert items, analysed summatively and individually), three ‘free text’ questions (deriving subjective evaluations) and trial retention. Results MMI produced a small, not statistically significant increase in recruitment: 475 (69.8%) participants were recruited from the MMI group; 484 (66.5%) from the PIS group (OR=1.35; 95% CI 0.76 to 2.40, p=0.31). A total of 324 (23.0%) questionnaires were returned and analysed. There was no difference in total Decision-Making Questionnaire scores: adjusted mean difference 0.05 (95% CI −1.23 to 1.32, p=0.94). The MMI group was more likely to report the information ‘very easy’ to understand (89; 57.8% vs 67; 39.4%; Z=2.60, p=0.01) and identify information that was explained well (96; 62.3% vs 71; 41.8%). Almost all FORCE recruits were retained at the 6 weeks’ timepoint and there was no difference in retention rate between the information groups: MMI (473; 99.6%); PIS (481; 99.4%)

The Utility of Transient Sensitivity for Wildlife Management and Conservation: Bison as a Case Study

Developing effective management strategies is essential to conservation biology. Population models and sensitivity analyses on model parameters have provided a means to quantitatively compare different management strategies, allowing managers to objectively assess the resulting impacts. Inference from traditional sensitivity analyses (i.e., eigenvalue sensitivity methods) is only valid for a population at its stable age distribution, while more recent methods have relaxed this assumption and instead focused on transient population dynamics. However, very few case studies, especially in long-lived vertebrates where transient dynamics are potentially most relevant, have applied these transient sensitivity methods and compared them to eigenvalue sensitivity methods. We use bison (Bison bison) at Badlands National Park as a case study to demonstrate the benefits of transient methods in a practical management scenario involving culling strategies. Using an age and stage-structured population model that incorporates culling decisions, we find that culling strategies over short time-scales (e.g., 1–5 years) are driven largely by the standing population distribution. However, over longer time-scales (e.g., 25 years), culling strategies are governed by reproductive output. In addition, after 25 years, the strategies predicted by transient methods qualitatively coincide with those predicted by traditional eigenvalue sensitivity. Thus, transient sensitivity analyses provide managers with information over multiple time-scales in contrast to the long time-scales associated with eigenvalue sensitivity analyses. This flexibility is ideal for adaptive management schemes and allows managers to balance short-term goals with long-term viability

The perception of risk in contracting and spreading COVID-19 amongst individuals, households and vulnerable groups in England: a longitudinal qualitative study.

BackgroundSocial distancing restrictions to manage the COVID-19 pandemic were put in place from March 2020 in the United Kingdom (UK), with those classed as "highly clinically vulnerable" advised to shield entirely and remain at home. However, personal risk perception has been shown to comprise of various elements beyond those outlined in the national pandemic guidance. It is unclear whether those deemed COVID-19 vulnerable identified as high-risk to COVID-19 and thus complied with the relevant advice. The aim of this research is to explore the perception of risk in catching and spreading COVID-19, amongst individuals from individual households, and vulnerable groups in a region of the UK.MethodsTwo individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted, four-weeks apart, with adults living in households in the Liverpool City Region. At the follow-up interview, participants were given the option of using photo-elicitation to guide the discussion. Reflexive thematic analysis was employed to conceptualise themes. The qualitative analysis was underpinned with symbolic interactionism.ResultsTwenty-seven participants (13:14 males:females, and 20 with a vulnerable risk factor to COVID-19) completed a baseline interview, and 15 of these completed a follow-up interview four-weeks later. Following thematic analysis, two overarching themes were conceptualised, with subthemes discussed: theme 1) Confusion and trust in the risk prevention guidance; and theme 2) Navigating risk: compliance and non-compliance with public health guidance.ConclusionParticipants developed their own understanding of COVID-19 risk perception through personal experience and comparison with others around them, irrespective of vulnerability status. COVID-19 guidance was not complied with as intended by the government, and at times even rejected due to lack of trust. The format in which future pandemic guidance is conveyed must be carefully considered, and take into account individuals' experiences that may lead to non-compliance. The findings from our study can inform future public health policy and interventions for COVID-19 and future pandemics

Selective outcome reporting in trials of behavioural health interventions in health psychology and behavioural medicine journals: a review

Selective outcome reporting can result in overestimation of treatment effects, research waste, and reduced openness and transparency. This review aimed to examine selective outcome reporting in trials of behavioural health interventions and determine potential outcome reporting bias. A review of nine health psychology and behavioural medicine journals was conducted to identify randomised controlled trials of behavioural health interventions published since 2019. Discrepancies in outcome reporting were observed in 90% of the 29 trials with corresponding registrations/protocols. Discrepancies included 72% of trials omitting prespecified outcomes; 55% of trials introduced new outcomes. Thirty-eight percent of trials omitted prespecified and introduced new outcomes. Three trials (10%) downgraded primary outcomes in registrations/protocols to secondary outcomes in final reports; downgraded outcomes were not statistically significant in two trials. Five trials (17%) upgraded secondary outcomes to primary outcomes; upgraded outcomes were statistically significant in all trials. In final reports, three trials (7%) omitted outcomes from the methods section; three trials (7%) introduced new outcomes in results that were not in the methods. These findings indicate that selective outcome reporting is a problem in behavioural health intervention trials. Journal- and trialist-level approaches are needed to minimise selective outcome reporting in health psychology and behavioural medicine

Identification of robust cardiac reference genes in a mouse model of cardiometabolic disease

Cardiovascular disease is linked to obesity, the metabolic syndrome, and altered 24hour (circadian) rhythms. Although the underlying mechanisms remain undefined, transcriptome analysis in the heart is beginning to provide important insights into the cardiometabolic pathogenesis. The reliability and accuracy of real-time quantitative PCR generated gene expression data is largely dependent on the selection of suitable reference genes (RG), which must be constitutively expressed regardless of cardio-metabolic disease state and time of day. However, many studies do not employ the appropriate selections strategies. In this study we determined the expression stability of seven candidate RGs (GAPDH, YWHAZ, B2M, EIF4A2, ATP5?, ACTB and CYC1) in a mouse model of diet-induced metabolic syndrome in both the day and night, using geNorm qBasePLUS software. RG expression varied in hearts of normal fed versus high fat fed mice, and was also dependant on the time of day. When all experimental variables were considered YWHAZ and ACTB were ranked the most stable and therefore the most suitable genes for generating comparative gene expression data in heart tissue from murine models of cardiometabolic disease. This study provides important information for reference gene selection, and will aid further transcriptome investigations into heart organ functio