Online support program for parents of children with a chronic kidney disease using intervention mapping: a development and evaluation protocol

Background: The care for children with a chronic kidney disease (CKD) is complex. Parents of these children may experience high levels of stress in managing their child’s disease, potentially leading to negative effects on their child’s health outcomes. Although the experienced problems are well known, adequate (online) support for these parents is lacking.Objective: The objective of the study is to describe the systematic development of an online support program for parents of children with CKD, and how this program will be evaluated.Methods: Intervention Mapping (IM) was used for the development of the program. After conducting a needs assessment, defining program objectives, searching for theories, and selecting practical applications, the online program e-Powered Parents was developed. e-Powered Parents consist of three parts: (1) an informative part with information about CKD and treatments, (2) an interactive part where parents can communicate with other parents and health care professionals by chat, private messages, and a forum, and (3) a training platform consisting of four modules: Managing stress, Setting limits, Communication, and Coping with emotions. In a feasibility study, the potential effectiveness and effect size of e-Powered Parents will be evaluated using an explorative randomized controlled trial with parents of 120 families. The outcomes will be the child’s quality of life, parental stress and fatigue, self-efficacy in the communication with health care professionals, and family management. A process evaluation will provide insight in parents’ experiences, including their experienced level of support.Results: Study results are expected to be published in the summer of 2016.Conclusions: Although the development of e-Powered Parents using IM was time-consuming, IM has been a useful protocol. IM provided us with a systematic framework for structuring the development process. The participatory planning group was valuable as well; knowledge, experiences, and visions were shared, ensuring us that parents and health care professionals support the program.Trial Registration: Dutch Trial Registration: NTR4808; www.trialregister.nl (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6cfAYHcYb

Guidelines on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of infective endocarditis (new version 2009): the Task Force on the Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Infective Endocarditis of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). Endorsed by the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) and the International Society of Chemotherapy (ISC) for Infection and Cancer.

International audienc

Grand Challenges in global eye health: a global prioritisation process using Delphi method

Background: We undertook a Grand Challenges in Global Eye Health prioritisation exercise to identify the key issues that must be addressed to improve eye health in the context of an ageing population, to eliminate persistent inequities in health-care access, and to mitigate widespread resource limitations. Methods: Drawing on methods used in previous Grand Challenges studies, we used a multi-step recruitment strategy to assemble a diverse panel of individuals from a range of disciplines relevant to global eye health from all regions globally to participate in a three-round, online, Delphi-like, prioritisation process to nominate and rank challenges in global eye health. Through this process, we developed both global and regional priority lists. Findings: Between Sept 1 and Dec 12, 2019, 470 individuals complete round 1 of the process, of whom 336 completed all three rounds (round 2 between Feb 26 and March 18, 2020, and round 3 between April 2 and April 25, 2020) 156 (46%) of 336 were women, 180 (54%) were men. The proportion of participants who worked in each region ranged from 104 (31%) in sub-Saharan Africa to 21 (6%) in central Europe, eastern Europe, and in central Asia. Of 85 unique challenges identified after round 1, 16 challenges were prioritised at the global level; six focused on detection and treatment of conditions (cataract, refractive error, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, services for children and screening for early detection), two focused on addressing shortages in human resource capacity, five on other health service and policy factors (including strengthening policies, integration, health information systems, and budget allocation), and three on improving access to care and promoting equity. Interpretation: This list of Grand Challenges serves as a starting point for immediate action by funders to guide investment in research and innovation in eye health. It challenges researchers, clinicians, and policy makers to build collaborations to address specific challenges. Funding: The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, Moorfields Eye Charity, National Institute for Health Research Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre, Wellcome Trust, Sightsavers, The Fred Hollows Foundation, The Seva Foundation, British Council for the Prevention of Blindness, and Christian Blind Mission. Translations: For the French, Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese, Arabic and Persian translations of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.</p