International challenges without borders: a descriptive study of family physicians' educational needs in the field of diabetes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The optimal care of persons with diabetes by general practitioners and family physicians (GP/FP) is complex and requires multiple competencies. This is a fairly unrecognized key challenge in the healthcare systems. In some cases, local and national Continuous Professional Development (CPD) initiatives target these challenges; however there have been few international initiatives, possibly because challenges emerging from different studies have not been linked across national boundaries. In this context, the authors have compiled data about gaps and/or barriers inherent to GP/FP care of persons with type 2 diabetes from Austria, Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Secondary analyzes of pre-existing studies were conducted to identify challenges in the care of patients with type 2 diabetes as faced by GPs/FPs. Two sources of data were reviewed: unpublished research data from collaborating organizations and articles from a literature search (in English and German). Articles retrieved were scanned by the research team for relevance to the study objectives and to extract existing gaps and barriers. The identified challenges were then categorized along three major axes: (1) phase of the continuum of care {from screening to management}; (2) learning domain {knowledge, skills, attitudes, behavior, context}; and (3) by country/region. Compilation and categorization were performed by qualitative researchers and discrepancies were resolved through discussion until concordance was achieved.</p> <p>Results and discussion</p> <p>Thirteen challenges faced by GPs/FPs in the care for patients with type 2 diabetes were common in at least 3 of the 4 targeted countries/regions. These issues were found across the entire continuum of care and included: pathophysiology of diabetes, diagnostic criteria, treatment targets assessment, drugs' modes of action, decision-making in therapies, treatment guidelines, insulin therapy, adherence, management of complications, lifestyle changes, team integration, bureaucracy and third-party payers. The issues reported were not restricted to the physicians' knowledge, but also related to their skills, attitudes, behaviours and context.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study revealed challenges faced by GPs/FPs when caring for patients with diabetes, which were similar across international and health system borders. Common issues might be addressed more efficiently through international educational designs, adapted to each country's healthcare system, helping develop and maintain physicians' competencies.</p

Do-it-yourself-Therapie für Menschen mit Typ-1-Diabetes. Ein „Citizen Science project“ zur Nutzung selbstentwickelter Technologien zur automatisierten Insulinabgabe.

Erst 2017 wurde mit der Zulassung durch die US-amerikanische Aufsichtsbehörde FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) ein Insulinpumpensystem behördlich genehmigt, das in Abhängigkeit vom Gewebezuckerwert automatisiert Insulin abgibt. In Deutschland sind seit 2021 Insulinpumpen mit Autokorrekturdosierung erhältlich. Nach Ansicht vieler Betroffener und Eltern von Kindern mit Typ-1-Diabetes wurde jedoch die Entwicklung von Technologien zur automatisierten Regulation des Blutzuckerspiegels von den Herstellern lange Zeit verschlafen. Daher begannen bereits Anfang der 2010er-Jahre Betroffene und ihre Angehörigen, selbst ein künstliches Bauchspeicheldrüsensystem, ein sog. „artificial pancreas system“ bzw. (Hybrid)-Closed-Loop-System, zu entwickeln, das mit allen notwendigen Informationen frei verfügbar ins Netz gestellt wurde. Bisher wurden dieses System und seine Wirksamkeit, wie z. B. die Auswirkungen der Nutzung auf eine verbesserte Lebensqualität, aber wenig systematisch evaluiert. Vor diesem Hintergrund untersuchte ein Team aus Bürgerwissenschaftler*innen mit Typ-1-Diabetes und akademisch Forschenden, ob sich durch die Nutzung dieser Technologien bessere Blutglukosewerte erzielen lassen und sich positive Effekte auf die Lebensqualität ergeben. Ziel dieses Beitrags ist es, den gemeinsamen Forschungsprozess und erste Ergebnisse aus diesem Projekt vorzustellen

Transition probabilities of HER2-positive and HER2-negative breast cancer patients treated with Trastuzumab obtained from a clinical cancer registry dataset

Records of female breast cancer patients were selected from a clinical cancer registry and separated into three cohorts according to HER2-status (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) and treatment with or without Trastuzumab (a humanized monoclonal antibody). Propensity score matching was used to balance the cohorts. Afterwards, documented information about disease events (recurrence of cancer, metastases, remission of local/regional recurrences, remission of metastases and death) found in the dataset was leveraged to calculate the annual transition probabilities for every cohort