Characterising the health and social care segment of the BCS (The Chartered Institute for IT) membership and their continuing professional development needs.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to identify and characterise the health and social care membership of the British Computer Society (BCS), an international informatics professional organisation, and to determine their ongoing development needs. Methods: A prepiloted online survey included items on professional regulatory body, job role, work sector, qualifications, career stage, BCS membership (type, specialist group/branch activity (committees, event attendance)), use of BCS.org career planning/continuing professional development (CPD) tools, self-reported digital literacy and other professional registrations. The quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics in JASP V.0.9.2 to report frequencies and correlations. Results: Responses were received from 152 participants. Most were male (n=103; 68%), aged 50–59 years (n=41; 28%), working in England (n=107; 71%) with master’s or honours degrees (n=80; 53%). Most were either new (5 years or less; n=61; 40%) or long-term members (21 years or more; n=43; 28%) of BCS. Most were not interested in health specialist groups (n=57; 38%) preferring non-health specialist groups such as information management (n=54; 37%) and project management (n=52; 34%). Discussion: This is the first paper to characterise the health and social care membership of an IT-focused professional body and to start to determine their CPD needs. There are further challenges ahead in curating the content and delivery. Conclusion: This study is the starting point from which members’ CPD needs, and ongoing interest, in being recognised as health and social care professional members, can be acknowledged and explored. Further research is planned with the participants who volunteered to be part of designing future CPD content and delivery

Tackling inequalities in access to clinical pharmacist led healthcare: recognising and overcoming ethical issues of inclusion in research.

This is an overview for a workshop delivered as part of the 45th European symposium on clinical pharmacy (ESCP 2016). Clinical pharmacists are trained to treat people from all walks of life equally. Their work ethos and ethical practice promotes inclusion and respect for diversity. Pharmacy practice is evidence-based so it follows that research must also promote equality and inclusion while respecting diversity. All too often what are considered marginalised or vulnerable groups are excluded from participation in research because gaining the necessary ethical approvals is perceived to be overly challenging and methods of data collection often require adaptation. The paradox is that not researching such groups is in itself unethical

The Impact of COVID-19 on smoking behaviours and support for smoke-free zones in Saudi Arabia.

This article focuses on the impact of COVID-19 on smoking and smoking cessation behaviours and support for smoke-free zones in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. A pre-tested structured survey was distributed by email in October–November 2020 to students and staff at the University of Jeddah. Responses were analysed using descriptive statistics with summative content analysis of open text. Participants providing open text comments (n = 374/666; 56.4%) were non-smokers (n = 293; 78.3%), former smokers (n = 26; 7.0%) and current smokers (n = 55; 14.7%). Some had household members (n = 220; 58.8%) and friends who smoke (n = 198; 52.9%) plus daily exposure to secondhand smoke at home (n = 125; 33.4%). There was an awareness during COVID-19 of: smoking inside cafes/restaurants and other indoor and outdoor public places; exposure to warnings in the media both against and promoting smoking; widespread support for smoke-free zones. Smokers plans for accessing smoking cessation support are inconsistent with retrospective reports. Many express positivity highlighting reductions in smoking but there were also negative reports of increased smoking. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every aspect of society worldwide. People have been at home more with restricted freedom of movement and limitations on social liberty. These individual accounts can help to focus evidence-based smoking prevention and cessation programmes during and post-COVID-19

Characterising the health and social care segment of the BCS (The Chartered Institute for IT) membership and their continuing professional development needs

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to identify and characterise the health and social care membership of the British Computer Society (BCS), an international informatics professional organisation, and to determine their ongoing development needs. METHODS: A prepiloted online survey included items on professional regulatory body, job role, work sector, qualifications, career stage, BCS membership (type, specialist group/branch activity (committees, event attendance)), use of BCS.org career planning/continuing professional development (CPD) tools, self-reported digital literacy and other professional registrations. The quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics in JASP V.0.9.2 to report frequencies and correlations. RESULTS: Responses were received from 152 participants. Most were male (n=103; 68%), aged 50–59 years (n=41; 28%), working in England (n=107; 71%) with master’s or honours degrees (n=80; 53%). Most were either new (5 years or less; n=61; 40%) or long-term members (21 years or more; n=43; 28%) of BCS. Most were not interested in health specialist groups (n=57; 38%) preferring non-health specialist groups such as information management (n=54; 37%) and project management (n=52; 34%). DISCUSSION: This is the first paper to characterise the health and social care membership of an IT-focused professional body and to start to determine their CPD needs. There are further challenges ahead in curating the content and delivery. CONCLUSION: This study is the starting point from which members’ CPD needs, and ongoing interest, in being recognised as health and social care professional members, can be acknowledged and explored. Further research is planned with the participants who volunteered to be part of designing future CPD content and delivery

An exploration of ehealth and digital literacy in pharmacy practice.

The aim of this research programme was to explore ehealth technology in pharmacy practice in Scotland and, by doing so, contribute original knowledge to this area. Strategists worldwide believe technology has the potential to promote quality, safety and efficiency in healthcare. This has been reflected in national ehealth policies designed to support collaborative working between medical and non-medical healthcare practitioners and, more recently, the whole health and social care team. A meta-narrative systematic review was conducted to explore and contextualise research related to healthcare professionals views of the adoption of ehealth technologies to support shared care. Findings indicate the importance of organisational development and training for core and optional ehealth services with pharmacists particularly under-represented in ehealth research. Socio-technical systems theory and the computer supported cooperative working framework were adopted to explore healthcare practitioners perceptions of ehealth in relation to integrated care. Findings from the review indicate ehealth research continues to focus on doctors and nurses. No ehealth application was perceived to be an unqualified success with the socio-technical gap still evident. Multiple case studies were conducted to develop explanatory theory around the digital literacy experiences, education and training related needs of pharmacy staff in the NHS Grampian area. Digital literacy levels were self-reported as basic with mixed views on the need for formal education and training. Findings indicate organisational and social factors may act as restraining forces against implementation of technology in pharmacy and associated digital literacy training. A final theory testing, systematic review was conducted into digital literacy training experiences of pharmacy staff applying Kirkpatricks four level model. It found a lack of evidence of specific, measurable digital literacy levels but indications that suggest digital literacy should be included in pharmacy education at all levels and career stages. This research provides novel insight into ehealth and digital literacy in pharmacy practice. Combined ehealth, education and pharmacy research has been demonstrated to be an under-researched area therefore these findings contribute original knowledge

Staff and student experiences and attitudes towards smoking and smoking cessation, University of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Introduction: Tobacco smoking causes an estimated 7 million deaths per annum with 70 thousand of those occurring in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) where the National Transformation Program highlights the need to prioritize smoking cessation. The objective of this study was to determine the experiences and attitudes of university staff and students, who have been or are currently smokers, towards smoking and smoking cessation. Methods: A link to a cross-sectional online survey was distributed by email in October and November 2020 to students and staff (n=34872) at the University of Jeddah, KSA. The survey was based on WHO GATS, CSS-21 and a systematic review. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics in JASP (version 0.14.1) [Computer software]. Results: A total of 666 responses were collected. Most respondents had never smoked (n=556; 83.5%) with some current smokers (n=72; 10.8%) and few former smokers (n=12; 1.8%). Major challenges of quitting smoking identified by the CSS-21 tool were intrinsic factors such as 'withdrawal symptoms' (n=28; 37.8%), 'being addicted to cigarettes' (n=24; 34.8%), 'having strong emotions or feelings' (n=28; 38.4%), and 'seeing things or people which reminded me' (n=25; 34.2%). The extrinsic factors were mostly reported as 'not a challenge', such as 'use of other substances like cannabis, alcohol, etc.' (n=60; 87.0%) or 'lack of support or encouragement from health professionals to stop smoking' (n=50; 69.4%). Many staff and students were 'asked if you smoked tobacco products' at a healthcare professional appointment with (n=5; 83.3%) and (n=27; 71.1%), respectively. Both staff (n=6; 75.0%) and students (n=19; 34.5%) thought 'face-to-face counselling' would help support their future attempts to quit. Conclusions: The majority of smokers who participated saw intrinsic factors more of a challenge than extrinsic factors. This new knowledge has the potential to influence decision makers. There is potential for encouraging healthcare practitioners to promote smoking cessation conversations

Reviewing the literature, how systematic is systematic?

Introduction Professor Archibald Cochrane, after whom the Cochrane Collaboration is named, was influential in promoting evidence-based clinical practice. He called for 'relevant, valid research' to underpin all aspects of healthcare. Systematic reviews of the literature are regarded as a high quality source of cumulative evidence but it is unclear how truly systematic they, or other review articles, are or ‘how systematic is systematic?’ Today’s evidence-based review industry is a burgeoning mix of specialist terminology, collaborations and foundations, databases, portals, handbooks, tools, criteria and training courses. Aim of the review This study aims to identify uses and types of reviews, key issues in planning, conducting, reporting and critiquing reviews, and factors which limit claims to be systematic. Method A rapid review of review articles published in IJCP. Results This rapid review identified 17 review articles published in IJCP between 2010 and 2015 inclusive. It explored the use of different types of review article, the variation and widely available range of guidelines, checklists and criteria which, through systematic application, aim to promote best practice. It also identified common pitfalls in endeavouring to conduct reviews of the literature systematically. Discussion Although a limited set of IJCP reviews were identified, there is clear evidence of the variation in adoption and application of systematic methods. The burgeoning evidence industry offers the tools and guidelines required to conduct systematic reviews, and other types of review, systematically. This rapid review was limited to the database of one journal over a period of 6years. Although this review was conducted systematically, it is not presented as a systematic review. Conclusion As a research community we have yet to fully engage with readily available guidelines and tools which would help to avoid the common pitfalls. Therefore the question remains, of not just IJCP but potentially all published reviews, ‘how systematic is systematic?

An exploration of factors influencing health managers' acceptance of eHealth services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is a country with one of the largest land masses and difficult geographical terrain in the Middle East. The accessibility of advanced health services, especially for people in rural areas, has been considered one of the main health challenges. Health services across the country are accessible through three categories of providers. The Ministry of Health (MOH) which is the dominant health provider responsible for 60% of all health services and facilities. Private health sector and other government run health authorities are the providers for the remaining 40%. Many initiatives to embrace technology in healthcare were launched by the MOH to advance the level of acceptance. One of the initiatives was the ambitious eHealth national strategy which was launched in 2011 to govern eHealth projects across the country and set consistent standards, policies, and procedures for the practice activities. This study is sponsored by the MOH as part of a bigger plan to involve stakeholders in the digital transformation

Analysis of thrombotic adverse reactions of COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine reported to EudraVigilance database.

The development of safe, effective, affordable vaccines against COVID-19 remains the cornerstone to mitigating this pandemic. Early in December 2020, multiple research groups had designed potential vaccines. From 11 March 2021, several European countries temporarily suspended the use of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine amid reports of blood clot events and the death of a vaccinated person, despite the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the World Health Organization's assurance that there was no indication that vaccination was linked. This study aimed to identify and analyse the thrombotic adverse reactions associated with the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine. This was a retrospective descriptive study using spontaneous reports submitted to the EudraVigilance database in the period from 17 February to 12 March 2021. There were 54,571 adverse reaction reports, of which 28 were associated with thrombotic adverse reactions. Three fatalities were related to pulmonary embolism; one fatality to thrombosis. With 17 million people having had the AstraZeneca vaccine, these are extremely rare events The EMA's Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (18 March 2021) concluded that the vaccine was safe, effective and the benefits outweighed the risks. Conducting further analyses based on more detailed thrombotic adverse event reports, including patients' characteristics and comorbidities, may enable assessment of the causality with higher specificity

A systematic review of the adoption and acceptance of eHealth in Saudi Arabia: views of multiple stakeholders.

Background: eHealth is defined as “the use of information and communication technology for health”. Adoption and acceptance are key concepts to measure the level of eHealth impact. The aim of this systematic review was to critically appraise, synthesise and present evidence of the status of eHealth adoption and acceptance in Saudi Arabia from the perspectives of multiple stakeholders. Methods: Based on a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) guided protocol published with the international prospective register of systematic reviews (Prospero), five databases were searched for articles published between 1993 and 2017. Inclusion and exclusion criteria of studies were applied in which only peer-reviewed, full-text primary research articles in English language were included. One reviewer performed the searches; two reviewers independently screened the titles then abstracts followed by full articles. Studies excluded were recorded with reasons. Critical appraisal tools appropriate to study design were applied. Eleven items from every study were extracted for further synthesis. Results: After duplicates were removed, 110 papers were screened, and 15 studies met the inclusion criteria. Studies were generally of good quality. Thirty-nine factors were identified as influences affecting the adoption and acceptance of eHealth in Saudi Arabia. Lack of eHealth studies from the perspective of health managers and the limitation of studies to few geographical areas were identified as knowledge gaps. Conclusion: eHealth field in Saudi Arabia showed evidence of continual growth in both publications and awareness of significance. Therefore, findings from this review may help key professionals to address the current challenges and barriers and prioritise the main areas for improvement