Effectiveness of automated appointment reminders in Psychosis Community Services:A randomised controlled trial

We report on the first open-label, parallel group randomised controlled trial of automated appointment reminders in a psychosis community service in the UK. Ninety-five patients were randomly allocated to receiving/not receiving automated messaging reminders 7 days and 1 day before appointments. All ‘Attended’ and ‘Missed’ appointment outcomes over 6 months were analysed using cluster regression analysis. Reminded appointments were significantly more frequently attended than non-reminded appointments (unadjusted odds ratio (OR) = 3.54, 95% CI 1.36–9.22, P = 0.01; adjusted OR = 2.95, 95% CI 1.05–8.85, P < 0.05). Automated messaging reminders can provide a robust strategy for promoting engagement with psychosis services. DECLARATION OF INTEREST: The authors have no competing financial interests to declare in relation to the current work. Sarah McAllister was supported by a King's Undergraduate Research Fellowship

A framework for understanding trust factors in web-based health advice

Trust is a key factor in consumer decisions about website engagement. Consumers will engage with sites they deem trustworthy and turn away from those they mistrust. In this paper, we present a framework for understanding trust factors in web-based health advice. The framework is derived from a staged model of trust and allows predictions to be made concerning user engagement with different health websites. The framework is then validated via a series of qualitative, longitudinal studies. In each study, genuine consumers searched online for information and advice concerning their specific health issue. They engaged in free searching and were directed towards sites previously reviewed using the framework. Thematic analysis of the group discussions provided support for the framework and for the staged model of trust wherein design appeal predicted rejection (mistrust) and credibility of information and personalization of content predicted selection (trust) of advice sites. The results are discussed in terms of the merits of the framework, its limitations and directions for future work

The contribution of pre-existing depression to the acute cognitive sequelae of mild traumatic brain injury

Primary objective: To determine the effect of pre-existing depression on the cognitive sequelae of mild traumatic brain injury ( mTBI) within 24 hours of injury. Research design: A 2 x 2 between-subjects design was used to examine the effect of depression and injury type on neuropsychological test performance. The independent variables were the injury type ( mTBI or control) and the presence of depression ( depressed or not depressed). Methods and procedures: Participants who had sustained mTBI ( 30 with depression, 30 without depression) within the previous 24 hours and control participants ( 19 with depression, 30 without depression) were assessed on the Digit Symbol Substitution Test ( DSS), Hopkins Verbal Learning Test ( HVLT) and the Speed of Comprehension Test. Results: Participants with mTBI performed worse than controls on the tests, particularly HVLT delayed recall and DSS total correct. Participants with depression did not perform worse than participants without depression. However, there was a significant univariate interaction for HVLT recognition, participants who had sustained mTBI and were classified in the depressed group exhibited worse recognition compared to mTBI participants without depression. Conclusions: The results indicate that depression may interact with mTBI to impair word recognition during the acute phase after a head injury