Signs and symptoms preceding the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease: a systematic scoping review of literature from 1937 to 2016

Objective Late diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) may be due to diagnostic uncertainties. We aimed to determine the sequence and timing of the appearance of established early signs and symptoms in people who are subsequently diagnosed with AD. Methods We used systematic review methodology to investigate the existing literature. Articles were reviewed in May 2016, using the following databases: MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, British Nursing Index, PubMed central and the Cochrane library, with no language restriction. Data from the included articles were extracted independently by two authors and quality assessment was undertaken with the quality assessment and diagnostic accuracy tool-2 (QUADAS tool-2 quality assessment tool). Results We found that depression and cognitive impairment were the first symptoms to appear in 98.5% and 99.1% of individuals in a study with late-onset AD (LOAD) and 9% and 80%, respectively, in early-onset AD (EOAD). Memory loss presented early and was experienced 12 years before the clinically defined AD dementia in the LOAD. However, the rapidly progressive late-onset AD presented predominantly with 35 non-established focal symptoms and signs including myoclonus (75%), disturbed gait (66%) and rigidity. These were misdiagnosed as symptoms of Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease (CJD) in all the cases. The participant with the lowest mini-mental state examination score of 25 remained stable for 2 years, which is consistent with the score of the healthy family members. Conclusions The findings of this review suggest that neurological and depressive behaviours are an early occurrence in EOAD with depressive and cognitive symptoms in the measure of semantic memory and conceptual formation in LOAD. Misdiagnosis of rapidly progressive AD as CJD and the familial memory score can be confounding factors while establishing a diagnosis. However, the study was limited by the fact that each one of the findings was based on a single study. * Alzheimer's disease (AD) * systematic scoping review * early signs and symptoms * mild cognitive impairment (MCI) * early stage of A

Training interventions for improving telephone consultation skills in clinicians

The objectives are as follows: To assess the effectiveness of training interventions on clinician telephone skills

Computer-assisted history-taking systems (CAHTS) in health care: benefits, risks and potential for further development

Background A computer-assisted history-taking system (CAHTS) is a tool that aids clinicians in gathering data from patients to inform a diagnosis or treatment plan. Despite the many possible applications and even though CAHTS have been available for nearly three decades, these remain underused in routine clinical practice. Objective Through an interpretative review of the literature, we provide an overview of the field of CAHTS, which also offers an understanding of the impact of these systems on policy, practice and research. Methods We conducted a search and critique of the literature on CAHTS. Using a comprehensive set of terms, we searched: MEDLINE, EMBASE, The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, The Cochrane Methodology Register, Health Technology Assessment Database and the NHS Economic Evaluation Database over a ten-year period (January 1997 to May 2007) to identify systematic reviews, technical reports and health technology assessments, and randomised controlled trials. Results The systematic review of the literature suggests that CAHTS can save professionals' time, improve delivery of care to those with special needs and also facilitate the collection of information, especially potentially sensitive information (e.g. sexual history, alcohol consumption). The use of CAHTS also has disadvantages that impede the process of history taking and may pose risks to patients. CAHTS are inherently limited when detecting non-verbal communication, may pose irrelevant questions and frustrate the users with technical problems. Our review suggests that barriers such as a preference for pen-and-paper methods and concerns about data loss and security still exist and affect the adoption of CAHTS. In terms of policy and practice, CAHTS make input of data from disparate sites possible, which facilitates work from disparate sites and the collection of data for nationwide screening programmes such as the vascular risk assessment programme for people aged 40_74, now starting in England. Conclusions Our review shows that for CAHTS to be adopted in mainstream health care, important changes should take place in how we conceive, plan and conduct primary and secondary research on the topic so that we provide the framework for a comprehensive evaluation that will lead to an evidence base to inform policy and practice

Assessing patients' experience of integrated care: a survey of patient views in the North West London Integrated Care Pilot

Despite the importance of continuity of care and patient engagement, few studies have captured patients' views on integrated care. This study assesses patient experience in the Integrated Care Pilot in North West London with the aim to help clinicians and policymakers understand patients' acceptability of integrated care and design future initiatives

Self-rated health, work characteristics and health related behaviours among nurses in Greece: a cross sectional study

BACKGROUND: Previous studies on self-rated health among nurses have indicated an association of low job satisfaction and stress in relation to poor self-rated health. The relationship between self rated health and the specific work characteristics and health related behaviours of nurses to our knowledge have not been adequately studied. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the health profile of nurses working in hospitals in North West Greece and to examine the associations between self rated health (SRH) and health related behaviours and work characteristics in this group of hospital employees. METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to a random sample of 443 nurses working in all the hospitals in North West Greece. Regression analysis was used to examine the relationship of health related behaviours and work characteristics with self rated health among the nurses. RESULTS: A total of 353 responded to the questionnaire (response rate 80%) of which 311 (88%) were female and 42 (12%) male. The mean age (standard deviation) of the respondents was 36 years (5.6) and their mean years of working as nurses were 13.5 years (5.9). Almost half of the nurses' smoked, and about one third were overweight or obese. About 58% (206) of the nurses reported having poor health while 42% (147) reported having good health. Self-rated health was independently associated with gender, effort to avoid fatty foods and physical activity, according to multiple logistic regression analysis. CONCLUSION: The population studied presented a relatively poor health profile, and a high proportion of poor SRH. Though female gender and effort to avoid fatty foods were associated with poor SRH, and exercise and white meat consumption with good SRH, specific work characteristics were not associated with SRH

Patient uptake and adherence to social prescribing: a qualitative study

Social prescription is an initiative that aims to link patients in primary care with sources of support within the community and voluntary sector to improve their health, wellbeing, and care experience. Such programmes usually include navigators, who work with referred patients and issue onward referrals to sources of non-medical support. Most research on social prescribing (SP) has focused on outcome evaluations, resulting in a knowledge gap of factors affecting uptake and adherence. Understanding such factors enables the refinement of programmes, which has the potential to enhance uptake and adherence, reduce health inequalities, and optimise investment. Aim To explore the experiences and views of service users, involved GPs, and navigators on factors influencing uptake and adherence to SP. Design & setting Qualitative interviews were conducted with stakeholders involved in an SP programme in the east of England (Luton). Method Data were collected from semi-structured face-to-face interviews with service users, navigators, and GPs. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Results Factors affecting uptake and adherence to SP were related to patients’ trust in GPs, navigators' initial phone call, supportive navigators and service providers, free services, and perceived need and benefits. Reported barriers to uptake and adherence were fear of stigma of psychosocial problems, patient expectations, and the short-term nature of the programme. Conclusion This study provides an insight into factors affecting patient uptake and adherence to SP programmes. More research in this field, including patients who refused to participate in SP, is needed. Go to: Social prescription is an initiative that aims to link patients in primary care with sources of support within the community and voluntary sector to improve their health, wellbeing, and care experience. Such programmes usually include navigators, who work with referred patients and issue onward referrals to sources of non-medical support. Most research on social prescribing (SP) has focused on outcome evaluations, resulting in a knowledge gap of factors affecting uptake and adherence. Understanding such factors enables the refinement of programmes, which has the potential to enhance uptake and adherence, reduce health inequalities, and optimise investment. Aim To explore the experiences and views of service users, involved GPs, and navigators on factors influencing uptake and adherence to SP. Design & setting Qualitative interviews were conducted with stakeholders involved in an SP programme in the east of England (Luton). Method Data were collected from semi-structured face-to-face interviews with service users, navigators, and GPs. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Results Factors affecting uptake and adherence to SP were related to patients’ trust in GPs, navigators' initial phone call, supportive navigators and service providers, free services, and perceived need and benefits. Reported barriers to uptake and adherence were fear of stigma of psychosocial problems, patient expectations, and the short-term nature of the programme. Conclusion This study provides an insight into factors affecting patient uptake and adherence to SP programmes. More research in this field, including patients who refused to participate in SP, is needed

Factors that facilitate or hinder whole system integrated care for obesity and mental health: a scoping review protocol

Integrated care aims to improve population health. Obesity and mental health are major health issues worldwide. The complexity of the multifactorial drivers of these public health problems has led to the adoption of a whole system approach. This review aims to highlight factors that influence the planning, implementation and evaluation of whole system integrated care for these conditions. Using the framework of Arksey and O’ Malley, we will perform a comprehensive search in the following databases: MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsychINFO, PubMed, British Nursing Database, Web of Science, Health Systems Evidence, Cochrane Library and University of York Centre for Reviews and Dissemination. Further hand-search of reference lists and the grey literature will be conducted. The search will be restricted to articles published from 2000 to 2020. The review is expected to be completed by August 2021. Full texts of the potential studies will be screened for the inclusion criteria. Quality of studies will be appraised. Narrative synthesis will be completed using data extracted from the included studies. A favourable ethics opinion for this study was obtained from the Institute for Health Research Ethics Committee of the University of Bedfordshire (IHREC937). This review expects to identify information relating to factors that facilitate or hinder whole system integrated care for obesity and mental health. The finding from this review will be widely disseminated to stakeholders to inform implementation of whole system integrated care initiatives

Risk models and scores for metabolic syndrome: systematic review protocol

Introduction Metabolic syndrome ‘a clustering of risk factors which includes hypertension central obesity, impaired glucose metabolism with insulin resistance and dyslipidaemia’ affects approximately 20%–25% of the global adult population. Individuals with metabolic syndrome have two to threefold risk of developing cardiovascular disease and a fivefold risk of developing developing diabetes and death from all causes. Although there is rapid proliferation of risk scores for predicting the risk of developing metabolic syndrome later in life, yet, these are seldom used in the practice. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to determine the performance of risk models and scores for predicting the metabolic syndrome. Methods and analysis Articles will be sought for from electronic databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL, PubMed and Web of Science) as well as the Cochrane Library. Further manual search of reference lists and grey literatures will be conducted. The search will cover from the start of indexing to 3 October 2018. Identified studies will be included if they fulfil the study selection criteria. Quality of studies will be appraised using suitable criteria for the risk models. The risk scores in the final sample of the review will be ranked/prioritised based on previous quality criteria for prognostic risk models. Lastly, the impact of the models will be ascertained by tracking citations on Google Scholar. Ethics and dissemination This study does not require formal ethical approval as primary data will not be collected. The results will be disseminated through a peer-reviewed publication and relevant conference presentations

Multidisciplinary group performance—measuring integration intensity in the context of the North West London Integrated Care Pilot

Introduction: Multidisciplinary Group meetings (MDGs) are seen as key facilitators of integration, moving from individual to multidisciplinary decision-making, and from a focus on individual patients to a focus on patient groups. We have developed a method for coding MDG transcripts to identify whether they are or are not vehicles for delivering the anticipated efficiency improvements across various providers and apply it to a test case in the North West London Integrated Care Pilot. Methods: We defined ‘integrating’ as the process within the MDG meeting that enables or promotes an improved collaboration, improved understanding, and improved awareness of self and others within the local healthcare economy such that efficiency improvements could be identified and action taken. Utterances within the MDGs are coded according to three distinct domains grounded in concepts from communication, group decision-making, and integrated care literatures—the Valence, the Focus, and the Level. Standardized weighted integrative intensity scores are calculated across ten time deciles in the Case Discussion providing a graphical representation of its integrative intensity. Results: Intra- and Inter-rater reliability of the coding scheme was very good as measured by the Prevalence and Bias-adjusted Kappa Score. Standardized Weighted Integrative Intensity graph mirrored closely the verbatim transcript and is a convenient representation of complex communication dynamics. Trend in integrative intensity can be calculated and the characteristics of the MDG can be pragmatically described. Conclusion: This is a novel and potentially useful method for researchers, managers and practitioners to better understand MDG dynamics and to identify whether participants are integrating. The degree to which participants use MDG meetings to develop an integrated way of working is likely to require management, leadership and shared values