Search

The near occasion for Judith Plaskow's reflections on the history of white supremacy in Feminist Studies in Religion (FSR) (and, more specifically, the Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, JFSR) [...]

Background: Anemia in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) is associated with poorer health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) and physical function, and is frequently treated with transfusions. The current common practice of transfusing multiple red blood cells (RBC) units every 2–4 weeks may result in peaks/troughs in hemoglobin (Hb) level, yet maintaining a stable Hb may better improve HRQoL. We describe a study protocol aiming to investigate the feasibility of weekly low‐dose RBC transfusion in MDS patients, including assessing HRQoL and physical function outcomes. Study Design and Methods: In this n‐of‐1 pilot study, patients receive two treatment arms, with randomly allocated treatment sequence: arm A (patient's usual transfusion schedule) and arm B (weekly transfusion, individualized per patient). To facilitate timely delivery of weekly transfusion, extended‐matched RBCs are provided, with transfusion based upon the previous week's Hb/pre‐transfusion testing results to eliminate delays of awaiting contemporaneous cross‐matching. Primary outcome is the feasibility of delivering weekly transfusion. Secondary outcomes include HRQoL, functional activity measurements, RBC usage, and alloimmunization rates. A qualitative substudy explores patient and staff experiences. Results: The trial is open in Australia, Netherlands, and UK. The first patient was recruited in 2020. Inter‐country differences in providing RBCs are observed, including patient genotyping versus serological phenotyping to select compatible units. Discussion: This pilot trial evaluates a novel personalized transfusion approach of weekly matched RBC transfusion and challenges the dogma of current routine pre‐transfusion matching practice. Findings on study feasibility, HRQoL, and physical functional outcomes and the qualitative substudy will inform the design of a larger definitive trial powered for clinical outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined older men's body image, with a focus on the role of interpersonal relationships in shaping their psychological adaptation to age-related body changes to appearance, function, and health. Qualitative narrative constructionist study. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 29 men aged 65–83. Data were analysed using thematic narrative analysis; we identified and interpreted patterns in and across the men's stories about their aging bodies. Narratives of purpose through meaningful engagement and belonging through connection permeated the men's accounts. Participants mitigated body-related changes and challenges through pleasurable physical, leisure, and community activities. They derived purpose from these activities as they kept them physically, cognitively, and socially engaged and thus relevant with advancing age, particularly post retirement. The men derived a sense of belonging through social connections. Relationships with family, friends, and community members shaped their capacity for meaningful engagement and associated psychological adjustment to age-related body changes. The findings point to the imperative need to consider how men negotiate their constantly changing, aging bodies within the context of interpersonal relationships, and highlight the role that later life belonging and purpose play in shaping how men experience their bodies as they grow older. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of patient education in reducing falls, promoting behavioural change and the uptake of prevention activities in older adults during and after hospitalization. Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: A systematic search of five health science databases was performed up to November 2012. Studies that investigated patient education as a single intervention or in a multifactorial falls prevention programme in the hospital and/or post-discharge community settings, were eligible for inclusion. Standard meta-analysis methods were used to assess the effectiveness of patient education compared to usual care. Tests for heterogeneity, subgroup meta-analyses and a priori subgroup meta-analyses were performed for primary outcomes where appropriate. Primary outcomes were incidence of falls, falls-related injury and healthcare use due to falls. Secondary outcomes were mechanisms of behavioural change in falls prevention. Qualitative data were analysed by narrative review. Results: Falls prevention programmes that contained patient education were effective in reducing fall rates amongst hospital inpatients and post-discharge populations (risk ratio [RR] 0.77, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.69 to 0.87), and in reducing the proportion of patients who became fallers in hospital (RR 0.78, 95% CI 0.7 to 0.87). Patient education generally increased knowledge about falls and awareness of prevention strategies. The uptake of strategies may be dependent on the activities being targeted. Conclusion: Falls prevention education should be recommended for older adults while in hospital and following discharge. Falls education programmes should consider the use of intensive face-to-face patient education with multimedia materials in preference to provision of written information alone or brief amounts of interpersonal contact.

Network meta-analysis is an extension of standard meta-analysis. It allows researchers to build a network of evidence to compare multiple interventions that may have not been compared directly in existing publications. With a Bayesian approach, network meta-analysis can be used to obtain a posterior probability distribution of all the relative treatment effects, which allows for the estimation of relative treatment effects to quantify the uncertainty of parameter estimates, and to rank all the treatments in the network. Ranking treatments using both direct and indirect evidence can provide guidance to policy makers and clinicians for making decisions. The purpose of this paper is to introduce fundamental concepts of Bayesian network meta-analysis (BNMA) to researchers in psychology and social sciences. We discuss several essential concepts of BNMA, including the assumptions of homogeneity and consistency, the fixed and random effects models, prior specification, and model fit evaluation strategies, while pointing out some issues and areas where researchers should use caution in the application of BNMA. Additionally, using an automated R package, we provide a step-by-step demonstration on how to conduct and report the findings of BNMA with a real dataset of psychological interventions extracted from PubMed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Informal carers play a critical role in supporting people with dementia. We conducted a scoping review and a qualitative study to inform the identification and development of carer‐reported measures for a dementia clinical quality registry. Methods: Phase 1—Scoping review: Searches to identify carer‐reported health and well‐being measures were conducted in three databases (MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Embase). Data were extracted to record how the measures were administered, the domains of quality‐of‐life addressed and whether they had been used in a registry context. Phase 2—Qualitative study: Four focus groups were conducted with carers to examine the acceptability of selected measures and to identify outcomes that were important but missing from these measures. Results: Phase 1: Ninety‐nine carer measures were identified with the top four being the Zarit Burden Interview (n = 39), the Short‐Form12/36 (n = 14), the Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced scale and the Sense of Coherence scale (both n = 9). Modes of administration included face‐to‐face (n = 50), postal (n = 11), telephone (n = 8) and online (n = 5). No measure had been used in a registry context. Phase 2: Carers preferred brief measures that included both outcome and experience questions, reflected changes in carers' circumstances and included open‐ended questions. Conclusions: Carer‐reported measures for a dementia clinical quality registry need to include both outcome and experience questions to capture carers' perceptions of the process and outcomes of care and services. Existing carer‐reported measures have not been used in a dementia registry context and adaption and further research are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]