| 1. |
- Arumugam, Ashokan, et al.
(author)
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Effects of neuromuscular training on knee proprioception in individuals with anterior cruciate ligament injury : A systematic review and GRADE evidence synthesis
- 2021
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In: BMJ Open. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 2044-6055. ; 11:5
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: To systematically review and summarise the evidence for the effects of neuromuscular training compared with any other therapy (conventional training/sham) on knee proprioception following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.Design: Systematic Review.Data sources: PubMed, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, AMED, Scopus and Physical Education Index were searched from inception to February 2020.Eligibility criteria: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and controlled clinical trials investigating the effects of neuromuscular training on knee-specific proprioception tests following a unilateral ACL injury were included.Data extraction and synthesis: Two reviewers independently screened and extracted data and assessed risk of bias of the eligible studies using the Cochrane risk of bias 2 tool. Overall certainty in evidence was determined using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) tool.Results: Of 2706 articles retrieved, only 9 RCTs, comprising 327 individuals with an ACL reconstruction (ACLR), met the inclusion criteria. Neuromuscular training interventions varied across studies: whole body vibration therapy, Nintendo-Wii-Fit training, balance training, sport-specific exercises, backward walking, etc. Outcome measures included joint position sense (JPS; n=7), thresholds to detect passive motion (TTDPM; n=3) or quadriceps force control (QFC; n=1). Overall, between-group mean differences indicated inconsistent findings with an increase or decrease of errors associated with JPS by ≤2°, TTDPM by ≤1.5° and QFC by ≤6 Nm in the ACLR knee following neuromuscular training. Owing to serious concerns with three or more GRADE domains (risk of bias, inconsistency, indirectness or imprecision associated with the findings) for each outcome of interest across studies, the certainty of evidence was very low.Conclusions: The heterogeneity of interventions, methodological limitations, inconsistency of effects (on JPS/TTDPM/QFC) preclude recommendation of one optimal neuromuscular training intervention for improving proprioception following ACL injury in clinical practice. There is a need for methodologically robust RCTs with homogenous populations with ACL injury (managed conservatively or with reconstruction), novel/well-designed neuromuscular training and valid proprioception assessments, which also seem to be lacking.PROSPERO registration number CRD42018107349.
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| 2. |
- Bjurling-Sjöberg, Petronella, 1968-, et al.
(author)
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Resilient performance in healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic (ResCOV) : study protocol for a multilevel grounded theory study on adaptations, working conditions, ethics and patient safety.
- 2021
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In: BMJ Open. - : BMJ. - 2044-6055. ; 11:12
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- INTRODUCTION: Since early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged societies and revealed the built-in fragility and dependencies in complex adaptive systems, such as healthcare. The pandemic has placed healthcare providers and systems under unprecedented amounts of strain with potential consequences that have not yet been fully elucidated. This multilevel project aims to explore resilient performance with the purpose of improving the understanding of how healthcare has adapted during the pandemic's rampage, the processes involved and the consequences on working conditions, ethics and patient safety.METHODS: An emerging explorative multilevel design based on grounded theory methodology is applied. Open and theoretical sampling is performed. Empirical data are gathered over time from written narratives and qualitative interviews with staff with different positions in healthcare organisations in two Swedish regions. The participants' first-person stories are complemented with data from the healthcare organisations' internal documents and national and international official documents.ANALYSIS: Experiences and expressions of resilient performance at different system levels and times, existing influencing risk and success factors at the microlevels, mesolevels and macrolevels and inter-relationships and consequences in different healthcare contexts, are explored using constant comparative analysis. Finally, the data are complemented with the current literature to develop a substantive theory of resilient performance during the pandemic.ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This project is ethically approved and recognises the ongoing strain on the healthcare system when gathering data. The ongoing pandemic provides unique possibilities to study system-wide adaptive capacity across different system levels and times, which can create an important basis for designing interventions focusing on preparedness to manage current and future challenges in healthcare. Feedback is provided to the settings to enable pressing improvements. The findings will also be disseminated through scientific journals and conferences.
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| 3. |
- Bohman, Tony, et al.
(author)
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Predictive models for short-term and long-term improvement in women under physiotherapy for chronic disabling neck pain : a longitudinal cohort study.
- 2019
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In: BMJ Open. - : BMJ. - 2044-6055. ; 9:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: To develop predictive models for short-term and long-term clinically important improvement in women with non-specific chronic disabling neck pain during the clinical course of physiotherapy.DESIGN: Longitudinal cohort study based on data from a randomised controlled trial evaluating short-term and long-term effects on sensorimotor function over 11 weeks of physiotherapy.PARTICIPANTS AND SETTINGS: Eighty-nine women aged 31-65 years with non-specific chronic disabling neck pain from Gävle, Sweden.MEASURES: The outcome, clinically important improvement, was measured with the Patient Global Impression of Change Scale (PGICS) and the Neck Disability Index (NDI), assessed by self-administered questionnaires at 3, 9 and 15 months from the start of the interventions (baseline). Twelve baseline prognostic factors were considered in the analyses. The predictive models were built using random-effects logistic regression. The predictive ability of the models was measured by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Internal validity was assessed with cross-validation using the bootstrap resampling technique.RESULTS: Factors included in the final PGICS model were neck disability and age, and in the NDI model, neck disability, depression and catastrophising. In both models, the odds for short-term and long-term improvement increased with higher baseline neck disability, while the odds decreased with increasing age (PGICS model), and with increasing level of depression (NDI model). In the NDI model, higher baseline levels of catastrophising indicated increased odds for short-term improvement and decreased odds for long-term improvement. Both models showed acceptable predictive validity with an AUC of 0.64 (95% CI 0.55 to 0.73) and 0.67 (95% CI 0.59 to 0.75), respectively.CONCLUSION: Age, neck disability and psychological factors seem to be important predictors of improvement, and may inform clinical decisions about physiotherapy in women with chronic neck pain. Before using the developed predictive models in clinical practice, however, they should be validated in other populations and tested in clinical settings.
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| 4. |
- Chowdhury, Mohammad Rocky Khan, et al.
(author)
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Differences in risk factors associated with single and multiple concurrent forms of undernutrition (stunting, wasting, or underweight) among children under 5 in Bangladesh : A nationally representative cross-sectional study
- 2021
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In: BMJ Open. - : BMJ. - 2044-6055. ; 11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objectives: The current study aims at differentiating the risk factors of cooccurrence and the single dimension of undernutrition among under-5 children in Bangladesh. Design: A nationally representative cross-sectional study. Setting: Bangladesh.Participants: Children age under 5 years of age. Outcome measure: A child is considered to have cooccurrence of undernutrition if he/she has either coexistence of stunting and underweight; wasting and underweight at the same time or the coexistence of stunting, wasting, and underweight. Also, a child with a single dimension of undernutrition includes having stunting, wasting, and being underweight independently.Methods: A Chi-square test was used to assess the prevalence of undernutrition. Odds ratio (OR) and confidence interval (CI) of potential risk factors were quantified using logistic regression analysis. Results: Two out of five under-5 children are suffering undernutrition in Bangladesh. The prevalence of cooccurrence and the single dimension of child undernutrition in Bangladesh was 19.3% (95% CI: 18.2, 20.5) and 18.9 (95% CI:17.9, 19.7) respectively. The key risk factors of cooccurrence of undernutrition were children born with small birth weight [AOR-3.40, 95% CI-2.52, 5.57], socio-economically poorest households [AOR-2.29, 95% CI-1.74, 3.01] and children age group 48-59 months [AOR-2.18, 95% CI-1.80, 2.63], on the other hand, children age group 12-23 months [AOR-161, 95% CI-1.35, 1.92], socio-economically poorer households [AOR-1.41, 95% CI-1.09, 1.82] and paternal illiteracy [AOR-1.19, 95% CI-1.01, 1.42] was significantly associated with single dimension of undernutrition. Conclusion: One-fifth of the children are suffering cooccurrence of undernutrition and that is similar as measured by the single dimension of undernutrition. Parental education, mother’s undernutrition status, father’s employment status, children’s age, birth order, and small birth are the main differentiating risk factors of cooccurrence and the single dimension of undernutrition among under-5 children in Bangladesh which should be taken into consideration to formulate an evidence-based strategy to reduce undernutrition among under-5 children.
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| 5. |
- Dantoft, Thomas M., et al.
(author)
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Gene expression profiling in persons with multiple chemical sensitivity before and after a controlled n-butanol exposure session
- 2017
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In: BMJ Open. - : BMJ. - 2044-6055. ; 7:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: To investigate the pathophysiological pathways leading to symptoms elicitation in multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) by comparing gene expression in MCS participants and healthy controls before and after a chemical exposure optimised to cause symptoms among MCS participants.The first hypothesis was that unexposed and symptom-free MCS participants have similar gene expression patterns to controls and a second hypothesis that MCS participants can be separated from controls based on differential gene expression upon a controlled n-butanol exposure.DESIGN: Participants were exposed to 3.7 ppm n-butanol while seated in a windowed exposure chamber for 60 min. A total of 26 genes involved in biochemical pathways found in the literature have been proposed to play a role in the pathogenesis of MCS and other functional somatic syndromes were selected. Expression levels were compared between MCS and controls before, within 15 min after being exposed to and 4 hours after the exposure.SETTINGS: Participants suffering from MCS and healthy controls were recruited through advertisement at public places and in a local newspaper.PARTICIPANTS: 36 participants who considered themselves sensitive were prescreened for eligibility. 18 sensitive persons fulfilling the criteria for MCS were enrolled together with 18 healthy controls.OUTCOME MEASURES: 17 genes showed sufficient transcriptional level for analysis. Group comparisons were conducted for each gene at the 3 times points and for the computed area under the curve (AUC) expression levels.RESULTS: MCS participants and controls displayed similar gene expression levels both at baseline and after the exposure and the computed AUC values were likewise comparable between the 2 groups. The intragroup variation in expression levels among MCS participants was noticeably greater than the controls.CONCLUSIONS: MCS participants and controls have similar gene expression levels at baseline and it was not possible to separate MCS participants from controls based on gene expression measured after the exposure.
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| 6. |
- Ernesäter, Annica, 1970-, et al.
(author)
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A comparison of calls subjected to a malpractice claim versus 'normal calls' within the Swedish Healthcare Direct : a case–control study
- 2014
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In: BMJ Open. - : BMJ. - 2044-6055. ; 4:10, s. e005961-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objectives: The purpose of this study is to compare communication patterns in calls subjected to a malpractice claim with matched controls. Setting: In many countries, telephone advice nursing is patients' first contact with healthcare. Telenurses' assessment of callers' symptoms and needs are based on verbal communication only, and problems with over-triage and under-triage have been reported. Participants: A total sample of all reported medical errors (n=33) during the period 2003-2010 within Swedish Healthcare Direct was retrieved. Corresponding calls were thereafter identified and collected as sound files from the manager in charge at the respective call centres. For technical reasons, calls from four of the cases were not possible to retrieve. For the present study, matched control calls (n=26) based on the patient's age, gender and main symptom presented by the caller were collected. Results: Male patients were in majority (n=16), and the most common reasons for calling were abdominal pain (n=10) and chest pain (n=5). There were statistically significant differences between the communication in the cases and controls: telenurses used fewer open-ended medical questions (p<0.001) in the cases compared to the control calls; callers provided telenurses with more medical information in the control calls compared to the cases (p=0.001); and telenurses used more facilitation and patient activation activities in the control calls (p=0.034), such as back-channel response (p=0.001), compared to the cases. Conclusions: The present study shows that telenurses in malpractice claimed calls used more closed-ended questioning compared to those in control calls, who used more open-ended questioning and back-channel response, which provided them with richer medical descriptions and more information from the caller. Hence, these communicative techniques are important in addition to solid medical and nursing competence and sound decision aid systems.
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| 7. |
- Göras, Camilla, 1969-, et al.
(author)
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Interprofessional team assessments of the patient safety climate in Swedish operating rooms : a cross-sectional survey
- 2017
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In: BMJ Open. - : BMJ. - 2044-6055. ; 7:9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: A positive patient safety climate within teams has been associated with higher safety performance. The aim of this study was to describe and compare attitudes to patient safety among the various professionals in surgical teams in Swedish operating room (OR) departments. A further aim was to study nurse managers in the OR and medical directors' estimations of their staffs' attitudes to patient safety.METHODS: A cross-sectional survey with the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ) was used to elicit estimations from surgical teams. To evoke estimations from nurse managers and medical directors about staff attitudes to patient safety, a short questionnaire, based on SAQ, was used. Three OR departments at three different hospitals in Sweden participated. All licensed practical nurses (n=124), perioperative nurses (n=233), physicians (n=184) and their respective manager (n=22) were invited to participate.RESULTS: Mean percentage positive scores for the six SAQ factors and the three professional groups varied, and most factors (safety climate, teamwork climate, stress recognition, working conditions and perceptions of management), except job satisfaction, were below 60%. Significantly lower mean values were found for perioperative nurses compared with physicians for perceptions of management (56.4 vs 61.4, p=0.013) and working conditions (63.7 vs 69.8, p=0.007). Nurse managers and medical directors' estimations of their staffs' ratings of the safety climate cohered fairly well.CONCLUSIONS: This study shows variations and some weak areas for patient safety climate in the studied ORs as reported by front-line staff and acknowledged by nurse managers and medical directors. This finding is a concern because a weak patient safety climate has been associated with poor patient outcomes. To raise awareness, managers need to support patient safety work in the OR.
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| 8. |
- Göras, Camilla, 1969-, et al.
(author)
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Tasks, multitasking and interruptions among the surgical team in an operating room : a prospective observational study
- 2019
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In: BMJ Open. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 2044-6055. ; 9:5, s. 1-12
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: The work context of the operating room (OR) is considered complex and dynamic with high cognitive demands. A multidimensional view of the complete preoperative and intraoperative work process of the surgical team in the OR has been sparsely described. The aim of this study was to describe the type and frequency of tasks, multitasking, interruptions and their causes during surgical procedures from a multidimensional perspective on the surgical team in the OR.DESIGN: Prospective observational study using the Work Observation Method By Activity Timing tool.SETTING: An OR department at a county hospital in Sweden.PARTICIPANTS: OR nurses (ORNs) (n=10), registered nurse anaesthetists (RNAs) (n=8) and surgeons (n=9).RESULTS: The type, frequency and time spent on specific tasks, multitasking and interruptions were measured. From a multidimensional view, the surgical team performed 64 tasks per hour. Communication represented almost half (45.7%) of all observed tasks. Concerning task time, direct care dominated the surgeons' and ORNs' intraoperative time, while in RNAs' work, it was intra-indirect care. In total, 48.2% of time was spent in multitasking and was most often observed in ORNs' and surgeons' work during communication. Interruptions occurred 3.0 per hour, and the largest proportion, 26.7%, was related to equipment. Interruptions were most commonly followed by professional communication.CONCLUSIONS: The surgical team constantly dealt with multitasking and interruptions, both with potential impact on workflow and patient safety. Interruptions were commonly followed by professional communication, which may reflect the interactions and constant adaptations in a complex adaptive system. Future research should focus on understanding the complexity within the system, on the design of different work processes and on how teams meet the challenges of a complex adaptive system.TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: 2016/264.
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| 9. |
- Hallman, David, 1979-, et al.
(author)
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Are trajectories of neck-shoulder pain associated with sick leave and work ability in workers? A 1-year prospective study
- 2019
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In: BMJ Open. - : BMJ Journals. - 2044-6055. ; 9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- ObjectivesThe study aimed to determine the extent to which latent trajectories of neck–shoulder pain (NSP) are associated with self-reported sick leave and work ability based on frequent repeated measures over 1 year in an occupational population.MethodsThis longitudinal study included 748 Danish workers (blue-collar, n=620; white collar, n=128). A questionnaire was administered to collect data on personal and occupational factors at baseline. Text messages were used for repeated measurements of NSP intensity (scale 0–10) over 1 year (14 waves in total). Simultaneously, selfreported sick leave (days/month) due to pain was assessed at 4-week intervals, while work ability (scale 0–10) was assessed using a single item (work ability index) at 12-week intervals over the year. Trajectories of NSP, distinguished by latent class growth analysis, were usedas predictors of sick leave and work ability in generalised estimation equations with multiple adjustments.ResultsSick leave increased and work ability decreased across all NSP trajectory classes (low, moderate, strong fluctuating and severe persistent pain intensity). In the adjusted model, the estimated number of days on sickleave was 1.5 days/month for severe persistent NSP compared with 0.1 days/month for low NSP (relativ risk=13.8, 95% CI 6.7 to 28.5). Similarly, work ability decreased markedly for severe persistent NSP (OR=12.9,95% CI 8.5 to 19.7; median 7.1) compared with low NSP (median 9.5).ConclusionSevere persistent NSP was associatedwith sick leave and poor work ability over 1 year amongworkers. Preventive strategies aiming at reducing severepersistent NSP among working populations are needed.
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| 10. |
- Hallman, David, et al.
(author)
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Is prolonged sitting at work associated with the time course of neck-shoulder pain? : A prospective study in Danish blue-collar workers
- 2016
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In: BMJ Open. - : BMJ. - 2044-6055. ; 6:11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- ObjectivesThis study aimed to determine the extent to which objectively measured sitting time at work is associated with the course of neck-shoulder pain across one year in blue-collar workers.MethodsData was analyzed from 625 blue-collar workers in the Danish DPHACTO cohort study (2012-2013). Objective data on sitting time were collected at baseline using accelerometry. Self-reported pain intensity (numeric rating scale 0-10) in the neck-shoulder region was registered for one year using repeated text messages (14 in total). Linear Mixed Models were used to determine the relationship between percent time in sitting at work and trajectories of neck-shoulder pain, with and without adjustment for demographic, occupational and lifestyle factors, and baseline pain intensity.ResultsMore sitting time at work was associated with a faster decline in pain intensity over 12-months, as indicated by a statistically significant effect of sitting on pain trajectories in the crude (p=0.020) and fully adjusted models (p=0.027).Conclusion In blue-collar workers, more sitting time at work was associated with a favorable development of pain intensity over time. The relationship between sitting at work and pain needs further investigation before explicit recommendations and guidelines on sedentary behavior among blue-collar workers can be developed.
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