Research results have expiration dates: ensuring timely systematic reviews

Systematic review protocol of yoga therapy as a modality in occupational therapy practice for adults experiencing mood disorders

INTRODUCTION

Mood disorders can have a negative impact on daily functioning because cognitive deficits are exacerbated when individuals experience associated symptoms. Nevertheless, yoga therapy has been found to have enhancing features to well-being and quality of life. Occupational therapists are well positioned to include yoga as a modality to benefit clients experiencing mood disorders. However, literature on yoga interventions for mood disorders is underdeveloped causing an inadequate understanding of the health benefits. Thus, the aim of this study is to gain further knowledge associated with the implications of yoga as an intervention to increase participation in activities of daily living and enhance the quality of life of individuals experiencing mood disorders. This review will answer the following research question: can yoga therapy be used as an effective modality in occupational therapy practice to manage symptomatology related to mood disorders through increasing engagement in daily tasks?

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

OVID Medline, Embase as well as CINAHL Plus, Cochrane Library (Wiley), APA PsycINFO and Scopus will be explored to adhere to the following criteria: (1) studies discussing adults diagnosed with mood disorders, specifically bipolar and related disorders or depressive disorders as stated in the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5; (2) studies discussing implementation of yoga therapy; (3) a correlation between mood disorders and effectiveness of yoga therapy.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Ethics approval is not applicable for this study, due to obtaining data from existing research articles. The completed manuscript will be submitted in a peer-reviewed journal for publication.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42021283157.

Family Caregivers' Experiences of Caring for Patients With Head and Neck Cancer: A Systematic Review and Metasynthesis of Qualitative Studies

BACKGROUND

Family caregivers of head and neck cancer (HNC) patients undertook heavy care tasks and role responsibilities. They were facing multiple challenges during the patients' cancer trajectory.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to synthesize existing qualitative evidence regarding family caregivers' experiences of caring for HNC patients.

METHODS

A meta-aggregation approach was used. Articles were collected from MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and Cochrane Library. Supplementary resources were collected by scrutinizing reference lists and performing citation tracking.

RESULTS

A total of 20 studies were included and synthesized. Three meta-themes covering "accepting the diagnosis and treatment on patients: a distressing process," "facing changes of life and adapting to new roles," and "appreciating the external supports" were identified with 10 subthemes. There was high confidence in the evidence for "facing changes of life and adapting to new roles" and moderate confidence in the evidence for the other 2 meta-themes.

CONCLUSIONS

Taking care of HNC patients is a distressing process. Caregivers took on role responsibilities and developed strategies to make adjustments to life changes, so as to provide better care for patients. External supports regarding caregiving and self-care were desired.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Psychological distress was common among caregivers and calls for routine clinical screening. Providing caregivers with practical strategies to deal with daily caregiving tasks was crucial. Healthcare workers can play a critical role in providing tailored support in different caregiving stages. The findings informed the interventions and future research to improve HNC caregivers' experiences.

A review of the factors influencing adoption of digital health applications for people living with dementia

Objective

Researchers have used various theories and models to understand technology adoption, however, with the growing interest and availability of mobile applications (apps) for people living with dementia, it is desirable to have a broader insight into how technology adoption may be further improved. This paper aims to explore the factors influencing the adoption of digital health applications for people living with dementia and add to the current literature on this topic.

Methods

Searches were conducted in CINHAL, Web of Science, Psych Info, ProQuest Health and Medical, IEEE Xplore and Scopus. Citation searching and handsearching were used in the identification of other studies.

Results

Following an assessment of relevancy, nine studies remained and are included within this review. Methodological quality was assessed using The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT). A thematic analysis was used for the data synthesis of included studies. Each study reported on different types of apps.

Conclusion

From the synthesis of included studies, four analytic themes were identified; Theme 1: Personal and contextual factors; Theme 2: Perceived value and benefit; Theme 3: Design and content of app; and Theme 4: Digital Literacy and Confidence. People are diverse and so are their reasons for the adoption of apps. These findings provide an insight into the range of factors that impact the adoption of apps for people living with dementia. Understanding the factors that impact the adoption of mobile applications is critical to their success. These findings can be beneficial for app developers and for people living with dementia and their carers.

Tools available to screen for child feeding dysfunction: A systematic review

INTRODUCTION

The aim of this systematic review is to identify existing pediatric feeding screening tools that have been shown to be valid and reliable in identifying feeding dysfunction in children.

METHOD

A database search produced 5862 relevant articles to be screened based on pre-determined inclusion/exclusion criteria. After full text review of 183 articles, 64 articles were included in the review.

RESULTS

Forty-four studies detailed development and validation of unique feeding screening tools for the pediatric population. The remaining twenty studies were validations studies of already developed screening tools.

DISCUSSION

Multiple screening tools identified were effective in determining feeding dysfunction in children. Several tools employed excellent techniques to measure reliability and validity for diverse pediatric populations. Careful consideration of the tools listed in this review will help practitioners determine the best method for feeding screening in their facility.

Maintaining relevance in HIV systematic reviews: an evaluation of Cochrane reviews

BACKGROUND

Research turnover in the HIV field is rapid, and as a result, maintaining high-quality, up-to-date, and relevant systematic reviews is a challenge. One approach is to frequently update published reviews.

METHODS

We evaluated the methods and relevance of all HIV systematic reviews and protocols published in the Cochrane Library over a 16-year period (2000-2016) to determine the need to update published reviews or complete of reviews in progress.

RESULTS

Of 148 published reviews and protocols, 129 (87%) were identified as not for updating or progression to publication, mostly due to research questions which were either entirely outdated or addressed questions in an outdated manner (N = 89; 60%); this was anticipated for older reviews, but was found also to be the case for recent publications. Some research questions were also inadequately conceptualized, particularly when complex pragmatic trials or behavioral interventions were included.

CONCLUSIONS

We suggest that authors clearly characterize interventions and synthesis approaches in their review protocols. In research fields, such as HIV, where questions change frequently, systematic reviews and protocols should be regularly re-evaluated to ensure relevance to current questions. This process of re-evaluation should be incorporated into the methods of living systematic reviews.

Applying GRADE-CERQual to qualitative evidence synthesis findings-paper 6: how to assess relevance of the data

BACKGROUND

The GRADE-CERQual (Confidence in Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative research) approach has been developed by the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) Working Group. The approach has been developed to support the use of findings from qualitative evidence syntheses in decision-making, including guideline development and policy formulation. CERQual includes four components for assessing how much confidence to place in findings from reviews of qualitative research (also referred to as qualitative evidence syntheses): (1) methodological limitations, (2) coherence, (3) adequacy of data and (4) relevance. This paper is part of a series providing guidance on how to apply CERQual and focuses on CERQual's relevance component.

METHODS

We developed the relevance component by searching the literature for definitions, gathering feedback from relevant research communities and developing consensus through project group meetings. We tested the CERQual relevance component within several qualitative evidence syntheses before agreeing on the current definition and principles for application.

RESULTS

When applying CERQual, we define relevance as the extent to which the body of data from the primary studies supporting a review finding is applicable to the context (perspective or population, phenomenon of interest, setting) specified in the review question. In this paper, we describe the relevance component and its rationale and offer guidance on how to assess relevance in the context of a review finding. This guidance outlines the information required to assess relevance, the steps that need to be taken to assess relevance and examples of relevance assessments.

CONCLUSIONS

This paper provides guidance for review authors and others on undertaking an assessment of relevance in the context of the CERQual approach. Assessing the relevance component requires consideration of potentially important contextual factors at an early stage in the review process. We expect the CERQual approach, and its individual components, to develop further as our experiences with the practical implementation of the approach increase.

Enroling and retaining human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients in their care: A metasynthesis of qualitative studies

OBJECTIVES

To report the findings of a metasynthesis review of qualitative studies on patient and provider experiences and perspectives on linkage and retention in HIV care.

DESIGN

The review is an extraction, aggregation, interpretation and synthesis of qualitative findings based on the Sandelowski and Barroso method.

DATA SOURCES

A search of the literature was conducted in the databases Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health, PubMed and PsycInfo for articles published from 2008 to 2013. Inclusion criteria were qualitative research articles published in English from across the world and in peer-reviewed journals. Literature reviews, conference abstracts and grey literature were excluded from this metasynthesis.

REVIEW METHODS

The review consisted of a) comprehensive search, b) study classification, c) abstraction of findings, d) synthesis. Of the 4640 citations screened, 69 articles were included for this metasynthesis.

RESULTS

69 unique articles from 44 countries were included. This metasynthesis takes into account the perspectives of at least 2263 HIV-positive participants (740 men, 1008 women, 78 transgender individuals and 437 unspecified sex) and 994 healthcare providers, family members and community members. The most salient barriers and facilitators to HIV linkage and retention in HIV care affirm ecological factors that are mostly beyond individual patients' control. Triadic streams of influence concurrently affect care engagement that include a person's psychological state upon diagnosis and their informational challenges (intrapersonal stream); one-on-one interactions with providers and their immediate community (social stream); and life demands, overall quality of care experiences and other structural barriers (cultural-attitudinal stream). Each stream's influence on HIV care engagement varies at any given point to reflect an individual's evolving and unique experiences with HIV infection throughout the illness trajectory.

CONCLUSION

There is sufficient evidence that detail how to best link and retain patients in HIV care. Themes identified indicate going beyond individual-level factors and towards shifting attention and resources to systems that patients navigate. Forceful structural-level actions are needed to correct these long-identified barriers and enhance care engagement facilitators.

Facilitators and Barriers to HIV Screening: A Qualitative Meta-Synthesis

Accomplishments in biomedical research and technology, combined with innovative community and clinically based interventions, have expanded HIV testing globally. However, HIV screening and receipt of results remains a challenge in some areas. To optimize the benefits of HIV screening, it is imperative that there is a better understanding of the barriers to and motivators of testing for HIV infection. This study is a meta-synthesis of the qualitative literature on HIV screening and receipt of results; 128 unique publications had implications for HIV screening and receipt of results. A socioecological perspective provided an appropriate approach for synthesizing the literature. Three levels of influence emerged: individual attributes, interpersonal attributes, and broader patterns of influence. Findings were reviewed and found to have implications for continued engagement in the HIV treatment cascade. Recommendations to enhance HIV screening and to ensure receipt of results are proposed and discussed.

Managing large-volume literature searches in research synthesis studies

BACKGROUND

Systematic reviews typically require searching for, retrieving, and screening a large volume of literature, yet little guidance is available on how to manage this volume.

PURPOSE

We detail methods used to search for and manage the yield of relevant citations for a mixed-methods, mixed research synthesis study focused on the intersection between family life and childhood chronic physical conditions.

METHODS

We designed inclusive search strings and searched nine bibliographic databases to identify relevant research regardless of methodological origin. We customized searches to individual databases, developed work-arounds for transferring large volumes of citations and eliminating duplicate citations using reference management software, and used this software as a portal to select citations for inclusion or exclusion. We identified 67,555 citations, retrieved and screened 3,617 reports, and selected 800 reports for inclusion.

DISCUSSION/CONCLUSIONS

Systematic reviews require search procedures to allow consistent and comprehensive approaches and the ability to work around technical obstacles.

Generalizability and transferability of meta-synthesis research findings

AIM

This paper is a report of a critical analysis of the generalizability and transferability of meta-synthesis research findings.

BACKGROUND

Findings from a large number of qualitative research investigations have had little impact on clinical practice and policy formation. Single qualitative investigations are not intended to produce findings that are directly applicable to clinical practice, simple literature reviews of qualitative studies are not conducted using sophisticated methods to develop new cumulative knowledge, and methods for systematically compiling and synthesizing qualitative findings have just recently been developed in nursing.

DATA SOURCES

This analysis of qualitative review methods was based on over 10 years of meta-synthesis research experience and a non-time-limited cross-discipline search of the English-language literature related to qualitative research and generalizability.

DISCUSSION

Generalizability of meta-synthesis findings is enhanced by insuring validity through systematic sampling, second-tier triangulation, maintenance of well-documented audit trails and the development of multi-dimensional theory. Generalizability of meta-synthesis findings is tentative until successful transference to new situations takes place.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING

Nurse researchers are urged to conduct well-designed and executed meta-synthesis investigations that have the potential to generate findings that are relevant to clinical practice and policy formation. They are also encouraged to disseminate their meta-synthesis findings skilfully and work with practitioners and policy-makers to apply and evaluate them judiciously in clinical settings.

CONCLUSION

Qualitative meta-synthesis is a way of putting together qualitative findings from disparate investigations so that they can more readily be used in clinical practice and policy formation.

Becoming homeless, being homeless, and resolving homelessness among women

The purpose of this investigation was to more comprehensively articulate the experiences of homeless women and make evidence-based inferences regarding optimal social services. This study was conducted using qualitative meta-synthesis methods. As youth, homeless women experience challenging circumstances that leave them ill-prepared to prevent and resolve homelessness in adulthood. Resolution of homelessness occurs in iterative stages: crisis, assessment, and sustained action. To enhance forward progression through these stages, nurses are encouraged to promote empowerment in concordance with the Transtheoretical and Harm Reduction Models. Services that are highly valued include physical and mental health care and child care assistance.

Using qualitative metasummary to synthesize qualitative and quantitative descriptive findings

The new imperative in the health disciplines to be more methodologically inclusive has generated a growing interest in mixed research synthesis, or the integration of qualitative and quantitative research findings. Qualitative metasummary is a quantitatively oriented aggregation of qualitative findings originally developed to accommodate the distinctive features of qualitative surveys. Yet these findings are similar in form and mode of production to the descriptive findings researchers often present in addition to the results of bivariate and multivariable analyses. Qualitative metasummary, which includes the extraction, grouping, and formatting of findings, and the calculation of frequency and intensity effect sizes, can be used to produce mixed research syntheses and to conduct a posteriori analyses of the relationship between reports and findings.