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The use of Digital Healthcare Products is leading to significant improvements in clinical practice. Herein, we discuss the development of PROACT 2.0 (Patient Reported Opinions About Clinical Tolerability v2.0), a novel open-source mobile and web application developed at Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale Tumori in Milan. It was developed in collaboration with The Christie, Manchester, in the context of work package 2 of the UpSMART Accelerator project, involving a consortium of referral cancer centers from the UK, Spain and Italy...

The use of drones has recently gained popularity in a diverse range of applications, such as aerial photography, agriculture, search and rescue operations, the entertainment industry, and more. However, misuse of drone technology can potentially lead to military threats, terrorist acts, as well as privacy and safety breaches. This emphasizes the need for effective and fast remote detection of potentially threatening drones. In this study, we propose a novel approach for automatic drone detection utilizing the usage of both radio frequency communication signals and acoustic signals derived from UAV rotor sounds...

In recent years, there has been an increasing trend of short-term staffing in remote health services, including Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs). This paper explores the perceptions of clinic users' experiences at their local clinic and how short-term staffing impacts the quality of service, acceptability, cultural safety, and continuity of care in ACCHSs in remote communities. Using purposeful and convenience sampling, community users (aged 18+) of the eleven partnering ACCHSs were invited to provide feedback about their experiences through an interview or focus group...

Whilst radio, podcasts, and music streaming are considered unique audio formats that offer brands different opportunities, limited research has explored this notion. This current study analyses how the brain responds to these formats and suggests that they offer different branding opportunities. Participants' engagement, attitude, attention, memory, and physiological arousal were measured while each audio format was consumed. The results revealed that music streaming elicited more positive attitudes, higher attention, greater levels of memory encoding, and increased physiological arousal compared to either radio or podcasts...

The pathophysiological mechanisms underlying migraine are more difficult to investigate in children than in the adult population. Abnormal cortical excitability turns out to be one of the most peculiar aspects of migraine, accounting for the manifestations of migraine attacks. Recently, visual cortical excitability has been explored effectively in adult migraineurs with a technique based on cross-modal audio-visual illusions (with sound-induced flash illusions (SIFIs) being reduced in migraineurs compared to non-migraineur subjects)...

BACKGROUND: The introduction of ultrasound (US) courses into medical undergraduate courses is usually met with a particularly high level of student motivation. The reasons for this are unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the factors that contribute to undergraduate medical students' motivation to learn US skills. Understanding what motivates students to learn US will inform the efforts of faculty to foster students' motivation to learn. METHODS: We carried out in-depth semi-structured one-to-one interviews with medical students participating in an optional US course at two Swiss universities...

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INTRODUCTION: Despite high prevalence of anxiety among pregnant women in low- and -middle-income countries, research on context-specific conceptualisation, measurement, and predictors of pregnancy-related anxiety (PrA) is limited in these contexts. We explored local conceptualisations of factors influencing PrA in the Northern Region of Ghana. METHODS: We conducted 15 focus group discussions with antenatal care seekers in the Mion District, Savelugu Municipality, and Tamale Metropolis of the Northern Region, in July and August 2021...

BACKGROUND: Many studies have reported interventions for women with vasa praevia to improve perinatal outcomes. However, which outcomes are important for women remains unclear. AIM: To explore what outcomes are important for women with lived experience of vasa praevia and why, in order to inform the development of a core outcome set for studies on vasa praevia. METHODS: An international qualitative study was conducted with women and clinicians...

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic rapidly changed the landscape of clinical practice in the United States; telehealth became an essential mode of health care delivery, yet many components of telehealth use remain unknown years after the disease's emergence. OBJECTIVE: We aim to comprehensively assess telehealth use and its associated factors in the United States. METHODS: This cross-sectional study used a nationally representative survey (Health Information National Trends Survey) administered to US adults (≥18 years) from March 2022 through November 2022...

BACKGROUND: Pregnancy-related death is on the rise in the United States, and there are significant disparities in outcomes for Black patients. Most solutions that address pregnancy-related death are hospital based, which rely on patients recognizing symptoms and seeking care from a health system, an area where many Black patients have reported experiencing bias. There is a need for patient-centered solutions that support and encourage postpartum people to seek care for severe symptoms...

In this podcast, we discuss the 2023 update of the International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot (IWGDF) Guidelines on the prevention of foot ulcers in people with diabetes. Prevention of foot ulcers is paramount, to reduce their large burden on patients and society. Nevertheless, many clinical guidelines do not cover prevention as a topic. The IWGDF Guidelines ensure that a full chapter is dedicated to ulcer prevention. In that chapter, the key cornerstones of prevention are outlined, as well as the importance of integrated preventative foot care...

(1) Background: As part of the Scottish Government's five-year recovery plan to address the backlog in NHS care following the COVID-19 pandemic, community pharmacies in Scotland are planned to provide a Hospital Discharge Medicines Supply and Medicines Reconciliation Service. We aimed to qualitatively explore patients' experiences with this new service. (2) Method: Adult patients (≥18 years age) who consented to participate in the Community Pharmacy Hospital Discharge and Medicines Reconciliation Service were invited for an interview within 21 days of discharge from hospital...

Peripersonal space (PPS) is a dynamic multisensory representation of the space around the body, influenced by internal and external sensory information. The malleability of PPS boundaries, as evidenced by their expansion after tool use or modulation through social interactions, positions PPS as a crucial element in understanding the subjective experiences of self and otherness. Building on the existing literature highlighting both the cognitive and bodily effects of mindfulness meditation, this study proposes a novel approach by employing focused-attention meditation (FAM) and a multisensory audio-tactile task to assess PPS in both the extension and sharpness of its boundaries...

INTRODUCTION: Simulation-based learning has become an essential element in entry-level perfusion education. While the use of simulation has been demonstrated to improve patient outcomes, few institutions possess the budgetary resources to build and maintain a high-fidelity simulation environment. This project aims to identify novel uses of web conferencing platforms to support in-person, remote, and virtual simulation exercises. METHODS: The Zoom Virtual Meeting platform (Zoom Video Communications, Inc...

BACKGROUND: App-linked real-time feedback-devices for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) aim to improve laypersons' resuscitation quality. Resuscitation guidelines recommend these technologies in training settings. This is the first study comparing resuscitation quality of all App-linked feedback-devices currently on market. METHODS: A prospective randomised simulation study was performed. After standardised instructions, participants performed 2-minutes compression-only CPR on a manikin without feedback (baseline)...

BACKGROUND: Using a multiple-measurement approach, we examined the real-world effectiveness of portable HEPA air filtration devices (air cleaners) in a school setting. METHODS: We collected data over 7 weeks during winter 2022/2023 in 2 Swiss secondary school classes: environmental (CO2 , particle concentrations), epidemiologic (absences related to respiratory infections), audio (coughing), and molecular (bioaerosol and saliva samples). Using a crossover design, we compared particle concentrations, coughing, and risk of infection with and without air cleaners...

BACKGROUND: A blockchain can be described as a distributed ledger database where, under a consensus mechanism, data are permanently stored in records, called blocks, linked together with cryptography. Each block contains a cryptographic hash function of the previous block, a timestamp, and transaction data, which are permanently stored in thousands of nodes and never altered. This provides a potential real-world application for generating a permanent, decentralized record of scientific data, taking advantage of blockchain features such as timestamping and immutability...

BACKGROUND: Despite longstanding efforts and calls for reform, Canada's incremental approach to healthcare changes has left the country lagging behind other OECD nations. Reform to the Canadian healthcare system is essential to develop a higher performing system. This study sought to gain a deeper understanding of the views of Canadian stakeholders on structural and process deficiencies and strategies to improve the Canadian healthcare system substantially and meaningfully. METHODS: We conducted individual, ~ 45-minute, semi-structured virtual interviews from May 2022 to August 2022...

BACKGROUND: Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) was legalized in Canada in 2016 and amended in 2021. At the time that this study was conducted, the federal government was considering expanding the eligibility criteria to include patients whose death was not reasonably foreseeable. The purpose of this study was to better understand rural healthcare professionals' experiences with assisted dying set against the backdrop of legislative expansion. METHODS: A qualitative exploratory study was undertaken with general rural practice physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, ethicists, patients, and patient families in rural Southern Alberta, Canada...