High-quality Intervention Research Articles

Strengthening Professional Networks to Serve Students With Autism Who Have Communication Needs

Many students with autism have complex communication needs and benefit from the use of aided augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), which can include picture symbols, communication boards or books, or speech-generating devices. However, many of the challenges to high-quality AAC intervention are amplified by inadequate collaboration. Effective collaboration is critical, including between teachers and speech-language pathologists (SLPs), with students’ parents and other family members, and with other related service providers or specialists. This article draws from social network theory and special education research to offer practical guidelines for special education teachers and SLPs to develop and strengthen their own professional networks and more effectively serve students with autism who have communication needs. Guidance is also offered for school and district leaders. Strong professional networks can improve communication outcomes for students with complex communication needs by fostering educators’ knowledge, skills, confidence, and collective action toward effective and integrated AAC intervention.

“I Don’t Just Take Whatever They Hand to Me”: How Women Recently Released from Incarceration Access Internet Health Information

Women transitioning from incarceration often reenter society with multiple barriers to affordable health care. Many resort to costly emergency department visits, and others turn to online health information to compensate for gaps in their health care. Interviews with 74 previously incarcerated women were conducted in 2019–2020 in three midwestern cities. Qualitative and quantitative analysis revealed that, while most participants used the internet for health information, their perceptions of the reliability varied. Many participants expressed a need for additional reliable sources of health information and ways to verify it. These findings support the importance of high-quality digital health literacy interventions.

Non-pharmacological interventions for bone health after stroke: A systematic review

ObjectiveTo examine the effectiveness and safety of non-pharmacological interventions to reduce bone loss among post-stroke adult patients.Data sourcesCochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Cochrane Database for Systematic Reviews, MEDLINE, CINAHL, ScienceDirect, Scopus, PubMed and PeDRO databases were searched from inception up to 31st August 2021.MethodsA systematic review of randomized controlled trials, experimental studies without randomization and prospective cohort studies with concurrent control of non-pharmacological interventions for adult stroke patients compared with placebo or other stroke care. The review outcomes were bone loss, fall and fracture. The Cochrane Risk of Bias Tools were used to assess methodological quality, and Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations Framework to assess outcome quality. Synthesis Without Meta-Analysis (SWiM) was used for result synthesis.ResultsSeven studies (n = 453) were included. The methodological and outcome qualities varied from low to moderate. There were statistically significant changes between the intervention and parallel/placebo group in bone mineral density, bone mineral content, cortical thickness and bone turnover markers with specific physical and vibration therapies (p<0.05). Falls were higher in the intervention group, but no fracture was reported.ConclusionThere was low to moderate evidence that physical and vibration therapies significantly reduced bone loss in post-stroke patients at the expense of a higher falls rate. The sample size was small, and the interventions were highly heterogeneous with different duration, intensities and frequencies. Despite osteoporosis occurring with ageing and accelerated by stroke, there were no studies on vitamin D or protein supplementation to curb the ongoing loss. Effective, high-quality non-pharmacological intervention to improve post-stroke bone health is required.

Application of High-Quality Nursing Intervention Based on Humanistic Care Combined with the Project Teaching Method in Patients with Acute Leukemia Undergoing Chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy, the main treatment method of AL, can produce varying degrees of toxic and side effects on patients while killing tumor cells, resulting in decreased immune function of patients. We aim to explore the application effect of high-quality nursing intervention based on humanistic care combined with the project teaching method on patients with acute leukemia (AL) undergoing chemotherapy and its effect on their psychological state and satisfaction. 114 AL patients undergoing chemotherapy in the Department of Hematology of our hospital from July 2018 to July 2020 were chosen as the research objects and equally randomized into the experimental group (EG) and control group (CG). CG received routine nursing during chemotherapy, while EG received high-quality nursing intervention based on humanistic care combined with the project teaching method. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD) was adopted to evaluate the psychological state of patients in both groups after intervention, and the self-made nursing satisfaction questionnaire in our hospital was applied to evaluate the clinical nursing satisfaction. The HAD-A and HAD-D scores in the CG (P < 0.001) were significantly higher than the HAD-A and HAD-D scores in the EG after intervention. The scores of various coping styles in the EG after intervention were better than those in the CG (P < 0.05). Compared with the CG, the total nursing satisfaction after intervention was remarkably higher in the EG (P < 0.001), while the total incidence of adverse reactions during intervention was notably lower (P < 0.05). High-quality nursing intervention based on humanistic care combined with the project teaching method for AL patients undergoing chemotherapy can effectively relieve negative emotions, improve clinical nursing satisfaction, and reduce adverse reactions during chemotherapy.

Strengthening research capacity: a systematic review of manuscript writing and publishing interventions for researchers in low-income and middle-income countries

IntroductionHealth researchers from low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) are under-represented in the academic literature. Scientific writing and publishing interventions may help researchers publish their findings; however, we lack evidence about...

End-of-life care for people with severe mental illness: mixed methods systematic review and thematic synthesis of published case studies (the MENLOC study)

ObjectivesPeople with severe mental illness (SMI) have significant comorbidities and reduced life expectancy. The objective of the review reported in this paper was to synthesise material from case studies relating...

Health promotion and education interventions in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: a rapid evidence review.

Health promotion and education (HPE) is a valuable component of initiatives to improve health and prevent disease in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). To assess the type and scope of HPE interventions in the EMR and analyze lessons learned. A rapid review was conducted using a PICOS (participants, interventions, comparisons, outcomes and study approaches) framework guiding approach. We identified a growin interest in HPE approaches in the EMR, with the majority of studies published within the past five years. Few high-quality studies were identified. Formative research predominated with nearly half of the studies recommending the need toscale up HPE interventions. There was little emphasis on implementation and evaluation of priority HPE interventions. The findings highlight the need to: (1) up-scale resource-efficient HPE interventions; (2) implement HPE programmes addressing noncommunicable disease priorities; and (3) capacity building to operationalize high-quality interventions and evaluations.

Mental health interventions for youth who are incarcerated: A systematic review of literature.

To promote the safety and well-being of youth who are incarcerated, the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education identified the importance of evidence-based mental health interventions. The purpose of this systematic review is to summarize and synthesize intervention research focusing on the mental health of youth who are incarcerated since the publication of Guiding Principles for Providing High-Quality Education in Juvenile Justice Secure Care Settings. ProQuest and Ebsco databases were searched to identify relevant published studies from 2015 to 2020. Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria. Studies mainly focused on cognitive-behavior interventions and included the following outcome domains: symptoms, functioning, personal growth, and multiple domains. To evaluate study quality, modified versions of Gersten et al.'s (2005) group design and Mulcahy et al.'s (2016) single-case design quality indicators were used. Of concern are the small number of studies, methodological limitations within studies, and lack of a common intervention and outcomes of focus that limit individual study conclusions and evaluation across studies. In particular, studies rarely included necessary information, such as participant mental health characteristics, interventionist training or qualifications, intervention details, and/or measures/reports of treatment integrity. For the Guiding Principles to be realized, one key issue is for government funding to target high-quality mental health interventions in juvenile correctional facilities within identified target areas. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Diet and Anxiety: A Scoping Review.

Anxiety disorders are the most common group of mental disorders. There is mounting evidence demonstrating the importance of nutrition in the development and progression of mental disorders such as depression; however, less is known about the role of nutrition in anxiety disorders. This scoping review sought to systematically map the existing literature on anxiety disorders and nutrition in order to identify associations between dietary factors and anxiety symptoms or disorder prevalence as well as identify gaps and opportunities for further research. The review followed established methodological approaches for scoping reviews. Due to the large volume of results, an online program (Abstrackr) with artificial intelligence features was used. Studies reporting an association between a dietary constituent and anxiety symptoms or disorders were counted and presented in figures. A total of 55,914 unique results were identified. After a full-text review, 1541 articles met criteria for inclusion. Analysis revealed an association between less anxiety and more fruits and vegetables, omega-3 fatty acids, “healthy” dietary patterns, caloric restriction, breakfast consumption, ketogenic diet, broad-spectrum micronutrient supplementation, zinc, magnesium and selenium, probiotics, and a range of phytochemicals. Analysis revealed an association between higher levels of anxiety and high-fat diet, inadequate tryptophan and dietary protein, high intake of sugar and refined carbohydrates, and “unhealthy” dietary patterns. Results are limited by a large percentage of animal and observational studies. Only 10% of intervention studies involved participants with anxiety disorders, limiting the applicability of the findings. High quality intervention studies involving participants with anxiety disorders are warranted.

Analysis of Effect on Infection Factors and Nursing Care of Postoperative Incision in Gynecological Cancer Patients.

Purpose To study the effect on infection factors and nursing care of postoperative incision in gynecological cancer patients. Method 72 patients with gynecological malignant tumors who came to the hospital from January 2019 to December 2019 were selected as the research objects. They were divided into the study group and control group by cluster random sampling. The control group was given routine nursing mode, including matters needing attention in surgery, health education, prevention of complications, and dietary guidance. The study group implemented the high-quality nursing mode on the basis of the control group. Postoperative situation, incision infection rate, and quality of life were observed and compared between the two groups. Results The control group's time to get out of bed, postoperative eating time, postoperative exhaust time, and hospital stay were longer than those of the study group. The comparison of the postoperative related conditions of the two groups showed that P < 0.05, which indicated that the difference was statistically significant. The postoperative incision infection rate in the study group was 2.78%, and in the control group, the postoperative incision infection rate was 19.44%; the postoperative incision infection rate in the study group was significantly lower than that in the control group. The difference was statistically significant, P < 0.05. The factors affecting the quality of life of patients in the study group were lower than that of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant, P < 0.05. Time to get out of bed, postoperative eating time, postoperative exhaust time, hospital stay, and quality of life were the main influencing factors of postoperative incision infection in gynecological tumors. Conclusion Time to get out of bed, postoperative eating time, postoperative exhaust time, hospital stay, and quality of life were the main influencing factors of postoperative incision infection in gynecological tumors. High-quality nursing intervention had better clinical nursing effect in preventing postoperative incision infection. It should be widely used in clinical nursing.

Observation on the effect of high-quality nursing intervention in gadolinium-based sodium material adjuvant radiotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a common malignant tumor. Because of the concealment of its early clinical symptoms, most of the patients are diagnosed at the middle and advanced stages. Nowadays, the NSCLC has become one of the critical factors affecting the quality of life of Chinese residents. Traditional radiotherapy cannot meet the clinical treatment needs of NSCLC patients. Here, we used gadolinium oxide (Gd2O3) as a new radiosensitizer matrix and introduced paclitaxel (PTX), with excellent anticancer cell migration function to construct paclitaxel-gadolinium oxide nanoparticles (PTX-Gd2O3 NPs). The clinical experiments show the unique nanometer radiation dose enhancement effect and radiosensitive function of PTX-Gd2O3 NPs. The new nanodrug can successfully exert the secretion of thrombin-sensitive protein-1 of PTX, thereby inhibiting the proliferation and migration of tumor cells, which is expected to provide a new direction for treating long-term NSCLC.

Mediterranean diet and adiposity in children and adolescents: A systematic review.

Our aim was to summarize, through a systematic review, the current evidence from dietary intervention and observational studies on the impact of adherence to the Mediterranean diet on adiposity markers and obesity in children and adolescents. We searched Medline up to June 1, 2021 for the identification of intervention and observational studies meeting the inclusion criteria, following the PRISMA statement. We included 55 articles: 8 intervention studies and 47 observational studies. Three trials report a beneficial effect of the dietary intervention, whereas two did not, and three did not compare with a control. All observational studies were cross-sectional, and only five studies also included a longitudinal analysis. More than half of the cross-sectional studies found no significant association between adherence to Mediterranean diet and adiposity. Three out of the five longitudinal studies found a negative association. The majority of both observational and intervention studies was of low quality. Despite a large number of published studies, overall, there is only limited evidence of a beneficial effect of following a traditional Mediterranean diet to maintain a healthy body weight in childhood. More high-quality intervention and longitudinal data are needed to form the base of large-scale health programs to prevent childhood obesity.

Factors influencing oral cancer screening preferences in patients attending Tertiary Care University Oral Health Clinic.

Understanding factors that influence patients' preferences towards oral cancer (OC) screening is imperative to provide high-quality evidence-based OC screening interventions that can be targeted for population-level uptake. This study determined adult patients' knowledge and awareness of OC, and how health behaviours influenced their preferences towards OC screening. This cross-sectional study used a 42-point questionnaire, between February and May 2020 using a combination of in-person and telephone interviews. Chi-square test and multiple logistic regression analysis were applied to confounding factors that returned statistical significance against OC knowledge and awareness. Significance of P < 0.05 was accepted. Sixty-eight (38.6%) participants out of a total 176 had good knowledge of OC and 89 (50.6%) had good awareness. A total of 31.8% reported preference for OC screening by a general dental practitioner (GDP) over a general medical practitioner (GMP). Majority (72.7%) reported acceptance of OC screening at their next GDP visit. Ages 56-70 (OR = 0.357, 95% CI) and previous smokers (OR = 0.336, 95% CI) significantly influenced screening preferences. Knowledge of risk factors did not significantly influence OC screening preferences (χ2 = 3.178, P = 0.075). Significant gaps in OC knowledge, screening and role of GDPs exist with smoking history and age influencing OC screening preferences.

Advancing nutrition measurement: Developing quantitative measures of nutrition service quality for pregnant women and children in low- and middle-income country health systems.

The health sector plays an important role in the delivery of high‐quality nutrition interventions to women and children in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs). However, there are no standardized approaches to defining and measuring nutrition service quality in these contexts. This study aims to systematically develop quality of care indices for direct health systems nutrition interventions using a five‐step process: (1) identify recommended interventions for inclusion in indices, (2) extract service readiness, provision of care, and experience of care items from intervention‐specific clinical guidelines, (3) map items to data available in global health facility surveys, (4) conduct an expert survey to prioritize interventions and items, and (5) use findings from previous steps to propose quality of care metrics. Thirty‐two recommended interventions were identified, for which the guidelines review yielded 763 unique items that were reviewed by experts. The proposed nutrition quality of care indices for pregnant women reflects eight interventions and the indices for children under 5 reflects six interventions. The indices provide a standardized measure for nutrition intervention quality and can be operationalized using existing health facility assessment data, facilitating their use by LMIC decision makers for planning and resource allocation.

A Review of Computer-Assisted Instruction for Students With Visual Impairment

Computer-assisted instruction (CAI) is a critical tool for accessing information and instruction among students with visual impairment (VI). This systematic review examined eight CAI intervention studies implemented with 92 U.S. school-age children with VI. The interventions were implemented with a diverse group of students across a variety of school types (e.g., neighborhood schools, schools for the blind), grade levels, and content areas (e.g., math, reading). Although some findings were promising, the effects of CAI were inconsistent across studies. This review highlights the need for (a) additional high-quality intervention evaluations, (b) more information on the social validity of CAI interventions, and (c) evaluations of CAI among students with a wider range of needs. Implications for practice and research aimed at enhancing the use of CAI are addressed.

Escribo play learning games can foster early reading and writing for low-income kindergarten children

Can mobile games foster the early literacy skills of children in poverty? This pioneering study examines the barriers faced to implement an evidence-based, game-enhanced educational phonological and phonemic awareness program in 12 public schools serving students in poverty in a developing country. The deployment team adequately mitigated barriers such as the lack of proper information and communication technologies and school staff shortages. School interruptions due to sports events, three strikes, and rain that flooded the streets where children in poverty lived challenged the implementation of the intervention. In addition to discussing barriers we faced in the implementation, we also examined the mobile-based intervention's efficacy on 351 kindergarten students' word reading and writing skills. The experimental group children grew 3.63 times more than the control group in reading (d = 0.67) and 2.78 times more in writing (d = 0.36). Compared to 495 high-quality interventions, the Escribo Play effect size ranked above 90% of them. Its per-pupil cost is equivalent to one percent of the average educational intervention cost. Compared with 104 reading interventions conducted in kindergarten, the Escribo Play effect size was 3.35 times stronger than the reading intervention benchmark.

Towards conceptual convergence: A systematic review of psychological resilience in family caregivers of persons living with chronic neurological conditions.

BackgroundThe demand for family caregiving in persons with chronic neurological conditions (CNCs) is increasing. Psychological resilience may empower and protect caregivers in their role. Thus, a synthesis of resilience evidence within this specific population is warranted.AimIn this systematic review we aimed to: (1) examine the origins and conceptualizations of resilience; (2) summarize current resilience measurement tools; and (3) synthesize correlates, predictors and outcomes of resilience in family caregivers of persons with CNCs.DesignWe sourced English articles published up to July 2020 across five databases using search terms involving CNCs, family caregivers and resilience.ResultsA total of 50 studies were retained. Nearly half (44%) of the studies used trait‐based resilience definitions, while about one third (36%) used process‐based definitions. Twelve different resilience scales were used, revealing mostly moderate to high‐resilience levels. Findings confirmed that resilience is related to multiple indicators of healthy functioning (e.g., quality of life, social support, positive coping), as it buffers against negative outcomes of burden and distress. Discordance relating to the interaction between resilience and demographic, sociocultural and environmental factors was apparent.ConclusionsIncongruity remains with respect to how resilience is defined and assessed, despite consistent definitional concepts of healthy adaptation and equilibrium. The array of implications of resilience for well‐being confirms the potential for resilience to be leveraged within caregiver health promotion initiatives via policy and practice.Patient or Public ContributionThe findings may inform future recommendations for researchers and practitioners to develop high‐quality resilience‐building interventions and programmes to better mobilize and support this vulnerable group.

HIIT’ing or MISS’ing the optimal management of Polycystic Ovary syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis of high-versus moderate-intensity exercise prescription

Introduction: Polycystic Ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a metabolic disorder associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk. Exercise is an effective treatment strategy to manage symptoms and reduce long-term health risk. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) has been suggested as a more efficient exercise mode in PCOS; however, it is not clear whether HIIT is superior to moderate intensity steady state exercise (MISS). Methods: We synthesized available data through a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare the effectiveness of isolated HIIT and MISS exercise interventions. Our primary outcome measures were cardiorespiratory fitness and insulin resistance, measured using V˙O2max and HOMA-IR respectively. Results: A total of 16 studies were included. Moderate-quality evidence from 16 studies identified significant improvements in V˙O2max following MISS (Δ = 1.081 ml/kg/min, p < 0.001, n = 194), but not HIIT (Δ = 0.641 ml/kg/min, p = 0.128, n = 28). Neither HIIT nor MISS improved HOMA-IR [(Δ = −0.257, p = 0.374, n = 60) and (Δ = −0.341, p = 0.078, n = 159), respectively]. Discussion: A significant improvement in V˙O2max was evident following MISS, but not HIIT exercise in women with PCOS. This contrasts with previous literature in healthy and clinical cohorts that report superior benefits of HIIT. Therefore, based on available moderate-quality evidence, HIIT exercise does not provide superior outcomes in V˙O2max compared with MISS, although larger high-quality interventions are needed to fully address this. Additional dietary/pharmacological interventions may be required in conjunction with exercise to improve insulin sensitivity.

Effect of High-quality Nursing Intervention on Bad Mood, Postoperative Pain and Quality of Life of Patients Undergoing Gallstone Surgery

To demonstrate the influence of high-quality nursing intervention on bad mood, postoperative pain and quality of life (QOL) of patients undergoing gallstone surgery. One hundred and thirty-three patients with gallstone surgery in our hospital were selected as the research participants, of which 76 cases received high-quality nursing during hospitalization and were regarded as the research group (RG), and the remaining 57 cases received routine nursing care alone and were included in the control group (CG). The two series were compared regarding pain status, postoperative recovery, pain scores, pain duration and frequency pre- and post-intervention, incidence of complications, psychological state scores pre-and post-intervention, as well as nursing satisfaction and postoperative QOL.The number of patients with pain in RG was notably less than that in CG (P &lt; 0.001). RG presented shorter anal exhaust time, ambulation time and hospitalization timethan CG (P &lt; 0.05). Also, in comparison with CG, RG displayed lower pain scores post intervention (P &lt; 0.05), with shorter pain duration and pain frequency (P &lt; 0.05). RG had fewer complications than CG (P &lt; 0.009). The scores of depression and anxiety were notably lower in RG than in CG (P &lt; 0.05). RG showed higher satisfaction and recognition than CG (P &lt; 0.001). The QOL of patients was also superior in RG (P &lt; 0.05).High-quality nursing intervention can validly mitigate postoperative bad mood, reduce postoperative pain and meliorate postoperative QOL of patients with gallstone surgery.

Analysis of the Risk Factors of Upper Limb Lymphedema after Breast Cancer Surgery and Nursing Care

Objective: To evaluate and analyze the influencing factors of upper limb lymphedema after breast cancer surgery, and to study effective nursing intervention measures. Methods: 500 cases of early breast cancer patients from October 2017 to December 2020 were selected, all patients underwent surgical intervention, retrospectively analyzed the basic clinical data of patients, and statistically analyzed the influencing factors of upper limb lymphedema. All patients with upper extremity lymphedema received high-quality nursing intervention, and the specific nursing effect was analyzed. Results: Logistic regression analysis showed that the risk factors of upper limb lymphedema after breast cancer surgery included hypertension, postoperative upper limb functional exercise, delayed healing of incision, radiotherapy and so on. After nursing intervention, the patients’ elbow 10cm, elbow 10cm, wrist size value and VAS score were better than those before nursing (P &lt; 0.05). The quality of life score of patients after nursing intervention was significantly better than that before nursing (P &lt; 0.05). Conclusion: Hypertension, postoperative upper limb functional exercise, delayed healing of incision, radiotherapy and other factors can induce upper limb lymphedema after breast cancer surgery. Effective nursing intervention can alleviate the condition of patients with upper limb lymphedema and improve their quality of life, which is worthy of comprehensive promotion.