BACKGROUND: Patients who survive critical illness suffer from a significant physical disability. The impact of rehabilitation strategies on health-related quality of life is inconsistent, with population heterogeneity cited as one potential confounder. This secondary analysis aimed to (1) examine trajectories of functional recovery in critically ill patients to delineate sub-phenotypes and (2) to assess differences between these cohorts in both clinical characteristics and clinimetric properties of physical function assessment tools. METHODS: Two hundred ninety-one adult sepsis survivors were followed-up for 24 months by telephone interviews. Physical function was assessed using the Physical Component Score (PCS) of the Short Form-36 Questionnaire (SF-36) and Activities of Daily Living and the Extra Short Musculoskeletal Function Assessment (XSFMA-F/B). Longitudinal trajectories were clustered by factor analysis. Logistical regression analyses were applied to patient characteristics potentially determining cluster allocation. Responsiveness, floor and ceiling effects and concurrent validity were assessed within clusters. RESULTS: One hundred fifty-nine patients completed 24 months of follow-up, presenting overall low PCS scores. Two distinct sub-cohorts were identified, exhibiting complete recovery or persistent impairment. A third sub-cohort could not be classified into either trajectory. Age, education level and number of co-morbidities were independent determinants of poor recovery (AUROC 0.743 ((95%CI 0.659-0.826), p < 0.001). Those with complete recovery trajectories demonstrated high levels of ceiling effects in physical function (PF) (15%), role physical (RP) (45%) and body pain (BP) (57%) domains of the SF-36. Those with persistent impairment demonstrated high levels of floor effects in the same domains: PF (21%), RP (71%) and BP (12%). The PF domain demonstrated high responsiveness between ICU discharge and at 6 months and was predictive of a persistent impairment trajectory (AUROC 0.859 (95%CI 0.804-0.914), p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Within sepsis survivors, two distinct recovery trajectories of physical recovery were demonstrated. Older patients with more co-morbidities and lower educational achievements were more likely to have a persistent physical impairment trajectory. In regard to trajectory prediction, the PF score of the SF-36 was more responsive than the PCS and could be considered for primary outcomes. Future trials should consider adaptive trial designs that can deal with non-responders or sub-cohort specific outcome measures more effectively.

BACKGROUND: Person-generated health data (PGHD) are produced by people when they use health information technologies. People who use PGHD may experience changes in their health and care process, such as engagement with their own healthcare, and their sense of social support and connectedness. Research into evaluating those reported effects has not kept up; thus, a method for measuring PGHD outcomes was previously designed and applied to the exemplar case of Kinect-based stroke rehabilitation systems. A key step of the method ensures that the patient's voice is included. Allowing stroke survivors to participate in the development and evaluation of health services and treatment can inform healthcare providers on decisions about stroke care, and thereby improve health outcomes. OBJECTIVE: This paper presents the perspectives of stroke survivors and clinicians on the anticipated effects of stroke survivors' use of PGHD from a poststroke simulated rehabilitation technology. METHODS: This study gathered the perspectives of stroke survivors and clinicians through three focus groups and three interviews, recruited for convenience. Participants were also asked questions intended to encourage them to comment on the initial items of the patient-reported outcome measure-PGHD. Deductive thematic analysis was performed. RESULTS: This paper has further demonstrated that outcomes of using PGHD can be measured. For instance, stroke survivors described that using PGHD could result in positive, negative and nil effects on their health behaviours. Survivors and clinicians had varying perspectives in three of the six themes presented, and emphasise the importance of allowing stroke survivors to participate in the evaluation of digital health services.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Child maltreatment is a global health priority affecting up to half of all children worldwide, with profound and ongoing impacts on physical, social and emotional wellbeing. The perinatal period (pregnancy to two years postpartum) is critical for parents with a history of childhood maltreatment. Parents may experience 'triggering' of trauma responses during perinatal care or caring for their distressed infant. The long-lasting relational effects may impede the capacity of parents to nurture their children and lead to intergenerational cycles of trauma. Conversely, the perinatal period offers a unique life-course opportunity for parental healing and prevention of child maltreatment. This scoping review aims to map perinatal evidence regarding theories, intergenerational pathways, parents' views, interventions and measurement tools involving parents with a history of maltreatment in their own childhoods. METHODS AND RESULTS: We searched Medline, Psychinfo, Cinahl and Embase to 30/11/2016. We screened 6701 articles and included 55 studies (74 articles) involving more than 20,000 parents. Most studies were conducted in the United States (42/55) and involved mothers only (43/55). Theoretical constructs include: attachment, social learning, relational-developmental systems, family-systems and anger theories; 'hidden trauma', resilience, post-traumatic growth; and 'Child Sexual Assault Healing' and socioecological models. Observational studies illustrate sociodemographic and mental health protective and risk factors that mediate/moderate intergenerational pathways to parental and child wellbeing. Qualitative studies provide rich descriptions of parental experiences and views about healing strategies and support. We found no specific perinatal interventions for parents with childhood maltreatment histories. However, several parenting interventions included elements which address parental history, and these reported positive effects on parent wellbeing. We found twenty-two assessment tools for identifying parental childhood maltreatment history or impact. CONCLUSIONS: Perinatal evidence is available to inform development of strategies to support parents with a history of child maltreatment. However, there is a paucity of applied evidence and evidence involving fathers and Indigenous parents.

BACKGROUND: Existing data on physical rehabilitation interventions in critical illness are challenged by outcome heterogeneity that limits data synthesis and translation of research findings into clinical practice. This protocol describes the PRACTICE study to develop a core outcome set (COS) for trials of physical rehabilitation interventions delivered across the continuum of a patient's recovery from the intensive care unit until reintegration in the community following hospital discharge. METHODS: Mixed methods will be used including: systematic reviews of quantitative and qualitative literature; qualitative interviews with patients and caregivers; a modified Delphi consensus process with researcher, clinician and patient/caregiver stakeholder groups; and consensus meetings for ratification of findings, resolving uncertainty, or developing an action plan for COS implementation. DISCUSSION: The PRACTICE COS will inform relevant stakeholders about important outcomes regarding physical rehabilitation in critical illness, and may enhance the future design and conduct of trials in this area. TRIAL REGISTRATION: COMET database ( www.comet-initiative.org/ , Record ID 288, 01/03/13). PROSPERO database ( CRD42014008908 , CRD42017078549 ).

BACKGROUND: Evidence-based guidelines for management of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) in the emergency department (ED) are now widely available; however, clinical practice remains inconsistent with these guidelines. A targeted, theory-informed implementation intervention (Neurotrauma Evidence Translation (NET) intervention) was designed to increase the uptake of three clinical practice recommendations regarding the management of patients who present to Australian EDs with mild head injuries. The intervention involved local stakeholder meetings, identification and training of nursing and medical local opinion leaders, train-the-trainer workshops and standardised education materials and interactive workshops delivered by the opinion leaders to others within their EDs during a 3 month period. This paper reports on the effects of this intervention. METHODS: EDs (clusters) were allocated to receive either access to a clinical practice guideline (control) or the implementation intervention, using minimisation, a method that allocates clusters to groups using an algorithm to minimise differences in predefined factors between the groups. We measured clinical practice outcomes at the patient level using chart audit. The primary outcome was appropriate screening for post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) using a validated tool until a perfect score was achieved (indicating absence of acute cognitive impairment) before the patient was discharged home. Secondary outcomes included appropriate CT scanning and the provision of written patient information upon discharge. Patient health outcomes (anxiety, primary outcome: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) were also assessed using follow-up telephone interviews. Outcomes were assessed by independent auditors and interviewers, blinded to group allocation. RESULTS: Fourteen EDs were allocated to the intervention and 17 to the control condition; 1943 patients were included in the chart audit. At 2 months follow-up, patients attending intervention EDs (n = 893) compared with control EDs (n = 1050) were more likely to have been appropriately assessed for PTA (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 20.1, 95%CI 6.8 to 59.3; adjusted absolute risk difference (ARD) 14%, 95%CI 8 to 19). The odds of compliance with recommendations for CT scanning and provision of written patient discharge information were small (OR 1.2, 95%CI 0.8 to 1.6; ARD 3.2, 95%CI - 3.7 to 10 and OR 1.2, 95%CI 0.8 to 1.8; ARD 3.1, 95%CI - 3.0 to 9.3 respectively). A total of 343 patients at ten interventions and 14 control sites participated in follow-up interviews at 4.3 to 10.7 months post-ED presentation. The intervention had a small effect on anxiety levels (adjusted mean difference - 0.52, 95%CI - 1.34 to 0.30; scale 0-21, with higher scores indicating greater anxiety). CONCLUSIONS: Our intervention was effective in improving the uptake of the PTA recommendation; however, it did not appreciably increase the uptake of the other two practice recommendations. Improved screening for PTA may be clinically important as it leads to appropriate periods of observation prior to safe discharge. The estimated intervention effect on anxiety was of limited clinical significance. We were not able to compare characteristics of EDs who declined trial participation with those of participating sites, which may limit the generalizability of the results. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12612001286831), date registered 12 December 2012.

BACKGROUND: Falls are common following stroke and are frequently related to deficits in balance and mobility. This study aimed to investigate the predictive strength of gait and balance variables for evaluating post-stroke falls risk over 12 months following rehabilitation discharge. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was undertaken in inpatient rehabilitation centres based in Australia and Singapore. A consecutive sample of 81 individuals (mean age 63 years; median 24 days post stroke) were assessed within one week prior to discharge. In addition to comfortable gait speed over six metres (6mWT), a depth-sensing camera (Kinect) was used to obtain fast-paced gait speed, stride length, cadence, step width, step length asymmetry, gait speed variability, and mediolateral and vertical pelvic displacement. Balance variables were the step test, timed up and go (TUG), dual-task TUG, and Wii Balance Board-derived centre of pressure velocity during static standing. Falls data were collected using monthly calendars. RESULTS: Over 12 months, 28% of individuals fell at least once. The faller group had increased TUG time and reduced stride length, gait speed variability, mediolateral and vertical pelvic displacement, and step test scores (P < 0.001-0.048). Significant predictors, when adjusted for country, prior falls and assistance (i.e., physical assistance and/or gait aid use) were stride length, step length asymmetry, mediolateral pelvic displacement, step test and TUG scores (P < 0.040; IQR-odds ratio(OR) = 1.37-7.85). With comfortable gait speed as an additional covariate, to determine the additive benefit over standard clinical assessment, only mediolateral pelvic displacement, TUG and step test scores remained significant (P = 0.001-0.018; IQR-OR = 5.28-10.29). CONCLUSIONS: Reduced displacement of the pelvis in the mediolateral direction during walking was the strongest predictor of post-stroke falls compared with other gait variables. Dynamic balance measures, such as the TUG and step test, may better predict falls than gait speed or static balance measures.

OBJECTIVES:  With the increased use of participatory health enabling technologies, such as social media, balancing the need for health information with patient privacy and confidentiality has become a more complex and immediate concern. The purpose of this paper produced by the members of the IMIA Participatory Health and Social Media (PHSM) working group is to investigate patient needs for health information using participatory health enabling technologies, while balancing their needs for privacy and confidentiality. METHODS:  Six domain areas including media sharing platforms, patient portals, web-based platforms, crowdsourcing websites, medical avatars, and other mobile health technologies were identified by five members of the IMIA PHSM working group as relevant to participatory health and the balance between data sharing and patient needs for privacy and confidentiality. After identifying the relevant domain areas, our scoping review began by searching several databases such as PubMed, MEDLINE, Scopus, and Google Scholar using a variety of key search terms. RESULTS:  A total of 1,973 studies were identified, of which 68 studies met our inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis. Results showed that challenges for balancing patient needs for information and privacy and confidentiality concerns included: cross-cultural understanding, clinician and patient awareness, de-identification of data, and commercialization of patient data. Some opportunities identified were patient empowerment, connecting participatory health enabling technologies with clinical records, open data sharing agreement, and e-consent. CONCLUSION:  Balancing between privacy and patient needs for health information in the age of participatory health and social media offers several opportunities and challenges. More people are engaging in actively managing health through participatory health enabling technologies. Such activity often includes sharing health information and with this comes a perennial tension between balancing individual needs and the desire to uphold privacy and confidentiality. We recommend that guidelines for both patients and clinicians, in terms of their use of participatory health-enabling technologies, are developed to ensure that patient privacy and confidentiality are protected, and a maximum benefit can be realized.

OBJECTIVE: Artificial intelligence (AI) provides people and professionals working in the field of participatory health informatics an opportunity to derive robust insights from a variety of online sources. The objective of this paper is to identify current state of the art and application areas of AI in the context of participatory health. METHODS: A search was conducted across seven databases (PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, PsychInfo, ACM Digital Library, IEEExplore, and SCOPUS), covering articles published since 2013. Additionally, clinical trials involving AI in participatory health contexts registered at clinicaltrials.gov were collected and analyzed. RESULTS: Twenty-two articles and 12 trials were selected for review. The most common application of AI in participatory health was the secondary analysis of social media data: self-reported data including patient experiences with healthcare facilities, reports of adverse drug reactions, safety and efficacy concerns about over-the-counter medications, and other perspectives on medications. Other application areas included determining which online forum threads required moderator assistance, identifying users who were likely to drop out from a forum, extracting terms used in an online forum to learn its vocabulary, highlighting contextual information that is missing from online questions and answers, and paraphrasing technical medical terms for consumers. CONCLUSIONS: While AI for supporting participatory health is still in its infancy, there are a number of important research priorities that should be considered for the advancement of the field. Further research evaluating the impact of AI in participatory health informatics on the psychosocial wellbeing of individuals would help in facilitating the wider acceptance of AI into the healthcare ecosystem.

A large body of evidence demonstrates that resistance training has been ineffective for improving walking outcomes in adults with neurological conditions. However, evidence suggests that previous studies have not aligned resistance exercise prescription to muscle function when walking. The main aim of this study was to determine whether a training seminar for clinicians could improve knowledge of gait and align resistance exercise prescription to the biomechanics of gait and muscle function for walking. A training seminar was conducted at 12 rehabilitation facilities with 178 clinicians. Current practice, knowledge and barriers to exercise were assessed by observation and questionnaire prior to and immediately after the seminar, and at three-month follow-up. Additionally, post-seminar support and mentoring was randomly provided to half of the rehabilitation facilities using a cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT) design. The seminar led to significant improvements in clinician knowledge of the biomechanics of gait and resistance training, the amount of ballistic (t = -2.38; p = .04) and conventional (t = -2.30; p = .04) resistance training being prescribed. However, ongoing post-seminar support and mentoring was not associated with any additional benefits F(1, 9) = .05, p = .83, partial eta squared = .01. Further, improved exercise prescription occurred in the absence of any change to perceived barriers. The training seminar led to significant improvements in the time spent in ballistic and conventional resistance training. There was no further benefit obtained from the additional post-seminar support. The seminar led to improved knowledge and significantly greater time spent prescribing task-specific resistance exercises.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the feasibility, safety, and preliminary effect of a 12-week multi-modal rehabilitation program targeted at improving health-related quality of life and physical activity levels of patients with lung cancer following treatment. METHODS: Patients with stage I to IIIA non-small cell lung cancer were included 6 to 12 weeks following completion of treatment. The intervention comprised of aerobic exercise (brisk walking), resistance training and 8-style Tai Chi. The 12-week program included 2 supervised center-based sessions per week of 90 minutes duration and home-based exercise. The primary outcomes were the feasibility and safety of the intervention. Secondary outcomes (assessed pre and post program) were physical and patient-reported outcomes. RESULTS: Seventy-eight patients were approached during the 6-month recruitment period and 17 (22%) consented to the study. Eight participants (47%) met the definition of adherence to the program (attending at least 70% of supervised sessions). No serious adverse events occurred. A significant reduction in anxiety and depression was observed post-program. In addition, improvements in respiratory function, sleep quality, and some health-related quality of life domains were observed post-program. There were no significant differences in functional capacity or physical activity levels. CONCLUSION: This multi-modal exercise training program was safe, although the feasibility of the program in its current state is not supported given the low consent rate and low adherence to the intervention.

INTRODUCTION: The number of inconclusive physical rehabilitation randomised controlled trials for patients with critical illness is increasing. Evidence suggests critical illness patient subgroups may exist that benefit from targeted physical rehabilitation interventions that could improve their recovery trajectory. We aim to identify critical illness patient subgroups that respond to physical rehabilitation and map recovery trajectories according to physical function and quality of life outcomes. Additionally, the utilisation of healthcare resources will be examined for subgroups identified. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This is an individual participant data meta-analysis protocol. A systematic literature review was conducted for randomised controlled trials that delivered additional physical rehabilitation for patients with critical illness during their acute hospital stay, assessed chronic disease burden, with a minimum follow-up period of 3 months measuring performance-based physical function and health-related quality of life outcomes. From 2178 records retrieved in the systematic literature review, four eligible trials were identified by two independent reviewers. Principal investigators of eligible trials were invited to contribute their data to this individual participant data meta-analysis. Risk of bias will be assessed (Cochrane risk of bias tool for randomised trials). Participant and trial characteristics, interventions and outcomes data of included studies will be summarised. Meta-analyses will entail a one-stage model, which will account for the heterogeneity across and the clustering between studies. Multiple imputation using chained equations will be used to account for the missing data. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This individual participant data meta-analysis does not require ethical review as anonymised participant data will be used and no new data collected. Additionally, eligible trials were granted approval by institutional review boards or research ethics committees and informed consent was provided for participants. Data sharing agreements are in place permitting contribution of data. The study findings will be disseminated at conferences and through peer-reviewed publications. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42019152526.

Background: Prostate cancer is a risk factor for major depressive disorder. Recent psycho-oncology research suggests a potential role for male-specific mood-related symptoms in this relationship. Gender socialisation experiences may reinforce men's anger and emotion suppression responses in times of distress, and anger and emotion suppression may be implicated in pathways to, and maintenance of depression in prostate cancer. Patients and Methods: Data were collected online from men with a self-reported diagnosis of prostate cancer (N=100; mean age 64.8 years). Respondents provided information regarding diagnosis and treatment, in addition to current experience of major depression and male-specific externalising symptoms. Results: Prostate cancer diagnosis in the last 12 months occurred for 35.4% of the sample. Elevated major depression symptoms were observed for 49% of respondents, with 14% endorsing past 2-week suicide ideation. Parallel mediation analysis (99% CIs) controlling for prostatectomy and active surveillance indicated men's emotion suppression mediated the relationship between anger and depression symptoms (R2=0.580). Trichotimised emotion suppression scores with control variables yielded a large multivariate effect (p<0.001, partial η2=0.199). Univariate moderate-sized effects were observed for emotion suppression comparisons for symptoms of depressed mood and sleep disturbance, and a large effect observed for guilt-proneness. Conclusion: Findings highlight the salience of anger in the experience of depression symptoms for men with prostate cancer. The mediating role of emotion suppression, which in turn was strongly linked to men's feelings of guilt, suggests potential assessment and intervention targets. Future work should examine the role of androgen deprivation therapy and other treatments including active surveillance on the relationship between anger and depression in men with prostate cancer. Consideration of interventions focused on emotion processing skills in psycho-oncology settings may help reduce men's reliance on emotion suppression as a strategy for coping with feelings of anger or guilt in the context of prostate cancer.