Patient public involvement (PPI) in health literacy research: Engagement of adults with literacy needs in the co-creation of a hospital-based health literacy plan

Background

People with literacy needs can experience many challenges in accessing, understanding and using health services and health information. Such challenges can adversely impact patient-provider interactions and ultimately, health outcomes. Healthcare providers need to be aware of health literacy (HL) to address the demands of healthcare systems, improve their interactions with communities and patients and promote patient engagement for improved health outcomes.

Methods

This paper reports on a process of patient and public involvement (PPI) with participants in an adult literacy programme acting as PPI contributors to identify priority areas for a local hospital HL action plan and to develop a protocol for a PPI process with other groups. A qualitative community-based participatory research study design informed by principles of PPI was undertaken, drawing on the tools of participatory and visual methods, open discussion and workshop format to facilitate a process of co-creation. Three workshops with six PPI contributors took place to identify issues to be included in the hospital action plan. PPI contributors identified issues and grouped these into priority areas using discussion and ranking procedures.

Results

Key areas prioritised for HL action by the PPI contributors were: verbal communication, emphasising the patient's right to understand, and improved understanding of medication use. These were incorporated into the action plan. The workshop format and process were deemed acceptable to the group and input on improvements will be incorporated into further work in this area.

Conclusion

PPI acts as a lever in the knowledge translation process. Genuine engagement with service users can meaningfully contribute to relevant and sustainable changes to services as well as foster the empowerment of service users.

Patient or Public Contribution

Members of the public with literacy needs actively participated in the co-creation of a HL action plan for a local hospital and in the development of a protocol for a patient and public process for HL research.     

A systematic review of the effect of early mobilisation on length of stay for adults in the intensive care unit

Background

EM has been hypothesized to help prevent the development of ICU acquired weakness and may therefore result in positive outcomes for ICU patients.

Aim

To establish the impact of Early mobilisation (EM) on adult Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients in terms of ICU length of stay (LOS), as well as hospital LOS, duration of mechanical ventilation, mortality, and functional independence.

Study design

A Systematic Review. EMBASE, MEDLINE, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library were searched on 24th November 2020. Included studies and other systematic reviews were hand-searched for further includable studies. The primary outcome was ICU LOS whilst secondary outcomes were duration of MV, mortality, hospital LOS and functional independence. The PRISMA guidelines were utilized to perform the review. Ten randomized controlled trials with a combined total of 1291 patients met inclusion criteria and were scrutinized using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Checklist for Systematic Reviews. Revman 5.4.1 was used to conduct meta-analysis were possible.

Results

Results were limited by the evidence available for inclusion, in particular small sample sizes. However, a trend towards a shorter duration of ICU LOS and duration of mechanical ventilation emerged. There was also a trend towards higher rates of functional independence for intervention groups. Mortality rates appeared unaffected and results of meta-analysis were statistically non-significant (p = 0.90).

Conclusion

By applying a stricter time limit than previous systematic reviews a trend emerged that the commencement of EM has a positive effect on patient outcomes, in particular ICU LOS.

Relevance to clinical practice

The evidence base surrounding EM remains poor; however on the balance of the available evidence the application of EM should not be delayed.     

Middle eastern refugee children and adolescents mental health: A systematic review

Psychological problems have become a substantial burden on refugee communities, with a considerable impact on refugee children's quality of life and well-being. The available studies reveal growing mental health disorders in refugee children and adolescents, particularly traumas, anxiety, and depression disorders. This review aims to examine empirical evidence relating to the mental health of refugee children and adolescents in the Middle East. Following the Joanna Briggs Institute and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, this systematic literature review (2010–2020) identified 54 studies about Middle Eastern refugee children and adolescents' mental health. Eighteen studies were excluded based on their lack of relevance to the focus of the review. Of the remaining records, ten reported common mental health disorders, ten reported on Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, three reported the importance of mental health promotion in schools, while the others discussed protective factors. The results highlight a need to understand the mental health support needs of this group, add knowledge to this area of inquiry and provide baseline data regarding Middle Eastern refugee children and adolescents mental health. Differences across research designs were recorded to contextualize the quality of the study results. There is a paucity of studies investigating the causality, prevalence, risk factors, and interventions of non-traumatic-psychiatric disorders as well as the role of teacher in strengthen refugee's mental health. Limited information is available about suicidality and self-harm, protective factors, adversity, adaptation, acculturation, and social demographics in refugee children.