To identify how patient journey mapping is being undertaken and reported.
A scoping review of the literature was undertaken using JBI guidance.
Databases were searched in July 2021 (16th-21st), ...including Ovid's Medline, Embase, Emcare and PsycINFO; Scopus; Web of Science Core Collection, the Directory of Open Access Journals; Informit and; ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.
Eligible articles included peer-reviewed literature documenting journey mapping methodologies and studies conducted in healthcare services. Reviewers used Covidence to screen titles and abstracts of located sources, and to screen full-text articles. A table was used to extract data and synthesize results.
Eighty-one articles were included. An acceleration of patient journey mapping research was observed, with 76.5% (n = 62) of articles published since 2015. Diverse mapping approaches were identified. Reporting of studies was inconsistent and largely non-adherent with relevant, established reporting guidelines.
Patient journey mapping is a relatively novel approach for understanding patient experiences and is increasingly being adopted. There is variation in process details reported. Considerations for improving reporting standards are provided.
Patient journey mapping is a rapidly growing approach for better understanding how people enter, experience and exit health services. This type of methodology has significant potential to inform new, patient centred models of care and facilitate clinicians, patients and health professionals to better understand gaps and strategies in health services. The synthesised results of this review alert researchers to options available for journey mapping research and provide preliminary guidance for elevating reporting quality.
Perinatal death has far reaching emotional effects for all involved in this devastating event. The opportunity for learning as a result of this catastrophe, however, remains unexplored.
To explore ...midwives’ experiences of caring through, and learning from, perinatal death, to better inform the effective planning and delivery of education that optimises both midwifery and self-care.
A naturalistic interpretive multiple case study design. Seventeen midwives, located in Australia, participated in an online group activity hosted as a blog, followed by telephonic focus groups and in-depth email interviews.
Thematic data analysis revealed seven major themes: Grappling with the reality of perinatal death; Struggling with personal and professional heartache; Seeking the space to grieve as a professional; Being with the woman and her family; Finding a new purpose; Strengthened through support; and Developing the courage to care.
The initial turmoil and impact of loss reflected the catastrophic nature of perinatal death. Midwives uncovered a journey to acceptance and learning, realising a determination to enhance expertise and discovering value in experiential knowledge. Insecurity regarding competence and confidence to manage perinatal death and bereavement care was highlighted. However, sharing their stories revealed professional fulfilment, personal strength, and solidarity amongst midwives who have endured similar experiences.
A coordinated approach to support and the dissemination of experiential knowledge and learning could be developed within an online model of narrative sharing and discussion. Debriefing, support and sharing of expertise in this way may foster engagement within and beyond the workplace.
This scoping review will assess the literature that documents or utilizes patient journey mapping methodologies in health care settings. It will also examine the reporting processes of studies that ...use this methodology.
Health care systems are complex and can be challenging for patients to navigate. Using patient journey mapping as a research method promotes a deeper understanding of patient experiences when navigating these systems. Patient journey mapping provides valuable insights into where systems are working well, where gaps in care exist, and how the system could respond to these gaps.
This review will consider peer-reviewed articles and publicly available academic literature documenting patient journey mapping methodologies. The review will also consider studies providing guidance and recommendations on how to report patient journey mapping studies in health care services and systems.
The proposed review will follow JBI guidance for scoping reviews. The following databases will be searched: MEDLINE, Embase, Emcare, PsycINFO, Scopus, Web of Science Core Collection, the Directory of Open Access Journals, Informit, and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global. The search will not be limited to year of publication but will be limited to studies reported in English. The PRISMA-ScR extension will be used to document the literature search. Two reviewers will screen titles, abstracts, and full-text articles. An extraction table will be used to extract relevant data from all included articles and to facilitate data analysis.
Background The Needs in Recovery Assessment (NiRA) is a newly developed needs assessment tool, designed to identify the needs of people recovering from mental illness. This tool has been evaluated ...outside of the clinical context for validity and reliability. The aim of this study is to introduce the NiRA into clinical practice and to evaluate the value of the NiRA as an adjunct to service delivery from the perspectives of stakeholders and to evaluate the barriers and facilitators of embedding the NiRA in a mental health service. Methods The establishment of the NiRA in a tertiary mental health unit over a 6-month period will be evaluated using a multi-methods approach. Quantitative data will be collected using the NiRA itself and the Recovery Self-Assessment (RSA). Face-to-face interviews with service users and clinicians will be conducted following the initial completion of the NiRA, with a follow-up interview for service users on discharge from the service. Regular informal follow-up with clinicians throughout the study will support the introduction of the NiRA. Descriptive statistics will be used to analyse quantitative data, and descriptive qualitative methods will be used to analyse data from interviews. Discussion Aligning mental health services with recovery-oriented frameworks of care is imperative. The NiRA is a tool that has been designed in accordance with recovery principles and may assist services to be more recovery-oriented. If the NiRA is able to achieve the aims and objectives of this project, a larger implementation study will be conducted. Trial registration Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry (ANZCTR), ACTRN12621000316808 Keywords: Pilot study, Needs assessment tool, Mental health, Recovery, Protocol
The hedgehog pathway has been implicated in the tumorigenesis, tumor progression, and metastasis of numerous human cancers. We generated the first fully human hedgehog antibody MEDI-5304 and ...characterized its antitumor activity and preclinical toxicology. MEDI-5304 bound sonic hedgehog (SHH) and Indian hedgehog (IHH) with low picomolar affinity and neutralized SHH and IHH activity in cellular mGLI1 reporter assays. The antibody inhibited transcription of hedgehog target genes and osteoblast differentiation of C3H10T1/2 cells. We evaluated the activity of MEDI-5304 in vivo in model systems that allowed us to evaluate two primary hypotheses of hedgehog function in human cancer, paracrine signaling between tumor and stromal cells and cancer stem cell (CSC) self-renewal. MEDI-5304 displayed robust pharmacodynamic effects in stromal cells that translated to antitumor efficacy as a single agent in an HT-29/MEF coimplantation model of paracrine hedgehog signaling. MEDI-5304 also improved responses to carboplatin in the HT-29/MEF model. The antibody, however, had no effect as a single agent or in combination with gemcitabine on the CSC frequency or growth of several primary pancreatic cancer explant models. These findings support the conclusion that hedgehog contributes to tumor biology via paracrine tumor-stromal signaling but not via CSC maintenance or propagation. Finally, the only safety study finding associated with MEDI-5304 was ondontodysplasia in rats. Thus, MEDI-5304 represents a potent dual hedgehog inhibitor suitable for continued development to evaluate efficacy and safety in human patients with tumors harboring elevated levels of SHH or IHH.
Abnormal wound repair has been observed in the airway epithelium of patients with chronic respiratory diseases, including asthma. Therapies focusing on repairing vulnerable airways, particularly in ...early life, present a potentially novel treatment strategy. We report defective lower airway epithelial cell repair to strongly associate with common pre-school-aged and school-aged wheezing phenotypes, characterized by aberrant migration patterns and reduced integrin α5β1 expression. Next generation sequencing identified the PI3K/Akt pathway as the top upstream transcriptional regulator of integrin α5β1, where Akt activation enhanced repair and integrin α5β1 expression in primary cultures from children with wheeze. Conversely, inhibition of PI3K/Akt signaling in primary cultures from children without wheeze reduced α5β1 expression and attenuated repair. Importantly, the FDA-approved drug celecoxib - and its non-COX2-inhibiting analogue, dimethyl-celecoxib - stimulated the PI3K/Akt-integrin α5β1 axis and restored airway epithelial repair in cells from children with wheeze. When compared with published clinical data sets, the identified transcriptomic signature was also associated with viral-induced wheeze exacerbations highlighting the clinical potential of such therapy. Collectively, these results identify airway epithelial restitution via targeting the PI3K-integrin α5β1 axis as a potentially novel therapeutic avenue for childhood wheeze and asthma. We propose that the next step in the therapeutic development process should be a proof-of-concept clinical trial, since relevant animal models to test the crucial underlying premise are unavailable.
Adequate pain assessment is critical for evaluating the efficacy of analgesic treatment in clinical practice and during the development of new therapies. Yet the currently used scores of global pain ...intensity fail to reflect the diversity of pain manifestations and the complexity of underlying biological mechanisms. We have developed a tool for a standardized assessment of pain-related symptoms and signs that differentiates pain phenotypes independent of etiology.
Using a structured interview (16 questions) and a standardized bedside examination (23 tests), we prospectively assessed symptoms and signs in 130 patients with peripheral neuropathic pain caused by diabetic polyneuropathy, postherpetic neuralgia, or radicular low back pain (LBP), and in 57 patients with non-neuropathic (axial) LBP. A hierarchical cluster analysis revealed distinct association patterns of symptoms and signs (pain subtypes) that characterized six subgroups of patients with neuropathic pain and two subgroups of patients with non-neuropathic pain. Using a classification tree analysis, we identified the most discriminatory assessment items for the identification of pain subtypes. We combined these six interview questions and ten physical tests in a pain assessment tool that we named Standardized Evaluation of Pain (StEP). We validated StEP for the distinction between radicular and axial LBP in an independent group of 137 patients. StEP identified patients with radicular pain with high sensitivity (92%; 95% confidence interval CI 83%-97%) and specificity (97%; 95% CI 89%-100%). The diagnostic accuracy of StEP exceeded that of a dedicated screening tool for neuropathic pain and spinal magnetic resonance imaging. In addition, we were able to reproduce subtypes of radicular and axial LBP, underscoring the utility of StEP for discerning distinct constellations of symptoms and signs.
We present a novel method of identifying pain subtypes that we believe reflect underlying pain mechanisms. We demonstrate that this new approach to pain assessment helps separate radicular from axial back pain. Beyond diagnostic utility, a standardized differentiation of pain subtypes that is independent of disease etiology may offer a unique opportunity to improve targeted analgesic treatment.
Convergent evolution provides insights into the selective drivers underlying evolutionary change. Snake venoms, with a direct genetic basis and clearly defined functional phenotype, provide a model ...system for exploring the repeated evolution of adaptations. While snakes use venom primarily for predation, and venom composition often reflects diet specificity, three lineages of cobras have independently evolved the ability to spit venom at adversaries. Using gene, protein, and functional analyses, we show that the three spitting lineages possess venoms characterized by an up-regulation of phospholipase A
(PLA
) toxins, which potentiate the action of preexisting venom cytotoxins to activate mammalian sensory neurons and cause enhanced pain. These repeated independent changes provide a fascinating example of convergent evolution across multiple phenotypic levels driven by selection for defense.
Linkage analysis of the dominant distal myopathy we previously identified in a large Australian family demonstrated one significant linkage region located on chromosome 7 and encompassing 18.6 Mbp ...and 151 genes. The strongest candidate gene was FLNC because filamin C, the encoded protein, is muscle-specific and associated with myofibrillar myopathy. Sequencing of FLNC cDNA identified a c.752T>C (p.Met251Thr) mutation in the N-terminal actin-binding domain (ABD); this mutation segregated with the disease and was absent in 200 controls. We identified an Italian family with the same phenotype and found a c.577G>A (p.Ala193Thr) filamin C ABD mutation that segregated with the disease. Filamin C ABD mutations have not been described, although filamin A and filamin B ABD mutations cause multiple musculoskeletal disorders. The distal myopathy phenotype and muscle pathology in the two families differ from myofibrillar myopathies caused by filamin C rod and dimerization domain mutations because of the distinct involvement of hand muscles and lack of pathological protein aggregation. Thus, like the position of FLNA and B mutations, the position of the FLNC mutation determines disease phenotype. The two filamin C ABD mutations increase actin-binding affinity in a manner similar to filamin A and filamin B ABD mutations. Cell-culture expression of the c.752T>C (p.Met251)Thr mutant filamin C ABD demonstrated reduced nuclear localization as did mutant filamin A and filamin B ABDs. Expression of both filamin C ABD mutants as full-length proteins induced increased aggregation of filamin. We conclude filamin C ABD mutations cause a recognizable distal myopathy, most likely through increased actin affinity, similar to the pathological mechanism of filamin A and filamin B ABD mutations.
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