Ministry of Health Library

Health Improvement and Innovation Digest

Issue 154 - 27 October 2017

Welcome to the fortnightly Health Improvement and Innovation Digest (formerly the HIIRC digest). The Digest has links to key evidence of interest, with access to new content arranged by topic.

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Have you heard about Grey Matter?

We'd like to introduce you to another newsletter that the Ministry of Health Library prepares.  The Grey Matter newsletter provides monthly access to a selection of recent NGO, Think Tank, and International Government reports related to health. Information is arranged by topic, allowing readers to quickly find their areas of interest.  If you'd like to subscribe to Grey Matter, email library@moh.govt.nz

Article access

For articles that aren't open access, contact your DHB library, or organisational or local library for assistance in accessing the full text. If your organisation has a subscription, you may be able to use the icon under full text links in PubMed to access the full article.

Quality Improvement (International)

Risk factors for health care–associated infection in hospitalized adults: Systematic review and meta-analysis
Health care–associated infections (HAIs) are a public health problem that increase health care costs. This article, published in American Journal of Infection Control, aimed to systematically review the literature and meta-analyse studies investigating risk factors independently associated with HAIs in hospitalised adults.

Effectiveness and meaningful use of paediatric surgical safety checklists and their implementation strategies: a systematic review with narrative synthesis
The objective of this study, published in BMJ Open, was to examine the effectiveness and meaningful use of paediatric surgical safety checklists and their implementation strategies through a systematic review with narrative synthesis.

Shorter Waits for Cancer Treatment (New Zealand)

Treatment and survival disparities by ethnicity in New Zealand women with stage I-III breast cancer tumour subtypes
This study, published in Cancer Causes and Control, aims to look at the distribution of different subtypes of stage I-III breast cancer in Māori and Pacific versus non-Māori/Pacific women, and to examine cancer outcomes by ethnicity within these different subtypes.

Shorter Waits for Cancer Treatment (International)

Assessment of the effects of decision aids about breast cancer screening: a systematic review and meta-analysis
The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies, published in BMJ Open, is to assess the effect of decision aids (DAs) in women aged 50 and below facing the decision to be screened for breast cancer.

Shorter Stays In Emergency Departments (International)

Acute medical units: The way to go? A literature review
Acute healthcare chains in the Netherlands are increasingly under pressure because of rising emergency department (ED) admissions, relative bed shortages and government policy changes. In order to improve acute patient flow and quality of care through hospitals, an acute medical unit (AMU) might be a solution, as demonstrated in the UK. However, limited information is available concerning AMUs in the Netherlands. Therefore, the aims of this study, published in the European Journal of Internal Medicine were to systematically provide an overview of current international literature regarding the effectiveness of AMUs; give an overview of the current situation in the Netherlands; and make recommendations that could be used for future Dutch AMU guidelines.

More Heart and Diabetes Checks (New Zealand)

Social disparities in the prevalence of diabetes in Australia and in the development of end stage renal disease due to diabetes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in Australia and Maori and Pacific Islanders in New Zealand
Disparities in health status occur between people with differing socioeconomic status and disadvantaged groups usually have the highest risk exposure and the worst health outcome. The authors of this study, published in BMC Public Health, sought to examine the social disparities in the population prevalence of diabetes and in the development of treated end stage renal disease due to type 1 diabetes which has not previously been studied in Australia and New Zealand in isolation from type 2 diabetes.

An observational study of how clinicians use cardiovascular risk assessment to inform statin prescribing decisions
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk assessment is commonly recommended in guidelines, but there is uncertainty about how clinicians use this information. The objective of this study, published in the New Zealand Medical Journal, was to understand how New Zealand primary care clinicians use CVD risk assessment estimates to inform new statin prescribing.

Primary Health Care (New Zealand)

Physiological stability in an indigenous sleep device: a randomised controlled trial
The objective of this study, published in Archives of Disease in Childhood, was to compare overnight oxygen saturation, heart rate and the thermal environment of infants sleeping in an indigenous sleep device (wahakura) or bassinet to identify potential risks and benefits.

Maternal adherence with recommendations for folic acid and iodine supplements: A cross-sectional survey
The objective of this study, published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, was to determine supplement use pre-pregnancy, during pregnancy and while breastfeeding to evaluate adherence with national recommendations for folic acid and iodine supplementation.

Primary Health Care (International)

Professional, structural and organisational interventions in primary care for reducing medication errors
Medication-related adverse events in primary care represent an important cause of hospital admissions and mortality. Adverse events could result from people experiencing adverse drug reactions (not usually preventable) or could be due to medication errors (usually preventable). The objective of this Cochrane Review was to determine the effectiveness of professional, organisational and structural interventions compared to standard care to reduce preventable medication errors by primary healthcare professionals that lead to hospital admissions, emergency department visits, and mortality in adults.

Shared decision-making for people with asthma
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects the airways and is common in both adults and children. It is characterised by symptoms including wheeze, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and cough. People with asthma may be helped to manage their condition through shared decision-making (SDM). SDM involves at least two participants (the medical practitioner and the patient) and mutual sharing of information, including the patient's values and preferences, to build consensus about favoured treatment that culminates in an agreed action. Effective self-management is particularly important for people with asthma, and SDM may improve clinical outcomes and quality of life by educating patients and empowering them to be actively involved in their own health. The objective of this Cochrane Review was to assess benefits and potential harms of shared decision-making for adults and children with asthma.

Primary Mental Health (New Zealand)

A process evaluation of the 'Aware' and 'Supportive Communities' gambling harm-minimisation programmes in New Zealand
The Gambling Act 2003 mandated a public health strategy for preventing and minimising gambling harm in New Zealand. Aware Communities and Supportive Communities are two public health programmes subsequently implemented nationwide. These programmes differed from common health promotion initiatives such as media or education campaigns as they were community-action based (requiring community involvement in programme planning and delivery). The authors of this study, published in the European Journal of Public Health, carried out a process evaluation to determine their implementation effectiveness and inform improvement and future programme planning.

Primary Mental Health (International)

Effectiveness of Psychological and/or Educational Interventions in the Prevention of Anxiety: A Systematic Review, Meta-analysis, and Meta-regression
The objective of this study, published in JAMA Psychiatry, was to evaluate the effectiveness of preventive psychological and/or educational interventions for anxiety in varied population types.

Adherence to Depression Treatment in Primary Care: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Nonadherence to antidepressant medication is common and leads to poor outcomes. Early nonadherence is especially problematic. The objective of this study, published in JAMA Psychiatry, was to test the effectiveness of a psychosocial intervention to improve early adherence among older patients whose primary care physician newly initiated an antidepressant for depression.

Increased Immunisation (International)

A systematic review of factors affecting vaccine uptake in young children
Many parents make a conscious decision not to vaccinate their child. Multiple beliefs and perceptions surround this choice. If uptake of routine child vaccination is to increase, public health communications about vaccines must be informed by evidence on the factors affecting uptake. The objective of this systematic review, published in Vaccine, was to investigate psychological, social and contextual factors associated with uptake of routine vaccines in young children.

Better Help for smokers to Quit (New Zealand)

Prevention and Treatment of Smoking and Tobacco Use During Pregnancy in Selected Indigenous Communities in High-Income Countries of the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand: An Evidence-Based Review
Tobacco smoking during pregnancy is the most important modifiable risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcomes and long-term health complications for mother and baby. Tobacco use during pregnancy has decreased in high-income countries but not in Indigenous women in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and Canada. This evidence-based review, published in Chest, focuses on tobacco use among Indigenous pregnant women in high-income countries that share a history of European colonisation.

Better Help for smokers to Quit (International)

Emergency Department-Initiated Tobacco Control: Update of a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
A 2012 systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials on emergency department-initiated tobacco control (ETC) showed only short-term efficacy. The aim of this study, published in Preventing Chronic Disease, was to update data through May 2015.

Weight Management (New Zealand)

Children's everyday exposure to food marketing: an objective analysis using wearable cameras
Over the past three decades the global prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity has increased by 47%. Marketing of energy-dense nutrient-poor foods and beverages contributes to this worldwide increase. Previous research on food marketing to children largely uses self-report, reporting by parents, or third-party observation of children's environments, with the focus mostly on single settings and/or media. This paper, published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, reports on innovative research, Kids'Cam, in which children wore cameras to examine the frequency and nature of everyday exposure to food marketing across multiple media and settings.

Relationships between sleep duration, physical activity and body mass index in young New Zealanders: An isotemporal substitution analysis
The evidence regarding the unique effect of sedentary behaviour on obesity among children is unclear. Moreover, the effect of substituting sedentary behaviour with physical activity of different intensities on the body composition of children has received limited empirical study. The objective of this study, published in PLoS One, was to examine the mathematical effects on Body Mass Index (BMI) of substituting sedentary behaviours with physical activities of different intensities on children and youth aged 5-14 years old in New Zealand.

Weight Management (International)

Effectiveness of interventions on physical activity in overweight or obese children: a systematic review and meta-analysis including studies with objectively measured outcomes
There is no consensus on interventions to be recommended in order to promote physical activity among overweight or obese children. The objective of this review, published in Obesity Reviews, was to assess the effects on objectively measured physical activity, of interventions promoting physical activity among overweight or obese children or adolescents, compared to no intervention or to interventions without a physical activity component.

Key Ministry of Health Publications

NHI Number Format Change: Public Comment document
A format change is proposed for the NHI number.  This is based on the need to extend the range of NHI numbers available for future use.  The effect of this change will be significant. The closing date for submissions is 5.00 pm, Tuesday 14 November 2017.Comments are invited on the purpose, technical details and implementation of the proposed change.

The information available on or through this newsletter does not represent Ministry of Health policy. It is intended to provide general information to the health sector and the public, and is not intended to address specific circumstances of any particular individual or entity.