Ministry of Health Library

Health Improvement and Innovation Digest

Issue 160 - 1 February 2018

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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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.

Shorter Waits for Cancer Treatment (New Zealand)

The burden of cancer in 25-29 year olds in New Zealand: a case for a wider adolescent and young adult age range?
New Zealand currently defines the adolescent and young adult (AYA) group for cancer services as young people 12-24 years of age, while other countries favour a designation of 15-29 years. This study, published in the New Zealand Medical Journal, was undertaken to compare cancer incidence and survival among 25-29 year olds to New Zealand's younger AYA population and to assess survival for our 15-29 year population against international benchmarks.

Shorter Stays In Emergency Departments (International)

Improving the wait time to consultation at the emergency department
Prolonged wait times at the emergency department (ED) are associated with increased morbidity and mortality, and decreased patient satisfaction. Reducing wait times at the ED is challenging. The objective of this study, published in BMJ Open Quality, was to determine if the implementation of a series of interventions would help decrease the wait time to consultation for patients at the ED within 6 months.

The effect of vertical split-flow patient management on emergency department throughput and efficiency
To address emergency department overcrowding operational research seeks to identify efficient processes to optimize flow of patients through the emergency department. Vertical flow refers to the concept of utilizing and assigning patients virtual beds rather than to an actual physical space within the emergency department to care of low acuity patients. The aim of this study, published in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine, was to evaluate the impact of vertical flow upon emergency department efficiency and patient satisfaction.

Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes (International)

Effectiveness of pharmacist's intervention in the management of cardiovascular diseases
This study, published in Open Heart, explores the effectiveness of the pharmacist’s role in primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular diseases, mainly through patient education and counselling, drug safety management, medication review, monitoring and reconciliation, detection and control of specific cardiovascular risk factors and clinical outcomes.

Increased risk of ischemic heart disease, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes in women with previous gestational diabetes mellitus, a target group in general practice for preventive interventions: A population-based cohort study
This study, published in PLOS Medicine, examined the effect of Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) on developing cardiovascular disease.

Primary Health Care (New Zealand)

Care of pregnant women with decreased fetal movements: Update of a clinical practice guideline for Australia and New Zealand
The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Centre of Research Excellence in Stillbirth and the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand (PSANZ) have recently partnered in updating an important clinical practice guideline, Care of pregnant women with decreased fetal movements. This guideline, published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, offers 12 recommendations and a suggested care pathway, with the aim to improve the quality of care for women reporting decreased fetal movements through an evidence-based approach.

A Systematic Review of Wearable Patient Monitoring Systems - Current Challenges and Opportunities for Clinical Adoption
The aim of this review, published in Journal of Medical Systems, was to investigate barriers and challenges of wearable patient monitoring solutions adopted by clinicians in acute, as well as in community, care settings.

The Pēpi-Pod study: Overnight video, oximetry and thermal environment while using an in-bed sleep device for sudden unexpected death in infancy prevention
The aim of this study, published in the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, was to identify the potential risks and benefits of sleeping infants in a Pēpi-Pod distributed to families with high risk of sudden unexpected death in infancy compared to a bassinet.

First Presentation Acute Rheumatic Fever is Preventable in a Community Setting: A School-based Intervention
Robust evidence is lacking for community initiatives to prevent first presentation acute rheumatic fever (ARF) by group A streptococcal (GAS) pharyngitis treatment. This study, published in the Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, measured the effect of introducing a sore throat clinic program on first presentation ARF into sixty one schools in Auckland, New Zealand.

Primary Health Care (International)

Identifying enablers and barriers to individually tailored prescribing: a survey of healthcare professionals in the UK
Many people now take multiple medications on a long-term basis to manage health conditions. Optimising the benefit of such polypharmacy requires tailoring of medicines use to the needs and circumstances of individuals. However, professionals report barriers to achieving this in practice. This study, published in BMC Family Practice, examined health professionals’ perceptions of enablers and barriers to delivering individually tailored prescribing.

Primary Mental Health (International)

The Effectiveness of Problem-Solving Therapy for Primary Care Patients' Depressive and/or Anxiety Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
There is increasing demand for managing depressive and/or anxiety disorders among primary care patients. Problem-solving therapy (PST) is a brief evidence- and strength-based psychotherapy that has received increasing support for its effectiveness in managing depression and anxiety among primary care patients. This systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials, published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, examined PST for patients with depression and/or anxiety in primary care.

Weight Management (New Zealand)

Towards healthier supermarkets: a national study of in-store food availability, prominence and promotions in New Zealand
The retail environment is a key setting for potential public health interventions. This study, published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, assessed the healthiness of New Zealand supermarket food environments.

Weight Management (International)

Face-to-Face Versus Mobile Versus Blended Weight Loss Program: Randomized Clinical Trial
Conventional face-to-face weight loss and weight control programs are very labour intensive for both the patient and the provider. It is unclear to what extent conventional programs can be (partially) completed by mobile health (mHealth) apps. The aim of this study, published in JMIR Mhealth Uhealth, was to compare the effectiveness of different weight loss programs using a combination of conventional and mobile programs among adults who are overweight.

Childhood Obesity (New Zealand)

Type of cows' milk consumption and relationship to health predictors in New Zealand preschool children
New Zealand dietary guidelines recommend children from two years of age consume low- or reduced-fat milk. This study, published in the New Zealand Medical Journal, aimed to investigate the predictors of type of milk consumption in preschool children.

Childhood Obesity (International)

Parent-targeted home-based interventions for increasing fruit and vegetable intake in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Parent interventions delivered in the home represent a valuable approach to improving children's diets. This review, published in Nutrition Reviews, aims to examine the effectiveness of parent-targeted in-home interventions in increasing fruit and vegetable intake in children.

The frequency of family meals and nutritional health in children: a meta-analysis
Findings on the relationship between family meal frequency and children's nutritional health are inconsistent. This systematic review and meta-analysis, published in Obesity Reviews, examines the relationship between family meal frequency and various nutritional health outcomes.

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.