Seeing the invisible: extracurricular learning processes and learning outcome as experienced by student volunteers accompanying persons in a socially vulnerable situation to healthcare appointments-an ethnographic study.

Becoming a healthcare professional is a complex process, where learning occurs in various ways. This study explores an extracurricular learning approach, called the Social Health Bridge-Building Programme, designed to address health inequities. Student volunteers accompany persons in a socially vulnerable situation to healthcare appointments. Operating outside the realms of health education, the programme intends to provide an alternative road to training healthcare students to become capable of engaging with diverse populations, and reducing barriers to healthcare access. Based on an ethnographic fieldwork, using interviews and participant observation ("walking along") as methods, the aim of the study was to explore the learning processes and learning outcomes associated with bridge-building, as experienced by students. Our findings show that this extracurricular learning complemented the formal curriculum, and bridged the gap from theoretical knowledge to practice and to real persons, preparing students for their future roles. The particular positioning of walking alongside or sitting beside persons made the invisible visible, enabling student volunteers to see the variety of persons in need of bridge-building, ways of living in a socially vulnerable situation, inequity in health, and see the persons, beyond initial impression, fostering a deeper understanding and empathy among the students. Learning outcomes included communicational, relational, and observations skills, and a more comprehensive grasp of the healthcare system's complexity. We conclude that a non-governmental organization, independent of the healthcare system, may have found a novel way of providing extracurricular learning about health inequity to students. Demonstrating how the Social Health Bridge-Building Programme complements formal curricula, the concept could be applicable in other settings.

Bridging Inequity Gaps in Healthcare Systems While Educating Future Healthcare Professionals-The Social Health Bridge-Building Programme.

Social inequity in healthcare persists even in countries with universal healthcare. The Social Health Bridge-Building Programme aims to reduce healthcare inequities. This paper provides a detailed description of the programme. The Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) was used to structure the description. The programme theory was outlined using elements from the British Medical Research Council's framework, including identifying barriers to healthcare, synthesising evidence, describing the theoretical framework, creating a logic model, and engaging stakeholders. In the Social Health Bridge-Building Programme, student volunteers accompany individuals to healthcare appointments and provide social support before, during, and after the visit. The programme is rooted in a recovery-oriented approach, emphasising personal resources and hope. The programme finds support in constructs within the health literacy framework. Student volunteers serve as health literacy mediators, supporting individuals in navigating the healthcare system while gaining knowledge and skills. This equips students for their forthcoming roles as healthcare professionals, and potentially empowers them to develop and implement egalitarian initiatives within the healthcare system, including initiatives that promote organisational health literacy responsiveness. The Social Health Bridge-Building Programme is a promising initiative that aims to improve equity in healthcare by addressing individual, social, and systemic barriers to healthcare. The programme's description will guide forthcoming evaluations of its impact.

What is the impact of physicians in prehospital treatment for patients in need of acute critical care? - An overview of reviews.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this overview was to systematically identify and synthesize existing evidence from systematic reviews on the impact of prehospital physician involvement. METHODS: The Medline, Embase, and Cochrane library were searched from 1 January 2000 to 17 November 2017. We included systematic reviews comparing physician-based with non-physician-based prehospital treatment in patients with one of five critical conditions requiring a rapid response. RESULTS: Ten reviews published from 2009 to 2017 were included. Physician treatment was associated with increased survival in patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and patients with severe trauma; in the latter group, the result was based on more limited evidence. The success rate of prehospital endotracheal intubation (ETI) has improved over the years, but ETI by physicians is still associated with higher success rates than intubation by paramedics. In patients with severe traumatic brain injury, intubation by paramedics who were not well skilled to do so markedly increased mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Current evidence is hinting at a benefit of physicians in selected aspects of prehospital emergency services, including treatment of patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and critically ill or injured patients in need of prehospital intubation. Evidence is, however, limited by confounding and bias, and comparison is hampered by differences in case mix and the organization of emergency medical services. Future research should strive to design studies that enable appropriate control of baseline confounding and obtain follow-up data for the proportion of patients who die in the prehospital setting.

Prognostic factors for disability and sick leave in patients with subacute non-malignant pain: a systematic review of cohort studies.

OBJECTIVE: This systematic review aims to identify generic prognostic factors for disability and sick leave in subacute pain patients. SETTING: General practice and other primary care facilities. PARTICIPANTS: Adults (>18 years) with a subacute (≤ 3-month) non-malignant pain condition. Eligibility criteria were cohort studies investigating the prediction of disability or long-term sick leave in adults with a subacute pain condition in a primary care setting. 19 studies were included, referring to a total of 6266 patients suffering from pain in the head, neck, back and shoulders. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was long-term disability (>3 months) due to a pain condition. The secondary outcome was sick leave, defined as 'absence from work' or 'return-to-work'. RESULTS: PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL and PEDro databases were searched from 16 January 2003 to 16 January 2014. The quality of evidence was presented according to the GRADE WG recommendations. Several factors were found to be associated with disability at follow-up for at least two different pain symptoms. However, owing to insufficient studies, no generic risk factors for sick leave were identified. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple site pain, high pain severity, older age, baseline disability and longer pain duration were identified as potential prognostic factors for disability across pain sites. There was limited evidence that anxiety and depression were associated with disability in patients with subacute pain, indicating that these factors may not play as large a role as expected in developing disability due to a pain condition. Quality of evidence was moderate, low or very low, implying that confidence in the results is limited. Large prospective prognostic factor studies are needed with sufficient study populations and transparent reporting of all factors examined. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42014008914.

Wearing an active spinal orthosis improves back extensor strength in women with osteoporotic vertebral fractures.

BACKGROUND: Vertebral fractures are the most common clinical manifestations of osteoporosis. Vertebral fractures and reduced back extensor strength can result in hyperkyphosis. Hyperkyphosis is associated with diminished daily functioning and an increased risk of falling. Improvements in back extensor strength can result in decreased kyphosis and thus a decreased risk of falls and fractures. OBJECTIVES: The aim was to examine the effects of an active spinal orthosis - Spinomed III - on back extensor strength, back pain and physical functioning in women with osteoporotic vertebral fractures. STUDY DESIGN: Experimental follow-up. METHODS: The women used the active spinal orthosis for 3 months. Outcomes were changes in isometric back extensor strength, changes in back pain and changes in physical functioning. RESULTS: A total of 13 women were included in the trial. Wearing the orthosis during a 3-month period was associated with an increase in back extensor strength of 50% (p = 0.01). The study demonstrated a 33% reduction in back pain and a 6.5-point improvement in physical functioning. The differences in pain and physical functioning were borderline significant. CONCLUSION: The women demonstrated a clinically relevant improvement in the back extensor strength. The differences in pain and physical functioning were clinically relevant and borderline significant. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The results imply that Spinomed III could be recommended for women with vertebral fractures as a supplement to traditional back strengthening exercises. It is essential that the orthosis is adjusted correctly and that there is an individual programme concerning the amount of time the orthosis has to be worn every day.