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In these regenerative times prompted by the Anthropocene, Aboriginal voices are situated to draw on ancient wisdom for local learning and to share information across the globe as ecological imperative for planetary wellbeing. In this paper, postqualitative research foregrounds the sentient nature of life as ancestral power and brings the vitality of co-becoming as our places into active engagement. It enables coloniality to surface and reveals how it sits in our places and lives, in plain sight but unnoticed because of its so-called common sense. Postqualitative research relates with ancient knowledges in foregrounding Country’s animacy and presence, revealing the essence of time as non-linear, cyclical and perpetual. In this way, we are places, weather and climate, not separate. Postqualitative research also relates with ancient knowledge in illustrating Country as agentic and time as multiple, free of constraint and directly involved in our everyday. Country is active witness in the lives of Aboriginal peoples, here always. This is a strong basis for decolonisation. We all have a responsibility to listen, to help create a new direction for the future in the present time.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the rapid implementation of changes to practice in mental health services, in particular transitions of care. Care transitions pose a particular threat to patient safety.
Aims
This study aimed to understand the perspectives of different stakeholders about the impact of temporary changes in practice and policy of mental health transitions as a result of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on perceived healthcare quality and safety.
Method
Thirty-four participants were interviewed about quality and safety in mental health transitions during May and June 2020 (the end of the first UK national lockdown). Semi-structured remote interviews were conducted to generate in-depth information pertaining to various stakeholders (patients, carers, healthcare professionals and key informants). Results were analysed thematically.
Results
The qualitative data highlighted six overarching themes in relation to practice changes: (a) technology-enabled communication; (b) discharge planning and readiness; (c) community support and follow-up; (d) admissions; (e) adapting to new policy and guidelines; (f) health worker safety and well-being. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated some quality and safety concerns such as tensions between teams, reduced support in the community and increased threshold for admissions. Also, several improvement interventions previously recommended in the literature, were implemented locally.
Discussion
The practice of mental health transitions has transformed during the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting quality and safety. National policies concerning mental health transitions should concentrate on converting the mostly local and temporary positive changes into sustainable service quality improvements and applying systematic corrective policies to prevent exacerbations of previous quality and safety concerns.
Close relations with Europe, especially but not only with the United Kingdom, have long been a consensual tenet of Canadian foreign policy, which has supported European integration since the 1970s. The UK's withdrawal from the European Union threatens to upset this consensus. While Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has consistently cast Brexit in a negative light, Conservative leaders Andrew Scheer and Erin O'Toole have commented positively on the UK's leaving the EU. Did their polarized views resonate in the population? To answer this question, this article analyzes the results of an original survey of voting-age Canadians. Findings show a strong degree of correspondence between positions expressed in party discourse and preferences in the Canadian population. This raises the possibility that the difference between two models of transatlantic relations, which we call Eurosphere and Anglosphere, could emerge as a new fault line in Canadian foreign policy.
To determine the utility of screening electrocardiograms after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection among children in detecting myocarditis related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Study Design:
A retrospective chart review was performed at a large paediatric academic institution to identify patients with prior SARS-CoV-2 infection who received a screening electrocardiogram by their primary care providers and were subsequently referred for outpatient cardiology consultation due to an abnormal electrocardiogram. The outcomes were the results from their cardiology evaluations, including testing and final diagnoses.
Results:
Among 46 patients, during their preceding COVID-19 illness, the majority had mild symptoms, 4 were asymptomatic, and 1 had moderate symptoms. The median length of time from positive SARS-CoV-2 test to screening electrocardiogram was 22 days, and many electrocardiogram findings that prompted cardiology consultation were normal variants in asymptomatic adolescent athletes. Patients underwent frequent additional testing at their cardiology appointments: repeat electrocardiogram (72%), echocardiogram (59%), Holter monitor (11%), exercise stress test (7%), and cardiac MRI (2%). Five patients were incidentally diagnosed with CHD or structural cardiac abnormalities, and three patients had conduction abnormalities (pre-mature atrial contractions, pre-mature ventricular contractions, borderline prolonged QTc), although potentially incidental to COVID-19. No patients were diagnosed with myocarditis or ventricular dysfunction.
Conclusion:
In a small cohort of children with prior COVID-19, who were primarily either asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic, subsequent screening electrocardiograms identified various potential abnormalities prompting cardiology consultation, but no patient was diagnosed with myocarditis. Larger multi-centre studies are necessary to confirm these results and to evaluate those with more severe disease.
Dementia is estimated to affect 50 million people worldwide, with around 60% of these cases attributable to Alzheimer's disease (AD). One of the common behavioural and psychological symptoms associated with AD is psychosis. Psychosis, experiencing delusions or hallucinations, can be one of the most distressing ordeals for patients with AD, as well as those around them. Effectively managing these symptoms can lead to a vast improvement in life quality. Currently, there are no medications specifically licensed in the UK for the treatment of psychosis in AD. To help guide clinical practice, we reviewed the evidence underpinning the pharmacological treatment of psychosis in AD. The aim of the study was to positively influence clinical practice and thereby improve the life quality of this patient group.
Method
An advanced PubMed search was used to identify studies which investigated the pharmacological treatments for acute psychosis in people with AD. Papers included were double blind, placebo controlled, randomised controlled trials specifically for AD dementia. Papers must have reported their findings using a specific psychosis subscale (PS); examples being “Behavioural Pathology in AD” (BEHAVE-AD-PS), “Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale” (BPRS-PS), and “Neuropsychiatric Inventory - Nursing Home Version” (NPI-NH-PS). Populations of both outpatients and residential patients were accepted. 14 papers, comprising some 3237 patients, were included and critically analysed in the final review.
Result
Risperidone (BEHAVE-AD-PS: -1.3 [p = 0.004] & -1.9 [p = 0.039]; BPRS-PS: -0.5 [p = 0.08]) and aripiprazole (NPI-NH-PS: -1.0 [p = 0.169] & -1.8 [p = 0.013]) successfully reduced psychosis symptoms in patient populations. However, these medications were associated with a statistical increase in severe adverse events including strokes and cognitive decline. Pimavanserin (NPI-NH-PS: -1.9 [p = 0.045]) also offered a notable reduction in psychosis symptoms, but was associated with increased agitation/aggression. Whilst commonly used in clinical practice, quetiapine, olanzapine, and haloperidol showed negligible therapeutic changes compared to placebo using multiple psychosis subscales. Olanzapine and haloperidol were associated with increased rates of severe adverse events including extrapyramidal symptoms. Quetiapine showed limited side effects.
Conclusion
Risperidone and aripiprazole offer effective means to help AD patients cope with psychosis, but these medications also come with an increased risk of developing life-threatening complications. They should, therefore, be administered judiciously. Pimavanserin shows early promise in treating this group of patients, with no life-threatening adverse effects associated with its use. Further research is required before endorsing the use of pimavanserin. There is little evidence to support the therapeutic use of quetiapine, olanzapine, and haloperidol in this patient population. No financial sponsorship declared.