Clinical high-risk states for psychosis (CHR) are associated with functional impairments and depressive disorders. A previous PRONIA study predicted social functioning in CHR and recent-onset depression (ROD) based on structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) and clinical data. However, the combination of these domains did not lead to accurate role functioning prediction, calling for the investigation of additional risk dimensions. Role functioning may be more strongly associated with environmental adverse events than social functioning.

We aimed to predict role functioning in CHR, ROD and transdiagnostically, by adding environmental adverse events-related variables to clinical and sMRI data domains within the PRONIA sample.

Baseline clinical, environmental and sMRI data collected in 92 CHR and 95 ROD samples were trained to predict lower versus higher follow-up role functioning, using support vector classification and mixed k-fold/leave-site-out cross-validation. We built separate predictions for each domain, created multimodal predictions and validated them in independent cohorts (74 CHR, 66 ROD).

Models combining clinical and environmental data predicted role outcome in discovery and replication samples of CHR (balanced accuracies: 65.4% and 67.7%, respectively), ROD (balanced accuracies: 58.9% and 62.5%, respectively), and transdiagnostically (balanced accuracies: 62.4% and 68.2%, respectively). The most reliable environmental features for role outcome prediction were adult environmental adjustment, childhood trauma in CHR and childhood environmental adjustment in ROD.

Findings support the hypothesis that environmental variables inform role outcome prediction, highlight the existence of both transdiagnostic and syndrome-specific predictive environmental adverse events, and emphasise the importance of implementing real-world models by measuring multiple risk dimensions.

To systematically assess enhanced personal protective equipment (PPE) doffing safety risks.

We employed a 3-part approach to this study: (1) hierarchical task analysis (HTA) of the PPE doffing process; (2) human factors-informed failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA); and (3) focus group sessions with a convenience sample of infection prevention (IP) subject matter experts.

A large academic US hospital with a regional Special Pathogens Treatment Center and enhanced PPE doffing protocol experience.

Eight IP experts.

The HTA was conducted jointly by 2 human-factors experts based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention PPE guidelines. The findings were used as a guide in 7 focus group sessions with IP experts to assess PPE doffing safety risks. For each HTA task step, IP experts identified failure mode(s), assigned priority risk scores, identified contributing factors and potential consequences, and identified potential risk mitigation strategies. Data were recorded in a tabular format during the sessions.

Of 103 identified failure modes, the highest priority scores were associated with team members moving between clean and contaminated areas, glove removal, apron removal, and self-inspection while preparing to doff. Contributing factors related to the individual (eg, technical/ teamwork competency), task (eg, undetected PPE contamination), tools/technology (eg, PPE design characteristics), environment (eg, inadequate space), and organizational aspects (eg, training) were identified. Participants identified 86 types of risk mitigation strategies targeting the failure modes.

Despite detailed guidelines, our study revealed 103 enhanced PPE doffing failure modes. Analysis of the failure modes suggests potential mitigation strategies to decrease self-contamination risk during enhanced PPE doffing.

Along with the exponential growth of technology, the use of mobile devices in health, or mHealth, has been quickly becoming a viable practice to strengthen health systems, especially in low-resource settings. Nevertheless, the majority of mHealth interventions are pilot efforts which mostly lack robust design and evidence about the use of mHealth in public health. This study assessed the use of a bi-directional Short Message Service (SMS) in disease surveillance in Vietnam and aimed to bring evidence in improving engagement of health staff as well as the quality of reporting.

Eighty health staff from fourty communes of Hoa Binh and Hung Yen provinces were trained and participated in two 6-month pilots: one with one-way, and one with a bi-directional SMS system for assisting in error screening, and reminder and feedback provision to report two diseases: influenza and diarrhea using cell phones. After each examination and checking-in onto the paper logbook, participants reported the case by texting an SMS to a designated number and made notes of successfully reported cases. A central data repository server was set up to collect SMS reports, and aggregate reported patient data. Engagement of health staff and quality of the reporting work were assessed by the evaluation of the qualitative questionnaires, and the comparison of the texted SMS reports to the patient logbooks.

With the use of a two-way versus one-way SMS system, participants were 4.6 times more likely (95 percent Confidence Interval, CI 3.93-5.44, p< .001) to send correctly formatted text reports, and 3.4 times more likely (95 percent CI 2.72-4.33, p< .001) to have precise information in their texted messages. Results also revealed that while their position, age, or gender of participants did not statistically influence the results, ethnicity and management roles did.

The study showed that the use of a bi-directional SMS-based reporting system both significantly improved participants engagement in the reporting protocol, and greatly enhanced their reporting quality. The study demonstrated that robust evidence of a practical utilization of SMS in a disease reporting system to replace the traditional paper-based one has great potential for a scale-up and national-wide implementation.

To (i) identify and describe prevailing infant feeding policy documents in five diverse European countries; (ii) analyse types of health outcomes for the infant that are associated with feeding breast milk rather than formula milk in the documents of different countries; and (iii) assess the extent to which documents reflect the WHO global recommendation of exclusive breast-feeding for 6 months.

Documentary review and analysis.

Five geographically dispersed countries of Europe (England, Finland, Germany, Hungary and Spain).

Policy documents on infant feeding were identified; statements that linked choice between breast- and formula-feeding to a health outcome for the infant were extracted.

Twenty-six documents (varied authorships, dates, length and character) were identified: four from England; two from Finland; nine from Germany; six from Hungary; and five from Spain. There was no consistency in the way in which health outcomes were cited as factors in the recommendations for breast- rather than formula-feeding. Seven documents contained no reference to the health implications of infant feeding choice. Of 203 statements in remaining documents citing health outcomes, 24·1 % mentioned general health effects, 32·5 % protection against infections, 31·5 % long-term conditions (e.g. diabetes, CVD) and 11·8 % mentioned allergy. Health outcomes were linked to exclusive breast-feeding in only 25 % of statements.

Policy documents in the study countries varied in the extent to which they reflect the health outcomes for the baby of breast-feeding, and this may limit effective promotion by health professionals. There is scope to improve the process of bringing evidence and recommendations into policy documents.