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Fulltext A low-cost solution for documenting distribution and abundance of endangered marine fauna and impacts from fisheries

Pilcher NJ, Adulyanukosol K, Das H, Davis P, Hines E, Kwan D, et al.

PLoS One, 2017;12(12):e0190021.
PMID: 29284017 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0190021

Fisheries bycatch is a widespread and serious issue that leads to declines of many important and threatened marine species. However, documenting the distribution, abundance, population trends and threats to sparse populations of marine species is often beyond the capacity of developing countries because such work is complex, time consuming and often extremely expensive. We have developed a flexible tool to document spatial distribution and population trends for dugongs and other marine species in the form of an interview questionnaire supported by a structured data upload sheet and a comprehensive project manual. Recognising the effort invested in getting interviewers to remote locations, the questionnaire is comprehensive, but low cost. The questionnaire has already been deployed in 18 countries across the Indo-Pacific region. Project teams spent an average of USD 5,000 per country and obtained large data sets on dugong distribution, trends, catch and bycatch, and threat overlaps. Findings indicated that >50% of respondents had never seen dugongs and that 20% had seen a single dugong in their lifetimes despite living and fishing in areas of known or suspected dugong habitat, suggesting that dugongs occurred in low numbers. Only 3% of respondents had seen mother and calf pairs, indicative of low reproductive output. Dugong hunting was still common in several countries. Gillnets and hook and line were the most common fishing gears, with the greatest mortality caused by gillnets. The questionnaire has also been used to study manatees in the Caribbean, coastal cetaceans along the eastern Gulf of Thailand and western Peninsular Malaysia, and river dolphins in Peru. This questionnaire is a powerful tool for studying distribution and relative abundance for marine species and fishery pressures, and determining potential conservation hotspot areas. We provide the questionnaire and supporting documents for open-access use by the scientific and conservation communities.
Fulltext Translating Evidence Into Practice via Social Media: A Mixed-Methods Study

Maloney S, Tunnecliff J, Morgan P, Gaida JE, Clearihan L, Sadasivan S, et al.

J Med Internet Res, 2015 Oct 26;17(10):e242.
PMID: 26503129 DOI: 10.2196/jmir.4763

BACKGROUND: Approximately 80% of research evidence relevant to clinical practice never reaches the clinicians delivering patient care. A key barrier for the translation of evidence into practice is the limited time and skills clinicians have to find and appraise emerging evidence. Social media may provide a bridge between health researchers and health service providers.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of social media as an educational medium to effectively translate emerging research evidence into clinical practice.
METHODS: The study used a mixed-methods approach. Evidence-based practice points were delivered via social media platforms. The primary outcomes of attitude, knowledge, and behavior change were assessed using a preintervention/postintervention evaluation, with qualitative data gathered to contextualize the findings.
RESULTS: Data were obtained from 317 clinicians from multiple health disciplines, predominantly from the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States, India, and Malaysia. The participants reported an overall improvement in attitudes toward social media for professional development (P
Fulltext Pre-operative sera interleukin-6 in the diagnosis of high-grade serous ovarian cancer

Kampan NC, Madondo MT, Reynolds J, Hallo J, McNally OM, Jobling TW, et al.

Sci Rep, 2020 02 10;10(1):2213.
PMID: 32042020 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-59009-z

Pre-operative discrimination of malignant masses is crucial for accurate diagnosis and prompt referral to a gynae oncology centre for optimal surgical intervention. HGSOC progression is correlated with local and systemic inflammation. We hypothesised that inclusion of inflammatory biomarkers in sera may improve diagnostic tests. In the training cohort, we tested four existing clinical tests (RMI score and ROMA, CA125 and HE4) and a panel of 28 immune soluble biomarkers in sera from 66 patients undergoing surgery for suspected ovarian cancer. Six promising immune biomarkers alone, or in combination with conventional tests, were subsequently analysed in an independent validation cohort (n = 69). IL-6 was identified as the main driver of variability followed closely by conventional diagnostic tests. Median sera IL-6 was higher in HGSOC patients compared to those with a benign mass or controls with normal ovaries (28.3 vs 7.3 vs 1.2 pg/ml, p 3.75 pg/ml as primary triage followed by conventional tests (CA125 or RMI score) identified ovarian cancer in patients with a misclassification rate of 4.54-3.03%, superior to the use of CA125 or RMI alone (9.09 to 10.60). The validation cohort demonstrated a similar improvement in the diagnostic sensitivity following addition of IL-6. IL-6 in combination with conventional tests may be a useful clinical biomarker for triage of patients with a suspected malignant ovarian mass.
Fulltext The acceptability among health researchers and clinicians of social media to translate research evidence to clinical practice: mixed-methods survey and interview study

Tunnecliff J, Ilic D, Morgan P, Keating J, Gaida JE, Clearihan L, et al.

J Med Internet Res, 2015;17(5):e119.
PMID: 25995192 DOI: 10.2196/jmir.4347

BACKGROUND: Establishing and promoting connections between health researchers and health professional clinicians may help translate research evidence to clinical practice. Social media may have the capacity to enhance these connections.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore health researchers' and clinicians' current use of social media and their beliefs and attitudes towards the use of social media for communicating research evidence.
METHODS: This study used a mixed-methods approach to obtain qualitative and quantitative data. Participation was open to health researchers and clinicians. Data regarding demographic details, current use of social media, and beliefs and attitudes towards the use of social media for professional purposes were obtained through an anonymous Web-based survey. The survey was distributed via email to research centers, educational and clinical institutions, and health professional associations in Australia, India, and Malaysia. Consenting participants were stratified by country and role and selected at random for semistructured telephone interviews to explore themes arising from the survey.
RESULTS: A total of 856 participants completed the questionnaire with 125 participants declining to participate, resulting in a response rate of 87.3%. 69 interviews were conducted with participants from Australia, India, and Malaysia. Social media was used for recreation by 89.2% (749/840) of participants and for professional purposes by 80.0% (682/852) of participants. Significant associations were found between frequency of professional social media use and age, gender, country of residence, and graduate status. Over a quarter (26.9%, 229/852) of participants used social media for obtaining research evidence, and 15.0% (128/852) of participants used social media for disseminating research evidence. Most participants (95.9%, 810/845) felt there was a role for social media in disseminating or obtaining research evidence. Over half of the participants (449/842, 53.3%) felt they had a need for training in the use of social media for professional development. A key barrier to the professional use of social media was concerns regarding trustworthiness of information.
CONCLUSIONS: A large majority of health researchers and clinicians use social media in recreational and professional contexts. Social media is less frequently used for communication of research evidence. Training in the use of social media for professional development and methods to improve the trustworthiness of information obtained via social media may enhance the utility of social media for communicating research evidence. Future studies should investigate the efficacy of social media in translating research evidence to clinical practice.
KEYWORDS: communication; eLearning; evidence-based medicine; social media
Fulltext Translating evidence to practice in the health professions: a randomized trial of Twitter vs Facebook

Tunnecliff J, Weiner J, Gaida JE, Keating JL, Morgan P, Ilic D, et al.

J Am Med Inform Assoc, 2017 03 01;24(2):403-408.
PMID: 27357833 DOI: 10.1093/jamia/ocw085

Objective: Our objective was to compare the change in research informed knowledge of health professionals and their intended practice following exposure to research information delivered by either Twitter or Facebook.
Methods: This open label comparative design study randomized health professional clinicians to receive "practice points" on tendinopathy management via Twitter or Facebook. Evaluated outcomes included knowledge change and self-reported changes to clinical practice.
Results: Four hundred and ninety-four participants were randomized to 1 of 2 groups and 317 responders analyzed. Both groups demonstrated improvements in knowledge and reported changes to clinical practice. There was no statistical difference between groups for the outcomes of knowledge change (P = .728), changes to clinical practice (P = .11) or the increased use of research information (P = .89). Practice points were shared more by the Twitter group (P