Topic: Healthcare delivery

CCU103

The COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on people with heart disease. They faced a higher risk of death and serious health problems. At the same time, healthcare services changed, with more remote check-ups being used, and changes in prescriptions… Read more

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People with severe or complex mental illness (SCMI) are more likely to have physical illnesses like heart disease than people without SCMI and are more likely to have difficulties accessing health care. For example, we know that people with SCMI… Read more

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Because of the impact of COVID-19 there is strain on research staff doing diabetes research in hospitals and GP surgeries across the UK. Using new trial methods, in which the trial coordinating office communicates directly with trial participants by telephone,… Read more

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Kidney disease is a major health issue, affecting ~20% of adults over the age of 35 in England. Heart disease – including heart attacks, heart failure and stroke – is the commonest cause of death in patients with kidney disease,… Read more

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Heart attacks are serious, can be fatal and are common. Because of major advances in treatment, many more people nowadays survive a heart attack. However, people who survive a heart attack have a higher chance of developing other conditions later… Read more

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Existing evidence shows that most people would prefer to avoid admissions to hospital in the final months of life and to die at home. People who live in deprived areas are more likely to have more emergency hospital admissions in… Read more

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Type 2 diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases in the UK. With ~3.9 million people with diabetes in the UK, as of 2019, the number is increasing. Type 2 diabetes is when an individual is unable to… Read more

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Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to computer systems that aim to perform tasks typically requiring human intelligence, such as problem-solving and decision-making. AI is a rapidly growing area of technology and innovation, sparking excitement about its potential for improving healthcare outcomes. Read more

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Obesity has been declared a worldwide epidemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the number of people living with this condition continues to rise worldwide. It is a complex, chronic, and progressive condition, which substantially affects health, quality of… Read more

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Many public health policies (i.e. decisions relating to healthcare for the whole population) could be altered to improve health outcomes, value for money, or both. For example, in heart disease we could change the timing or frequency of risk assessments. Read more

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Aortic valve stenosis is a chronic heart condition where there is an abnormal narrowing of the aortic valve. This impacts the heart’s ability to efficiently pump blood to the rest of the body. Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) offers treatment… Read more

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Iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) is a condition where a lack of iron in the body leads to a reduction in the number of red blood cells. Iron is used to produce red blood cells, which help store and carry oxygen in… Read more

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, it became apparent that COVID-19 infection caused a range of issues within the nervous system including stroke, encephalopathy and peripheral neuropathy. We have also seen similar neurological complications in previous pandemics including Spanish flu (1918) and… Read more

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When someone has a stroke, they are taken to hospital for emergency treatment and rehabilitation. We wish to understand the long-term consequences of stroke on the patient and to the NHS (especially the length of time patients spend in hospital… Read more

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Each year, the number of new strokes diagnosed in older people has been decreasing. However, even before COVID-19 hit, the number of strokes in people aged under 55 had doubled in the last 10 years. Researchers found that both getting… Read more

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The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the way we deliver care for cardiology patients, especially those presenting with heart attacks. While the pandemic is now deemed to be over, its indirect effect in terms of disruption to services persists. Patients with… Read more

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Cancer patients are at a heightened risk of heart attacks, formally known as acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Whilst the gold standard therapy for ACS is percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), using a stent to open narrowed or blocked arteries, for reduction… Read more

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People with severe mental illnesses (SMI) such as schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorders have a life expectancy 15-20 years lower than the general population, with two thirds of deaths from preventable chronic conditions such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease, cancers… Read more

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The NHS has created a talking therapy service called Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) to help people with depression and anxiety. IAPT has recently been offered to people with long-term physical disorders that have depression and anxiety. We do… Read more

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An estimated 14 million people in England are living with two or more chronic conditions, referred to Multiple Long-Term Conditions (MLTC). We know that people living with MLTC have a higher risk of being admitted to hospital and of dying… Read more

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COVID-19 infection may become an annual winter virus and follow a clear seasonal pattern, like influenza. Environmental factors, such as extremes in temperature and pollution, could make it easier for the COVID-19 infection to increase the chances of getting a… Read more

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Patients and healthcare professionals alike are concerned about the side effects* of steroids, especially the increased chance of developing osteoporosis, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases (van der Goes 2009). Yet, patients with vasculitis (a collection of rare conditions of inflamed blood… Read more

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This winter, COVID, influenza and their indirect effects on chronic disease care (particularly cardiovascular disease, CVD) probably represent the greatest challenges for the NHS. COVID and influenza can have direct (e.g. hospitalisation and mortality), indirect (e.g. reduced CVD procedures) and… Read more

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Healthcare planners need important epidemiological metrics for vascular diseases like heart attack and stroke. For example, they need to know how often people have diseases of different types (‘incidence’), how severe these diseases are (‘case fatality’), and how many people… Read more

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare providers had to quickly adapt their approach to screening, diagnosing, and managing high blood sugar levels in pregnancy, known as gestational diabetes (GDM). To minimise the risk of viral exposure, care providers made changes to… Read more

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With over one billion people on the move globally, the healthcare of international migrants is increasingly important in the design and delivery of health services. COVID-19 had a greater impact on minoritised ethnic populations and migrants in England. However, we… Read more

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There is limited information describing the different ways people who have COVID-19 are managed. Different people have different treatments, sometimes no treatment at all. It is not known if outcomes (death or re-hospitalisation or other complications) vary depending upon how… Read more

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Aortic stenosis (AS), or narrowing of the aortic valve, is the commonest reason for having heart valve surgery in the west, that causes poor quality of life and death, if untreated. It affects ~1-in-20 adults aged >65, but the exact… Read more

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Asthma, interstitial lung disease (ILD) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are chronic respiratory diseases that cause substantial disability and are associated with increased risk of death. Past studies have usually provided high-level snapshot pictures of their frequencies and associated… Read more

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The benefits of Covid-19 vaccinations are well-known; they reduce the risk of infection and lower the risk of serious illness or death associated with Covid-19. Evidence in England and Scotland suggests rates of COVID-19 hospitalisation and COVID-19 death are around… Read more

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Most analysis on how people use healthcare services is a ‘rear-view mirror sport’, meaning that analysis is performed after the event. We aim to change it to more of a ‘through-the-windscreen sport’ to demonstrate healthcare utilisation and how we can… Read more

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Epilepsy, a tendency to repeated seizures, is common, affecting 600,000 people in the UK of all ages.  People with epilepsy face significant physical health, mental health and social problems. Small studies have shown that people with epilepsy may have more… Read more

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Severe mental illness (SMI), which includes schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression, affects about one in ten people. People with SMI die 10-20 years sooner than the general population, largely due to poorer physical health, in particular conditions that affect… Read more

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Heart Failure (HF) continues to be a major global health-care problem. Despite some recent advances  in therapy it still has an unacceptably high mortality rate. It is estimated that, to date, more than 38 million people suffer from HF world-wide. Read more

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At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK government instituted a shielding policy for vulnerable groups, assuming that shielding would protect them from severe illness and/or death from COVID-19. However, recent research found worse COVID-19 outcomes amongst vulnerable groups… Read more

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Diabetes is a condition affecting approximately 4 million people in the UK. People with diabetes have high levels of blood glucose, which if unmanaged, can lead to serious damage to the heart, feet, eyes and kidneys. Previous research has shown… Read more

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Mass rollout of several highly-effective Covid-19 vaccines has helped prevent severe cases of Covid-19, protecting against hospitalisation and death. However, uptake of Covid-19 vaccination has not been equal across the population, potentially exacerbating existing health inequalities and leaving some communities… Read more

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Despite advances in modern medicine, a significant proportion of those admitted to intensive care will unfortunately not survive. The reasons why certain patients do better or worse are complex and remain poorly understood, but include the interplay between a patient’s… Read more

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This research project is awarded through a funding call by Health Data Research UK and the Alan Turing Institute as part of the wider Data and Connectivity National Core Study. Further details on this project are available here. Read more

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Sight is the sense that is the most valued by the general public. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sight loss and how the NHS manages eye disease remains under-researched. Some reports suggest that COVID-19 infection and/or vaccination may… Read more

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Heart Failure (HF) is a complex set of conditions that results in the heart performing less well than it did – it is no longer pumping blood as well as it would in perfect health. HF affects around 1 million… Read more

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During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the risks to children related to COVID-19 infection were considered very low. Nonetheless, a subset of children with severe infections were admitted to hospital, required intensive care and experienced longer-term health issues. Read more

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Angina is a chronic heart condition that has a substantial impact on our health and social services, and on the population, society and the economy. Treatment with a coronary stent (thin metal tube) is intended to relieve angina, and around… Read more

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People with multiple blockages in their heart arteries may need open heart surgery and bypass surgery. For the surgery to remain successful, patients need to take certain types of medicines long-term after their operation. Even before Covid-19 we had insufficient… Read more

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This project was funded through a rapid funding call by Health Data Research UK, Office for National Statistics and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) as part of the wider Data and Connectivity National Core Study. Further details on this project… Read more

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Physical and mental health consequences of COVID-19 infection, termed long-COVID, occur frequently. Our understanding of long-COVID – including how best to diagnose, risk factors, health and economic consequences – is poor, limiting efforts to help people. We wish to address… Read more

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We know individuals with underlying health conditions have greater risk of developing severe COVID-19 and ending up with poorer outcomes. That is why governments and public health services have been providing dedicated and prioritised protections for these more clinically vulnerable… Read more

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COVID-19 infection during pregnancy may increase the risk of cardiovascular health problems related to pregnancy and giving birth. Small hospital-based studies have suggested a relationship between COVID-19 infection during pregnancy and severe complications for mothers and their babies. However, since… Read more

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People living with dementia have been amongst the hardest hit during the COVID-19 pandemic. A group of drugs called ‘antipsychotics’ are sometimes used to treat distress and agitation in people living with dementia. However, there is evidence to suggest that… Read more

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Cardiovascular disease (CVD, including heart attacks and strokes) remains one of the leading causes of death in the UK. There are a number of conditions that commonly increase an individual’s risk of developing CVD. Some of these conditions, such as… Read more

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Although cardiovascular disease (CVD), including heart attacks and strokes, is still the leading cause of death in the UK, the risk of CVD events and death can be reduced by identifying and treating major risk factors such as high blood… Read more

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Cardiac surgery is a necessary life-extending/saving procedure required by many adults and children every day in the UK. Despite it being prioritised during the COVID-19 pandemic, the true impact of the latter on case volume and outcome are unknown. The… Read more

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Coronavirus (COVID-19) directly impacts individuals who become infected with the virus. It can also influence people’s healthcare decisions (such as deciding not to attend medical appointments for fear of infection). In addition, hospitals have sometimes had to prioritise treatment of… Read more