William Douglas

Introduction The cardiac symptoms and complications of acute COVID-19 have been extensively studied; however the long-term cardiac outcomes post-COVID-19 infection are more poorly understood. Previous research has indicated severe infections such as sepsis care associated with long-term excess hazard of cardiovascular events such as MI and stroke, which the phenomena of “immunothrombosis” is hypothesized to be responsible for. Moreover, the largest observation study on post-covid cardiovascular outcomes to date, found that individuals infected with COVID-19 have an increased incidence of many cardiac complications in the period 30 days after infection. The goal of this study is to identify, summarize, and analyze the literature surrounding long-term post-covid cardiac outcomes to better understand the state of the literature and the early evidence within it. Methods and AnalysisThe aim of this scoping review is to synthesize and critically appraise literature that examines the relationship between past COVID-19 infection and cardiovascular outcomes. The methods for this review were developed with reference to the scoping review guidelines of the Joanna Briggs Institute. Cohort studies and any adult RCTs involving COVID-19 that include relevant cardiovascular outcomes and follow-up analyses post-COVID-19 infection will also be included. There will be no restrictions on study quality, date, setting, or size. A search of English language studies published between December 2019 to January 2023 will be conducted in MEDLINE, PubMed, EMBASE, and CINAHL. Screening will be performed independently and in duplicate by four reviewers. Data for qualitative outcomes will be summarized in tabular format with descriptive statistics. Qualitative information on study design and conduct, as well as risk of bias assessments will be summarized, and trends discussed. Ethics & Dissemination Approval from a medical ethics committee is not required. Results will be disseminated through a peer-reviewed publication. 1) Kosyakovsky LB, Angriman F, Katz E, Adhikari NK, Godoy LC, Marshall JC, Ferreyro BL, Lee DS, Rosenson RS, Sattar N, Verma S, Toma A, Englesakis M, Burstein B, Farkouh ME, Herridge M, Ko DT, Scales DC, Detsky ME, Bibas L, Lawler PR. Association between sepsis survivorship and long-term cardiovascular outcomes in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Intensive Care Med. 2021 Sep;47(9):931-942. doi: 10.1007/s00134-021-06479-y. Epub 2021 Aug 9. PMID: 34373953. 2) Xie, Y., Xu, E., Bowe, B. et al. Long-term cardiovascular outcomes of COVID-19. Nat Med 28, 583–590 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-022-01689-3 3) Peters MD, Godfrey CM, Khalil H, et al.: Guidance for conducting systematic scoping reviews. Int J Evid Based Healthc 2015; 13:141–146

This scoping review aims to identify and synthesize recent RRCTs and protocols to help inform the future design, conduct, and reporting of RRCTs.

Background: It is estimated that 564,000 Canadians are currently living with dementia and there are approximately 486,000 to 1.1 million informal family/friend caregivers. Family/friend caregivers often receive little to no education or training about dementia but are expected to provide ongoing support for a complex condition. Web-based family/friend caregiver interventions may be helpful, but little is known about how best to implement them. Objective: The objectives of this study were to 1) design and develop a novel education prescription application to help scale and spread web-based dementia education to family/friend caregivers, 2) conduct user testing, and 3) conduct a larger-scale field trial. Methods: A novel education prescription web-based application was designed and developed. Initial user testing used task completion and the “think aloud” technique with a small sample of representative clinicians who work with people living with dementia and family/friend caregivers. Following iterative incorporation of feedback, a larger field trial was conducted with a convenience sample of clinicians. Account invitations were sent to 55 clinicians and, following a 2-month trial period, surveys were administered to participants including the System Usability Scale and the Net Promoter Score. Results: During the initial user testing phase, participants (N=7) from representative disciplines easily completed associated tasks, and had very positive feedback with respect to the usability of the application. The System Usability Scale score during this phase was 91.4. Suggestions from feedback were incorporated into the application. During the larger field trial phase, participants (total N=55; activated account n=17; did not activate account n=38) were given access to the iGeriCare education prescription application. During this period, 2 participants created educational prescriptions; a total of 3 educational prescriptions were sent. Survey completers who did not activate their account (n=5) identified that their lack of use was due to time constraints, competing priorities, or forgetting to use the application. Survey completers who activated their account (n=5) identified their lower use was due to lack of time, lack of eligible family/friend caregivers during trial period, and competing priorities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The System Usability Scale score during this phase was 78.75, and the Net Promoter Score was 50. Conclusions: Study findings indicate a generally positive response for the usability of a web-based application for clinicians to prescribe dementia education to family/friend caregivers. The dissonance between the promising data and widespread enthusiasm for the design and purpose of the education prescription application found in the initial user testing phase and subsequent lack of significant adoption in the field trial represents both an important lesson for other novel health technologies and a potential area for further investigation. Further research is required to better understand factors associated with implementation of this type of intervention and impact on dissemination of education to family/friend caregivers.

BACKGROUND It is estimated that 564,000 Canadians are currently living with dementia and there are approximately 486,000 to 1.1 million informal family/friend caregivers. Family/friend caregivers often receive little to no education or training about dementia but are expected to provide ongoing support for a complex condition. Web-based family/friend caregiver interventions may be helpful, but little is known about how best to implement them. OBJECTIVE The objectives of this study were to 1) design and develop a novel education prescription application to help scale and spread web-based dementia education to family/friend caregivers, 2) conduct user testing, and 3) conduct a larger-scale field trial. METHODS A novel education prescription web-based application was designed and developed. Initial user testing used task completion and the “think aloud” technique with a small sample of representative clinicians who work with people living with dementia and family/friend caregivers. Following iterative incorporation of feedback, a larger field trial was conducted with a convenience sample of clinicians. Account invitations were sent to 55 clinicians and, following a 2-month trial period, surveys were administered to participants including the System Usability Scale and the Net Promoter Score. RESULTS During the initial user testing phase, participants (N=7) from representative disciplines easily completed associated tasks, and had very positive feedback with respect to the usability of the application. The System Usability Scale score during this phase was 91.4. Suggestions from feedback were incorporated into the application. During the larger field trial phase, participants (total N=55; activated account n=17; did not activate account n=38) were given access to the iGeriCare education prescription application. During this period, 2 participants created educational prescriptions; a total of 3 educational prescriptions were sent. Survey completers who did not activate their account (n=5) identified that their lack of use was due to time constraints, competing priorities, or forgetting to use the application. Survey completers who activated their account (n=5) identified their lower use was due to lack of time, lack of eligible family/friend caregivers during trial period, and competing priorities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The System Usability Scale score during this phase was 78.75, and the Net Promoter Score was 50. CONCLUSIONS Study findings indicate a generally positive response for the usability of a web-based application for clinicians to prescribe dementia education to family/friend caregivers. The dissonance between the promising data and widespread enthusiasm for the design and purpose of the education prescription application found in the initial user testing phase and subsequent lack of significant adoption in the field trial represents both an important lesson for other novel health technologies and a potential area for further investigation. Further research is required to better understand factors associated with implementation of this type of intervention and impact on dissemination of education to family/friend caregivers.