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Background The COVID-19 pandemic has presented significant challenges to the already over-stretched healthcare system in the United Kingdom (UK). These challenges are particularly pronounced for people living with the novel condition of Long COVID (LC) as they often face persistent and fluctuating symptoms, encountering prolonged uncertainty when seeking medical support. Despite a growing understanding of the healthcare challenges associated with LC, existing qualitative studies have predominantly focused on individual experiences rather than examining the structural aspects of healthcare. Methods A longitudinal qualitative study with 80 participants and 12 healthcare practitioners was conducted in the UK to explore the healthcare experiences of those with LC. In total, 178 interviews (with attrition) were collected across two rounds, from November 2021 to March 2022, and from June to October 2022. Results Embracing a person-centred framework that recognises and nurtures interconnected individual, relational, and existential needs, we investigated healthcare experiences related to LC across primary, secondary, and specialist integrated care. Using this perspective, we identified three overarching themes. Theme 1 addresses the persistent hurdle of accessing primary care as the initial point of contact for LC healthcare; Theme 2 underscores the complexity of navigating secondary care; and Theme 3 encapsulates the distinctive challenges of developing LC integrated care. These themes are interlinked, as people with LC often had to navigate or struggle between the various systems, with practitioners seeking to collaborate across the breadth of their professional responsibilities. Conclusion From a person-centred approach, we were able to identify the needs of those affected by lasting LC symptoms and comprehend how health services intricately influence these needs. The focus on healthcare systems also captures the nuanced impact that continuing healthcare struggles can have on people’s identity. As such, our findings provide evidence to inform a more effective and sustainable delivery of person-centred care for people with LC across various healthcare settings and over time.

Correction to: BMC Health Services Research(2024) 24:406. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-024-10891-7. Copy to clipboard Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative Correction Open access Published:25 April 2024 Correction: “They seemed to be like cogs working in different directions”: a longitudinal qualitative study on long COVID healthcare services in the United Kingdom from a person-centred lens Chao Fang 1, Sarah Akhtar Baz2, Laura Sheard2 & … J. D. Carpentieri3 Show authors BMC Health Services Research volume 24, Article number: 525 (2024) Cite this article 119 Accesses 1 Altmetric Metrics details The Original Article was published on 01 April 2024 Correction to: BMC Health Services Research(2024) 24:406. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-024-10891-7.

Introduction Organised by the ‘Qualitative Long Covid Network’, a workshop for qualitative Long COVID (LC) researchers, LC charity representatives and people with LC took place in June 2023, where research on the intersectional inequalities affecting LC prevalence, recognition and care was shared and discussed. Methods Five key themes were drawn up from presentations, discussions and reflections during the workshop, which are presented in this study. Results The following five themes are discussed: the unfairness of LC, difficulties in accessing care, mistrust of the healthcare system, a lack of understanding of LC and experiences of stigma and discrimination. Factors that widen or narrow inequalities related to LC were identified. Conclusion A call to action is proposed to investigate and address inequalities through a robust LC research agenda that speaks with conviction to policy and decision‐makers. We argue that there needs to be a strong investment in research and evidence‐based policy and practice to mitigate the worst effects of the condition and address the inequalities in experience, treatment and support, which are experienced more often and more acutely by some of society's most vulnerable and disadvantaged individuals. Patient and Public (PPI) Contribution Projects included in this article had PPI ongoing activity to inform their research. A member of the CONVALESCENCE PPI group presented at the QLC Network ‘Long Covid and Health Inequalities’ workshop, as did members of Long COVID Kids, Long COVID Support and Long COVID SOS charities. They were all invited to be co‐authors of this article.

Background Acute leukaemias (AL) are life-threatening blood cancers that can be potentially cured with treatment involving myelosuppressive, multiagent, intensive chemotherapy (IC). However, such treatment is associated with a risk of serious infection, in particular invasive fungal infection (IFI) associated with prolonged neutropenia. Current practice guidelines recommend primary antifungal (AF) prophylaxis to be administered to high-risk patients to reduce IFI incidence. AFs are also used empirically to manage prolonged neutropenic fever. Current strategies lead to substantial overuse of AFs. Galactomannan (GM) and β-D-glucan (BG) biomarkers are also used to diagnose IFI. Combining both biomarkers may enhance the predictability of IFI compared to administering each test alone. Currently, no large-scale randomised controlled trial (RCT) has directly compared a biomarker-based diagnostic screening strategy without AF prophylaxis to AF prophylaxis (without systematic biomarker testing). Methods BioDriveAFS is a multicentre, parallel, two-arm RCT of 404 participants from UK NHS Haematology departments. Participants will be allocated on a 1:1 basis to receive either a biomarker-based antifungal stewardship (AFS) strategy, or a prophylactic AF strategy, which includes existing standard of care (SoC). The co-primary outcomes will be AF exposure in the 12-month post randomisation and the patient-reported EQ-5D-5L measured at 12-month post randomisation. Secondary outcomes will include total AF exposure, probable/proven IFI, survival (all-cause mortality and IFI mortality), IFI treatment outcome, AF-associated adverse effects/events/complications, resource use, episodes of neutropenic fever requiring hospital admission or outpatient management, AF resistance in fungi (non-invasive and invasive) and a Desirability of Outcome Ranking. The trial will have an internal pilot phase during the first 9 months. A mixed methods process evaluation will be integrated in parallel to the internal pilot phase and full trial, aiming to robustly assess how the intervention is delivered. Cost-effectiveness analysis will also be performed. Discussion The BioDriveAFS trial aims to further the knowledge of strategies that will safely optimise AF use through comparison of the clinical and cost-effectiveness of a biomarker-led diagnostic strategy versus prophylactic AF to prevent and manage IFI within acute leukaemia. The evidence generated from the study will help inform global clinical practice and approaches within antifungal stewardship. Trial registration ISRCTN11633399. Registered 24/06/2022.

Despite considerable attention paid to lone motherhood in academic research and policy there has been a neglect and resulting invisibility of Pakistani and Bangladeshi Muslim (PBM) lone mothers. Indeed, lone motherhood literature has largely focused on employment and less so on everyday lived experiences, barriers and opportunities. Similarly, despite grassroot South Asian (SA) women's organisations being documented as a crucial voice for marginalised women, there is little known about the support these provide to lone mothers. Thus, conducting research in these areas is a sociological priority. Drawing on an intersectionality lens and informed by works of black feminist scholars (e.g. Crenshaw 1991; Phoenix 1994; Yuval-Davis 2006; Bhopal 2009), the study on which this thesis is based involved participant observations conducted during eight months of fieldwork at a SA women's organisation in Northern England (SAW's Place), alongside 30 interviews with lone mothers, organisation workers and external partners. The thesis unpacks the 'closed box' of the often homogenised 'lone mother' (Duncan and Edwards 1999) and 'SA women' categories. Some of the key topics and themes examined include the diverse routes to lone motherhood; stigma; social policy related needs and barriers (e.g. migration, employment, housing and financial barriers) and the support and resources offered by women's organisations like SAW's Place. In this way the thesis contributes to developing an intersectional theoretical approach to examining PBM lone mothers' struggles, agency, resilience, experiences of exclusion, recovery and adaptation. It demonstrates how participants' positionalities as women cut across racialised, ethnic, cultural, religious, class and migrant identities to shape experiences of lone motherhood, highlighting commonalities and differences. It also contributes to challenging perceptions surrounding PBM women, families and traditional discourses of patriarchy, and illustrating the continued vital need of SA women's organisations. The thesis delivers a range of methodological insights relating to reflexivity, researcher positionality (challenging the insider-outsider dichotomy) and conducting reciprocal research with SA women and organisations.