Linda Errington

• Master of Science - Health Informatics
• Librarian at Newcastle University

Background: Animated messages promoting preventative health behaviours (health animations) are prevalent globally. Health animations are visual and less reliant on language and therefore can overcome health literacy barriers and reduce health inequities. Additionally, they are easily and inexpensively shared, making them a potentially powerful tool...

Rationale and objective Perceptions of sarcopenia have rarely been explored, yet understanding these will be key for successful translation of sarcopenia research findings into meaningful benefits for patients and the public. This scoping review aimed to explore how sarcopenia is perceived amongst patients, health and care professionals (HCP), and...

Background Medicine is recognised as a challenging course where exposure to potentially distressing content is inevitable. Some educators provide students with warnings before they encounter potentially upsetting content—trigger warnings. In this scoping review, we mapped the existing literature seeking to better understand how trigger warnings are...

Rationale and objective Perceptions of sarcopenia have rarely been explored, yet understanding these will be key for successful translation of sarcopenia research findings into meaningful benefits for patients and the public. This scoping review aimed to explore how sarcopenia is perceived amongst patients, health and care professionals (HCP), and...

Introduction The term “Mediterranean lifestyle” has gained increasing prominence in recent years, yet a specific definition remains elusive. In response, the Mediterranean Lifestyle Medicine Institute Board of Directors convened a multidisciplinary panel comprising international experts and leaders in lifestyle medicine. Their goal was to review ex...

Introduction With digital and social media advances, animated health communications (health animations) are highly prevalent globally, yet the evidence base underpinning them remains unclear and limited. While individual studies have attempted to explore the effectiveness, acceptability and usability of specific features of health animations, there...

Introduction Identifying individuals at high risk of dementia is critical to optimized clinical care, formulating effective preventative strategies, and determining eligibility for clinical trials. Since our previous systematic reviews in 2010 and 2015, there has been a surge in dementia risk prediction modelling. The aim of this study was to updat...

Introduction Women at increased risk of developing pre-eclampsia are advised to take a daily low-dose of aspirin from 12 weeks of pregnancy to reduce their risks. Despite the well-established prophylactic effect of aspirin, adherence to this therapy is low. This systematic review aimed to summarise evidence on the barriers and facilitators of adher...

Background Multiple long-term conditions—the co-existence of two or more chronic health conditions in an individual—present an increasing challenge to populations and healthcare systems worldwide. This challenge is keenly felt in hospital settings where care is oriented around specialist provision for single conditions. The aim of this scoping revi...

Background Lymphopenia is defined as a decrease below normal value (often 1.0 x 10 ⁹ cells/L) of blood circulating lymphocyte count. In the general population, lymphopenia is associated with an increased risk of hospitalisation secondary to infection, independent of traditional clinical risk factors. In hospital, lymphopenia is associated with incr...

Background Women are advised to take low-dose aspirin (LDA) if at increased risk of a serious pregnancy complication: pre-eclampsia. Adherence to LDA amongst pregnant women is low. This systematic review aimed to synthesise qualitative evidence related to barriers and facilitators of adherence to LDA in pregnancy. Methods A systematic review and m...

Background The prevalence of multiple long-term conditions (MLTC) – the co-existence of two or more chronic health conditions – is increasing, with far-reaching consequences for individuals and healthcare systems. People living with MLTC are more likely than those without to experience poor quality of life and reduced healthy life expectancy. They...

Heart failure (HF) is characterised by breathlessness and fatigue that impacts negatively on patients' intentions to prioritise physical activity (PA). As such, healthcare professionals (HCPs) experience challenges when motivating patients to increase and maintain PA. It is therefore important to enhance our understanding on how to better equip HCP...

Aim: To thematically synthesise adult service users' perspectives on how UK-based social prescribing services support them with their mental health management. Methods: Nine databases were systematically searched up to March 2022. Eligible studies were qualitative or mixed methods studies involving participants aged ⩾ 18 years accessing social p...

Objective: To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to quantify habitual physical activity (PA) levels of patients with heart failure (HF) and assess the quality of reporting of device-assessed PA. Methods: Eight electronic databases were searched up to 17 November 2021. Data on the study and population characteristics, method of PA meas...

Introduction Pathogenic variants in the gene encoding the catalytic subunit of DNA polymerase gamma ( POLG ), comprise an important single-gene cause of inherited mitochondrial disorders. Clinical manifestations are now recognised as an array of overlapping clinical features rather than discrete syndromes as originally conceptualised. Animal and ce...

Background & aims Lifestyle interventions that focus on reduced energy intake and improved dietary pattern are the mainstay of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) management. However, it remains unclear which dietary approaches are most beneficial and promote greatest adherence. We aimed to synthesise data from randomised and clinical control...

Objective This study aims to establish the effectiveness and active ingredients of UK-based social prescribing interventions targeting mental health and well-being outcomes. Design Systematic review adhering to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysies guidelines and a published protocol. Data sources Nine databases were...

Background Stroke-like episodes are a neurological emergency associated with MELAS syndrome. Recovery from stroke-like episodes occurs over a variable time period (hours to weeks) and no rigorous natural history studies of the condition have been undertaken. Despite this, L-arginine has been adopted as both acute treatment and prophylaxis. We sough...

Objective Stroke management in the context of primary mitochondrial disease is clinically challenging and the best treatment options for patients with stroke-like episodes remain uncertain. We sought to perform a systematic review on the safety and efficacy of L-arginine use in the acute and prophylactic management of stroke-like episodes in patien...

It is estimated that Head and Neck Cancer (HNC) will cause over 500,000 deaths worldwide by 2030. This is coupled with a shortage of trained healthcare professionals to manage HNC. An alternative cadre of workers - community healthcare workers (CHWs) - could be deployed to address this shortage. A systematic scoping review was conducted. Seven majo...

Our primary research questions are: (1) What is the association between whole grains (WG) intake and the prevalence of NCDs (i.e., type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, cancer, mortality) and their biomarkers? (2) Which biomarker(s) has/have the greatest association with WG intake when combining multiple biomarkers together in the same...

Background Dementia can have a profound impact on decision making. People living with dementia (PLwD) often need to make decisions about health care, and, as dementia progresses, decisions may need to be made on their behalf. Specific interventions may support this process. Review Question What interventions are effective in improving shared decis...

Background: The benefit and safety of exercise training for patients with neuromuscular disorders (NMDs) has long been a contentious topic. This is, in part, due to recognised challenges associated with rare diseases including small and heterogenous patient populations. We performed a systematic review and meta-analyses to evaluate the effectivenes...

Background: Sarcopenia is a progressive and generalised skeletal muscle disorder, and a powerful predictor of adverse health outcomes. Exercise is a widely recommended treatment but consensus about the best approach is lacking. Objective: To synthesise current systematic review evidence on the effectiveness of exercise in the treatment of sarcop...

Background Increasing physical activity (PA) levels (regular movement such as walking and activities of daily living) and reducing time spent sedentary improves cardiovascular health and reduces morbidity and mortality. Fewer than 30% of independently mobile stroke survivors undertake recommended levels of PA. Sedentary behaviour is also high in th...

Aims/hypothesis: Despite improved understanding of the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes mellitus, explanations for individual variability in disease progression and response to treatment are incomplete. The gut microbiota has been linked to the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes mellitus and may account for this variability. We conducted a syste...

Background: Physical impairments and activity restrictions cause significant morbidity after surgery for sarcoma. Yet objective assessments of key components of balance, gait and physical activity (PA), using valid and reliable outcome measures, is lacking in routine clinical practice. Purpose of Review: We therefore performed a systematic review t...

BACKGROUND: Accurate identification of individuals at high risk of dementia influences clinical care, inclusion criteria for clinical trials and development of preventative strategies. Numerous models have been developed for predicting dementia. To evaluate these models we undertook a systematic review in 2010 and updated this in 2014 due to the i...

Content, delivery and effects of physical activity (PA) interventions are heterogeneous. There is a need to identify intervention features (content and delivery) related to long-term effectiveness. Behaviour change techniques (BCTs) and modes of intervention delivery were coded in 19 randomised controlled trials included in a systematic review of P...

Background Reducing reliance on motorised transport and increasing use of more physically active modes of travel may offer an opportunity to address physical inactivity. This review evaluates the evidence for the effects of behavioural interventions to reduce car use for journeys made by adults and codes intervention development and content.Methods...

There is a need for development of more effective interventions to achieve healthy eating, enhance healthy ageing, and to reduce the risk of age-related diseases. The aim of this study was to identify the behaviour change techniques (BCTs) used in complex dietary behaviour change interventions and to explore the association between BCTs utilised an...

Retirement from work involves significant lifestyle changes and may represent an opportunity to promote healthier eating patterns in later life. However, the effectiveness of dietary interventions during this period has not been evaluated. We undertook a systematic review of dietary interventions among adults of retirement transition age (54 to 70...

Various interventions have been used for the management of patients with temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disc displacement without reduction (DDwoR), but their clinical effectiveness remains unclear. This systematic review investigated the effects of these interventions and is reported in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Revie...

The marked demographic change toward greater proportions of older people in developed nations poses significant challenges for health and social care. Several studies have demonstrated an association between social roles in later life and positive health and well-being outcomes. After retiring from work, people may lose roles that provide purpose a...

Background Retirement represents a major transitional life stage in middle to older age. Changes in physical activity typically accompany this transition, which has significant consequences for health and well-being. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the evidence for the effect of interventions to promote physical activity in adults...

Effectiveness of dietary interventions using the Mediterranean diet, or any combination of its component food groups in older adults: a systematic of review - Volume 71 Issue OCE2 - J. Lara, L. Errington, M. White, P. J. Moynihan, A. A. Adamson, J. C. Mathers

Gait variability (stride-to-stride fluctuations) is used increasingly as a marker for gait performance and future mobility status, cognitive status, and falls. This structured review explicitly examined literature that reported on the reliability, validity and responsiveness of gait variability in older adults. We searched Medline, Embase, Web of S...