Merlin Willcox

University of Southampton · Academic Unit of Primary Care and Population Science

Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), such as handwashing, social distancing and face mask wearing, have been widely promoted to reduce the spread of COVID-19. This study aimed to explore the relationship between self-reported use of NPIs and COVID-19 infection. We conducted an online questionnaire study recruiting members of the UK public from...

Background: Moringa oleifera Lam. (Moringaceae) leaves are commonly used for diabetes in Mali. This pilot clinical study aimed to evaluate its effect on post-prandial blood glucose in preparation for a larger trial. Methods: Diabetic patients and non-diabetic healthy volunteers (35 each) were asked to fast for 13 hours on three occasions. Blood glu...

Objective: To understand the experiences and perceptions of people implementing maternal and/or perinatal death surveillance and response in low- and middle-income countries, and the mechanisms by which this process can achieve its intended outcomes. Methods: In June 2022, we systematically searched seven databases for qualitative studies of sta...

Background Acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) are a major reason for consultations in primary care, hospital admissions, deterioration in function, and mortality. Despite the majority of exacerbations not being caused by bacteria, as many as 70% of patients who present in UK primary care with AECOPD are prescribed...

Background This study aimed to identify use of various treatments and their association with the use of antibiotics and patient reported clinical recovery in Chinese adults with acute cough. Methods An online survey recruiting people who had recently experienced cough was conducted. Their sociodemographic, clinical characteristics, treatments rece...

Background This study aimed to explore individual prevalence of respiratory symptoms and to describe the Korean population's treatment approaches, preventive health behaviors, and mental health conditions during the pandemic. Methods We analyzed responses from an online nationwide survey, conducted between February 2021 to May 2021, about people's...

Background: Acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) are a major reason for consultations in primary care, hospital admissions, deterioration in function, and mortality. 70% of patients presenting with AECOPD in UK primary care are currently in receipt of antibiotics which is part of the standard care. However, the major...

Background: Shufeng Jiedu (SFJD) capsules can be used as adjunctive treatment for patients with community-acquired pneumonia, but the effectiveness and safety of SFJD are not clear. This review aims to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of SFJD based on randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Methods: A systematic review was conducted by searching...

Introduction: Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), such as handwashing, social distancing and face mask wearing, have been widely promoted to reduce the spread of COVID-19. This study aimed to explore the relationship between self-reported use of NPIs and COVID-19 infection. Methods: We conducted an online questionnaire study recruiting members...

Background Common avoidable factors leading to maternal, perinatal and neonatal deaths include lack of birth planning (and delivery in an inappropriate place) and unmet need for contraception. Progress has been slow because routine antenatal care has focused only on women. Yet, in Uganda, many women first want the approval of their husbands. The Wo...

Background There is a paucity of literature on the effectiveness of drama or documentary films in changing knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and behavior of people towards family planning. This study aimed to compare and assess the acceptability of health promotion films based on documentary or drama, and their effect on knowledge, attitudes, and inte...

Introduction: Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in some high-risk groups including children and older adults. There is evidence that Chinese herbal medicine has an effect on RTIs. Reynoutria japonica Houtt (better known under its synonym Fallopia japonica (Houtt.) Ronse Decr.) ( F. japonica ), a common...

p>Objective: to evaluate the efficacy, clinical effectiveness, and safety of the Chinese herb Bupleuri radix for the treatment of acute uncomplicated respiratory tract infections (ARTIs). Methods: four English and four Chinese databases were searched from their inception to June 2021. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing therapeutic effe...

Background: There is a paucity of literature on the effectiveness of drama or documentary films in changing knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and behavior of people towards family planning. This study aimed to compare and assess the acceptability of health promotion films based on documentary or drama, and their effect on knowledge, attitudes, and int...

Objectives To examine the effectiveness of randomising dissemination of the Germ Defence behaviour change website via GP practices across England UK. Trial design A two-arm (1:1 ratio) cluster randomised controlled trial implementing Germ Defence via GP practices compared with usual care. Participants Setting: All Primary care GP practices in Eng...

Shufeng Jiedu capsule (SFJDC) is a Chinese herbal medicine formula for treating acute respiratory tract infections. This review aims to assess its potential safety for clinical setting. Systematic literature searches were conducted across multiple databases to: investigate the phytochemistry and safety data on SFJD and its constituents; produce a m...

Aims: To rank the effectiveness of medicinal plants for glycaemic control in Type 2 Diabetes (T2DM). Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and Cochrane Central were searched in October 2020. We included meta-analyses of randomised controlled clinical trials measuring the effectiveness of medicinal plants on HbA1c and/or Fasting Plasma Glucose (FPG) in p...

Objectives We sought to explore people’s experiences and perceptions of implementing infection control behaviours in the home during the COVID-19 pandemic, guided by an online behavioural intervention. Design Inductive qualitative study. Setting UK public during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants Thirteen people took part in telephone interview...

Background: Concerns about rheumatic fever (RF) drive antibiotic prescriptions for sore throat (ST) in endemic areas. Better guidance is needed on which patients are likely to develop RF in order to avoid misuse and overuse of antibiotics. Our aim was to identify predictive factors for RF in ST patients. Methods: Multiple databases were searched...

Background : We aimed to investigate use of infectious control behaviours, preventative and therapeutic interventions, and outcomes among respondents to an online survey during the COVID-19 pandemic in China. Methods : The survey was designed by an international team, translated and adapted to simplified Chinese, with 132 kinds of traditional Chin...

Background The current GP workforce is insufficient to manage rising demand in patient care within the out-of-hours (OOH) primary care services. To meet this challenge, non-medical practitioners (NMPs) are employed to fulfil tasks traditionally carried out by GPs. It is important to learn from experiences of task-shifting in this setting to inform...

Background Digital interventions have potential to efficiently support improved hygiene practices to reduce transmission of COVID-19. Objective To evaluate the evidence for digital interventions to improve hygiene practices within the community. Methods We reviewed articles published between 01 January 2000 and 26 May 2019 that presented a contro...

The utility of the Livzon LFIA in COVID-19

Background Although rarely indicated, antibiotics are commonly used for acute diarrhoea in China. We conducted a randomised, double blind exploratory clinical trial of loperamide, berberine and turmeric for treatment of acute diarrhoea. Methods Adults with acute uncomplicated diarrhoea aged 18 to 70 were randomised to 4 groups: (A) loperamide; (B)...

Background: Although health workers have been trained to provide post-partum family planning (PPFP), uptake remains low in Uganda. An important reason is that women want the agreement of their partner, who is often absent at the time of delivery. In order to address this, we aimed to understand the views of couples and explore barriers and facilit...

The discovery of compounds and proteins from plants has greatly contributed to modern medicine. Vernonia amygdalina Del. (Compositae) is used by humans and primates for a variety of conditions including parasitic infection. This paper describes the serendipitous discovery that V. amygdalina extract was able to bind to, and functionally inhibit, act...

Objectives This study aimed to better understand reasons why children in South Africa die at home, including caregivers’ care-seeking experiences, decision-making, choice of treatment provider and barriers to accessing care during a child’s final illness. Design This qualitative study included semi-structured in-depth interviews and focus group di...

Background: A rigorous approach is needed to inform rapid adaptation and optimisation of behavioural interventions in evolving public health contexts, such as the Covid-19 pandemic. This helps ensure that interventions are relevant, persuasive and feasible while remaining evidence-based. This paper provides a set of iterative methods to rapidly ada...

Background Civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems do not produce comprehensive data on maternal and child deaths in most low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), with most births and deaths which occur outside the formal health system going unreported. Community-based death reporting, investigation and review processes are being us...

Objective Identify predictors of clinical deterioration in a virtual hospital (VH) setting for COVID-19. Design Real-world prospective observational study. Setting VH remote assessment service in West Hertfordshire NHS Trust, UK. Participants Patients with suspected COVID-19 illness enrolled directly from the community (postaccident and emergenc...

Background Pelargonium sidoides DC (Geraniaceae) root extract, EPs®7630 or “Kaloba®”, is a widely used herbal remedy for respiratory infections, with some evidence of effectiveness for acute bronchitis. However, it is not yet widely recommended by medical professionals in the UK. There is a need to undertake appropriately designed randomised trials...

Background Doctors can be victim-survivors of domestic abuse (DA), but how this impacts their work and wellbeing, and whether they face barriers to seeking help is not well understood. Aim To understand single doctor mothers’ lived experience of DA, barriers to seeking help, and impact on their work. Design and setting Individual qualitative inte...

Background Antibiotics are widely prescribed for acute bronchitis in the UK. Herbal medicine could be used instead to provide symptom relief. Aim To explore the views of patients and health professionals on using herbal medicine for acute bronchitis instead of antibiotics. Design and Setting This was a nested qualitative study, conducted alongsi...

Objectives To assess the real-world diagnostic accuracy of the Livzon point-of-care rapid test for antibodies to SARS-COV-2 Design Prospective cohort study Setting District general hospital in England Participants 173 Patients and 224 hospital staff with a history of COVID-19 symptoms, and who underwent PCR and/or reference antibody testing for...

Background: Moringa oleifera Lam. (Moringaceae) leaves are commonly used for diabetes in Mali. This pilot clinical study aimed to evaluate its effect on post-prandial blood glucose in preparation for a larger trial. Methods: Diabetic patients and non-diabetic healthy volunteers (35 each) were asked to fast for 13 hours on three occasions. Blood g...

Background Ill health associated with Household Air Pollution (HAP) is increasingly recognised as a public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa. To date, attempts to reduce HAP have focussed on smoke from cooking fires and have ignored traditional cultural practices which generate Purposely Produced Smoke (PPS). This study aimed to investigate pre...

Introduction Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been fully committed to treat coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in China. An increasing number of clinical trials have been registered to evaluate the effects of TCM for COVID-19. The aim of this study was to review the existing TCM clinical trial registrations and identify potentially promising...

Background: Although rarely indicated, antibiotics are commonly used for acute diarrhoea in China. We conducted a randomized, double blind exploratory clinical trial of loperamide, berberine and turmeric for treatment of acute diarrhoea. Methods: Adults with acute uncomplicated diarrhoea were randomized to 4 groups: (A) loperamide; (B) loperamide a...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2019/5365608.].

Background Digital interventions have potential to efficiently support improved hygiene practices to reduce transmission of COVID-19. Objective To evaluate the evidence for digital interventions to improve hygiene practices within the community. Methods We reviewed articles published between 01 January 2000 and 26 May 2019 that presented a controll...

Introduction Most Complementary & Alternative Medicine (CAM) interventions have not been tested in clinical trials and systematic reviews (SRs). It is therefore important to collect knowledge from experienced practitioners to identify (lower level) evidence to support their use and to prioritize interventions for future research. This study aimed t...

The discovery of compounds and proteins from plants has greatly contributed to modern medicine, especially in malaria where both quinine and artemisinin have been the cornerstone of therapeutics. Here we describe the first known plant-derived cytokine binding agent. Chlorophyll a-b binding protein AB96, present to varying levels in the leaves of al...

Insomnia is a symptom of physical or mental disorder and refers to decreased sleep time and potentially low quality. There is evidence showing that acupuncture could enhance management of insomnia, and Sanyinjiao (SP 6) is one of the promising acupoints. This review aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of stimulating single acupoint SP 6 in managing...

BACKGROUND To control the COVID-19 pandemic, people should adopt protective behaviours at home (self-isolation, social distancing, putting shopping/packages aside, wearing face-covering, cleaning and disinfecting, handwashing). There is currently limited support to help individuals conduct these behaviours. OBJECTIVE We aimed to report current hou...

Background: To control the COVID-19 pandemic, people should adopt protective behaviors at home (self-isolation, social distancing, putting shopping/packages aside, wearing face-covering, cleaning and disinfecting, handwashing). There is currently limited support to help individuals conduct these behaviors. Objective: We aimed to report current h...

Background: Germ Defence (https://germdefence.org/) is a freely available website providing behavioural advice for infection control within households, using behaviour change techniques. This observational study reports current infection control behaviours in the home in UK and international users of the website, and examine how they might be impro...

Background: Since the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in January 2020, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been fully and deeply involved in the treatment of COVID-19 in China. An increasing number of clinical trials has been registered to evaluate the effects of TCM in the prevention and therapeutic management of COVID-19. Objec...

Background: Chinese herbal medicine is widely used in combination with usual care for acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) in China. Chinese patent medicine Shufeng Jiedu (SFJD) capsules is widely used for respiratory infectious diseases. This review aims to evaluate effectiveness and safety of SFJD for AECOPD. Me...

Background The World Health Organization characterized the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a pandemic on March 11th. Many clinical trials on COVID-19 have been registered, and we aim to review the study characteristics and provide guidance for future trials to avoid duplicated effort. Methods Studies on COVID-19 registered before March 3rd,...

Background The World Health Organization characterized the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as a pandemic on March 11. Many clinical trials on COVID-19 have been registered, and we aim to review the characteristics of the trials and provide guidance for future trials to avoid duplicated effort. Methods All the studies on COVID-19 register...

Background: The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include reducing the global maternal mortality rate to less than 70 per 100,000 live births and ending preventable deaths of newborns and children under five years of age, in every country, by 2030. Maternal and perinatal death audit and review is widely recommended as an interve...

Background Unnecessary antibiotic prescribing and use are most common for uncomplicated acute respiratory infections (ARIs). Some Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) treatments have evidence of effectiveness for symptom relief and could be used instead of antibiotics. Aim To understand views of the general public and health professionals...

Background Consultations for self-limiting infections in children are increasing. It has been proposed that digital technology could be used to enable parents’ decision making in terms of self-care and treatment seeking. Aim To evaluate the evidence that digital interventions facilitate parents deciding whether to self-care or seek treatment for a...

Background: Half of under-5 deaths in South Africa occur at home, however the reasons remain poorly described and data on the care pathways during fatal childhood illness is limited. This study aimed to better describe care-seeking behavior in fatal childhood illness and to assess barriers to healthcare and modifiable factors that contribute to un...

Background: consultations for self-limiting infections in children are increasing. Digital technology has been proposed to enable parents’ decision making for self-care and treatment-seeking. Aim: to evaluate the evidence for digital interventions in enabling parents’ decisions on self-care and treatment-seeking for acute illnesses in children....

Background: Acute lower respiratory tract infection is a common acute infection managed in primary care. The current dominant management strategy in the UK is antibiotics, despite widespread publicity regarding antimicrobial resistance and evidence that the small benefits of antibiotics do not outweigh the harms. There is a need to address the ris...

Background Half of all under-5 deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa. Reducing child mortality requires understanding of the modifiable factors that contribute to death. Social autopsies collect information about place of death, care-seeking and care-provision, but this has not been pooled to learn wider lessons. We therefore undertook a systematic re...