Heron Evidence Development Ltd. was funded for this work by Mölnlycke Health Care (UK). The authors have no other conflicts of interest to declare.

This study compared a polyurethane foam dressing with a hydrocolloid dressing for ease of application and removal, adhesion, conformability, absorbency and wear time. A randomised study was carried out, including 61 patients with stage two or three pressure sores in five centres in the UK. Dressings were applied for up to 30 days and assessments were carried out at each dressing change. The results indicated that both dressings are easy and convenient to apply; absorbency and ease of removal were significantly better with the polyurethane foam dressing than the hydrocolloid dressing; wear times were similar.

No abstract

Past research has shown that minorities arguing in favor of the majority opinion within a given population (i.e. the ‘Zeitgeist’) are more powerful sources of social influence than minorities arguing against the normative population opinion (i.e. Clark & Maass, 1988a and b; Paicheler,1977). We studied the Zeitgeist effect within the context of freely interacting groups discussing the death penalty. In direct contrast to past research, minorities arguing against the death penalty Zeitgeist were more powerful sources of social influence than those arguing in favor of it. Analyses of conversation content and thought-listing data suggest that minorities arguing against the death penalty may have been more influential because they were appealing to a superordinate shared belief system within their respective groups.

Health care technology and innovation is a rapidly growing industry with great potential. Hackathons have become an increasingly popular venue for institutions to generate ideas and enthusiasm for innovation. These events can inspire change and eventual improvement in medical systems. However, alongside developers and business-savvy entrepreneurs, the ongoing participation by health care providers and researchers is essential for the careful development, implementation and evaluation of any technological intervention.