BackgroundMobile phones are increasingly being used to deliver health information and health services globally. Mobile health (mHealth) interventions may be well-suited for minority groups with greater barriers to accessing traditional health services. However, little has been written about the process of culturally adapting interventions for multiple ethnic and cultural minorities within a population.ObjectiveThis study describes the process of developing a culturally tailored text message-based maternal health program (TextMATCH: Text for MATernal and Child Health) for Māori, Pacific, Asian, and South Asian families living in New Zealand. We report on engagement and acceptability of the TextMATCH program.MethodsProgram data was examined to describe engagement with the program 18 months after implementation. Telephone interviews were conducted with a sample of participants who consented to provide feedback on acceptability and relevance of the program.ResultsA total of 1404 participants enrolled in TextMATCH over 18 months, with 18.52% (260) actively opting out at some point (after 0 to 17 months of messages). It was found that 356 (70.9%) of the 502 eligible participants actively switched from the initial pregnancy program to the baby program after delivery. Phone interviews were conducted with 29 participants including 6 who had withdrawn (duration of program from 3 to 16 months). Only 2 participants reported that the program was not useful, with the remainder rating the usefulness of messages positively (average 4.24 out of 5). All participants stated that the messages were relevant, culturally appropriate, and easy to understand. Most were happy with the specific advice and the language options provided.ConclusionsWe have demonstrated the importance of an intensive approach to the development of a culturally adapted and tailored mHealth program for multiple different cultural minority groups within our population.

Objective Compare 30‐day mortality among patients receiving the specific reversal agent andexanet alfa versus replacement prothrombin complex concentrate (PCC) in the management of direct‐acting oral anticoagulant (DOAC)–related bleeds. Methods Two patient‐level datasets were used: ANNEXA‐4, a prospective, single‐arm trial of patients taking apixaban or rivaroxaban who received andexanet alfa and ORANGE, a prospective, observational study of anticoagulated patients in UK hospitals, some of whom received PCC. Patients were propensity score matched based on demographic and clinical characteristics. Subgroup analyses were performed by bleed type (intracranial hemorrhage [ICH], gastrointestinal [GI], other). Relative risk (RR) of all‐cause 30‐day mortality was calculated. Results 322 ANNEXA‐4 patients treated with andexanet alfa (mean age = 77.7 years; 64.9% ICH) were matched with 88 ORANGE patients treated with PCC (mean age = 74.9 years, 67.1% ICH). Adjusted 30‐day mortality for patients treated with andexanet alfa (14.6%) was lower than patients treated with PCC (34.1%; RR, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.29–0.63). In the ICH subgroup, patients treated with andexanet alfa had lower mortality (15.3%) than patients treated with PCC (48.9%; RR, 0.31; 95% CI, 0.20–0.48). Mortality risk was lowest for patients in the GI subgroup but did not differ significantly by treatment (12.2% for andexanet alfa vs 25.0% for PCC; RR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.21–1.16). Conclusions In this propensity score–matched comparison across 2 independent datasets, adjusted 30‐day mortality rates were lower for patients treated with andexanet alfa than in matched patients receiving PCC. This indirect comparison was limited in that it could not account for several highly predictive variables including GCS score, hematoma volume, and expected survival. Further research is warranted to confirm the mortality differences between reversal/replacement agents for DOAC‐related bleeding.

: COVID-19 caused significant morbidity and mortality amongst ethnic minority groups, but vaccine uptake remained lower than non-minoritised groups. Interventions to increase vaccine uptake among ethnic minority communities are crucial. This systematic review synthesises and evaluates behaviour change techniques (BCTs) in interventions to increase vaccination uptake in ethnic minority populations. We searched five databases and grey literature sources. From 7637 records identified, 23 studies were included in the review. Interventions were categorised using the Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW) and Behaviour Change Taxonomy v1. Vaccines included influenza, pertussis, tetanus, diphtheria, meningitis and hepatitis. Interventions were primarily delivered in health centres/clinics and community settings. Six BCW intervention functions and policy categories and 26 BCTs were identified. The main intervention functions used were education, persuasion and enablement. Overall, effective interventions had multi-components and were tailored to specific populations. No strong evidence was observed to recommend specific interventions, but raising awareness and involvement of community organisations was associated with positive effects. Several strategies are used to increase vaccine uptake among ethnic minority communities; however, these do not address all issues related to low vaccine acceptance. There is a strong need for an increased understanding of addressing vaccine hesitancy among ethnic minority groups.

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Objective: The aim of this study was to identify the impact of a series of palliative care educational packages on pharmacists’ practice for improved service delivery. We asked, what are the educator and learner experiences of a short course comprised of workshops and a series of palliative care learning packages, and how have learners changed their practice as a result of the course? Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted and transcribed verbatim. Interpretive thematic analysis was undertaken. Results: Eight people participated in this study; five pharmacists who had completed learning packages in palliative care and three educators who facilitated teaching sessions for the learning packages. The teaching and assessment approaches were applied and transferable to the clinical setting. The teaching strategies stimulated engagement, enabling participants to share their ideas and personal experiences. Participants’ understanding of palliative care was improved and they developed confidence to engage in deeper conversations with patients and/or their families and carers. Although the completion of assessment for the learning packages enabled credit for continuing professional development, their impact on the long-term practice of pharmacists was not established. Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest that interactive teaching methods assisted the interviewed pharmacists to further develop their understanding of palliative care, and communication skills for palliative care patients and/or their families/carers. Pharmacists were better equipped and felt more comfortable about having these potentially difficult conversations. We recommend educators to place more emphasis on reflective activities within learning packages to encourage learners to develop more meaning from their experiences.