ObjectivesTo examine coroners’ Prevention of Future Deaths (PFDs) reports to identify deaths involving SARS-CoV-2 that coroners deemed preventable.DesignConsecutive case series.SettingEngland and Wales.ParticipantsPatients reported in 510 PFDs dated between 01 January 2020 and 28 June 2021, collected from the UK’s Courts and Tribunals Judiciary website using web scraping to create an openly available database: https://preventabledeathstrackernet/.Main outcome measuresConcerns reported by coroners.ResultsSARS-CoV-2 was involved in 23 deaths reported by coroners in PFDs. Twelve deaths were indirectly related to the COVID-19 pandemic, defined as those that were not medically caused by SARS-CoV-2, but were associated with mitigation measures. In 11 cases, the coroner explicitly reported that COVID-19 had directly caused death. There was geographical variation in the reporting of PFDs; most (39%) were written by coroners in the North West of England. The coroners raised 56 concerns, problems in communication being the most common (30%), followed by failure to follow protocols (23%). Organisations in the National Health Service were sent the most PFDs (51%), followed by the government (26%), but responses to PFDs by these organisations were poor.ConclusionsPFDs contain a rich source of information on preventable deaths that has previously been difficult to examine systematically. Our openly available tool (https://preventabledeathstracker.net/) streamlines this process and has identified many concerns raised by coroners that should be addressed during the government’s inquiry into the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, so that mistakes made are less likely to be repeated.Study protocol preregistrationhttps://osf.io/bfypc/.
As of June 2021, 12% of global deaths attributed to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have occurred in England and Wales. Examining Coroners Prevention of Future Deaths reports (PFDs) between March 2020 and 28 June 2021 in England and Wales, we found 23 cases (4.5% of PFDs) involving SARS-CoV-2, with 52% (n=12) of deaths indirectly- and 48% directly-related. There was geographical variation with most (39%) PFDs written by coroners in the North-West of England. Fifty-six concerns were raised by coroners with problems in communication being the most (30%) repeated concern, followed by a failure to follow protocols (23%). Organisations in the National Health Services (NHS) received the most PFDs (51%), followed by the government (26%). Policymakers should consider an intermediate step prior to PFDs to ensure lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic are rapidly identified. In the meantime, PFDs should be used to prevent future deaths.
Endometriosis affects 10% of women worldwide and is one of the most common causes of chronic pelvic pain and infertility. However, causal mechanisms of this disease remain unknown due to its heterogeneous presentation. In order to successfully study its phenotypic variation, large sample sizes are needed. Pooling of data across sites is not always feasible given the large variation in the complexity and quality of the data collected. The World Endometriosis Research Foundation (WERF) Endometriosis Phenome and Biobanking Harmonization Project (EPHect) have developed an endometriosis participant questionnaire (EPQ) to harmonize non-surgical clinical participant characteristic data relevant to endometriosis research, allowing for large-scale collaborations in English-speaking populations. Although the WERF EPHect EPQs have been translated into different languages, no study has examined the cross-cultural translation and adaptation for content and face validity. In order to investigate this, we followed the standard guidelines for cross-cultural adaptation and translation of the minimum version of the EPQ (EPQ-M) using 40 patients who underwent laparoscopic surgery in Turkey and 40 women in Northern Cyprus, aged between 18 and 55. We assessed the consistency by using cognitive testing and found the EPHect EPQ-M to be comprehensive, informative, and feasible in these two Turkish-speaking populations. The translated and adapted questionnaire was found to be epidemiologically robust, taking around 30–60 min to complete; furthermore, participants reported a similar understanding of the questions, showing that common perspectives were explored. Results from the cognitive testing process led to minor additions to some items such as further descriptive and/or visuals in order to clarify medical terminology. This paper illustrates the first successful cross-cultural translation and adaptation of the EPHect EPQ-M and should act as a tool to allow for further studies that wish to use this questionnaire in different languages. Standardized tools like this should be adopted by researchers worldwide to facilitate collaboration and aid in the design and conduction of global studies to ultimately help those affected by endometriosis and its associated symptoms.
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