Approximately, 1 out of 4 women will experience an early miscarriage in their reproductive life. Despite the burden of early miscarriage, there is a lack of information regarding trends in incidence rates of hospitalisations and type of management of early miscarriage, but also about the morbidities associated to hospitalisations of early miscarriage. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to explore national trends in incidence rates of hospital admissions for early miscarriage in the Republic of Ireland from January of 2005 to December of 2016, and to estimate morbidity associated with blood transfusion and length of stay over 2 days. This is a retrospective population-based study using the Hospital In-Patient Enquiry (HIPE). The HIPE is a computer-based system designed to collect demographic, clinical and administrative data on discharges and deaths in the Republic of Ireland. However data from the emergency department and outpatient settings are not available. Over this period of time there were approximately 50,000 hospitalisations for early miscarriage. Early miscarriage hospitalisations became 19% less common during 2005–2016 but the risk of blood transfusion doubled. The risk of an extended length of stay also increased over the same time period. Women who underwent medical management did not have as many blood transfusions compare to those who had surgical management. However, women who underwent medical treatment had a higher risk of a prolonged stay at the hospital. More research is needed to explore the patterns of care and morbidities associated to hospitalisation in order to improve protocols of management and the care provided for women who miscarry.

It is widely recognised that effective doctor-patient communication plays a vital role in patient care. Doctors must aim to develop rapport and build a trusting relationship with the patient. With a focus on explanation and patient-inclusive planning as per the Calgary Cambridge Guide to the Medical Interview, doctors can ensure optimal communication with their patients. Effective communication leads to greater adherence with treatment, greater satisfaction with care and it has also been shown to improve health outcomes. We can see this reflected in gynaecological malignancy where effective physician communication skills have been shown to result in improved patient outcomes following a diagnosis

Addiction is a context specific but common and devastating condition. Though several evidence-based treatments are available, many of them remain under-utilized, among others due to the lack of adequate training in addiction medicine (AM). AM Training needs may differ across countries because of difference in discipline and level of prior AM training or contextual factors like epidemiology and availability of treatment. For appropriate testing of training needs, reliability and validity are key issues. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the AM-TNA Scale: an instrument specifically designed to develop the competence-based curriculum of the Indonesian AM course. In a cross-sectional study in Indonesia, Ireland, Lithuania and the Netherlands the AM-TNA was distributed among a convenience sample of health professionals working in addiction care in The Netherlands, Lithuania, Indonesia and General Practitioners in-training in Ireland. 428 respondents completed the AM-TNA scale. To assess the factor structure, we used explorative factor analysis. Reliability was tested using Cronbach's Alpha, ANOVA determined the discriminative validity. Validity: factor analysis revealed a two-factor structure: One on providing direct patient treatment and care (Factor 1: clinical) and one factor on facilitating/supporting direct patient treatment and care (Factor 2: non-clinical) AM competencies and a cumulative 76% explained variance. Reliability: Factor 1 α = 0.983 and Factor 2: α = 0.956, while overall reliability was (α = 0.986). The AM-TNA was able to differentiate training needs across groups of AM professionals on all 30 addiction medicine competencies (P = .001). In our study the AM-TNA scale had a strong two-factor structure and proofed to be a reliable and valid instrument. The next step should be the testing external validity, strengthening discriminant validity and assessing the re-test effect and measuring changes over time.

To investigate the association between caesarean section (CS) birth and body fat percentage (BF%), body mass index (BMI) and being overweight or obese in early childhood. Prospective longitudinal cohort study. Babies After Screening for Pregnancy Endpoints: Evaluating the Longitudinal Impact on Neurological and Nutritional Endpoints cohort. Infants born to mothers recruited from the Screening for Pregnancy Endpoints study, Cork University Maternity Hospital between November 2007 and February 2011.

Anti-microbial resistance (AMR) is a global threat to public health and antibiotics are often unnecessarily prescribed for acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) in general practice. We aimed to investigate why general practitioners (GPs) continue to prescribe antibiotics for ARTIs despite increasing knowledge of their poor efficacy and worsening antimicrobial resistance. We used an explorative qualitative study design. Thirteen GPs were recruited through purposive sampling to represent urban and rural settings and years of experience. They were based in general practices within the Mid-West of Ireland. GPs took part in semi-structured interviews that were digitally audio recorded and transcribed. Three main themes and three subthemes were identified. Themes include (1) non-comprehensive guidelines; how guideline adherence can be difficult, (2) GPs under pressure; pressures to prescribe from patients and perceived patient expectations and (3) Unnecessary prescribing; how to address it and the potential of public interventions to reduce it. GPs acknowledge their failure to implement guidelines because they feel they are less usable in clinical situations. GPs felt pressurised to prescribe, especially for fee-paying patients and in out of hours settings (OOH), suggesting the need for interventions that target the public's perceptions of antibiotics. GPs behaviours surrounding prescribing antibiotics need to change in order to reduce AMR and change patients' expectations.