Top Ten Most Read in October: women’s psychological experiences of physiological child birth, corporal punishment bans and youth violence, and the relationship between political factors and population health

Five new entries made it into BMJ Open’s top 10 most read articles in October. New in at number one is a meta-synthesis by Olza and colleagues, which explored women’s psychological experiences of physiological child birth. Reviewing and consolidating qualitative research data from eight studies, the researchers identified three main themes: ‘maintaining self-confidence in early labour’, ‘withdrawing within as labour intensifies’ and ‘the uniqueness of the birth experience’. They conclude that giving birth physiologically is an empowering and transformative psychological journey, often culminating in a growth in personal strength.

In at number two is an ecological study by Elgar and colleagues, examining the association between corporal punishment bans and youth violence using data from school-based health surveys of students from 88 countries. In the 30 countries that had implemented a full nationwide ban on corporal punishment (in schools and in the home) the rate of physical fighting was substantially lower than in the countries with no ban, this was apparent in both males and females. Read more about this study in our recent blog.

At number five McRae et al, examined whether antenatal midwifery care could minimise the risk of adverse newborn outcomes for women of low socioeconomic position. This population-level, retrospective cohort study examined data from almost 58,000 pregnant women in British Columbia, Canada. The study demonstrates that antenatal midwifery care was associated with lower odds of a number of adverse birth outcomes for women of low socioeconomic position, compared with general practitioner or obstetrician models of care. 

New in at number seven is a systematic review examining the relationships between political features and population health outcomes. Barnish et al, extracted and synthesised data from 176 internationally comparative studies. The evidence generally indicates a positive association of population health with increased welfare state generosity, left-of-centre democratic political tradition and democracy, whereas globalisation may be negatively associated with population health.

Our last new entry is at number ten. Müller and colleagues conducted a systematic review of the impact of using a communication and patient hand-off tool (SBAR) on patient safety. Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria of the reviewmeasuring 26 different patient outcomes. The review found moderate evidence for improved patient safety through SBAR implementation; however, the researchers caution that there is a lack of high-quality research on this widely used communication tool.

 

Rank Author(s) Title
1 Olza et al. Womens psychological experiences of physiological childbirth: a meta-synthesis
2 Elgar et al. Corporal punishment bans and physical fighting in adolescents: an ecological study of 88 countries
3 Khaw et al. Randomised trial of coconut oil, olive oil or butter on blood lipids and other cardiovascular risk factors in healthy men and women
4 Carey et al. Are noise and air pollution related to the incidence of dementia? A cohort study in London, England
5 McRae et al. Reduced prevalence of small-for-gestational-age and preterm birth for women of low socioeconomic position: a population-based cohort study comparing antenatal midwifery and physician models of care
6 Moore et al. Evaluation of the nutrient content of yogurts: a comprehensive survey of yogurt products in the major UK supermarkets
7 Barnish et al. How much evidence is there that political factors are related to population health outcomes? An internationally comparative systematic review
8 Pereira Gray et al. Continuity of care with doctors–a matter of life and death? A systematic review of continuity of care and mortality
9 Watkins et al. Effects of health and social care spending constraints on mortality in England: a time trend analysis
10 Müller et al. Impact of the communication and patient hand-off tool SBAR on patient safety: a systematic review

 

Most read figures are based on pdf downloads and full text views. Abstract views are excluded.

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