When the needs
are real, impact on
change is greater!

Knowledge, skills and attitudinal gaps in diagnosis and management of Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva in the United States

This study assesses healthcare provider knowledge, confidence, and management practices related to fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP). Findings highlight gaps in recognition of key clinical indications, as well as challenges in patient management, referral pathways and access to specialized care.

The results underscore the need for improved rare disease recognition, multidisciplinary collaboration, and system-level approaches to support timely diagnosis and optimal patient management.

This study was made possible with the support of IPSEN Biopharmaceuticals Inc.

Read the full article: https://doi.org/10.1093/jbmrpl/ziag076

• Environmental Scan
• Rare Diseases
• 2026

From Lab to Bedside Testing: Uncovering Gateways and Roadblocks to Syndromic Multiplex Point-of-Care Testing for Infectious Diseases in Canadian Hospitals

Hospital leaders are under growing pressure to improve efficiency of healthcare—especially during times of high demand (e.g., infectious disease outbreaks). Could faster diagnostic through multiplex point-of-care tests (POCTs) for infectious diseases in the inpatient hospital setting help?

AXDEV conducted an environmental scan with 24 health leaders interviewed across Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia to explore the facilitators and barriers to implementing multiplex point-of-care tests (POCTs) for infectious diseases in the inpatient hospital setting. The findings highlight how current diagnostic practices, local disease burden and health system integration, hospital management capacity, and anticipated operational impact would shape adoption decisions for this technology.

Link: https://doi.org/10.1177/08404704261422741

The study offers a framework to help health leaders plan the organizational changes required for sustainable implementation.

Funded by bioMérieux Canada.

• Environmental Scan
• Infectious Diseases
• 2026

Promoting real-world evidence use for antimicrobial stewardship in Latin America: evaluation of impact of a two-part educational webinar series

Background

Educational programs on the use of real-world evidence (RWE) in antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) are scarce in Latin America (LATAM).

Objectives

To develop and evaluate an online educational program supporting LATAM healthcare professionals (HCP)’s ability to use and generate RWE for effective antimicrobial agent use, aligned with AMS principles.

Methods

Two 90-min webinars were developed by subject matter experts. Changes in knowledge, skills, confidence and attitudes were measured via paired PRE-and POST-intervention survey questions. Satisfaction, intent to change and remaining barriers were surveyed POST-intervention. McNemar and Wilcoxon Signed Rank statistical tests assessed differences in paired dichotomous and ordinal data, respectively. Unpaired data underwent descriptive analysis. Open-ended responses were subject to thematic content analysis (inductive reasoning approach).

Results

The analysis sample included 741 PRE-intervention survey completers (epidemiologists, infection control specialists, chemists, pharmacists, biologists, microbiologists, bacteriologists and other physicians), with 47 completing the full POST survey (33 following webinar 1, and 14 following webinar 2). A significant increase in the percent of completers who were confident of ‘what constitutes RWE’ was found PRE (31%) to POST (73%) intervention (P < 0.001). Median self-reported skill levels changed from ‘2-basic’ to ‘3-intermediate’ for providing examples of RWE and applying RWE in the context of AMS (P < 0.05). Barriers included low perceived value of RWE by administrators and limited access to appropriate data.

Conclusions

This education improved HCPs’ confidence in knowing what constitutes RWE. Findings provide direction for future interventions aimed at enhancing access to and appropriate use of RWE to inform AMS in LATAM.

• CME/CPD
• N/A
• 2025