News

Featured, News

SESCS PUBLICATION: Effectiveness of Psychological Interventions in Endometriosis: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

del Pino-Sedeño T, Cabrera-Maroto M, Abrante-Luis A, González-Hernández Y, Ortíz Herrera M C.

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Endometriosis is a chronic gynecological disease associated with chronic debilitating pain, poor mental health and quality of life. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of psychological interventions aimed at improving the pain, quality of life and mental health of women with endometriosis.

Methods: A systematic review (SR) of the literature with meta-analysis (MA) was carried out. MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO and CENTRAL were searched to locate Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs). The risk of bias assessment of each study was conducted using the Cochrane Collaboration’s RoB 2.0 tool.

Results: Seven RCTs were included (N = 757). The data obtained suggest that psychological interventions reduce dyspareunia [standardized mean difference (SMD): -0.54, 95% CI: −0.86, −0.22] and dyschezia [mean difference (MD): -2.90, 95% CI: −4.55, −1.26] and increase mental health levels (SMD: 0.70, 95% CI: 0. 42, 0.99); they also point to a large reduction in levels of trait anxiety (MD: -6.63, 95% CI: −8.27, −4.99) and depression (MD: -2.49, 95% CI: −3.20, −1.79), and a likely reduction in state anxiety (MD: -9.72, 95% CI: −13.11, −6.33) experienced by women with endometriosis. It was also identified that psychological interventions probably slightly reduce pelvic pain and may increase physical health. However, most of the included studies have a high overall risk of bias or have certain concerns, which limit conclusions about the certainty of the evidence.

Discussion: The available evidence indicates that psychological interventions are effective in improving the pain, quality of life and mental health variables of women with endometriosis.

You can read the full article (in English) here.

 News, Scientific visits

Scientific visit: María Rodríguez García

María Rodríguez García (For citations/databases: M. Rodriguez-Ayllon) holds a degree in Physical Activity and Sports Sciences from the University of Granada. In 2017, she began her Ph.D. in Biomedicine, where she explored the role of physical activity on mental and brain health during childhood and adolescence. In 2020, she earned her Ph.D. from the University of Granada with international distinction and was awarded the Extraordinary Doctorate Award.

In 2021, she received a two-year international scholarship from the Ramón Areces Foundation to continue her research at the Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam (Netherlands). During this period, she was constantly surrounded by researchers from various fields, which allowed her to view health from a multidisciplinary, person-centered perspective. Additionally, she published articles in high-impact journals (such as JAMA Psychiatry). She also received further funding from the Alicia Koplowitz Foundation and participated as an expert in physical activity and health in European networks focused on preventive and personalized medicine, such as ALIVE (A Life Course and Individual-based View on Lifestyle to Enhance Health) and ExACT (European Network Staff Exchange for Integrating Precision Health in Health Care Systems). Her professional journey is marked by its international and multidisciplinary nature, as well as her approach to health from a preventive, individualized perspective—key aspects for advancing toward a more active, healthy society.

In 2024, she joined the Biomedical Research Center of Málaga under a postdoctoral Sara Borrell contract within the SAMSERAP research group, which specializes in designing, developing, and evaluating digital tools for the prevention of common mental disorders such as depression and anxiety. Her goal is to increase physical activity levels in young people and protect their mental health through a multidisciplinary, individualized, inclusive, and innovative approach.

What was the objective of the visit?

  • To learn about ongoing projects at SESCS.
  • To establish new synergies among groups and strengthen existing ones.
  • To learn about co-creation methodologies and person-centered care.
  • To learn about the implementation of digital tools within the National Health System.
  • To learn about systems and tools for evaluating digital health tools, especially those that aid in shared decision-making between professionals and patients.

Why did you choose SESCS?

Because I admire its values and approach to healthcare from a preventive, multidisciplinary, and person-centered perspective. Also, for its expertise in co-creation, development of decision-making support tools, patient empowerment, and the evaluation and implementation of digital tools within the healthcare system.

How will you apply, or how might you benefit from, the activities conducted in collaboration with SESCS in your current professional work?

By incorporating the knowledge I gained into my current and future research projects. During my stay at SESCS, I understood the importance of ensuring that scientific results are useful, accepted, and transferable to our society.

Did this visit meet your expectations?

Yes, and they were even exceeded, not only due to the scientific and professional quality but also due to the human quality.

 News

Scientific Conference “Shared Decision Making (SDM): A Scientific Approach to Collaborative Decision Making”

On October 29th, the Scientific Conference “Shared Decision Making (SDM): A Scientific Approach to Collaborative Decision Making” successfully concluded. Once again, with the prominent participation of the Evaluation and Planning Service of the Canary Islands Health Service (SESCS).

The opening featured the presence of María Fernández García from the Ministry of Health, Madrid, and Elena Gonzalvo Suñer, from IACS Aragón.

A moment from the session moderated by Lilisbeth Perestelo Pérez, head of SESCS, “Methodology for the Development of Decision Support Tools in Shared Decision Making (SDM-DST).” It is essential to address this topic in daily practice.

María José Vicente Edo, Secretary of GuiaSalud, shared her insights on the application of Clinical Practice Guidelines recommendations to Shared Decision Making (SDM). An essential approach to improving practice.

Here you can see a group photo, post-event, with speakers, organizers, and attendees. What a great team!

Lilisbeth Perestelo Pérez alongside Paulina Bravo from the Arturo López Pérez Foundation, Chile, after the closing presentation on “How Shared Decision Making Becomes a Culturally Relevant Practice in the New Spanish Social Context.”

In this last image, Lilisbeth Perestelo Pérez is pictured with her fellow researchers from SESCS, Beatriz León Salas and Vanesa Ramos García, who were also present as attendees at this insightful learning event!

We thank all the participants, speakers, and organizers who made this event possible. Let’s continue working together for a more effective Shared Decision Making!

 News

RICAPPS 2024 Conference

📍 On October 25th, the RICAPPS Conference concluded in Madrid, leaving a significant mark on research into multimorbidity and chronic diseases.

The Evaluation Service of the Canary Islands Health Service (SESCS) was present, highlighting the importance of tackling methodological challenges and sharing innovative strategies to advance patient health.

Among the contributions was the panel “Multimorbidity in the RICAPPS Network,” where Lilisbeth Perestelo Pérez, Head of SESCS, and Ana Isabel González, from the Madrid Health Department, presented the EMPODERA Project, focused on empowering patients with multimorbidity to achieve better health outcomes.

📸 Here are some highlights from the conference, featuring moments with Lilisbeth Perestelo Pérez in front of the official poster, alongside Ana Isabel González, and with our SESCS researcher, Violeta Cazaña Pérez.

🗓️ For those interested in exploring more about the event’s content, the full program is still available here.

This event has been an invaluable platform for sharing advancements and innovative approaches. We eagerly look forward to the next edition!

 

 News

XL Annual Congress of the Spanish Society for Healthcare Quality 2024

From October 16 to 18, the XL Annual Congress of the Spanish Society for Healthcare Quality  took place in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. We are proud of the participation of our colleagues from the the Evaluation and Planning Service of the Canary Islands Health Service (SESCS): Lilisbeth Perestelo-Perez, who also served on the Scientific Committee, and Ana Toledo Chávarri.

Below, we share some images from the Congress, highlighting Lilisbeth Perestelo-Perez’s role as moderator in the sessions “Advances in Health Technology Assessment (HTA)” and “Best Communications Session: Patient Perspective and Participation.”

Thematic session: Advances in Health Technology Assessment (HTA)

Best Communications Session: Patient Perspective and Participation

We would also like to acknowledge the valuable participation of Ana Toledo Chávarri in the thematic debate on “Patient Participation Processes in the Evaluation of Services and Health Technologies,” where she made a fundamental contribution to the development of this field.

We extend our thanks and congratulations to both of them for their excellent representation at the XL Annual Congress of the Spanish Society for Healthcare Quality. Their work is always key to advancing health technology assessment.

This edition of the congress concludes, where we had the opportunity to exchange valuable knowledge and experiences. We look forward to seeing you at the next edition as we continue advancing together in the field of health!

 News

Summary of the Global Evidence Summit (GES) 2024

Last week, our SESCS team participated in the Global Evidence Summit (GES) 2024. This event brought together international experts to discuss and advance evidence-based research, and our researchers played a prominent role with their presentations.

We extend our gratitude to the participants, organizers, and attendees for making this event an unforgettable experience. We look forward to the next edition!

Below, you will find the titles of the posters presented by our researchers, as well as a photographic summary of their participation in this event:

Tasmania del Pino-Sedeño
1️⃣ A single-centre experience using GRADE approach for the assessment of evidence on prognostic factors: sarcopenia in advanced prostate carcinoma
2️⃣ Systematic review and meta-analysis of available interventions for the prevention and treatment of sarcopenia in patients with advanced prostate cancer
3️⃣ A single-center study using the GRADE approach to assess prognostic factors in the rare disease of adults with Burkitt lymphoma

   

Andrea Duarte Díaz
1️⃣ Effectiveness and Safety of Out-Of-Hospital Cardiac Rehabilitation: A Living Synthesis Informing an HTA Report
2️⃣ Designing Decision Aids Derived from Clinical Practice Guidelines: Insights from a Single-Center Experience in Spain and Future Perspectives

Mª del Mar Trujillo Martín
1️⃣ A comparison of the conventional search method and a technology-based tool approach for information retrieval in health technology assessment projects

Beatriz León Salas
1️⃣ A single-centre experience using GRADE approach for addressing a complex clinical question within a clinical practice guidelines

There was also time for reconnections. Here is our SESCS colleague, Mª del Mar Trujillo Martín , with Juan Antonio Blasco from AETSA, joining forces at GES2024 to continue advancing the evaluation of health technologies.

Here we see Beatriz León Salas from SESCS and Montserrat Carmona from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, posing in front of the poster presented by Montserrat, the result of the RICAPPS/RedETS collaboration at GES2024. Outstanding work!

We conclude this brief report with a group photo, reflecting the commitment and collaboration of our team at this important event. Thank you, everyone!

Other reports, Reports

Cost-utility analysis of asenapine versus olanzapine in the treatment of bipolar disorder type I

Full title: Cost-utility analysis of asenapine versus olanzapine in the treatment of bipolar disorder type I

Authors (in alphabetical order): Iván Castilla Rodríguez, Leticia Cuéllar-Pompa, Lidia García Pérez, Lilisbeth Perestelo Pérez, Pilar Pinilla Domínguez, Juan Manuel Ramos Goñi, Pedro Serrano Aguilar, Cristina Valcárcel Nazco

Contact person: Juan Manuel Ramos Goñi

Objectives

To compare the efficiency of asenapine versus olanzapine (Generic Pharmaceutical Specialty – EFG) in the treatment of manic episodes in bipolar disorder type I, from both the perspective of the National Health System (SNS) and the societal perspective.

Predictores sociodemográficos y clínicos de la adherencia a los antidepresivos en los trastornos depresivos: una revisión sistemática con un metanálisis
 Featured, News

SESCS PUBLICATION: Recommendations on self-management interventions for adults living with obesity: COMPAR-EU project

Melixa Medina Aedo, Jessica Beltrán, Claudia Valli, Carlos Canelo Aybar, Canción Yang, Marta Ballester, Jacqueline Bowman-Busato, Cristo Cristogiannis, María G. Grammatikopoulou, Oliver Groene, Monique Heijmans, Martine Hoogendorn, Sarah Louise Killeen, Katerina-Maria Kontouli, Dimitris Mavridis, Miñambres Inka, Beate Sigrid Mueller, Ena Niño de Guzmán, Janneke Noordman, Carola Orrego, Lilisbeth Perestelo-Pérez, Zuleika Saz-Parkinson, Georgios Seitidis, Rosa Suñol, Sofía Tsokani, Pablo Alonso Coello

ABSTRACT

Self-management interventions (SMIs) may improve disease management in adults living with obesity. We formulated evidence-based recommendations for SMIs within the context of the COMPAR-EU project. The multidisciplinary panel selected critical outcomes based on the COMPAR-EU core outcome set and established decision thresholds for each outcome. Recommendations were informed by systematic reviews of effects, cost-effectiveness, and a contextual assessment. To assess the certainty of the evidence and formulate the recommendations, we used the GRADE approach guidance. Overall, SMIs were deemed to have a small impact, but the absence of harmful effects and potential cumulative benefits indicated a favourable balance of effects, despite low certainty. SMIs showed variations in structure, intensity, and resource utilisation, but overall are likely to be cost-effective. Adapting SMIs to local contexts would enhance equity, acceptability, and feasibility, considering patients’ values, and availability of resources and teamwork. Consequently, the panel made conditional recommendations favouring SMIs over usual care. The rigorous and explicit recommendations demonstrated the effectiveness of SMIs for adults living with obesity. However, the gaps in the literature influenced the panel to make only conditional recommendations in favour of SMIs. Further research is needed to strengthen the evidence base and improve recommendations’ certainty and applicability.

Keywords: guideline; obesity; recommendations; self‐management interventions.

You can read the full article here.

Or, if you prefer, you can access it via PUBMED.

Predictores sociodemográficos y clínicos de la adherencia a los antidepresivos en los trastornos depresivos: una revisión sistemática con un metanálisis
 Featured, News

SESCS PUBLICATION: Effectiveness of interventions to improve adherence to antidepressant medication in patients with depressive disorders: a cluster-randomized controlled trial

Tasmania del Pino-Sedeño, Himar González-Pacheco, Beatriz González de León, Pedro Serrano Pérez, Francisco Javier Acosta Artiles, Cristina Valcárcel-Nazco, Isabel Hurtado Navarro, Cristobalina Rodríguez Álvarez, María M. Trujillo-Martín.

ABSTRACT

Aim: To assess the effectiveness of two interventions of knowledge transfer and behavior modification to improve medication adherence in patients with depressive disorders.

Methods: An open, multicenter, three-arm clinical trial with random allocation by cluster to usual care or to one of the two interventions. The intervention for psychiatrists (PsI) included an educational program based on a patient-centered care model. The intervention for patients and relatives (PtI) included a collaborative care program plus a reminder system that works using an already available medication reminder application. The primary outcome was patient adherence to antidepressant treatment assessed through the Sidorkiewicz Adherence Instrument. Secondary measures were depression severity, comorbid anxiety and health-related quality of life. Mixed regression models with repeated measures were used for data analysis.

Results: Ten psychiatrists and 150 patients diagnosed with depressive disorder from eight Community Mental Health Units in the Canary Islands (Spain) were included. Compared with usual care, no differences in long-term adherence were observed in either group PsI or PtI. The PsI group had significantly improved depression symptoms (B = −0.39; 95%CI: −0.65, −0.12; p = 0.004) during the follow-up period. The PtI group presented improved depression symptoms (B = −0.63; 95%CI: −0.96, −0.30; p < 0.001) and mental quality of life (B = 0.08; 95%CI: 0.004, 0.15; p = 0.039) during the follow-up period.

Conclusion: The assessed interventions to improve adherence in patients with depressive disorder were effective for depression symptoms and mental quality of life, even over the long term. However, no effect on antidepressant adherence was observed.

You can read the full text here.

 News

Investigo Program: Promoting Youth Research in the Canary Islands

Introducing the INVESTIGO Program: Promoting Young Research in the Canary Islands

The Canary Islands Health Research Institute Foundation (FIISC), affiliated with the Department of Health of the Government of the Canary Islands, received a grant of 397,307 euros from SEPE in the past year 2023 for the INVESTIGO program, as part of the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan – Next Generation EU.

Thanks to this grant, twelve young researchers, up to 30 years old, were hired for a period of twelve months. Their goal is to develop and implement research and innovation initiatives within the Boosting Biomedical Research in the Canary Islands project. This project aims to improve the generation of scientific knowledge, healthcare quality, and public health, as well as contribute to the sustainability and solvency of the Canary Islands Health Service and promote employability in the healthcare sector.

Today, we want to highlight the work of three young researchers who have joined the Evaluation and Planning Service of the Canary Islands Health Service.

Let’s get to know their stories and the impact of their work! 👇

Alejandra Abrante Luis

Alejandra Abrante Luis
🗨️”The enthusiasm I have for learning and engaging in various activities at SESCS motivates me to pursue self-learning and tackle the proposed tasks in the best possible way.”
🔗 [Read the full interview]


Lena Arnal Artiaga
🗨️ “Understanding how SESCS operates and the steps required to successfully carry out a research project, especially concerning the qualitative aspects, has been an interesting challenge.”
🔗 [Read the full interview]


Juan Ignacio Capafons Sosa
🗨️”Being surrounded by such special people, both in their work and outside of it, can only help propel my professional career towards places I never thought possible.”
🔗 [Read the full interview]