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Most UK ambulance services undertake remote assessments of 999 calls with nurses and paramedics to manage demand and reduce inappropriate hospital admissions. However, little is known about the differences in the types of cases managed by the two professions comparatively, their clinical outcomes, and the quality and safety they offer.

The retrospective descriptive study analysed data collected at Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust (WAST) from prioritisation, triage, and audit tools between the 17th May 2022 to 8th November 2022. A total of 21,076 cases and 728 audits were included for review.

There was little difference in the type and frequency of the presenting complaints assessed, and clinical outcomes reached in percentage terms. Whilst paramedics had more highly compliant call audits and fewer non-compliant call audits, there was, again, little difference in percentage terms between the two, indicating positive levels of safety across the two professional groups.

There continues to be a substantial difference between UK paramedics to those in the Middle East, the United States, and some African nations, which may limit the applicability of findings. This study also looked at a six-month window from only one UK service using one type of prioritisation and triage tool. Future research could explore longer periods from multiple services using various tools. It is important to note that this study did not link outcome data with primary, secondary or tertiary care settings. Thus, it is impossible to determine if the level of care aligned closely with the final diagnosis.

The practical implications of this work include better workforce planning for agencies who have perhaps only employed one type of clinician or a reaffirmation to those who have employed both. The authors suggest that the training and education of both sets of clinicians could remain general in nature, with no overt requirement for specificity based on professional registration alone. Commissioners and stakeholders in the wider health economy should consider ensuring equitable access to alternative pathways for patients assessed by both nurses and paramedics.

It has been posited that UK nurses and paramedics are, by virtue of their consistency in education, skill set, licensure, and general experience, both able to achieve safe and effective remote outcomes in 999 settings. This study provides evidence to support that hypothesis. These results say more about the two professions' ability to work together rather than just the professions themselves. The multidisciplinary team approach is well-established in acute care settings, and is broadly considered to improve communication, coordination decision making, adherence to up-to-date treatment recommendations, and be positive for shared learning and development for younger colleagues.

Most UK services use a mix of nurses and paramedics; however, little is known about the differences in the types of cases managed by the two professions comparatively, their clinical outcomes, and the quality and safety they each offer. The most recent studies of this nature were published in 2003 and 2004 and looked only at low-acuity 999 calls when remote assessment was not even an established role for UK paramedics. This study updates the literature, identifies areas for future research, and applies to the international setting for the most part.

This study aimed to develop and test the impact of a social media-based intervention for improving the business skills and income of young smallholder farmers.

First, the researchers used an exploratory approach to develop a social media-based intervention for acquiring business skills and improving income. Second, the researchers tested the effectiveness of the developed programme on a sample of 506 young smallholder farmers. Finally, the intervention and data collection took place over five years (2017–2021).

The result showed steady improvements in business skills and income from 2017 to 2021 for the treatment group, unlike the control group. Also, improvements in business skills led to a reduction in expenses and an increase in profit from 2017 to 2021. A further evaluation of the result showed that an addition of 5.1 mean scores in business skills led to the addition of $91 income between 2017 and 2018; for 2018–2019, 2.6 improvements in business skills increased income by $123. For 2019–2020, a 2.7 improvement increased income by $209, whilst for 2020–2021, a 1.6 improvement increased income by $320.

The results of this study could help explore ways of using social media to change behaviour aimed at improving income amongst young smallholder farmers.

Notwithstanding their potential benefits especially for individuals with low health literacy, users are still somewhat skeptical about the reliability of healthcare chatbots. The present study aims to address this challenge by investigating strategies to enhance users’ cognitive and emotional trust in healthcare chatbots. Particularly, this study aims to understand the effects of chatbot design cues in increasing trust and future chatbot use intention for low health literacy users.

We conducted two experimental studies with a final sample of 327 (Study 1) and 241 (Study 2). Three different chatbots were developed (Chatbot design: Bot vs Male-doctor vs Female-doctor). Participants were asked to have a medical consultation with the chatbot. Participants self-reported their health literacy scores. The PROCESS model 7 was used to analyze the hypotheses.

The results showed that the female-doctor cues elicited greater cognitive and emotional trust, whereas the male-doctor cues only led to greater cognitive trust (vs bot-like cues). Importantly, this study found that users’ health literacy is a significant moderating factor in shaping cognitive and emotional trust. The results indicated that both the female and male-doctor cues’ positive effects on cognitive trust were significant for those with lower levels of health literacy. Furthermore, the positive effect of the female-doctor cues on emotional trust was also significant only for those whose health literacy level was low. The increased cognitive and emotional trust led to greater future intention to use the chatbot, confirming significant moderated mediation effects.

Despite the strong economic and educational benefits of healthcare chatbots for low health literacy users, studies examining how healthcare chatbot design cues affect low health literate users surprisingly remained scarce. The results of this study suggest that healthcare chatbots can be a promising technological intervention to narrow the health literacy gap when aligned with appropriate design cues.

The history of online trading began in the 1960s with the emergence of electronic communication networks, which allowed the electronic execution of trades outside traditional exchanges. The internet revolution led to the development of online brokerage platforms such as E*Trade and Schwab, enabling non-institutional investors to participate in the digital trading revolution. These platforms have evolved to serve the retail investor market, eventually adapting to mobile-first and commission-free models, significantly lowering the barriers to entry for financial markets. Platforms like Robinhood and other fintech firms have rapidly gained market share by offering services and products previously unavailable, such as commission-free trades, mobile trading, and novel products such as fractional shares and cryptocurrency investing. This chapter provides an overview of the history of online trading. It also introduces several new developments in fintech and the online trading industry and discusses various controversies and future implications of new technologies.

Each company, large or small, starts with a dream and an idea for a new product or service. Companies can succeed or fail for a wide variety of reasons, including inexperienced managers, failure to build or sell the desired product, launching products into highly competitive environments, and a lack of capital. This chapter reviews the traditional methods of capital formation, including funding by angel investors and venture capital firms. These funding methods are only available to relatively large firms, leaving millions of small firms without reliable debt and equity funding sources to scale their business. The growth of the internet, blockchain technology, and fintech firms has introduced innovative funding methods, such as crowdfunding and Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). While these structures have been successful in raising capital for smaller firms, changes in the regulatory environment, such as the JOBS Act, are needed for these new forms of capital formation to reach their full potential.

Financial technology (fintech) refers to using new technology to improve and automate the delivery and use of financial services. This chapter provides a brief introduction to fintech. It also includes the book's purpose, distinguishing features, intended audience, and structure. A synopsis of Chapters 2 through 23 is offered. The chapter concludes that fintech is constantly evolving and is reshaping finance. Fintechs offer a new paradigm of growth.

In recent years, investing with robo-advisors has gained momentum and is seen as a simplifying approach for individual investors to participate in financial markets. This chapter contributes to a better understanding of the concept of a robo-advisory and its implications for private investors by discussing its past, present, and future. It explores key issues, like cost-efficiency, historical performance, and automation levels, based on research and industry insights. Moreover, this chapter examines a robo-advisor's benefits, limitations, and challenges, like behavioral biases, regulation, and risk profiling. Finally, the importance of the ongoing megatrends of AI and green investing is examined concerning a robo-advisory.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of media representation on the mental health of Australians of African descent during the COVID-19 pandemic. By analysing the media coverage of COVID-19 restriction breaches, particularly focusing on individuals from African backgrounds, the study aims to shed light on how racially charged narratives can contribute to emotional distress and exacerbate feelings of alienation within these communities. The findings highlight the detrimental effects of such portrayals, emphasising the need for more responsible and inclusive media reporting to safeguard the mental well-being of culturally and linguistically diverse populations.

The study employed media content analysis to explore representations of Australians of African origin versus the broader Anglo–Australian population during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on racial identity’s impact on news coverage of COVID-19 restriction breaches. Researchers classified and distilled extensive textual content, using a diverse sample from various ethnic-racial backgrounds, with an emphasis on African Australians within the CALD community. Data analysis was conducted using NVivo (version 12) software, following an inductive approach.

The findings underscore the consistent portrayal of people from African communities as outsiders and the racial profiling they experience in media coverage of significant issues like COVID-19.

There is very limited research that examines the impact of media coverage on African migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic.