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The purpose of this paper is to present some of the continued resistance and challenges faced by drug checking services (DCS) and review how the existing literature and the contributions to the special issue address them, with a view to making recommendations.

The existing literature and the contributions to the special issue are reviewed.

Drug checking cannot be equated with quality control. With the appropriate equipment and chemistry staff, DCS can provide quantitative analysis and reliable results. When the product does not match expectations, service users discard the tested substance of concern. To more easily compare the results of different studies and better evaluate drug checking, standardisation of measures is desirable. Uptake of drug checking, notably in festivals, is low and depends in part on the capacity of DCS. Drug checking has added value in monitoring drug markets and is complementary with chemical (forensic) analysis.

This paper interrogates in a relatively comprehensive way the continued resistance to drug checking in light of theoretical and empirical research to derive recommendations that are specific to drug checking and that are addressed to health professionals, researchers and also to policymakers.

Aarhus Kommunes Biblioteker (Teknisk Bibliotek), Ingerslevs Plads 7, Aarhus, Denmark. Representative: V. NEDERGAARD PEDERSEN (Librarian).

The healthcare system has been under pressure to provide timely and quality healthcare. The influx of patients in the emergency departments (EDs) is testing the capacity of the system to its limit. In order to increase EDs' capacity and performance, healthcare managers and practitioners are adopting process improvement (PI) approaches in their operations. Thus, this study aims to identify the main PI approaches implemented in EDs, as well as the benefits and barriers to implement these approaches.

The study is based on a rigorous systematic literature review of 115 papers. Furthermore, under the lens of thematic analysis, the authors present the descriptive and prescriptive findings.

The descriptive analysis found copious information related to PI approaches implemented in EDs, such as main PIs used in EDs, type of methodological procedures applied, as well as a set of barriers and benefits. Aiming to provide an in-depth analysis and prescriptive results, the authors carried out a thematic analysis that found underlying barriers (e.g. organisational, technical and behavioural) and benefits (e.g. for patients, the organisation and processes) of PI implementation in EDs.

The authors contribute to knowledge by providing a comprehensive review of the main PI methodologies applied in EDs, underscoring the most prominent ones. This study goes beyond descriptive studies that identify lists of barriers and benefits, and instead the authors categorize prescriptive elements that influence these barriers and benefits. Finally, this study raises discussions about the behavioural influence of patients and medical staff on the implementation of PI approaches.

This study provides insight into factors surrounding knowledge reuse through electronic knowledge repositories (EKR).

A multi-theoretical framework is proposed that views knowledge reuse from both socio-technical and expectation confirmation model perspectives. Survey data are used to test associated hypotheses derived from the literature.

Results confirm the explanatory power of this approach to predict greater knowledge reuse and greater continuance of use.

Results suggest social and technical factors modelled interdependently affect knowledge reuse and lead to greater performance, knowledge sharing and continuance of use.

Practical and managerial recommendations for enhancing enablers of knowledge reuse via EKR are offered.

This study models enablers to knowledge reuse and resulting downstream effects on organizational outcomes. It provides an original framework for studying knowledge reuse within an EKR or knowledge management system perspective.

No current psychotherapeutic intervention is designed to enhance job retention in employees with moderate–severe recurrent depression. The aim of this study is to test the feasibility of a new, interdisciplinary work-focused relational group cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) treatment programme for moderate–severe depression.

The programme was based on a theoretical integration of occupational stress, psychological, social/interpersonal and bio-medical theories. It consisted of up to four 1:1 psychotherapy sessions; 12 work-focused, full-day, weekly CBT sessions facilitated by a cognitive behavioural therapist and occupational therapist; and up to four optional 1:1 sessions with an occupational therapist. Depression severity (primary outcome) and a range of secondary outcomes were assessed before (first CBT session) and after (twelfth CBT session) therapy using validated instruments.

Eight women (26–49 years) with moderate–severe depression participated. Five were on antidepressant medication. While there was no statistically significant change in Hamilton Depression Rating Scale depression scores after therapy (n = 5; p = 0.313), Beck Depression Inventory-II depression scores significantly decreased after therapy (n = 8; –20.0 median change, p = 0.016; 6/8 responses, 7/8 minimal clinically important differences, two remissions). There were significant improvements in the secondary outcomes of overall psychological distress, coping self-efficacy, health-related quality of life and interpersonal difficulties after therapy. All clients in work at the start of therapy remained in work at the end of therapy. The intervention was safe and had 100% retention.

A major limitation was recruitment shortfall, resulting in a small sample of middle-aged women, which reduces representativeness and increases the possibility of methodological weaknesses in terms of the statistical analysis. A definitive trial would need much larger samples to improve statistical power and increase confidence in the findings. Another major limitation was that two of the authors were involved in delivering the intervention such that its generalisability is uncertain.

This novel programme was evaluated and implemented in the real world of clinical practice. It showed promising immediate positive outcomes in terms of depressive symptoms, interpersonal difficulties and job retention that warrant further exploration in a longer-term definitive study.

Empirical studies focused on enhancing job retention in employees with moderate–severe recurrent depression are lacking, so this study was highly relevant to a potentially marginalised community.

While limited by a recruitment shortfall, missing data and client heterogeneity, this study showed promising immediate positive outcomes for the new programme in terms of depressive symptoms, interpersonal difficulties and job retention that warrant exploration in a definitive study.