Purpose: To establish literature regarding healthcare professionals’ perceptions of pulmonary rehabilitation as a management strategy for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Method: A critical interpretive synthesis was conducted; CINAHL, PsychINFO and MEDLINE were searched between 1988 and August 2019, using MeSH headings and key terms. Reference lists of accepted papers were also searched. Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods studies, written in English, including healthcare professionals’ perceptions of pulmonary rehabilitation were included. The search yielded 133 papers which were assessed for eligibility; 20 met the inclusion criteria. Results: Two themes were identified, the first explored “Barriers to Pulmonary Rehabilitation” from a healthcare professional’s perspective. This incorporated a lack of knowledge, a lack of resources, practical barriers, patient barriers, and healthcare professional’s being unsure it is their role to refer. The second entitled “General Perceptions of Pulmonary Rehabilitation”, highlighted ways in which the programme could be improved, the perceived positives and negatives, facilitators to referral, and perceptions of patients referred. Conclusions: This is the first systematic review to encompass the perceptions of healthcare professionals with ability to refer and those who deliver pulmonary rehabilitation. Referral was low, highlighting potential influencing factors such as a lack of programme knowledge, pulmonary rehabilitation beliefs, and communication skills. Given inclusion of studies from multiple geographical locations, the findings provide implications for any healthcare system that develops and delivers pulmonary rehabilitation. With respect of a lack of referrals to the programme, further research should highlight healthcare professionals’ perceptions of the referral process, and the views of those in Secondary Care.

Objective: To identify healthcare professionals’ perceptions of pulmonary rehabilitation as a management strategy for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Design: A qualitative interview study which adopted an interpretive phenomenological approach. Methods: Twenty-seven healthcare professionals were recruited from general practices in the North West of England and two hospital trusts, consisting of: general practitioners, practice nurses, and doctors and nurses working on general medical wards. Audio recorded semi-structured interviews investigated healthcare professionals’ perceptions and knowledge of pulmonary rehabilitation; interpretive phenomenological analysis was conducted on the transcribed interviews. Results: Three themes were identified: COPD Illness Perceptions , Pulmonary Rehabilitation Beliefs , and Organisational and Referral Pathway Perceptions . Commonalities and disparities were identified between primary and secondary care and amongst the different professional groups. Healthcare professionals held negative COPD illness perceptions including stigmatising beliefs in relation to the disease. These beliefs impacted their referral practice. Beliefs about pulmonary rehabilitation included views about patient suitability for the pulmonary rehabilitation programme. A lack of knowledge of pulmonary rehabilitation and the referral process was evident. Surprisingly, many working on general medical wards had not heard of pulmonary rehabilitation and none in their current role had referred to the programme. Organisational and referral pathway perceptions revealed barriers and facilitators to referral. Conclusion: Referral to pulmonary rehabilitation programmes is influenced by healthcare professionals’ perceptions and knowledge of pulmonary rehabilitation, referral pathways and how COPD affects patients. Together health professional perceptions could act as a predictor of referral practice and inform strategies for increasing referral rates.

Objective: To synthesise quantitative evidence on the effectiveness of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) as an intervention for individuals with long COVID/post-COVID syndrome. Introduction: An estimated 65 million people worldwide meet the WHO’s criteria for post-COVID-19 condition, a multisystem disorder with persistent symptoms following SARS-CoV-2 infection. Despite its global impact, effective treatments are limited. A recent review highlighted early but promising results from non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, including transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), though the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Given the expanding use of TMS in long COVID, a follow-up meta-analysis is needed to reflect recent developments. This review aims to evaluate the efficacy of TMS in treating post-COVID-19 symptoms. Inclusion criteria: This review will include studies that investigate interventions involving TMSin individuals diagnosed with long COVID or post-COVID syndrome, limited to those published in the English language. Studies will be excluded if they do not involve rTMS as a therapeutic intervention, do not involve TMS at all, focus on populations other than those with long COVID or post-COVID condition, are review articles or case studies, or are not published in English. Methods: A comprehensive search will be conducted in CINAHL Ultimate, MEDLINE, ScienceDirect, and Scopus using a strategy developed with the research team. Retrieved citations will be managed in Rayyan. Two independent reviewers will screen titles and abstracts, followed by full-text screening and data extraction by two other independent reviewers. All stages will follow predefined, pilot-tested inclusion and exclusion criteria. Discrepancies will be resolved by a third reviewer or team discussion. Intra-rater reliability at both screening stages will be assessed using Cohen’s Kappa. Study characteristics and findings will be presented using both narrative synthesis and tabular formats. Review registration: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/RE235

The cumulative global incidence of long COVID is around 400 million individuals, yet effective treatment options remain limited. A recent systematic review published in 2025 highlighted promising results for non-invasive brain stimulation in alleviating long COVID symptoms. Given the growing use of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for people with long COVID, a focused meta-analysis on the therapeutic effectiveness of rTMS is warranted. To address this gap, this protocol outlines the planned procedures for a systematic review and meta-analysis. A comprehensive search will be conducted across CINAHL Ultimate, MEDLINE, ScienceDirect, and Scopus. Retrieved studies will be managed using Rayyan, with two independent reviewers screening titles and abstracts, followed by full-text review. Data extraction will follow PRISMA and Cochrane guidelines using a standardised form, with dual independent extraction and reconciliation of discrepancies. Risk of bias will be assessed using Cochrane RoB 2.0. Meta-analytical procedures will include calculation of standardised effect sizes (e.g., Hedges’ g), use of random-effects models, and assessment of heterogeneity via I², Cochran’s Q, and tau². Subgroup and moderator analyses will explore variations in rTMS protocols, participant characteristics, and symptom domains. Sensitivity analyses and meta-regression will be conducted where data permit. Results will be visualised using forest and funnel plots, and the GRADE framework will be used to assess the quality of evidence.

There is an imperative globally to respond to the challenge of a grow­ing population of women in work who are living and working for longer, but have disproportionate impacts on their well-being in their older years compared to men. However, there is a paucity of evidence regarding the impact of various well-being issues related to women in this context. This review explores the barriers and facilitators to the workplace well-being of women over 40 years old. A systematic map­ping review was conducted that yielded 956 results with 39 included papers using terms: barriers and facilitators to well-being, work and older women. The review highlights how the well-being of ageing women is shaped by dynamic interactions amongst work, family, health, and environment. These findings underscore the value of the Socio-Ecological Model in identifying gaps and informing multi-level, intersectional interventions that reflect the lived realities of ageing women.

Background: Globally, around 400 million people are estimated to be affected by long COVID, yet treatment options remain scarce. A systematic review published in 2025 indicated that non-invasive brain stimulation may help reduce some long COVID symptoms. If repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has therapeutic potential for these patients, then a clear synthesis of the evidence is necessary to determine efficacy and potential for implementation. Methodology: This systematic review and narrative synthesis was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. The search, completed on the 4th of December 2025, covered four databases and grey literature. Studies were included if they examined long COVID and rTMS. Findings: A meta-analysis was not possible due to insufficient reported data across studies. Instead, a structured narrative synthesis was conducted on four included studies. The structured narrative synthesis of four studies indicates that rTMS is feasible and is associated with reported improvements in fatigue, mood, and cognitive symptoms in individuals with long COVID. However, all included evidence is based on uncontrolled case series and retrospective analyses, meaning no causal conclusions can be drawn and findings should be interpreted as exploratory. Conclusions: Taken together, the evidence remains preliminary and highlights the need for well-designed randomised controlled trials to assess efficacy.