ANZCTR search results

Context: The Bindjareb Yorgas Health Program (BYHP) project addresses the high prevalence of health issues experienced by Aboriginal women and their families (Thomson et al., 2010) through the establishment of a holistic community owned and developed health and wellness program. The BYHP is being developed at the request of the Bindjareb women from the Murray District Aboriginal Association in Pinjarra, following the success of a 2011 seed project, “The Deadly Koolinga Chefs” (DKC). The DKC program was conducted by the study’s PhD student and funded by the Community Development Foundation (CDF). The project engaged a group of 12 year old Bindjareb children in a 12 week nutrition and cooking adventure, where they learned how to plan, shop for and prepare a healthy meal for four. Each week the children took home their prepared meals, together with their new skills and knowledge, to share with their family. This resulted in a request by the Bindjareb women for a broader health promotion program to address the health and wellbeing of the community’s women and by association, their families. In collaboration with the Bindjareb women, using an aboriginal approach based on “unity’ and “wholeness” (Wingard & Lester, 2001) a suite of programs is being developed (see Appendix A). The BYHP, for which Healthway funding is being sought, is the first of these to be undertaken and comprises four components: group fitness and exercise sessions; nutrition education and cooking classes; vegetable growing and Nyungar lore, communicated through Kaartdijin yarning sessions. This combination was agreed upon as it specifically addressed the Bindjareb women’s concerns regarding the need for a more culturally appropriate approach to health promotion to address health issues being experienced in their community. Objectives: This intervention aims to extend knowledge surrounding existing health promotion initiatives previously designed in Aboriginal communities by implementing a program that ensures community ownership and development of the program. It will focus specifically on three action areas for undertaking health promotion: creating supportive environments to encourage equitable access; strengthening community actions to enable empowerment; and the development of personal skills in achieving and maintaining wellness. Methods: The intervention has been developed using a multi-faceted approach to promoting healthy eating and improved fitness within the context of Nyungar lore. To ensure a culturally appropriate means, of assessing the outcomes, a holistic descriptive case study method (Yin, 2009) will be used, where the researchers will seek to narratively explore the impact on participant’s health behaviours in relation to the development of, and participation in, the BYHP. The data will be collected with the assistance of the Aboriginal Health Worker (AHW) and the Aboriginal Research Associate (RA). Data sources will therefore include yarning groups, interviews, direct observations and participant-observations and will be collected over the course of the intervention and the year to follow. The program will take place during the school terms in the Mother of All Sheds (MOASH) building, a community centre provided by the CDF and, situated on the grounds of the Pinjarra Primary School. Expected benefits: This intervention project, whilst facilitating community ownership and leadership of an Aboriginal health promotion program aims to provide both short and long term improvements in the physical activity and healthy eating habits that will translate into improved fitness and weight loss, and empowerment through increased health knowledge. These have important implications for the health and well-being and the social and community capacity of the Bindjareb community in Pinjarra and may also serve as a template for similar health promotion programs in other communities. In addition, identifying environments that encourage Aboriginal participation and are nurturing to both attitudes and aptitudes of good health behaviours may have positive implications on future policy development and infrastructure planning related to Aboriginal health.

This qualitative study will investigate the effects of second generation antipsychotics on weight gain, and the enblers and barriers to physical activity for adults with serious mental illness.

Patients with cirrhosis frequently experience painful muscle cramps which can affect the hands, legs, feet, neck, back, sides and abdomen. They may last for several hours, often occur at night and may require opiates or presentation to accident and emergency to control the pain. The available therapies have limited efficacy. This study aims to determine the efficacy of oral taurine supplementation in reducing the frequency and intensity of painful muscle cramps in this group. It is a randomised control, crossover, blinded study where participants will receive either taurine supplements or placebo for a period of one month and then cross over to the other group. Participants will be asked to complete a questionnaire about muscle cramps prior to entering the study, at the cross over (1 month after entry) and at completion of the study. Participants will be asked to keep a diary of cramps prior to entry into the study and for the duration of the study. In addition to the usual blood taken when attending clinic, a small amount of blood will be taken for amino acid analysis, taurine in particular, and TNF and IL-6

The aim of the current pilot study is to identify the efficacy of different pharmacological approaches for the management of experimentally induced nocioceptive pain in patients currently receiving opioid substitution treatment in the form of methadone or buprenorphine (+/- naltrexone) maintenance treatment (sublingual film or tablet). The pharmacological interventions to be assessed are (a) increasing maintenance opioid dose by 30%, (b) adding opioid agonist (oxycodone equivalent to 30% of the daily opioid maintenance dose, and (c) adding gabapentin to the usual maintenance dose. The primary outcome measure is change in pain response using a cold pressor model for acute pain. Measures of safety, including physiological and cognitive measures, will also be examined.

The T4DM study will investigate whether treatment with testosterone in combination with a lifestyle program normalise glucose tolerance in men with either pre-diabetes or newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes, in comparison to placebo and a lifestyle program in men aged 50-74 years. See www.t4dm.org.au for details

To assess whether anaesthetic gases in trauma patients may contribute to liver damage.

Third and 4th degree tears occur during childbirth when an episiotomy (a cut made to enlarge the birth canal) extends to the anal sphincter. At the research hospital, higher than average rates of 3rd and 4th degree tears have been observed among women having their first child. Episiotomies are generally cut on an angle, away from the anus but studies suggest that the angle is often less than the recommended 45 degrees. One strategy to ensure a 45 degree angle and to potentially decrease 3rd and 4th degree tears may be to use curved scissors that naturally take the incision away from the anus. The proposed study will test this assumption by comparing straight and curved scissors to cut an episiotomy.

Meropenem is an antibiotic used in the treatment of serious infections. This study aims to investigate whether giving meropenem a by a longer infusion (3 hours) but a lower dose, enables the antibiotic to be in the bloodstream for at least the same amount of time as a higher dose given over a short time (30 minutes).

This study aims to investigate minocycline as an adjunctive treatment for unipolar depression. Participants will receive 200 mg/day of minocycline or placebo for 12 weeks with improvements on the MADRS being the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes include potential improvements in functioning, quality of life and clincial impressions. Based on previous studies, minocycline should be well-tolerated for the duration of the study, however safety monitoring will also be reported as a secondary outcome.

The primary aims of the trial are (within the context of the RCT A*STEROID) 1) To evaluate the effects of betamethasone and dexamethasone on fetal cardiovascular status as assessed by the ultrasound parameters of umbilical artery Doppler, middle cerebral artery Doppler, ductus venosus Doppler, uterine artery Doppler, and myocardial performance index. 2) To evaluate the effects of betamethasone and dexamethasone on fetal cardiovascular status as assessed by computerized cardiotocograph (cCTG) using Dawes-Redman criteria. 3) To evaluate the effects of betamethasone and dexamethasone on placental weight, morphology and histological evidence of villous maturation postpartum, and correlate this with placental ultrasound and uterine artery Doppler findings.