ANZCTR search results

The purpose of the study is to address the gap in literature regarding the use of exercise as an intervention to improve quality of life in overweight or obese individuals. The rates of obesity and overweight are increasing rapidly in Australia and worldwide. Overweight and obesity increase the risk of developing chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stroke and other health conditions. In addition to these risks, increased weight is linked to lower health related quality of life (QOL) scores when compared to healthy weight individuals. The effects of exercise for improving body weight have been well established from previous studies. Physical activity has also been found to improve cardiovascular disease risk factors, with or without weight loss. An increasing number of studies involving overweight or obese participants are utilising QOL as an outcome measure as it is now considered a vital part of an individual’s health status. Exercise and lifestyle change studies have found improvements in QOL scores in these individuals. Exercise programs that achieve weight loss have also been found to improve QOL scores, with and without the inclusion of dietary change. Despite these findings there have been no studies to date which have investigated the optimal exercise intensity to maximise improvements in QOL in overweight or obese individuals. Current Australian physical activity guidelines for overweight or obese individuals recommend approximately 300 minutes of moderate intensity activity, or 150 minutes of vigorous activity per week to achieve weight loss. In contrast to these clear recommendations there exist no clinical guidelines regarding exercise prescription for maximising improvements in QOL in these individuals. Most previous trials targeting QOL in overweight or obese peoples or in the general population follow the physical activity guidelines for achieving weight loss and have not attempted to compare the effect of differing exercise intensities on QOL improvements. This research study aimed to show the impact of regular physical activity as a method of improving QOL in overweight or obese persons. It also aimed to establish whether low or moderate intensity exercise was superior for maximising improvements in QOL in these individuals.

Cocoa contains polyphenols that are thought to be beneficial to vascular health, but no previous dose-response study has assessed the impact of chocolate containing distinct levels of cocoa on cerebrovascular function and cognition. This research aims to investigate the acute effect of chocolate consumption (80% cocoa [dark] versus 35% cocoa [milk] versus 0% cocoa [white]) on vascular endothelial function, cognition and cerebrovascular function in postmenopausal women. The results have the potential to provide insight into the effect of cocoa polyphenols on systemic blood flow responses and cognitive ability.

The purpose of this project is test whether mobile dermatoscopes can help assist consumers conduct home skin examinations to detect potentially cancerous skin spots or moles. Who is it for? You may be eligible to participate in this trial if you are aged 18 or over, are considered high risk for skin cancer, own an iPhone 5 or above and have a partner/relative/friend willing to assist you with skin examinations. Study details: Participants will be randomly allocated (by chance) to either the usual care naked-eye skin self-examination group or the intervention teledermoscopy group. The teledermoscopy group will receive a magnifying device which attaches to their smartphone to assist with skin self-examinations. All participants will be asked to complete two questionnaires (baseline and 2-month), conduct three skin examinations at home (baseline, 1-month and 2-month) and have a whole-body clinical skin examination with one of our study dermatologists at a study clinic after the 2-month skin self-examination. Intervention group will be asked to use a mobile dermatoscope to conduct their home skin examinations. It is hoped that this trial will provide information on whether mobile teledermoscopy may be accurate and cost-effective for assisting high risk individuals with skin self-examinations.

This study aims to evaluate the validity of a new standardised assessment for unilateral spatial neglect (USN) using Tobii eye tracking glasses within a functional task (making a hot beverage) This study is an extension of a feasibility study completed in 2014 (not registered as a trial) and asks the question “Can eye tracking glasses be used to efficiently and effectively assess USN in a functional task?”

The primary purpose of this study is to evaluate whether formal assessment tools for the elderly can predict chemotherapy toxicity in older adults with cancer, better than an oncologist's assessment as part of standard care. Who is it for? You may be eligible to participate in this study if you are aged 65 years or older, and have been diagnosed with any type of cancer for which you are due to begin chemotherapy. Study details All participants will complete a health questionnaire (known as a "geriatric assessment), which includes calculation of the CARG toxicity score. The geriatric assessment covers physical and mental wellbeing, any additional illnesses, history of falls, cognition, nutrition, and a timed walk test. The assessment session takes place over 30 minutes, once, prior to beginning chemotherapy. Researchers will then assess the level of chemotherapy toxicity throughout the planned chemotherapy, and will look at survival at one year. It is hoped that the findings of this trial will provide information on whether the CARG toxicity score can aid oncologists with the prediction of chemotherapy toxicity in elderly patients.

This study will not test a hypothesis. It will report the feasibility and uptake of adding a behaviour change intervention, which aims to reduce sedentary time of people with COPD, to a standard pulmonary rehabilitation program. The goal is to provide pilot data to support an NHMRC project grant application (in 2017).

The primary aim of this study is to pilot test the feasibility of a randomised trial that compares the effectiveness of new generation securement and dressing products for intra-arterial catheters (IAL). The RCT aims to (i) identify clinical, cost-effective methods to prevent catheter failure due to infection, phlebitis, occlusion, and dislodgement; (ii) compare usual care dressings with a novel method; (iii) evaluate the acceptability of these devices to patients and health professionals; and (iv) study adverse effect profiles. You may be eligible to participate in this trial if you are an intensive care patient over the age of 16 and are having an intra-arterial catheter inserted as part of your therapy (which is expected to remain in place for at least 24 hours). All participants enrolled in this trial will be randomly allocated (by chance) to receive one of four IAL dressing/securement options. These will be either (i) the standard simple polyurethane dressing; (ii) the standard simple polyurethane dressing and a chlorhexidine impregnated disc; (iii) an integrated securement device and simple polyurethane dressing combined into a single device; (iv) or an integrated securement device and chlorhexidine impregnated disc. The allocated dressing will be applied from device insertion until the time of device removal. Participants will be asked to rate the acceptability of the device and dressing, and the device will be observed closely to examine side effects, device failures and infections. It is hoped that the findings of this trial will provide information on which IAL securements and dressings are most effective in preventing IAL failure.

The primary aim of this study is to pilot test the feasibility of a randomised trial that compares the effectiveness of new generation securement and dressing products for peripheral intravenous catheters. The RCT aims to (i) identify clinical, cost-effective methods to prevent catheter failure due to infection, phlebitis, occlusion, and dislodgement; (ii) compare usual care dressings with a novel method; (iii) evaluate the acceptability of these devices to patients and health professionals; and (iv) study adverse effect profiles. You may be eligible to participate in this trial if you are a medical or surgical patient over the age of 16 and are having a peripheral venous catheter inserted as part of your therapy (which is expected to remain in place for at least 24 hours). All participants enrolled in this trial will be randomly allocated (by chance) to receive one of two PVC dressing/securement options. This will be either the standard bordered polyurethane dressing; or an integrated securement device. The allocated dressing will be applied from device insertion until the time of device removal. Participants will be asked to rate the acceptability of the device and dressing, and the device will be observed closely to examine side effects, device failures and infections. It is hoped that the findings of this trial will provide information on which PVC securements and dressings are most effective in preventing PVC failure.

The proposed study aims to evaluate the impact of an intervention targeting perfectionism and self-compassion on children’s psychological health. It will further develop Fairweather-Schmidt and Wade’s (2015) pilot study, by having greater power, one more lesson that the previous protocol (i.e., 3 instead of 2), having a longer follow up period, and aim to include schools with lower SES to increase generalisability.

Whole of Systems Trial Of Prevention Strategies for childhood obesity: WHO STOPS childhood obesity The goals of this grant are to: 1) strengthen community action for childhood obesity prevention, and 2) measure the impacts of increased action on risk factors for childhood obesity. This proposal addresses the lesson that the impact of previous successful interventions would be optimally sustained by increasing community ownership (community-built interventions), using existing community funding (avoiding the state and federal feast/famine of prevention funding), and building on existing community assets (systems and networks). We propose that permanent reductions in childhood obesity are possible if the complex and dynamic causes of obesity are well understood and addressed through increased community ownership and responsibility. Working with local partners this research tests whether new ways of embedding best practice for obesity prevention into existing community systems (e.g. health, workplaces, local council, schools) will achieve efficient and effective implementation and sustainability. In our development work we have evolved a facilitated, community engagement process which; creates an agreed systems map of childhood obesity causes for a community; identifies intervention opportunities through leveraging the dynamic aspects of the system; and, converts these understandings into community-built, systems-oriented action plans. Throughout this process systems data are collected for measuring systems changes over time. Our experience to date has been that this process rapidly increases capacity of community leaders to use systems thinking for community-wide obesity prevention. Consequently we have seen changes at multiple levels of systems (e.g. a council policies banning sugar sweetened beverages and improving water quality and application of systems thinking for health across ACT primary schools and among 30,000 members of a state emergency service). We will conduct a stepped wedge cluster randomised trial in ten communities in the GSCRV. Five communities will be randomised into the study in year one and all communities will be included in year 3. An additional group of 13 external communities from other regions of Victoria with no specific interventions will provide an external comparison and will help assess the potential diffusion of the intervention between regions within this trial. We will assess whether the adoption of systems change interventions rapidly increases community capacity to apply evidence-informed action across community systems. The primary outcome is childhood obesity prevalence and this will be collected by the community-led monitoring system. It is hypothesised that a systems intervention for childhood obesity will be effective in its impact, efficient in its implementation, scalable in its delivery, and sustainable in its longevity.