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People with diabetes are vulnerable to diabetic retinopathy (DR); a common complication that damages the blood vessels at the back of the eye. The early stages of DR are asymptomatic; early detection via eye examination and timely treatment are important in reducing the risk of vision loss. National Health and Medical Research Council recommend eye examinations at diabetes diagnosis and minimum every two years thereafter. Some at-risk groups have unacceptably low eye examination rates, including adults with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) who are i) 18-39 years or ii) from rural/regional Victoria (eye exam rates are 50% and 65% respectively). The aim of this project is to develop communication messages designed to increase eye examination rates for people from the two at-risk groups. Presented in leaflet format, the messages will be mailed to eligible registrants on the National Diabetes Services Scheme (NDSS). It is hypothesized that participants who have not previously had an eye examination and who receive a psycho-educational leaflet intervention containing theoretically derived messages demonstrated to correlate with the target behaviour will report: a. Increased intentions to seek eye examinations, and b. Higher rate of eye examinations than control group participants, at follow up.

The purpose of this study is to determine if markers in the airways or blood can predict when someone with mild/moderate or severe asthma is at risk of developing an acute asthma attack associated with a virus infection. This may allow us to better determine who needs treatment to prevent attacks of asthma and for how long.

This project aims to investigate the potential beneficial effect of a natural plant food compound (quercetin), on blood vessel function in adolescents with Familial Hypercholesterolaemia (FH). FH is a common genetic disorder affecting many thousands of children and adolescents throughout Australia, that elevates blood cholesterol from the time of birth, predisposing them to heart disease in early adult life. Untreated, 50% of men and 20% of women will have suffered a fatal or non-fatal cardiovascular event (ie heart attack) by the age of 50. Children with FH have highly compromised blood vessel function. Whilst medications like statins will lower cholesterol levels and can help improve blood vessel function, there is general reluctance among physicians and parents to commence children with FH on statins before the age of 18 years, because of a lack of long-term follow up studies on the use of these medications in younger patients. Thus, a nutrition-based supplement that could improve blood vessel function in children and adolescents with FH prior to them going on long term statin therapy would be of benefit. Using non-invasive ultrasound, we will investigate the effect of consuming a drink containing the natural plant food compound quercetin on how the blood vessel functions in 10 adolescents with FH aged 13-18 years. This will be compared to a placebo drink that contains a harmless sugar compound. We expect that the plant food compound will have a beneficial effect on blood vessel function in this population and lead to a potential new treatment option.

Aspiration pneumonia or pneumonitis is a fatal complication under general anaesthesia. Current fasting guidelines before general anaetshesia recommend 2 hours for clear fluid and 6 hours for light meal. However the guidelines do not account for the fact that some fasted surgical patients may still not have empty stomachs at that time of their surgery. The technique of gastric ultrasound to determine the types of gastric contents and the volume has been well described and standardised. The hypothesis of this study is gastric volume will return to baseline more rapidly after ingestion of clear fluid as compared to a fluid equivalent of a standard meal.

The 'Fit4Two - Usability and initial efficacy testing of a website-delivered behaviour change intervention. The Fit4Two study is a 4 week pilot 2-arm RCT investigating the acceptability, feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a behaviour change intervention designed to promote exercise among women during pregnancy. Participants will be recruited from the Rockhampton region of Australia through collaboration with partnering organisations. The primary outcome is weekly physical activity levels measured using valid and reliable accelerometers. The trial will be conducted and reported according CONSORT guidelines. Participants randomly allocated to the Fit4Two intervention group will receive a web-based intervention, which will provide them with personalised advice based on information derived from an online assessment. Participants randomly allocated to the control group will receive usual care, access to the resources library of the program, but no computer-tailored feedback. The program will be delivered at no cost to participants. Participants will now also receive resources and referrals to other programs, services, and avenues for support. Each program participant will be provided with tailored physical activity advice and feedback to help them make a positive lifestyle change, which inturn might improve their health and the health of their baby and reduce chronic disease. All respondents will be clearly informed that they SHOULD NOT participate in the study if they believe it may be unsafe or unhealthy for them to do so. This screening procedure has been used by similar studies. No adverse events have occurred. There is substantial evidence that increasing physical activity is safe and leads to health benefits rather than health damage in pregnant women. The information provided to participants will be evidence-based and reflect the physical activity guidelines for pregnant women. The trial will be aimed at pregnant women in their second trimester. The benefits (the evaluation of a potentially effective physical activity intervention that might improve health outcomes among pregnant women and their child) of this research largely outweigh the minimal risk to participants. Should there be any unanticipated difficulties, all participants are provided with contact details for the principal researcher.

This study will evaluate the use of a pre- and post-operative DVD or web-based patient education for patients undergoing surgery for head and neck cancer. Who is it for? You may be eligible to join this study if you aged 18 years or above and have been diagnosed with primary early-stage head and neck cancer and your treatment plan includes surgery. Study details Participants in this study are randomly allocated (by chance) to one of two groups. Participants in one group will receive a DVD, or be directed to a website, that provides them with pre- and post-operative educational information on the surgical management of head and neck cancer. While participants in the other group receive a standard pre- and post-operative education of provision of the Cancer Council Head and Neck Information Booklet. Participants will be asked to answer questionnaires on anxiety levels and quality of life before the operation, at discharge and 3 months after the operation. Partners and family members will also be asked to answer questionnaires at the same time periods as the patient.

The aim of this project is to determine the effects of preferred retinal loci (PRL) training in patients with macular disease, especially macular degeneration. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) ranks third among the global causes of visual impairment with a blindness prevalence of 8.7%. Macula degeneration leads to a loss of central vision affecting reading, recognising peoples faces, driving or other fine detailed tasks, which causes a large impact on a patient’s quality of life and independence. Patients are never completely blind from macular degeneration since the remaining peripheral retina is healthy and is then useful for navigational purposes. It is reported in the literature that some patients spontaneously use another area of the healthy retina known as a PRL when the macula is compromised. This project aims to determine the patients PRL using the MAIA micro perimeter and over a series of 10 training sessions to establish wether PRL training improves a patient’s visual acuity, fixation stability and reading speed, thus having a positive impact on a patient’s quality of life.

The present study investigates a psychological theory-based intervention to reduce alcohol pre-drinking - the practice of consuming alcohol at a home or private residence, prior to attending a subsequent event (where alcohol consumption often continues). The intervention comprises a motivational component that facilitates autonomous motivation to reduce pre-drinking alcohol consumption, and a volitional component that enables participants to generate their own 'if-then' plans to enact in response to contextual cues surrounding pre-drinking. The intervention comprises four conditions: an autonomy support only, an implementation intention only, a combined, and control condition. The control condition will receive information from the National Health and Medical Research Council guidelines with respect to consuming alcohol in moderation to reduce the risk of alcohol-related harm. It is hypothesized that the controlled condition targeting both motivational and volitional aspects will be most effective in reducing pre-drinking alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm.

We already know that the amount of walking completed by people in rehabilitation is very low and people find it hard to regain their walking ability in the community after having a hip fracture. This study will find out how much walking can feasibly and safely be completed by people who have been recently discharged from hospital after having a hip fracture. The results will help guide therapists as to how much walking they could prescribe to patients living in the community for long-term health benefits.

No study has yet investigated the therapeutic impact of computerized cognitive training (CCT) in frail or cognitively impaired daycare centre (DCC) clients or residents of retirement vilages, nor the relative merits of any particular booster training schedule. DCCs and retirement villages are an ideal health care setting to test CCT for primary and secondary prevention as they engage ultra high risk frail and old-old individuals and routinely deliver activities to their clients. This study will therefore compare two different booster training schedules in these settings with the aim of determining whether monthly booster sessions are equally effective at maintaining CCT gains as fortnightly booster sessions over a 3-month period. Specifically we aim to: 1. Compare the efficacy of monthly vs fortnightly booster sessions, by measuring cognitive function 3-months post-training; 2. Test the impact of the two booster schedules on everyday functional activities; If booster sessions can be spaced out like this without major loss in efficacy, then this will have significant ramifications for the practical and widespread implementation of computerized cognitive training in DCCs and retirement villages. Positive findings may also result in delaying the onset of cognitive impairment or loss of functional independence. In turn, these outcomes may benefit individuals, carers, communities and the health system.