ANZCTR search results

Preterm infants often need breathing support delivered through a mask placed on their faces (mask ventilation). Studies have shown that mask ventilation can be complicated by leak around the mask causing it to be less effective. Australian Resuscitation Council guidelines state ‘the appropriate size of face mask must seal around the mouth and nose but not cover the eyes or overlap the chin.’ A standard 50mm diameter soft round silicon mask (Laerdal 0/0) has been the mask of choice historically used at the Royal Women’s Hospital. However a recent study has shown that a smaller mask may comply better with guidelines. The aim of this study is to compare leak using a 50mm diameter mask compared to either 35mm (infants 26 weeks or less corrected gestational age) or 42mm ( 27 weeks or greater corrected gestational age) diameter masks (Fisher & Paykel neonatal resuscitation masks extra small or small). The study is a randomised controlled trial. The population is preterm infants less than 33 weeks gestation who require intubation while inpatient in the neonatal intensive care unit. The term intubation refers to the insertion of a breathing or endotracheal tube into the infant’s airway, so that they can be supported by a ventilator. Before the insertion of the tube, the infant receives premedication that sedates and gives pain relief but will cause the infant to stop breathing necessitating a predictable period of mask ventilation. The intervention group will receive either the 35 or 42mm mask to deliver mask ventilation, the control group the 50mm mask. The primary outcome is the difference in leak measured between the mask and the infant’s face between control and intervention groups.

Some sleep postures place rotation and extension loads on spinal tissues. If maintained for prolonged periods of time, they could potentially cause pain and stiffness. The hypothesis of this study is that prone and 3/4 prone postures will increase spine symptoms and that people sleeping in these positions will have more frequent symptoms and a poorer quality of sleep.

Spinal pain is associated with risk factors that commonly relate to daytime posture; sitting, bending and lifting. Nighttime is commonly associated with rest and recovery, yet a percentage of healthy adults wake in the morning with spinal symptoms. The hypothesis of this study is that sleep posture may be a contributing factor to morning spinal symptoms. The purpose of this study will be to explore the ability of a person to change their sleeping posture and determine if changing the sleep posture results in a change in spinal symptoms and quality of sleep.

This study will take 40 participants who have recently recovered from low back pain and randomly allocate them to either an 8 week comprehensive, supervised group exercise and education program or a minimal intervention consisting of one 30 minute education and advice session. Outcomes will be assessed at 10 weeks. The aims of the STOP Pilot are to: 1) Test feasibility of recruitment and enrolment procedures; 2) Test acceptability and adherence to the intervention; and 3) Test our processes and procedures for collecting outcome data.

This cross sectional project will involve 500 Indigenous primary care attendees in Australia’s States and Territories. We will validate (criterion validity) the aPHQ-9 as a screening tool, alone, and in combination with the additional seven questions, against a gold standard structured criterion interview for depression The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI ) 6.0.0 (criterion standard), in Indigenous men and women attending primary health care services across Australia. This will provide the evidence on whether to recommend use of the aPHQ-9 as a screening tool for depression in health services research, clinical care delivery and policy evaluation in Federal and State chronic diseases programmes.

The main focus of this project is to identify whether a correlation exists between HbA1c levels and the hospital length of stay (LOS) following total hip or total knee replacements at Mackay Base Hospital. Elevated HbA1c blood levels are an indication of poor glucose control over the preceding months and are used as a surrogate marker to predict micro and macro vascular complications in diabetics. We aim to measure HbA1c in all patients within our cohort, and look for a statistically significant correlation with LOS. The practical implication if a positive correlation is established is that improvement of HbA1c with lifestyle and medication prior to major elective surgery such as lower limb total arthroplasty, may significantly lower the cost burden upon the health system by reducing LOS. Research is limited and conflicting in this area, and further elucidation of a correlation would advance understanding and guide further research.

The aim of the study is to assess the effectiveness of a consumer driven breakthrough action model in improving aspects of cancer treatment systems. Who is it for? You may be eligible to join this study if you are aged 18 years or more and are receiving chemotherapy for a current cancer diagnosis as an outpatient at one of the participating NSW based hospitals. Study details This study is trialling a consumer action model which aims to improve aspects of cancer treatment systems which have been identified as priorities by chemotherapy cancer patients. Hospitals involved in this study will participate in a quality improvement intervention, based on the Breakthrough Series. The Breakthrough Series is a collaborative model of learning developed by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). This model focuses on health care systems improving the quality of their health care through sharing and learning from each other’s experiences and resources. This study will adapt the current Breakthrough Series Model to incorporate consumer involvement in identifying priority quality of care concerns, developing solutions and monitoring the success of those solutions. Participants will be asked to complete questionnaires throughout the study in order to evaluate the degree of unmet supportive care needs and quality of life.

The primary aim of this study is to investigate the effect that a viscous fibre supplement, PGX, has on frequency of eating occasions in overweight adults, over a 12-week period. In addition to this, body weight, waist circumference, blood pressure and fasting venous blood samples will be measured both at baseline and post-intervention. The blood samples will be used to measure glucose, insulin, changes in insulin sensitivity, triglycerides, cholestrol (total, HDL and LDL) and apoB48. Eating occasions will be recorded using a mobile device food record and automatically uploaded to a server for analysis. It is hypothesised that the fibre supplement will reduce the frequency of eating occasions, leading to a subsequent reduction in body weight. OBJECTIVES 1. To investigate the effect of a viscous fibre supplement on frequency of eating occasions in overweight adults, over a 12-week period. 2. To measure body weight, waist circumference, blood pressure and fasting venous blood samples differences between baseline and at the end of the 12-week intervention. Aim 1. To investigate the effect of a viscous fibre supplement has on frequency of eating occasions in overweight adults Hypothesis Overweight adults receiving the viscous soluble fibre (PGX) will significantly reduce their intake of energy-dense nutrient poor foods and number of eating occasions compared with controls

Falls are a leading cause of disability among older adults. Physical activity has been shown to be effective in reducing the risk of falls in elderly. However, elderly group are not regularly engaged in physical activity. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of an exercise intervention using an exercise park in reducing the risk of falls, improving strength and balance in the elderly. In addition, this research project will evaluate what other benefits, including psychological and psychosocial, can be achieved by using such exercise park. This project also aims to examine how this kind of intervention will be perceived in the community and if potential benefits can be identified, which could then help to determine whether such intervention is appropriate for further testing. This project will be run in collaboration with several community partner organisations in the Western Suburbs including Gateway Social Support Options and Catholic Homes. Sixty older people living in the community aged between 60 and 90 years who have had one fall in the previous 12 months or that are concerned they might fall will be recruited (older people with mild falls risk). Participants will be randomised in two groups: exercise park intervention group and a control group and will undergo a series of physical/physiological tests as well as complete some psychological and psychosocial questionnaires. Tests will be performed at baseline, after 18 weeks and then again after 2 months (26 weeks) for both groups. Participants will be followed up for 12 months via Falls and Physical Activity Calendars. Participants in the intervention group will have 2-3 sessions per week of 1-1.5 hours duration each session) for 18 weeks. Control group will continue with their normal activities for the same period. At the end of this study, the participants will be able to monitor their susceptibility to falls based on the result of the tests used in this study. Additionally, it is expected that, by the experience of working with this population group, some factors which can influence the exercise uptake and its compliance by the elderly may be identified. Furthermore, the research findings may offer some guidance on future investments local councils may make towards this population group.

Who is it for? Participants were eligible to join this study if they were aged between 45-64 years and not already known to be at increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Study details: Participants completed an online CVD risk assessment and were randomly (by chance) allocated to receive their results as either their 'heart age' or the equivalent percentage risk of a heart attack or stroke over the next 5 years, using three different visual formats. The researchers investigated how different ways of explaining CVD risk affected a range of psychological and behavioural outcomes, including intention to change lifestyle, risk perceptions, and behaviour change after 2 weeks.