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Physical inactivity is prevalent in Australia and is a significant contributor to the nation’s burden of chronic disease. Increasing the availability of recreational infrastructure could, however, positively influence levels of physical activity. This study, conducted in partnership with Frankston City Council, will investigate the impact that establishing a major recreational and aquatic centre has upon physical activity and measures of well being in the community. It will test the additional impacts of using marketing strategies to boost centre usage, and thereby inform future action to multiply the health benefits of public investments in recreational infrastructure.

The purpose of the study is to determine the effect of Tension and Trauma Release exercises (TRE) on the severity of symptoms of Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS). This treatment is currently offered to sufferers but no data supports its effectiveness.

This study builds on and extends a previous project that tested a group intervention for cancer survivors who have experienced problems with cognitive functions such as attention and memory. The study uses a more rigorous research design (random allocation to treatment or waitlist) and also tests potential reasons that the treatment may be effective. It was hypothesised that participants in the treatment group would show bigger improvements in objective cognitive function, subjective cognitive function and other self-report measures than participants on a waitlist or healthy control participants. It was also predicted that better cognitive function would be associated with higher self-efficacy and more favourable illness perceptions

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have a number of limitations that contribute to social play and pragmatic language restrictions. Effective social play skills and pragmatic language are necessary for psychosocial development. Well developed social emotional skills and good quality relationships are protective factors that promote resilience and quality of life. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a peer-to-peer play based intervention to improve social play skills and pragmatic language in children with ASD. It is expected that following the intervention children with ASD will have improved social play and communication skills and improved ability to establish and maintain friendships. Findings from this study can be translated into clinical practice.

Background: High-intensity interval training (HIIT) performed on exercise cycle or treadmill is considered safe and often more beneficial for fat loss and cardiometabolic health than moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT). The aim of this pilot study was to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of a 12-week boxing training (HIIT) intervention compared with an equivalent dose of brisk walking (MICT) in obese adults. Methods: Men and women with abdominal obesity and body mass index >25kg/m2 were randomized to either a boxing group or a brisk walking (control) group for 12 weeks. Each group engaged in 4 training sessions per week, equated for total physical activity. Feasibility outcomes included recruitment rates, assessment of training intensities, adherence and adverse events. Effectiveness was assessed pre and post intervention via pertinent obesity-, cardiovascular-, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) outcomes. Results: Nineteen individuals expressed an interest and 63% (n=12) consented. Recruitment was slower than anticipated (1.3 participants/week). The boxing group trained at a significantly higher intensity each week versus the brisk walking group (p<0.05). Two participants in the boxing group experienced an adverse event; both continued to exercise with modifications to the exercise program. No other adverse events were noted. The boxing group attended more exercise sessions (79% vs. 55%) and had a lower attrition rate (n=0 vs. n=2) than the walking group. Analysis of covariance revealed that the boxing group significantly improved body fat percentage (p=0.047), systolic blood pressure (p=0.026), augmentation index (AIx; p<0.001), absolute VO2max (p=0.015), and Physical Functioning (p=0.042) and Vitality (p=0.024) domains of HRQoL over time. The walking group did not improve any clinical outcomes, and experienced a worsening of Vitality (p=0.043). Conclusions: Boxing training (HIIT) in adults with abdominal obesity is feasible and may elicit a better therapeutic effect on obesity, cardiovascular, and HRQoL outcomes than an equivalent dose of brisk walking (MICT). Robustly designed randomized controlled trials are required to confirm these findings and inform clinical guidelines and practice for obesity treatment.

Patellofemoral osteoarthritis is a common condition that results in pain and functional limitations. Custom foot orthoses are effective at improving pain and function in younger people with patellofemoral pain, and thus may also be of benefit in older people with patellofemoral osteoarthritis. This Phase 2 study aims to investigate the feasibility of a Phase 3 randomised controlled trial evaluating the effect of custom foot orthoses and footwear on pain, lower limb function and bone marrow lesions in patellofemoral osteoarthritis.

There is currently no non invasive way to diagnose endometriosis. The gold standard is laparoscopy plus directed biopsy. Previous studies have suggested that endometrial nerve fibre detection may function as a less invasive outpatient test of endometriosis. This work suggested that if fine nerve fibres (C type unmyelinated) are present in the functional layer of the endometrium then the patient has endometriosis and if the fibres are not present the patient does not have endometriosis. We wish to recruit women with pelvic pain as we wonder if the nerve fibres relate to the painful condition rather than to endometriosis. We will perform endometrial nerve fibre detection in 20 women with pain and no endometriosis and 20 women with pain who have endometriosis. Our hypothesis is that fine nerve fibres will be found in the functional layer of the endometrium in women both with and without endometriosis who also have pelvic pain. Thus endometrial nerve fibre detection is not a useful way to diagnose endometriosis.

The purpose of this study is to see if a combination of weight loss and low salt diets have a beneficial effect on how blood vessels work. We hypothesise that decreasing salt in the diet and losing weight will improve blood vessel function.

The primary purpose of this study on healthy volunteers is to determine the safety and tolerability of AD-6626 without and without alcohol administration in normal healthy volunteers and subjects heterozygous (HeZ) for the aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2)*1/*2 genetic variant

The National Trauma Research Institute (NTRI) has delivered the Prevent Alcohol & Risk-related Trauma in Youth program or P.A.R.T.Y. at The Alfred in Melbourne since 2009. P.A.R.T.Y. is a trauma prevention and health promotion initiative that seeks to build resilience in participants through the lived experience of a major trauma service, aiming to effect a change in the perception that traumatic injury will not happen to them. Through presentations from health professionals, encounters with trauma patients, tours through the critical care areas of the hospital, and hands on rehabilitation activities, P.A.R.T.Y. participants get to experience what trauma really feels like first hand. The NTRI’s P.A.R.T.Y. Defence program for trainees has been operating at The Alfred since 2011. A retrospective pilot evaluation is underway suggesting a benefit in those “at-risk” trainees who attended the in-hospital P.A.R.T.Y program. Repeat alcohol-related incidents in the program group are low. However, in the absence of verified, published data on the numbers of alcohol-related incidents in at-risk trainees, a more robust research project that uses a validated screening tool and control groups is needed. This proposed research program involves a randomized controlled trial; focused on new trainees. All participate trainees will complete the validated, World Health Organization’s Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), which is a screening tool for alcohol-related behavior already used by the RAN in those deemed “at risk”. Participants will be randomly allocated to attend P.A.R.T.Y. Defence (either at the hospital or on-base at CERBERUS) or to not participate in P.A.R.T.Y. at all. All participants will be followed up at 12 months to repeat the AUDIT and other measures in order to measure the effectiveness of P.A.R.T.Y. in reducing alcohol-related harms.