ANZCTR search results

The purpose of this study is to examine the feasibility and acceptability of an intervention that identifies the unmet social needs (e.g. housing and financial insecurity) of vulnerable caregivers and employs Health Navigators (HNs) to provide appropriate referrals to government and community resources and ongoing advocacy over a four-month follow-up period. HNs are non-medical workers who have experience with the community service sector who practice strengths-based approaches to understand participants' situations and be led by them in designing an action plan for their needs. We hypothesise that HNs may be able to engage participants with services and may be able to resolve some of their needs. Our primary outcome of interest is the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention for both participants and clinicians working in the Children's Ward. These will be assessed using mixed-methods methodology, i.e. focus groups with participants and clinicians, and objective feasibility criteria such as rate of intervention recruitment and retention.

When residents are transferred across settings their health information is often not shared optimally, impacting the care they receive. Accurate communication of health and medical information at point-of-care during and after a transfer has been shown to reduce avoidable hospitalizations, shorten length of hospital stays and reduce ambulance call outs and transfers. We have co-designed, in partnership with staff representatives from the aged care, IT and the clinical sector, as well as aged care residents and their informal carers, a prototype digital health summary system for sharing agreed upon point of care information considered critical during the transfer of people living in residential aged care. Therefore, the aim of this study is to test the feasibility of the digital health summary and its effectiveness in reducing ambulance transfers and hospital presentations to generate preliminary data on intervention effectiveness. To achieve this aim, we will recruit 3 RAC homes for prototype testing using sequential pre-post study designs (one for each site). This will allow us to evaluate, learn and refine our implementation over 3 iterations, learning from the failings/barriers encountered in each previous attempt. We will use routinely collected hospital and Ambulance Victoria data to determine the impact on our primary, secondary and adverse event outcomes.

This study aims to achieve a deep understanding of UCH’s Rapid Response System (RRS) operations and how the hospital adopts and integrates new technologies, particularly robotic systems, into its healthcare setting. By adopting a qualitative methodological approach, combining semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and direct observations, the research seeks to capture comprehensive insights from medical professionals, nursing staff, Allied Health professionals, support staff, and hospital administrators. These insights will focus on the experiences, perceptions, and suggestions for the integration of robotic technologies, aiming to identify challenges, opportunities, and potential impacts on workflow, patient care, and overall healthcare delivery. Through this exploratory study, findings are expected to inform the broader application and adoption of robotic systems in healthcare environments, laying a foundational understanding for future research and development in this emerging field.

The purpose of this clinical investigation is to confirm the clinical performance and safety of the HOYA Vivinex™ Gemetric™ Plus Toric preloaded IOLs versus comparator Alcon Acrysof® IQ PanOptix® Toric Trifocal IOLs. The medical indication is the implantation with a Vivinex™ Gemetric™ Plus Toric preloaded IOL for visual correction of aphakia and pre-existing corneal astigmatism after implantation into the capsular bag in adult patients who desire near, intermediate and distance vision with increased spectacle independence. The primary hypothesis is based on the primary performance endpoint, that is the percentage of patients achieving 0.3 LogMAR monocular distance corrected near visual acuity (DCNVA) when measured at 40cm at 6 month visit among subjects implanted with the HOYA Vivinex™ Gemetric™ Plus Toric preloaded IOLs will be non-inferior to that of subjects implanted with the Alcon Acrysof® IQ PanOptix® Toric Trifocal IOLs.

The current study aims to further understand what factors related to the individual and their families influence treatment outcomes in eating disorders. We hope to improve our assessment procedures so we can provide more effective treatment. Whilst there are evidence based treatments for eating disorders, no treatment is effective for all. We hope to be able to uncover which treatments are best for which individuals and families, and be able to better match the treatment that is best suited. We hope that this research will improve our treatment here at the Eating Disorders Program. Additionally, we hope to publish our findings so that individuals and families around the world may receive better treatment.

Improvements in medical care and technology have contributed to an overall reduction in ICU mortality over the last 10-15 years. As an increasing number of patients are surviving, the focus of ICU research is gradually shifting from survival to quality of survival. Research has demonstrated that an admission to ICU (especially if prolonged) is associated with an increasing risk of developing delirium, depression, anxiety, distress, hallucinations, cognitive changes, and decreased quality of life and function that can last for years after ICU discharge. Reduced and poor sleep quality is commonly experienced by patients in ICU. Disrupted sleep and sleep deficit have been found to contribute to lingering delirium, hormonal imbalance, mental changes such as memory formation, impaired immune function, and the development of a catabolic state. Neurocognitive disturbances have been reported to persist after discharge from ICU, and alterations to circadian patterns are associated with a decrease in overall well-being and a prolonged recovery from critical illness. Preventing and treating sleep disturbance in ICU may reduce morbidity and mortality. Environmental factors in ICU have been shown to affect the body’s natural production and release of melatonin (a hormone that influences the sleep and wakefulness cycle), thereby disrupting sleep architecture and leading to sleep deficits. This study investigates whether the admission of patients to environmentally improved ICU bedspaces, within the context of the normal ICU operation, impacts on the quality of sleep and, consequently, the speed of recovery and decrease the incidence of post-intensive care syndrome, compare to patients admitted to conventional bedspaces.

Problem: One-third of people with epilepsy continue to experience seizures despite treatment with anti-seizure medications. Dietary therapy, such as the ketogenic diet, is an effective treatment, however, high discontinuation rate remains a significant issue limiting its effectiveness in practice. Our Solution: To utilise digital health interventions to enhance the delivery of dietary therapy for epilepsy, thereby improving treatment adherence and seizure control. Three components will be used: (1) at-home saliva ketone testing, (2) digital seizure and food diaries, underpinned by (3) dynamic dietitian support via telemedicine. Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of incorporating multi-modality technologies in the delivery of dietary therapy for epilepsy. Study Design and Methods: A randomised controlled trial, enrolling 136 adults newly commencing on dietary therapy for epilepsy. Participants will be randomised to the enhanced technology (ET) or standard care (SC) group and followed up for 12 weeks. The treatment benefit will be measured by a novel consumer co-designed Desirability of Outcome Ranking (DOOR) measure combining seizure frequency, adverse events and quality of life. Secondary outcomes include changes in seizure frequency, quality of life scores and healthcare utilization; retention on dietary treatment; participant and clinician acceptance of the intervention and cost-effectiveness evaluation. Significance: Our enhanced model of providing dietary therapy with medical technologies to support patients and families, has potential to improve adherence to treatment, thereby reducing seizure frequency. Reducing seizures, reduces the risk of hospitalisation, injuries and death, and improved quality of life for people with epilepsy and their families. The virtual delivery and monitoring of dietary therapy will increase access to specialist care in regional areas and could be utilised for other conditions requiring dietary therapy.

Background: Childcare is an opportune setting to influence the early cultivation of healthy, environmentally sustainable food provision practices and feeding behaviours at scale. Aims: To assess adoption, acceptability, feasibility and impact of co-designed strategies to enhance awareness and generate practice change regarding healthy, environmentally sustainable and affordable food provision in childcare settings. These strategies include a self-report 1-day food waste audit, and a whole-of-centre 'toolkit' including a classroom activity to engage the children in a 1-week "Food Waste Awareness Week". Significance: Potential to impact current childcare practices and inform childcare food provision policy and practice guidelines in Australia and internationally with positive health and environmental impacts. Outcomes: Co-designed strategies disseminated via Nutrition Australia, ensuring direct research translation and scalable dissemination.

This study is a cluster randomized, double-blind, crossover trial to develop a school-based HEPA filter intervention program targeting school children aged 6-13 years in Melbourne, Australia, and evaluate its effectiveness to improve school indoor air quality and children’s health. We hypothesized that the intervention would improve school indoor air quality and children's health. The study will fill information gaps for the indoor air quality regulatory framework, providing guidelines and recommendations that support health promotion and disease prevention for children in schools.

Brief description of the study purpose: This study looks at a web based clinical decision support tool, designed to assist clinicians in deciding whether their patient with low risk thyroid cancer is suitable for active surveillance (watch and wait approach). Who is it for? You may be eligible for this study if you are aged 18 years or older, you have been diagnosed with Low Risk Thyroid Cancer. Clinicians who are involved in the management of patients with thyroid cancer will also be eligible to participate and provide their feedback on the web-based clinical support tool. Study details Clinicians will be randomly allocated by a randomisation table created by computer software to one of two groups. Clinicians allocated to the first group (intervention) will receive a link to a clinical decision support tool, where they will be able to use this tool to help determine if their patient with thyroid cancer is suitable for active surveillance. They will discuss this result with their patient and then together the patient and clinician will decide between active surveillance or surgery. Clinicians allocated to the second group (control) will receive a link to an online tool that will not generate a result of whether their patient with thyroid cancer is suitable to undergo active surveillance, but will instead provide information about the outcomes of active surveillance and surgery, They will discuss this with their patient and then together the patient and clinician will decide between active surveillance or surgery. Patients will choose either active surveillance or surgery after discussion with their clinician and all patients will be followed over time to see whether they have evidence of cancer progression. Quality of life in all patients will be assessed via a survey. It is hoped this research will determine whether use of web-based clinical support tool has a positive impact on how clinicians discuss the management options for people with low risk thyroid cancer.