ANZCTR search results

Young people are faced with numerous and powerful influences to use both licit and illicit drugs, and drug education can play an important counterbalancing role in shaping a normative culture of safety, moderation and informed decision making. The aim of this research is to develop and evaluate the harm reduction effect of a comprehensive, evidence based school drug education program for year eight and nine students in a large, representative sample of Victorian government high schools.

Parents of children who suffer from traumatic brain injury, chronic illnesses and developmental disabilities face a myriad issues that may not be immediately apparent. Apart from the practical responsibilities associated with caring for the ill child, other areas such as making sure that the household continues running smoothly and maintaining finances compete with parents' attentions. In addition to these practical challenges, parents also face internal challenges, such as having to come to terms with the possibility of losing their child, or that their child is not going to live their lives like their peers. Hot on the heels of these realizations are the "whys" and "hows" of their children's conditions, which challenge parents' beliefs about themselves and that of the world that they live in. This especially comes to the fore when parents witness their children suffering and in pain, or compare their children with their normally developing peers. As a result of these various sources of stress, a variety of emotional disorders in parents have been found to result from the diagnosis of their children's disabilities or illnesses. Depression, anxiety, as well as post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) have been found to occur most often, with higher rates commonly found in parents whose children have recently been diagnosed (Vrijmoet-Wiersma et al., 2008). Although the level of emotional distress has been found by researchers to drop as time passes, the impact of distress has been found to have long-reaching consequences, sometimes manifesting as negative family communication, increased family conflict, and negative marital relationships, which then results in a vicious cycle as it feeds back into the emotional distress faced by parents. The diagnosis of illness or disability in a child therefore brings about a great impact on parents and the rest of the family. Although the impact of the diagnoses were described in terms of being external or internal to parents, it must be noted that these challenges interact with each other to produce either positive outcomes of growth or resilience in parents, or negative outcomes of distress. Most of the distress experienced by parents has been found by researchers to be at its most intense at the time of diagnosis, and likely to be maintained in the long run if parents' distress are not addressed. As such, the period following diagnosis appears to be crucial in assisting parents to lower their levels of distress. Hence, a screening tool that correctly identifies distressed parents without taking up too much of their time, as well as an intervention that helps them to reduce their distress, particularly existential distress, is necessary. Study 1 is an evaluative study that aims to evaluate the accuracy of a screening approach that assesses the level of distress of parents of children recently diagnosed with traumatic brain injury, chronic and/or life-threatening illnesses such as cystic fibrosis and cancer, and developmental disabilities. It involves a comparative analysis between a set of six emotion thermometers with a more comprehensive battery of assessment tools that measure depression, anxiety, loss of meaning, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The purpose of investigating the utility and accuracy of a screening tool is so that distressed parents can be identified and referred to the various support structures in the hospital. Study 2, on the other hand, aims to compare the treatment outcomes between psychotherapy that is meaning-focused, with cognitive-behavioural treatment (CBT), immediately after treatment and at follow-up three months later. It involves a comparison of the specific components of both forms of therapy which can bring about a reduction of distress in the participants. The order by which the participants will receive both forms of therapy is alternated; that is, participants will be randomly allocated to a group that receives the meaning-focused therapy first, while the other group will receive CBT first, and the order will be switched at the conclusion of the prior treatment. At the conclusion of each treatment, participants will be asked to complete the assessment tools, to find out if there was a reduction in their distress. Hypotheses: 1) There will be a clear indicator of whether the screening tool can identify parents who are distressed. 2) The screening tool will be able to identify parents who may benefit from psychological support. These parents may have been overlooked if the screening tool had not been used. 3) The meaning-focused therapy will reduce parents' distress more than cognitive-behavioural therapy. 4) The greater reduction in distress that is brought about by the meaning-focused therapy than cognitive-behavioural therapy will still be demonstrated by these parents after three months. 5) Parents will report a greater increase in sense of meaning immediately after the meaning-focused component than immediately after the cognitive-behavioural component.

The proposed project will introduce a Nurse Led Intervention (NLI) to engage patients with an admission for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and co-morbid depression and or anxiety. The NLI will facilitate the modification of health related behaviours through motivational interviewing and further education on self care strategies.

This study aims to determine the effect of supervised and home-based exercise training in lung cancer survivors. Who is it for? You may be eligible to join this study if you have been diagnosed with lung cancer and are no longer on treatment. Trial details. Participants in this trial will be randomly (by chance) allocated to one of two groups. One group will undergo supervised and home-based exercise training. This involves resistance (lifting weights) and aerobic exercise (walking), three times per week over a period of 3 months and then will be monitored (without training) for a further 3 months. The other group will be assigned to no treatment for the first 3 months. After this time participants in this group will be given a home-based exercise program and equipment. Participants will complete some tests of physical function and questionnaires about fatigue, and physical activity levels, and have their body composition measured at these time points. It is thought that the exercise program will improve physical function when compared to no training.

This research will investigate the acute effect of whole body vibration (WBV) on sprinting gait and sprint starts in a group of 30 sub-elite sprint athletes that compete in national level athletics championships (18 to 30 yrs). This is a randomised cross-over design with two warm-up treatments and a 7 day wash-out period. There are two stages in this project. In the first stage, participants will be randomly assigned to either a whole body vibration (WBV; n=15) or traditional warm-up modality (TRAD; n=15) for sprinting. Participants will complete the warm-up followed by 6 x 40 m sprints on an athletics track. After a 7 day wash-out period, the participants will repeat the sprint task with the other warm-up modality (cross-over). The following measures will be recorded: 1) reaction time and force production using an instrumented starting block; 2) running pattern using a 2-dimensional motion analysis system; and, 3) 5, 10, 20 and 40 m interval times using timing gates. The randomised cross-over design described above will be used in the second stage of this project to investigate the effect of warm-up modality on over-ground running patterns for steady-state running speeds ranging from 6 to 7 m/s. The patterns will be recorded by a 3-dimensional Vicon Motion Measurement system set up on a netball court in the Bundoora Netball and Sports Centre (BNASC).

Background: A primary source for the development of upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders is prolonged muscle activity. Cognitive work-load, visual load and repetitive low-load tasks during the use of a computer can increase Trapezius muscle activity, resulting in pain around the neck and shoulders. It is believed clinically, that inhibition McConnell taping applied across muscle fibers can reduce muscle activity, potentially contribute to alleviation of muscle stiffness and pain. However, there are few high quality studies which have investigated the effectiveness of this taping with varying outcomes. Hence, a comprehensive study is warranted. Study design: Randomized Placebo Controlled Assessor Blinded Cross-over design Subjects: Sixty asymptomatic volunteers will be recruited from university staff and students Measures: Myoelectric activity of the upper and lower trapezius will be recorded during 3 x 15 minutes computer work using surface electromyography. The EMG data will be analysed using the Amplitude Probability Distribution Function, which is appropriate for the assessment of muscle load during a prolonged functional task. Procedures: All subjects will perform a 15 minute standardized computer task in 3 conditions, which will be separated by at least one week as a wash-out period, following a baseline assessment with the 15 minute standardized computer task in each timepoint. Order of the 3 conditions will be randomised. In Condition 1, a rigid tape will be applied from the anterior aspect of the mid clavicle across the body of the Upper Trapezius muscles to approximately the level of the seventh rib with a posterio-inferior force to bunch the Upper Trapezius muscle fibres. In Condition 2, a tape will be applied without tension on the same spot of the Upper Trapezius (Placebo tape). Condition 3 will be the control condition without any tape applied. On completion of the taping, a towel will conceal the taping from view. The effect of taping in each allocated condition will be statistically analysed with repeated measures ANOVA or Freedman tests.

This project will investigate the effects of two different exercise modalities to recover from delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMs) generated by eccentric exercise of the leg musculature. The two recovery modalities are a traditional recovery technique (static stretching) and whole body vibration exercise (WBV) where a person stands on a vibration plate. The traditional technique is commonly used to recover from DOMS but is not associated with increased blood flow in the legs. Increased blood flow in the legs, however, is thought to be a significant factor in the recovery from DOMS. WBV has been shown to significantly increase blood flow in the legs, therefore, it is hypothesised that it will reduce the intensity of DOMS generated by eccentric exercise of the leg musculature (backward slow walking on a treadmill). The level of DOMs will be assessed by a measurement of shank swelling (lower leg) and a muscle soreness rating. It is known that DOMs reduces strength and power output, and joint range of motion (ROM) in the hip, knee and ankle. These parameters will be measured by a vertical jump for maximum height, muscle activation through electromyography and joint ROM (ankle, knee and hip) with a goniometer. DOMs recovery will also be assessed by recording walking and running patterns since these are significantly affected by DOMS.

Sitting is recognised as a new risk factor for developing chronic illnesses that is independent of physical activity. Current knowledge is limited regarding effective strategies for reducing sitting in the workplace. This study will evaluate whether using sit-stand workstations in the office changes office workers’ sitting time at work and outside of work. Sit-stand workstations allow office staff to switch between sitting and standing while they are working at their desks. Participants (n=50) will trial the sit-stand workstations for 4 weeks and complete questionnaires about their sitting time before and during the trial. They will also wear activity monitors which will objectively measure their sitting time at each measurement time point. After the trial, participants will have a debrief session where they will give feedback about the sit-stand workstations.

Anaemia is prevalent among Aboriginal infants under 12 months old. Delayed cord clamping is a simple way to provide extra blood to the newborn baby. Strong evidence from randomized controlled trials has shown its benefits for neonatal health and reducing anaemia in early infancy. The beneficial effects on Aboriginal infants and beyond the first 6 months of life are still unknown. It is clinically important to determine if this simple intervention at birth will impact greatly the health of remote Aboriginal infants with high risk of anaemia due to poor access to nutrition later in infancy. This RCT will enroll 72 Aboriginal pregnant women from remote aboriginal communities who will give birth at 36-42 weeks gestation by uncomplicated NVD or CS. They will be randomly assigned to either receive the interventional delayed cord clamping until the cord stops pulsating or up to 3 minutes with baby held below level of placenta or vaginal introitus or the standard care immediate cord clamping soon after birth under 1 minute. The primary research question is whether haemoglobin level at discharge is greatest in babies after delayed cord clamping.

In this study, we hope to examine tDCS effects on global arousal and attention levels. Combining evidence gathered from animal models, psychological models, pharmaceutical research, and neurostimulatory research - we hope not only to better elucidate the overall arousal/attention correlation, but also to determine if noninvasive brain-modulation can produce effects comparable to certain drug classes.