ANZCTR search results

The controlled before-and-after study of 284 mother-infant dyads will test the effectiveness of residential early parenting services to reduce postpartum maternal depression and improve infant behaviour. Mothers scoring 10 or above on the EPDS, a screening instrument for depression and reporting behaviour disturbance in their infants will be recruited from immunization clinics for the control and from residential early parenting centres for the intervention groups. Maternal mood and infant behaviour will be re-assessed using standardized psychometric measures at infant age 6 months and again when the baby is aged one year. It is hypothesized that the treated group will have lower one year postpartum rates of maternal depression, anxiety and adjustment disorders and infant behaviour disturbance than the control group receiving routine care.

The aim of this project is to compare the efficacy of a three-month supervised fitness centre-based exercise programme to an unsupervised home-based exercise programme in improving fitness and psychosocial functioning in a traumatic brain injured population. We aim to carry out a multi-centre, assessor blinded, randomised controlled trial with parallel group design to compare the two interventions. We hypothesize that a supervised fitness-centre based exercise programme, compared to an unsupervised home-based programme will show significant improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness, depression and community integration.

This is a trial addressing the significant problem of cancer pain and the role of educational materials to improve patients' knowledge about pain relief and thereby improve pain and quality of life.

A research study into the gynaecological disease called endometriosis. Endometriosis affects 10 -15% of reproductive women. It can cause painful periods and painful intercourse, infertility and irregular bleeding. The cause of the disease is still unknown and the diagnosis of endometriosis is only possible with surgery. Women who are known to have endometriosis and those whose symptoms suggest that they may have endometriosis are being invited to participate in our study. The objective of our study is to investigate whether a device called Endosampler can be used to diagnose endometriosis by picking up small nerve fibres in the lining of the womb .Our preliminary studies suggest that these nerve fibres play a role in pain generation associated with endometriosis

The research will compare three groups of first-time mothers (a creative arts intervention group, an informal therapy intervention and control group and a questionnaire only and additional control group) in a partially randomised, controlled pilot trial in order to determine whether the psychological creative arts intervention program is more effective in reducing the use of analgesics or pain-relief during labour, increasing the level of satisfaction with labour, or the woman's ability to cope with labour, and reducing levels of depression and anxiety post-natally, compared to an informal birth support group, and a questionnaire only control group.

Breast cancer affects nearly 10,000 Australian women each year. Because the treatment of the cancer is so invasive and aggressive, and there is insufficient rehabilitation, women often report the presence of symptoms such as stiffness, weakness, swelling and pain months and years after treatment. These symptoms can impact on the quality of life and interfere substantially with activities of daily living for the cancer survivor. We will investigate whether an early intervention program of daily stretching and strengthening for muscles about the shoulder prevents occurence of these symptoms. We will compare the outcomes of patients randomly assigned to either an exercise group or a usual care (control) group. Subjects allocated to the exercise group will perform exercises daily, and will be supervised by a physiotherapist once a week for 8 weeks. At the end of the 8 weeks, subjects will be given a home-based training program to continue indefinitely. Subjects in the 'Usual care' group will receive the same care as is now typically received, a vist by the physiotherapist and occupational therapist while an inpatient, and receipt of pamphlets. All subjects will be measured at baseline, 8 weeks, and 6 months intervals up to 3 years. The primary measure is arm symptoms, derived from a Breast Cancer specific questionnaire (BR32). In addition, range of motion, strength, swelling, pain and quality of life will be assessed. This study will determine whether the secondary problmes associated with treatment of breast cancer can be prevented by exercise, and provide the basis for successful rehabilitation. Additionally, it will identify whether strengthening exercises reduces the incidence of swelling.