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Early childhood dental caries remains a complex childhood problem that affects more than 600 million children worldwide. Our research group has previously found that in NSW currently, one in every 250 children require hospitalisation each year, with a 9% repeat admission rate within a two-year period2 for dental caries. Most of these children attend the safety-net service offered by the public health system. Improving the oral health literacy of parents remains a strong predictor that can shift the barriers to improved oral health outcomes for the child across the lifespan. The latest WHO definition on health literacy is more comprehensive and represents the cognitive and social skills which determine the motivation and ability of individuals to gain access to, understand and use information in ways which promote and maintain good health. When applied to the prevention of tooth decay this definition moves beyond providing a pamphlet and includes elements of motivation and empowerment related to the skills (tooth brushing) and self-efficacy required to maintain sustained preventive behaviours. Whilst, previous oral health literacy tools have focused on word recognition and understanding appointment visitations, our study will directly measure oral health literacy for behaviour change. We hypothesise that co-designed text message interventions will improve oral health literacy, self-efficacy, and behaviours (tooth brushing) of parents with children waiting for a hospital admission for dental caries more effectively than usual care. This randomised control trial, aims to co-design, assess the effectiveness, and evaluate a text message program to support oral health behaviours, increase the oral health literacy and self-efficacy of parents, compared to usual care. We also aim to evaluate fidelity, barriers, and enablers which will inform potential scale-up of the intervention.

Australia is the thirteenth largest contributor of household waste per capita in the world (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2022), spending over $10.5 billion annually on goods and services that are never or rarely used (Australia Institute, 2005). This wasteful behaviour contributes to costly landfills, environmental degradation, and rising household debt. Given society’s overconsumption, a handful of commercial programs currently exist to help people strive for minimalism and to declutter their homes. To the best of our knowledge, none of these commercial programs have been scientifically evaluated to see if they actually work, although many testimonials regarding their effectiveness can be found on the Internet. Thus, there is a clear need to develop an evidence base for such interventions. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of a new online educational course that was developed to help people buy and save fewer possession in order to save money, reduce clutter, and safeguard the planet. This new course, Breaking up with Belongings, is based on scientific research regarding object attachment, possession ownership, and behaviour change. The course is self-paced and comprised of 6 hours of content (videos plus workbook activities). Eligible participants will be randomly assigned to receive this program immediately or after a three month delay. We ask that participants complete the course within 7 weeks of receiving it, so that they can spend the rest of their time working toward reaching the goal(s) they set during the course. Participants are assessed at baseline and three months later. We expect that those who recieve the Breaking up with Belongings course immediately will report greater improvements than those who receive access to it after a three month delay.

The research project aims to (1) to determine the effectiveness of the ‘Tailored iSupport’ intervention for carers and people with dementia; and (2) to evaluate the effectiveness of the implementation strategies applied to embed the ‘Usual support’ and the ‘Tailored iSupport’ into the routine services of aged care organisations in real-world settings. The study will also explore the experiences of carers, frontline staff and facilitators in the project. The hypotheses tested in the study are described in the following: 1. Carers receiving the ‘Tailored iSupport’ will report 1) a higher level of QoL; 2) a higher level of Self-Efficacy; 3) a significantly higher level of QoL for the person they care for via a proxy rating; 4) fewer unplanned hospital admissions, less emergency department use and a lower level of permanent admission into residential aged care by the person they care for; 5) better quality care experiences of persons with dementia via proxy ratings, compared to those in the ‘Usual iSupport group’.

Abdominoplasty is one of the most common plastic surgery procedures performed in Australia. A common complication of abdominoplasty is the formation of post operative seroma, which is thought to be influenced by dissection technique utilised by the surgeon. We propose to conduct a study of patients undergoing abdominoplasty, comparing seroma rates with three different diathermy settings. The proposal will be a prospective, randomised, study of consecutive patients undergoing abdominoplasty, with no exclusion criteria. Only patients consenting to involvement will be included. For excision of tissue and dissection of flaps, a monopolar coagulation diathermy with power setting of 20W will be used for one group, a monopolar coagulation diathermy with power setting of 35W will be used in the second group, and a monopolar cutting diathermy with power setting of 35W will be used for the third group. All three diathermy settings are well within usual range of setting used for diathermy and pose negligible additional risk to patients in either group. We hypothesize that the lower diathermy and cutting settings will result in lower seroma rates, due to less soft tissue damage during dissection. The general surgical technique involves scalpel skin incision, monopolar dissection, liposuction, rectus divarification repair where indicated, and layered soft tissue closure. Compression garment’s will be placed at the conclusion of surgery and continued fulltime for 6 weeks. Patient demographic factors and surgical technique baseline characteristics will be compared. Drains will be emptied at midnight daily by ward nurses who are blinded to the study, with outputs documented at 24-hour intervals. Postoperative mobilisation commences on day 1, with a physiotherapist. Drains will be removed when they were <30ml/d for 2 consecutive days. Data collected will include: baseline demographics, surgical technique, daily drain outputs, time to removal of drains, development of postoperative complications. If complications include seroma or haematoma, the size, location and subsequent management will be noted. Follow up period for the purpose of this study will be 6 weeks post operatively.

The DAB study (ACTRN12613000316707) was a pragmatic, randomised study of corticosteroids and nebulised adrenaline in children with bronchiolitis admitted to intensive care. It showed that, compared to standard care alone, the combination of steroids and nebulised adrenaline reduced the duration of positive pressure respiratory support (PPS). The evidence was particularly strong in the sickest children requiring, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and mechanical ventilation (MV), and those who had Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) infection. Chest hyperinflation is a common clinical sign in children with severe bronchiolitis. It occurs because of lower airway obstruction during expiration and subsequent gas trapping in the lung. Chest hyperinflation can be identified clinically but it is also a chest x-ray finding with varying severity. Chest x-ray findings include, flattened hemidiaphragms, an increased number of rib markings and widened intercostal spaces. Children with bronchiolitis and hyperinflation may be more responsive to the bronchodilator effects of combination corticosteroid and adrenaline therapy compared to those without hyperinflation. Moreover, hyperinflation may be associated with RSV infection, and the presence of hyperinflation in this group may explain the strong effect of steroids and adrenaline. We hypothesise that the degree of hyperinflation predicts the response to steroids and adrenaline on duration of PPS in children with bronchiolitis. We also hypothesise that hyperinflation is associated with the presence of RSV infection. The primary aim of this study is to investigate whether chest hyperinflation, based on x-ray findings, predicts the response to corticosteroids and inhaled adrenaline on the duration of positive pressure support in children enrolled in the DAB study. The secondary aims are to investigate whether chest hyperinflation predicts the presence of RSV and human metapneumovirus or other viruses, and to assess the concordance between radiologists of their assessment of the degree of hyperinflation.

Contemporary treatment of early oesophageal (food pipe) cancer, involves minimally invasive endoscopic procedures; while surgery is reserved only for cases with the highest-risk of the cancer spreading into the surrounding tissues. The risk of cancer spread is determined by samples removed at endoscopy, in which a pathologist is looking to see the depth of cancer spread into the wall of the oesophagus or for abnormal characteristics of the cancer. The purpose of this study is to try and identify patients who are considered higher risk by conventional practice, who are actually at low risk for cancer spread; and, thus can forgo the need for a major operation with poor post-operative outcomes with respect to quality of life, morbidity and mortality. Who is it for? You may be eligible for this study if you are aged 18 years or older and you have been diagnosed with a high risk oesophageal cancer removed at endoscopy. Study details This observational study will be reviewing the medical records of patients who meet the inclusion criteria only. Participants who meet the inclusion criteria will not be required to attend any additional clinic visits or complete assessments; all relevant information will be extracted from medical records directly. It is hoped this research will determine which patients, with lower risk of cancer spread would be considered candidates for non-surgical management, to avoid an unnecessary (major) oesophageal operation.

There are two purposes to this trial. First, to assess the rate of change in axial length when wearing single vision contact lenses with an edge pattern against single vision contact lenses with no edge pattern. Second, to assess the rate of change in axial length when wearing single vision spectacle lenses with a spectacle film containing an edge pattern and adhered on top of the spectacle lens and single vision spectacle lenses with no spectacle film (i.e., no edge pattern). Axial length will be measured with a standard optical biometer. Contact lenses are made from ocufilcon D and spectacle films are made from polycarbonate. It is hypothesised that study products containing edge patterns will have a lower rate of change in axial length.

Trans young people often have poor mental health outcomes and high rates of depression and anxiety. These poor mental health outcomes have been shown to be associated with the abuse, rejection and discrimination that many trans young people experience due to anti-trans attitudes in broader society, referred to as minority stressors. This study will evaluate the Trans Adolescent Group ThErapy for Alleviating Minority stress (TAG TEAM) intervention, which is a group cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) program that focuses on experiences of minority stress and aims to improve symptoms of depression and anxiety. The results of the study will be used to inform the clinical care of trans young people.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disease of the elderly, with knee OA more common than hip or ankle OA. Primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) has been used successfully for decades to treat osteoarthritis. While a mechanical alignment (MA) of the prosthesis was initially pursued, this is increasingly being abandoned with the knowledge of the large variability of individual anatomy and knee biomechanics. New techniques involving patient-specific implantation techniques based on individual cutting guides and robotic-assisted implantation techniques have become more prevalent. While 3D-printed cutting guides are used to plan and perform osseous resections based on the individual bony anatomy, robotic-assisted techniques take into account the ligamentous stress ratios in flexion and extension. The purpose of this study is to determine whether planning based solely on the patient's bony anatomy achieves similar medial and lateral ligamentous tension ratios after total knee arthroplasty as a robotic-assisted technique that implements resections based on ligamentous tension ratios and bony anatomy.

This project will investigate a new, short-term mobility program known as the HiWalk program. HiWalk is a physiotherapy program provided at a time of need - meaning if the stroke survivor is experiencing challenges with their mobility or has a new mobility goal (even years after stroke), then this three-week program may assist their walking ability. Our preliminary research has demonstrated that HiWalk could be successfully implemented in the community after stroke and that the HiWalk program was enjoyed by people after stroke. The next, phase of research for the HiWalk program is a pilot trial of HiWalk allowing us to test the program in a clinical trial setting.