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With advances in medicine, more people are surviving critical illnesses. The psychological impact of critical illness and intensive care units (ICU) on survivors is considerable. Psychologists have a unique opportunity to contribute to early rehabilitation in ICU. However, there is a need to evaluate whether providing psychological services early in a patient's recovery can be done. The current research aims to study whether implementing a psychology service in the Logan Hospital ICU is feasible and accepted by both patients and staff. Recruited patient participants will be screened for psychological distress using validated measures at different times in their recovery, and they will receive psychological care as required. Evaluation of the implementation of the ICU psychology service will involve collecting feasibility outcomes, the degree to which patients find the model of care acceptable, as well as staff perceptions of the service after its implementation. The current research findings will inform future research regarding the implementation of embedded psychology services within ICU and guide the development of such a service within the Logan Hospital.

Psilocybin is a natural compound found in some mushroom species known to act on the brain pathway involved in depression. It is administered orally as capsules and is usually given during a psychotherapy session. A growing number of studies have shown that psilocybin can be safely given to humans for the treatment of depressive symptoms and can induce a profound psychedelic experience (a temporary altered state of awareness and responsiveness to your surroundings). Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a very common chronic mental health illness that can interfere with social, occupational and family relations. It can lead to disability and can even have life-threatening consequences. Although very variable, some factors may influence MDD such as genetic risk factors, recent negative life events, alcohol abuse and lack of family and social support. It has been reported that most MDD patients have problems with multiple areas of family functioning that are not usually considered during treatment. Most people diagnosed with MDD will relapse after their first episode of depression, and that risk increases with every subsequent episode. The primary goal of any MDD treatment is to control its symptoms and restore the person’s functionality. It usually involves a combination of medication and psychotherapy. However, despite modern advances in drugs and psychotherapeutic treatments, approximately 1 in 3 people with MDD do not respond to antidepressant therapies. Treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (TRMDD) can be defined as a failure to achieve remission to at least two proven antidepressants with adequate dosing and duration. Psilocybin has been used in multiple studies in people with TRMDD for more than 10 years. It has a different way of interacting in the brain than the current available antidepressant medications and it has shown promise as an aide to psychotherapy, especially for those with TRMDD. It has been studied at various doses and there have been no significant serious side effects. This study aims to show that there is an increased benefit to TRMDD participants that receive PAP and to see if involving family members who can be defined as a person with a close relationship to the participant such as a friend, relative, significant other, and/or cohabitant, may provide a more effective treatment and fewer relapses.

By conducting this study we hope to 1) evaluate the feasibility of a One Day Expedited Treatment for anxiety disorders; and 2) examine the dropout rates in the One Day Expedited Treatment. This results from this study will inform us if this is an acceptable and effective way to deliver cognitive behavioural therapy, and may result in additional treatment options for individuals with anxiety disorders.

Regular physical activity plays a key role in cardiovascular disease and stroke prevention, yet over one third of Australians are insufficiently active. This project aims to establish the impact on physical activity of a novel incentives-based strategy to increase public transport use through a single-blinded parallel group randomised controlled trial. Findings will provide public health and transport authorities with evidence to inform decisions around the use of incentives-based strategies. We hypothesise that a public transport incentives scheme will increase daily steps compared to a control group.

This proposal is a type-1 hybrid randomised controlled trial, focussing on effectiveness and implementation. Our aim is to grow the capacity of parents of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDD) to continue to effectively implement and manage ongoing interventions for their children, with an easily translatable online/telehealth intervention: E-PACT. Parent capacity is underpinned by multiple factors including physical and mental health and is associated with multiple child outcomes. Our primary outcome is parent capacity itself, specifically the core parenting competency: emotional availability measured on the Emotional Availability Scale (EAS). Secondary outcomes include parent and child physical and mental health. Tertiary outcomes will measure the cost and consequences, barriers and facilitators of E-PACT delivery compared to Care as usual to inform implementation. We will conduct a phase III RCT of an online/telehealth intervention E-PACT with 300 families of children with NDD. This is a two-arm RCT in which families of a child (0-10 years) with a diagnosis of any NDD or at identified increased likelihood of a NDD will be randomly assigned to E-PACT or Care As Usual (CAU) with follow-up until 6 months post baseline. All families will complete pre-intervention assessment at baseline (T1), post-intervention assessment (T2), and 6 months follow up (T3 6 months post baseline). Families in the CAU group will then be provided with E-PACT after completion of the six months follow up (wait-list control).

Depression is the top leading cause of disability, yet existing treatments leave many people with a shortfall in recovery. In addition, medical and particularly cardiovascular comorbidity dramatically shortens the lives of people with depression, and there are no routine strategies to reduce this burden. Current evidence suggests a possible aetiological role for inflammation in the genesis and pathophysiology of depression and comorbid medical disorders especially cardiovascular disorder. Statins and metformin reduce inflammation and have established benefits for medical comorbidity. Both agents show antidepressant effects in preclinical models. Multiple epidemiology studies and preliminary clinical trial data suggests an antidepressant effect of both agents. Hearts and Minds is a 3-arm multicentre, randomised, double-blind, trial of atorvastatin (40 mg daily) and metformin (2000 mg daily) for the treatment of depression in people who remain symptomatic after a trial of established therapy. This will be a 16-week placebo-controlled trial with a 6 month follow up period.

The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of Compassionate Mind Training among university students experiencing self-criticism. University students are faced with multiple psychological and social stressors throughout their studies. This puts them at risk of experiencing poorer psychological wellbeing and self-criticism. Diminished psychological wellbeing is associated with poorer academic outcomes, university dropout and poorer social functioning. Compassionate Mind Training was developed to target self-criticism and promotes wellbeing by cultivating compassion. Research suggests CMT can significantly reduce psychological distress and self-criticism, and improve wellbeing. Details of the study include: Participants who wish to participate in the study will be required to attend an 8 consecutive-week group therapy session at the School of Psychology, the University of Queensland, St Lucia. Each session will run for 150 minutes, with groups consisting of approximately 20 people and 2 facilitators (a registered clinical psychologist and a provisional psychologist). Group programs will start between the end of February and beginning of March, 2022. We are aiming to run groups on a Monday. Spaces are limited for the program. In total we will be recruiting up to 80 participants. We will be recruiting from January 2022 until spaces are filled. Participants will be required to complete questionnaires at 3 time points, 1) upon recruitment, 2) at week 8 and 3) at a 3-month follow-up. Participants will be required to attend all sessions. There is no cost, outside of the time to complete the questionnaires. All sessions are free. We hypothesise that compassionate mind training will help students by reducing their levels of depressive symptoms, perfectionism and improve their self-compassion and wellbeing

This research is investigating a naturally occurring compound called N-acetyl-D-mannosamine monohydrate (ManNAc). ManNAc is a sugar (monosaccharide) which is found in humans. Once in the body, ManNAc is converted to another compound called N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) which plays a role in the synthesis and maintenance of muscle; specifically, it facilitates a process called ‘sialylation’. It is being studied as a supplement drug to treat a condition known as GNE myopathy, a rare genetic disease which is characterised by progressive skeletal muscle wasting (atrophy) caused by a lack of sialylation. In patients with GNE myopathy, this wasting and weakness of muscle affects movement and other bodily functions resulting in disability, wheelchair use and/or incapacitation. Previous studies have shown that the administration of ManNAc can replace the important compounds that patients with GNE myopathy are lacking, and therefore may be useful in treating the disease. While supplementation with ManNAc is a promising treatment for patients with GNE myopathy, additional information on how to best administer this sugar-like compound is needed. Two new formulations have been developed; a chewable tablet formulation and a gastroretentive tablet formulation. This study is therefore being conducted to investigate how ManNAc is absorbed into the body when administered as the chewable tablet formulation and the floating tablet formulation, compared to the current oral solution. This information will provide pivotal data to guide the further development of ManNAc treatment strategies for patients with GNE myopathy.

The trial will test the clinical benefit and cost effectiveness of an implementation package to increase clinician use of arm and stroke rehabilitation evidence in practice. We hypothesise that providing support (education, mentorship) alongside resources (such as equipment and processes) will increase clinician use of the evidence. We will recruit 14 hospitals across 3 Australian states to deliver arm rehabilitation to 238 patients after stroke. The primary outcome is clinician adherence to guidelines, with secondary outcomes of patient arm and hand movement, health-related quality of life and cost. To understand the challenges faced during the PROMOTE trial, we will conduct a process evaluation alongside the main trial. Then, in partnership with the Stroke Foundation, we will employ implementation science methods to work with consumers and clinicians to develop an implementation strategy. Together these will allow rapid translation of findings into routine stroke care.

The average age of patients presenting for elective surgery is increasing. Frailty and cognitive impairment are two common conditions that can predict poor outcomes in surgery, however these conditions are not screened for. We are running a survey to explore what surgical doctors understand about frailty and cognitive impairment in surgical patients, and what the potential barriers and facilitators are to assessing patients for these conditions.