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Health literacy is recognised by the WHO as “a critical determinant of health”, and is defined by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care as “the skills, knowledge, motivation and capacity of a person to access, understand, appraise and apply information to make effective decisions about health and health care and take appropriate action.” Poor health literacy is known to be associated with a wide range of adverse outcomes, including increased hospitalisation and emergency presentations, lower uptake of vaccination, and poor health and higher risk of death among older people. The promotion of health literacy in children offers to empower them to make informed decisions around their own health, and to promote the skills required to life into adulthood and beyond. The assessment of health literacy is of use to guide clinical practice and in health research – to guide interventions in health literacy itself, to assist clinicians to target the need for additional specific health education, to assist with pitching that education at an appropriate level, and to ensure research captures a broad sample of our population. The HLS-Child-Q15 is a health literacy tool for use in children which consists of 15 short questions and has advantages in respect of having been developed specifically for children, being relatively short, simple and quick to complete, and not relying on significant numerical abilities. Each item in the tool addresses how difficult or easy the child finds a particular health task (e.g. “find out which food is healthy for you?”) and assigned a score from 1 to 4 for “very difficult” to “very easy” respectively. The tool is currently only validated in its German (ages 8 to 12, but 92.8% age 9 to 10) and Dutch (ages 8 to 11) versions, both of which demonstrated high internal consistency. While an English translation of the items has been published with the initial German version and has also been used in English in one published study, this version of the tool has however not been validated. Validating this tool can provide greater confidence for the tool’s use in English-speaking populations. We therefore intend to validate the HLS-Child-Q15 in English, with the expected benefits of providing a child-specific health literacy assessment tool that is applicable to both clinical and research uses.

Millions of children undergo anaesthesia for surgical procedures around the world every year. Medical encounters can be an anxiety inducing experience for children, particularly when invasive procedures are performed, as happens for anaesthetic induction. Children can find the induction experience unpleasant because they are in an unfamiliar environment, with unfamiliar people and/or they have an aversion to needles or because they may find the anaesthetic gas mask intrusive and frightening. Preoperative anxiety is a common and unfavourable manifestation in children and has been reported in 50 – 80% of children and can be characterised by feelings of apprehension, tension and worry and can stem from reasons including fear of the unknown, anticipation of separation from parents, fear of potential pain and fear of loss of control. High levels of preoperative anxiety are associated with both physiological and psychological adverse outcomes in children such as significantly higher postoperative pain, increased anaesthetic use, a higher incidence of emergence delirium, prolonged recovery, and lengthened hospitalisations. These outcomes have detrimental effects on patients. Moreover, negative postoperative impacts of preoperative anxiety include maladaptive behaviours, such as nightmares, separation anxiety, increased fear of doctors and eating disorders. Pharmacological interventions are currently the most common approach used to manage preoperative anxiety. However, there are some limitations to this method. Virtual-reality and video-based technology has been demonstrated to be acceptable and effective in minimising anxiety through both acting as a distraction and as an interactive means to acclimatise to the perioperative setting. Paediatric anaesthetists often use distraction techniques such as conversation or humour to mediate anxiety. Maintaining parental presence during the induction of anaesthesia is another regularly used approach to help support paediatric patients. These social support methods have their benefits and challenges, but with limited overall anxiolysis. The objectives of this project are to identify key themes related to children’s, parent’s, staff and volunteer lived experiences of and views regarding anxiety in acute settings, particularly in the perioperative environment at Perth Children’s Hospital. The ANTELOPE study will improve our understanding of children’s’ anxiety in the perioperative setting to inform the adaptation and implementation of the perioperative Magic Coat program for use at Perth Children’s Hospital.

We think that we now have a better test for identifying clinically important alcohol use, by measuring an alcohol product, phosphatidiylethanol (PEth), in blood. We want to compare this test with the current standard blood test for alcohol (the blood alcohol level) by running both tests on every blood specimen sent from the emergency department (ED) for alcohol testing in the next 12 months. This is a non-interventional, observational study, consisting of patients whose alcohol consumption is being investigated as a causative factor in illness or injury. The study will involve the secondary use of routinely collected blood samples that have completed their clinical purposes and are in storage, awaiting disposal. The clinical study is a single time-point (snapshot) experiment, where patients will not be contacted, and their treatment will not be affected by the outcome of the research.

Chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting is a well-recognised problem for patients undergoing cancer treatment. While significant progress has been made over the last few years, nausea remains a debilitating issue for some people and therefore newer treatment interventions are required. Among the non-drug interventions, music therapy intervention appears promising based on its previously demonstrated health benefits. Therefore, the aim of the study is to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a novel music therapy intervention for the prevention and treatment of chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting. Who is it for? You may be eligible to join this study if you are aged 18 years or older, and are planned to undergo systemic chemotherapy for your cancer that is known to be associated with nausea and vomiting. Study details All participants will be provided with a music listening device with preloaded music that was recorded using music therapy principles designed to promote relaxation. The device will be given to participants at the beginning of their first and second chemotherapy cycles. Participants will be asked to listen to a minimum of 5-15 minutes of music through using the device during each day chemotherapy cycles. Before and after the first and second cycle, the participant will complete questionnaires using the device regarding chemotherapy induced symptoms, symptoms of nausea and vomiting, and sleep quality. It is hoped that this study will show that music therapy is feasible, acceptable, and effective for the prevention and treatment of chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

This study aims to evaluate the effect of a 12-month eHealth exercise and diet program on the quality of life and wellbeing of women with metastatic breast cancer (MBC), compared to a current practice control Who is it for? This study is for women aged 18 years or older, who have been diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in the previous 10 years, living in Queensland and are well enough to partake in an exercise program. Study details Participants who choose to enrol in this study will be randomly allocated (by chance, similar to flipping a coin) to one of two treatment groups. Participants who are allocated to the first group will be given access to an eHealth-delivered exercise and diet program for 12 months. These participants will be able to attend up to 10 one-on-one remote video sessions with an Accredited Exercise Physiologist and up to 10 sessions with an Accredited Practising Dietitian. During each session the health professionals will work with participants to create a tailored exercise and/or eating plan to optimise participants' health and wellbeing. Participants who are allocated to the second group will continue to receive their current treatment/s from their specialists and will be encouraged to access existing services and resources (e.g., Breast Cancer Network Australia’s online tool to receive information and resources in relation to exercise and nutrition). The My Journey online tool is available to all Australian women diagnosed with breast cancer (https://www.bcna.org.au/understanding-breast-cancer/bcna-resources/my-journey/). The online tool also informs women of other existing community-based or online support options, including accessing support to allied health services (e.g., dietitians and exercise physiologists if they wish to) through a General Practitioner (GP)-coordinated Chronic Disease Management (CDM) Plan. Data Collection All participants will be asked to complete a physical assessment (via video), a DXA scan at a local imaging facility, an online questionnaire, and a food/drink recall at the time of enrolment, and then at 6 and 12 months after enrolment. At 3 and 9 months, participants will only complete a brief online questionnaire. It is hoped this research will determine whether a tailored telehealth exercise and diet program has a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of women with metastatic breast cancer. If this program is found to be effective it may be expanded across Australia for access by a larger number of metastatic cancer patients.

Researchers at the Black Dog Institute have developed a new digital mental health tool for children aged 8 to 10 years who worry or experience low mood. The goal of the program is to help children to develop healthier thinking habits to help with their worry and low mood. In this study, we are conducting a clinical trial to evaluate whether the program is beneficial for children’s mental health. The current project will investigate the efficacy of a novel Cognitive Bias Modification of Interpretations (CBM-I) intervention for children with elevated symptoms of anxiety and/or depression. The CBM-I program has been developed in consultation with children, parents and mental health professionals to maximise engagement and relevance of content and features for children with anxiety and depressive concerns. Children aged 8-10 years who are reported to experience anxiety and/or depressive symptoms above a clinical cutoff will be randomly allocated to a CBM-I intervention or a waitlist control group. Children in the intervention group will undertake eight sessions online on a home device which trains them to interpret ambiguous information more positively or neutrally. Anxiety and depressive symptoms, and interpretation bias will be assessed before and after the intervention/waitlist period. Compared to the waitlist control group, we expect that the intervention group will report fewer symptoms and biases following the intervention/wait period and these gains will be maintained at one month follow up. We will also examine whether the intervention is enjoyable, useful, and easy to use among participants in the intervention group. This project is significant as it will evaluate the first CBM-I intervention which targets both anxiety and depressive symptoms in children and has been co-designed in consultation with children parents and clinicians. If the intervention is found to be effective and acceptable, it has potential to be used during a waitlist for standard care (e.g., Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)).

Surgical wound complications such as surgical site infection or surgical wound dehiscence are a considerable burden to the patient, carer and provider. They result in delays to wound healing, reduced patient wellbeing, readmissions to acute care and clinical management in the primary and community nursing setting. Early identification is key to prevention and the use of dressings that reduce the bacterial load of the incision site may reduce the occurrence of wound complications after surgery. A randomised control trial is proposed to determine the efficacy of bacterial binding dressings for the prevention of surgical site infection and surgical wound dehiscence in an adult population undergoing abdominal surgery. The interventional dressing contains a fatty acid coating bacterial binding agent dialkylcarbamoylchloride (DACC) associated with reducing bacterial burden in chronic wounds. Unlike other antimicrobial dressings that rely upon a chemically active agent to reduce bioburden, DACC dressings use a mechanical rather than a chemical mode of action to reduce bioburden. Two arms will be investigated, one with the DACC dressings and a control arm using no DACC dressings. Participants will have a 14 day wear time of the dressing and will be followed up for a period of 30 days after their surgery including standard wound review meetings as per usual care. This study aims to determine the comparative efficacy of DACC containing dressings for the prevention of surgical wound complications following abdominal surgery in an adult cohort.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the 12th highest contributor to global disability. It typically involves the hip and knee causing joint pain that leads to impaired function and reduced quality of life. There is no cure for OA and treatment focuses on long-term self-management of pain with exercise and weight loss (if overweight). But, people with OA are dissatisfied with the quantity and quality of information provided to them about their condition and do not feel equipped to self-manage successfully. We are conducting a randomised controlled trial to evaluate whether a Massive Open Online course about OA and its management may be a scalable solution to improve people with hip and/or knee OA’s knowledge of the condition and their confidence to manage their joint pain, compared with OA education that is currently available online. The primary outcomes under investigation are OA knowledge and pain self-efficacy. Participants will be randomly allocated to one of two treatment groups; i) Consumer-focused Massive Open Online Course (Experimental intervention) ii) OA information pamphlet (Control intervention) Primary and secondary outcomes will be collected by web-based survey at baseline (if applicable), 5 weeks post randomisation (primary) and 13 weeks post randomisation (secondary).

Occupational therapists conduct home assessments to establish patient safety at home and provide rehabilitation to support hospital discharge and prevent readmissions. Assessment requires visual observation of the home environment. This requires significant engagement with the patient and often a carer. In 2021, over 6000 home assessments were completed across Sir Charles Gairdner Osborne Park Healthcare Group (SCGOPHCG), with staff spending over 1,650 days per year completing home assessments at a cost of over $700,000. Virtual care has been introduced to undertake home assessments and has great potential for providing a non-inferior and cost-effective service. Some small studies have demonstrated that home assessments delivered via virtual care are feasible at assessing the home environment for risks, providing rehabilitation and potentially reducing hospital length of stay. This study will implement an occupational therapy home visiting service using virtual care to reduce therapy time. It is hypothesised that this model will be non-inferior to the traditional face-to-face model of care in regard to adverse events and patient satisfaction.

Patients with a diagnosis of high grade glioma are at risk of extended hospital stays. The lack of access to timely services is an ongoing challenge for multidisciplinary teams when planning discharge for these patients. This study aims to assess the impact of early referral (at diagnosis) to allied health services on the quality of life and health outcomes for patients with high grade glioma (HGG) and their carers. 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 high grade glioma within the past three months. Patients with and without carers will be eligible. Study details All participants who choose to enrol in this study will be given an early referral to the allied health service at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. Participants will be contacted by either a senior occupational therapist or a senior social worker within 6-8 weeks of their first oncology appointment, which may occur in person or over the phone. During the initial appointment, the occupational therapist or social worker will complete an assessment with the participant (and their carer, if applicable) to determine their needs. Follow-up appointments will be scheduled for each participant dependent on their needs. The initial and subsequent appointments will either be face to face or via virtual care (remotely delivered telehealth) and will vary in length from 30-90 minutes. Standard interventions that are provided by the occupational therapist and social worker in the oncology service include provision of equipment, assessment and referral for home services, National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) application support, case coordination and patient and carer education. Participants and their carers will be asked to complete a series of questionnaires during the initial assessment and again at 6 months after the initial assessment. The study period is set at 6 months, but therapy treatment will continue after this time dependent on the participant’s needs. It is hoped this research will determine whether providing early referrals for high grade glioma patients to allied health services, including occupational therapists and social workers, leads to improved quality of life and fewer unplanned hospital admissions. If this model of care is found to be more beneficial than the current as needed referral system, it may be implemented more broadly to high grade glioma patients nationwide.