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The overall aim of this project is to adapt an existing Hearing Wellbeing Program (HWP) to be an implementation-ready online intervention that addresses the psychosocial and emotional needs of adults with hearing loss. The HWP is the output of a human-centred co-design process conducted in 2020-21 with people living with hearing loss, researchers, audiologists, and psychologists, policy makers, philanthropic organisations, and consultants, initiated by Soundfair (a consumer-driven charity) to address a gap in offerings that address the psychosocial and emotional impacts of hearing loss. It comprises 10 self-guided wellbeing modules, currently available only in hard copy. It is, however, ideally suited to adaptation as an online resource, thus allowing flexibility in its delivery in response to consumers’ desire for accessible support options that are not tied to specific help-seeking pathways (i.e., seeing a hearing healthcare professional) nor location or geography. Specifically, this project will: 1. Adapt the existing HWP to be self-paced and online, using co-design methods with adults with lived experience of hearing loss, audiologists, psychologists, and digital technology experts. 2. Assess and determine the feasibility of the online HWP, and revise the program based on these results. 3. To evaluate the efficacy and health costs of the online HWP for adults with hearing loss, compared to an active control, in a clinical trial.

"One Million Skin Checks: A Feasibility Study of Teledermatology and Artificial Intelligence in General Practice For Skin Checks in Adults” is a research study looking at using teledermatology and artificial intelligence to help diagnose skin cancers. The primary aim of the study is to assess the feasibility of using these technologies in general practice to support skin cancer diagnosis and management. The secondary aim is to evaluate GPs’ experience of using the teledermatology and artificial intelligence diagnosis tools and the online training modules for these tools. Who is it for? You may be eligible for this study if you are aged 18 years or older, you have a skin lesion where the GP is concerned about possible skin cancer and the lesion is suitable for imaging and biopsy. Study details All participants who choose to enrol in this study will have their skin lesion assessed by the GP using both standard care methods, and the newly developed artificial intelligence (AI) diagnosis tools. All participants will have a biopsy of the lesion taken and sent for further cellular analysis to determine next treatment steps. Please note that the use of the AI tools will not impact upon the care you receive. The GP will continue to treat all participants as they would without the AI tools, but they will then assess their treatment decisions against those provided by the AI tools at a later time. In order to assess the lesion using the AI diagnosis tools, the GP will attach a specialised microscope fitting to their smartphone and use this to take photos of the lesion. These photos will then be uploaded to a new app (DermEngine) which will connect the GP to a consultant dermatologist for further review of the lesion. The app also has an AI algorithm built into it which will assess the lesion photos, make a diagnosis, and tells the clinician how likely it is to be cancer. The AI result and the teledermatology opinion from the consultant dermatologist will be made available to your GP a day or two after your consultation. As all of the images in the study are anonymised before leaving the GP practice, the AI and teledermatology results will not be communicated directly to patients, but may be available from your GP upon request. It is hoped this research will demonstrate that use of these AI diagnostic tools for skin cancer checks is practical and acceptable to GPs. If this study does find that using the AI diagnostic tools is beneficial, a larger study enrolling more participants may be undertaken to determine the efficacy of the diagnostic tools compared to standard care for skin cancer checks.

Reform of secondary prevention in rural and remote areas is required to improve reach and access for patients living in such areas, and consequently improve clinical and other health outcomes. The purpose of this project is to evaluate the feasibility of an innovative, tailored telehealth education and counselling program in patients with hypertension living in rural South Australia. This program aims to improve cardiovascular disease prevention, by providing tailored education and empowering patients to self-manage their condition and reduce their risk of heart disease. Tailored telehealth intervention optimises secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease.

This is a phase 2, randomized, double blind, placebo controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of twice daily APC201, for 4 weeks in adults with osteoarthritic pain of the knee. This will be done by analysing pain score and skin check, knee pain and rescue medication diary, and side effects. Safety will be monitored during treatment visits using standard measures, including physical exams, vital signs, clinical laboratory tests and side effect monitoring. Skin at the application sites will be checked to see if there is any irritation or reactions present after applications. The primary purpose of phase 2 study is to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of APC201 in reducing pain in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee compared with those on placebo.

This cluster randomised controlled trial will test the effectiveness of a co-designed online educational help-seeking program against a psychoeducation alone (active control condition) program on improving help-seeking intentions in workplaces.

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a condition in which a patient’s airway repeatedly narrows or closes during sleep. This leads to low levels of oxygen and multiple awakenings throughout the night. Many factors contribute to the blockage of the upper airway during sleep, including the shape, length and strength of the upper airway itself. Oral appliances can improve airway size and can thus also improve OSA. Similarly, exercises that are focused on strengthening the orofacial muscles (Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy) can improve the airway and, therefore, reduce OSA severity. Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy involves exercises targeted to facial and oropharyngeal structures (lips, tongue, and the soft palate) and typically involve aspects of suction, breathing, and chewing. There is some evidence supporting the concept that orofacial myofunctional therapy improves OSA symptoms in adult patients, alongside other benefits including reduced snoring and improvements in sleep quality, oxygen saturation levels and daytime sleepiness. These therapeutic benefits are hypothesised to arise from muscle gain in the upper airway, from improvements in upper airway muscle responsiveness, and from improved coordination in the way that different compartments of tongue and other pharyngeal muscles are recruited together. This trial investigates potential benefits of using the combination of a passive myofunctional oral device along with an active myofunctional device designed to strengthen the oral and facial musculature on OSA severity. Aim: This study will investigate the efficacy of an oral appliance combined with tongue muscle exercises in improving OSA severity. Hypotheses: (1) Wearing the oral appliance for 2 weeks will improve objective measures of OSA severity compared to a baseline assessment conducted prior to commencing wearing the device. (2) Wearing the oral appliance in combination with exercise will be superior to wearing the appliance without exercise in improving objective measures of OSA severity.

The current study aims to evaluate a recently developed online, skills-based educational tool, SkillED. The proposed program has been specifically developed to provide psychoeducation and motivation for individuals with a clinical or subclinical diagnoses of an eating disorder. Overall, we aim to investigate: (1) Program Effectiveness and Safety: The changes in participants’ eating disorder symptomology, general mental health, quality of life, self-perceived skill-level, understanding, knowledge and confidence in eating disorders and the motivation to seek help/treatment, in addition to self-harm and suicidal risk assessment and self-reported weight changes. (2) Program Evaluation: The extent to which participants find the program content and delivery format acceptable and useful, with identification of areas of improvement and consideration to the broader feasibility of online skill-based programs for individuals with an ED across the diagnostic spectrum. We anticipate that engagement with SkillED will result in improvements in eating disorder symptoms, overall wellbeing, knowledge and confidence in understanding of eating disorders, and increase motivation to seek treatment and actual help-seeking behaviours.

This study aims to evaluate the acceptability, feasibility, and short-term effects of a coach-supported, individually-tailored online parenting program for parents of adolescents with suicidal thoughts and/or behaviours in the context of anxiety or depression. The program aims to increase parental self-efficacy to support their teenage child by providing personalised feedback about their current parenting and equipping them with evidence-based parenting strategies to respond to adolescent suicidal thoughts/behaviours, and anxiety and depression. The online intervention consists of up to 13 parent self-guided modules covering different topics related to parenting an adolescent who has suicide risk in the context of anxiety or depression. Online modules are supplemented by up to 9 one-on-one videoconferencing sessions with a trained coach to support parents in making changes in their parenting. We aim to evaluate short-term effects of the program in improving 1) parental self-efficacy to respond to adolescent suicidal thoughts/behaviours, 2) parental self-efficacy in responding to adolescent non-suicidal self-injury 3) parenting behaviours to reduce adolescent anxiety and/or depression, 4) carer burden, 5) family functioning, 6) quality of mental health support, 7) adolescent symptoms of anxiety 8) adolescent symptoms of depression,, and 9) adolescent’s perception of parental support if they were suicidal or self-injurying. It is hypothesised that: (1) Parents will find PiP-SP+ acceptable and feasible to implement; (2) From pre- to post-intervention (4 months later), parents will report improvements in parenting self-efficacy, parenting competencies, family functioning, quality of mental health support, carer burden regarding management of their adolescent’s suicide risk and mental health problems. Additionally, parents will report reduced anxiety and depressive symptoms in their adolescent. (3) From pre- to post-intervention (4 months later), adolescents will report reductions in anxiety and depressive symptoms. Additionally, adolescents will report improvements in the perception of parental emotional support if they were suicidal or self-injuring.

Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy (DPN) is a prevalent and debilitating condition. One way of detecting and managing DPN is to assess the Intrinsic Foot Muscles (IFM). Ultrasound (US) has been used to detect IFM muscular atrophy in DPN patients. In addition, exercise is beneficial in delaying the usual course of DPN, skin damage and ulceration. However, diabetic patients have lower physical activity rates due to limitations such as difficult access to therapy, poor compliance, and limited support to maintain exercise therapy. Therefore, this study aims to assess whether a newly developed biofeedback device, 'Archercise' – a foot muscle exercise and strengthening tool, can correlate IFM Cross-Sectional Area (CSA) measured by US with foot arch control and performance. From this, IFM muscular and functional changes can potentially be detected earlier. In addition, IFM strength and control can be monitored and improved.

Pain from a kidney stone is excruciating. Many people who present to an emergency department with kidney stone pain require admission to hospital and a trip to the operating room to insert a stent to help relieve the pain. The JiffyStent is an innovative medical device that allows the insertion of a ureteric stent in the emergency department without the prolonged wait and need to go to the operating room. This is a proof of concept pilot study to show that the JiffyStent device is able to quickly and correctly insert a stent into the ureters of patients while they are still in the emergency department. A successful outcome will lead to a pivotal multicentre clinical trial necessary for regulatory approval thereby making the JiffyStent device available for widespread use.