ANZCTR search results

It is important for individuals with type 1 diabetes (T1D) to engage in a physically active lifestyle, but it can be challenging to control blood glucose levels around exercise. Current exercise guidelines are not written for young people with T1D and are difficult to access. Our research team have developed a mobile health App called ‘acT1ve’. The app was developed in collaboration with young people with T1D, and enables users to receive personalised insulin and carbohydrate advice in relation to the exercise they plan to participate in. This advice is based on international T1D exercise guidelines. The aim of this study is to test the use of acT1ve in free-living conditions with young people with T1D.

Prominent treatments for post-traumatic stress (PTS) involve confronting the traumatic memory and associated thoughts, feelings and sensations. There is recent evidence to suggest that such treatment methods may not need be extensive and may be effective in a short-term intervention, such as structured writing. The proposed research aims to explore the effectiveness of two experimental writing paradigms in comparison to a control, for producing change in PTS symptoms. The research additionally aims to explore the factors that promote recovery (i.e. mechanisms of change). In particular, it will explore the role of each of four putative mechanisms: (1) changing learnt expectation of distress on recounting, (2) changing thinking about the event, (3) self-compassion, and (4) social sharing). It is hypothesised that the experimental conditions will produce change in PTS symptoms in comparison to the control; and that the factors which will account for these changes (i.e. mechanisms) will differ depending on type of writing condition and its associated underlying theoretical paradigm.

The advent of technology that can enable immersive and engaging, high-dose practice, has led to new opportunities for restoring function in neurological patients. ECU’s Neurorehabilitation and Robotics (Edwards) Lab has recently acquired the Mindpod motion capture and gaming system, that enables fun exploration and practice using whole arm-hand in large movements to guide a dolphin to swim in a gaming environment. We test if this immersive digital gaming system in the stable chronic phase of stroke, can safely and feasibly be conducted and can have positive effects on arm function and cognition.

We will pilot a community palliative care coordination package in an urban and rural setting within Hunter New England Local Health District. We hypothesise that earlier identification of distress through routine surveillance in our community based patient together with the availability of a pool of Assistants in Nursing will improve the number of days spent in the place of preference (home).

This research study is looking at the effects of photobiomodulation ( Photobiomodulation therapy is defined as the utilization of non-ionizing electromagnetic energy to trigger photochemical changes within cellular structures that are receptive to photons) on healing of pilonidal sinus wounds healing after surgical debridement. As this is a pilot study it is a feasibility study into wether we have correctly set up the parameters for this project so a larger study can take place which will have more statistical significance. We are using a small LED torch which produces a 660 nm wavelength and shining the light directly onto the wound for a period of 60 -90 seconds in those patients who have been referred to Hospital in the Home for complex wound management. The length of time is determined by the size of the wound, 90 seconds for wounds longer than 4 cm and 60 seconds for wounds 4cm or less. The plan is for having a control group and a treatment group both will receive the same standard dressing care regime but the treatment group will additionally have the light treatment.

Treatment of end-stage kidney disease for more than 2 million people worldwide, including 13,000 Australians on dialysis is extremely costly ($1.1billion per year) yet results in poor survival (45% at 5-years), lower than all cancers combined. Health-related quality of life for people managed on haemodialysis is low, around 60% of full health. Both women and men on haemodialysis frequently experience symptoms of severe or overwhelming pain, fatigue, nausea, cramping, itching, trouble sleeping and depression which contributes to a poor quality of life. The problem is standard dialysis care does not focus on patient-centered outcomes like health-related quality of life or symptoms; instead the focus is on the management of biomarkers (e.g. urea, potassium, phosphate). This has resulted in missed opportunities to intervene and improve symptom management and overall quality of life. New data from other areas suggest symptom monitoring may not only improve quality of life, but also improve overall survival. The Symptom monitoring WIth Feedback Trial (SWIFT) is a novel Australia & New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Association (ANZDATA) registry-based cluster randomised trial to improve the lives of people on kidney dialysis. We will test the hypothesis that: symptom monitoring using the IPOS-Renal with feedback to clinicians, improves health-related quality of life (measured by the EQ-5D-5L) and cause specific mortality among participants receiving haemodialysis.

This study will use a single blinded pre-post interventional randomised controlled trial design to evaluate the effectiveness of an infographic compared to an synchronous e-learning module to increase general practice nurses' knowledge of CKD risk factors and screening processes and to; evaluate the effectiveness of an e-learning module compared to an infographic on general practice nurse's learning time.

The aim of this 12-week study is to compare the effectiveness of consuming 2, 7 and 12 eggs per week during the winter-spring months on serum (blood) vitamin D levels in adults aged 25-40 years who are at risk of low vitamin D status. This design will determine whether there is a dose-response relationship between egg consumption and vitamin D levels, and to help assess if there is an optimal number of eggs required to maintain vitamin D status during the winter-spring months. We hypothesize that there will be a linear dose-relationship between egg consumption and vitamin D levels, and that the consumption of 7 eggs per week (equivalent to a weekly vitamin D dose of approx. 1150 IU) will maintain vitamin D levels relative to the low egg group who will experience a wintertime decline, whereas consumption of 12 eggs per week (equivalent to a weekly vitamin D dose of approx. 2000 IU) will be effective to increase vitamin D levels after 12 weeks.

A mixed methods study. A randomised controlled trial with 78 participants adult inpatients with severe acquired brain injury; 40 allocated to routine usual care and 38 to four group therapy sessions over two weeks run by an experienced Occupational Therapist. Outcome measures were collected at baseline and at the completion of the therapy (Barrow Neurological Institute Fatigue Scale, Quality of Life after Brain Injury questionnaire and a Fatigue Knowledge questionnaire assessing knowledge related to the aims of the education modules). Ten patients were interviewed to discuss their fatigue journey and impressions of receiving fatigue management therapy in a group.

Pain after surgery can impact your recovery and there has been a lot of research into what we can do to improve your pain. After a laparoscopy for a hysterectomy or endometriosis, you would normally have regular paracetamol and an anti-inflammatory called diclofenac, and some opioid medication called oxycodone for when your pain is particularly bad. We are conducting a trial to determine whether placing some local anaesthetic in the pelvis at the end of your laparoscopic hysterectomy or excision of endometriosis can improve your pain in the first 24 hours after surgery, in addition to the standard medications that you would use for pain. Approximately 100 women will be involved in the study. You will be randomly allocated to either receiving the local anaesthetic, or receiving a placebo (something that looks exactly like the local anaesthetic but doesn’t have any medicine in it). Neither we, as your doctors, or you will know which allocation you receive, and we cannot decide which allocation you receive if you agree to take part in the study. After your surgery, we will ask you to tell us about your pain using what is called a ‘visual analogue scale’ at 1, 4, 8 and 24 hrs postoperative. You will need to fill in a paper questionnaire at home. We will also ask you to record how much pain relief you need during the first 8, 24 and 72 hrs. This form can either be emailed or posted back to us via the envelope provided. A member of the research team will call you at 72 hrs and 2 weeks postoperative to evaluate for any complications. We will be conducting the study at the Townsville University Hospital and the Mater Hospital in Pimlico.