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Although school staff are well positioned to identify possible changes in their students' mental health, many classroom teachers report they feel a lack the confidence and knowledge in knowing how to recognise and best respond to possible signs of mental health changes among students. While best practice guidelines recommend schools offer professional development to teachers that addresses reducing stigma towards those with mental health problems, there are very few programs available that are evidence-based and target the skills required beyond classroom teaching. In response to this training gap, the Black Dog Institute developed Building Educators’ Skills in Adolescent Mental Health (BEAM), an online training program designed to educate secondary school educators in leadership positions (such as Year Advisors, Heads of Wellbeing, and Deputy Principals) about adolescent mental health. BEAM is based on a theory of change which posits that an increase in educators’ mental health knowledge will improve their positive attitude and self-reported confidence in managing student mental health-related issues, and thereby increase the frequency of helping behaviours directed towards students. This unique, flexible, blended-model of training aims to bridge the gap between e-learning and face-to-face training, and allows for the program to be completed when users are available without taking leave from their school. In 2019, a pilot trial of BEAM assessed the acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary effectiveness among 70 Year Advisors across NSW. The pilot found the program to be both acceptable and feasible to deliver, with participants reporting moderate to high satisfaction with the program, most indicating they would use the program again, and all would recommend it to others. Furthermore, preliminary effectiveness of BEAM was demonstrated, with participants reporting decreases in their own levels of psychological distress at 6-weeks post-test, and higher levels of self-reported confidence in managing students’ mental health needs at post-test, with their confidence levels continuing to increase at 12-week follow-up. Additionally, at follow-up, participants reported an increase in the number of helping behaviours directed towards students. However, users reported that ‘lack of time’ was a significant barrier to program completion, along with forgetfulness, and not prioritising the program. The program is ready to be formally assessed for its effectiveness on increasing educators’ self-reported confidence in managing students’ mental health. Additionally, its effectiveness for improving educators’ mental health knowledge, increasing the occurrences of helping behaviours towards students, and reducing stigma and personal distress will also be evaluated.

A pressure injury, or pressure ulcer, is localised damage to the skin and/or underlying tissue caused by unrelieved pressure, shear or friction. Some hospital patients develop pressure injuries- with those in intensive care units at increased risk because they are critically ill and immobile. Several strategies are recommended in the international clinical practice guidelines for the prevention of pressure injuries. One strategy is the use of prophylactic foam dressings to prevent sacral pressure injuries, yet it remains unclear if these dressings prevent pressure injuries. More recently, sub-epidermal moisture scanners, which detect the early tissue damage associated with pressure injuries, are used by some clinicians during their daily patient skin assessment. A benefit for clinicians is they can use the scanner measurements to implement early and targeted pressure injury prevention strategies before skin redness is visible to the naked eye. The aim of this pilot study is to determine the feasibility of conducting a larger three-arm randomised controlled trial that will test the effectiveness of two different prophylactic foam dressings, sub-epidermal moisture scanners versus usual care to prevent sacral pressure injuries in adult intensive care patients.

The health and well-being gap between Australia's First Nations peoples and non-Indigenous population has not been closing satisfactorily. Evidence indicating the effectiveness of Birthing on Country services is building. Building on Our Strengths (BOOSt) aims to develop, implement and evaluate a Birthing On Country service for First Nations Australians, with an integrated Community hub and birth centre. The study is of important national and international significance. A Birthing on Country Service is a complex intervention that reorients maternity services in terms of governance, workforce, continuity of midwifery carer, collaborative care, a focus on strengthening family capacity and cultural connection to improve health and well-being, a community hub, and if feasible, a free-standing birth centre for women with uncomplicated pregnancies, and for women with complex pregnancies - birthing services in the local or tertiary hospital. Culturally safe care is another component and the model recognises the connection between Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples with land and country and a holistic view of health. The BOOSt study will capture both pre- and post-intervention data, while embedding a full evaluation to investigate the processes of model development in context, and those around model implementation. A variety of data sources will be utilised to ensure accuracy and completeness, and to capture psycho-social health and well-being outcomes and behaviors, as well as medical outcomes.

Optimal outcomes in total hip arthroplasty (THA) require accurate implant positioning, which is improved with the use of navigation systems. This study aims to assess the validity of intraoperative data captured using a new handheld imageless navigation device with limited clinical evidence. Data will be collected in a prospective observational cohort study, and informed consent will be required from eligible participants. Patients will undergo standard of care consultation for diagnosis and treatment, including the collection of demographic and surgical data. Patients will be referred to pre and postoperative CT imaging as per the study protocol. An accuracy analysis will compare intraoperative surgical positioning data from the navigation device to measurements from preoperative and follow-up CT scans. The primary outcome is the agreement between intraoperative data captured by the navigation system, compared to postoperative measurements performed on CTs.

The primary aim of this project is to examine the feasibility, consumer acceptability and behavioural outcomes associated with take-home fentanyl test strips (FTS), providing an evidence base for implementation and expansion across services in Australia. People who use heroin (n=80) will be trained in how to use FTS to test their heroin (or other illicit substances) for the presence of fentanyl, and how to interpret the results, Upon completion of the training, participants will complete a short baseline survey, and be given ten strips to take home and use as they wish. Participants will be followed-up four weeks later to assess uptake and consumer acceptability of the strips, as well as associated behavioural changes.

SCUlpTOR is a 24-month research study sponsored by the University of Sydney, evaluating the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of stem cell injections compared with placebo in people with knee OA. Currently, the medical opinion about stem cell therapy for treating osteoarthritis remains highly controversial, given the considerable cost of treatment and very limited scientific evidence of efficacy and safety. Therefore, we aim to conduct this trial to ascertain whether or not intra-articular stem cell injections improve symptoms and slow disease progression in people with mild to moderate knee OA. The stem cells being used were originally sourced from a healthy donor/master cell bank following a standard manufacturing process and release tests to optimise safety and batch to batch reproducibility.

This study will compare the ‘best possible’ treatment delivered during the COVID-19 pandemic to ‘ideal’ treatment before the pandemic for newly diagnosed early breast cancer patients Who is it for? You may be eligible to join this study if you are aged 18 and above, have been newly diagnosed with early breast cancer at Westmead Breast Cancer Institute during the COVID-19 pandemic and discussed by the Westmead multidisciplinary cancer team (MDT) between March and June 2020. Study details MDTs, consisting of surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, pathologists, breast physicians, genetic oncologists and other specialty representatives, will discuss and assess participants’ ‘ideal’ and ‘best possible’ treatment options at team meetings. All participants assessed by an MDT will have discussions about the ‘ideal’ and ‘best possible’ treatment with their treating specialist. The reasons for any treatment that varies from ideal will be explained to the participant. When the COVID-19 pandemic finishes, the participant will be recalled to discuss further treatment if their treatment differed from the 'ideal.' At various stages of treatment, the MDTs will meet and assess participants’ treatment options. All discussions and treatment delivered will be documented in medical records. It is hoped that this research will give insight into the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has presented for breast cancer treatment. It will also identify participants who have not had ideal treatment and they can be followed closely in the future.

Curcumin is a well-evidenced and widely administered supplemental compound. Previous studies have demonstrated its capacity to reduce inflammation and associated physical manifestations. A large body of evidence has also confirmed that ingestion can attenuate oxidative damage. However, the bioavailability of naturally occurring curcumin is poor. Fortunately a novel curcumin formulation, using LipiSperse® technology, has been developed which increases plasma curcuminoids concentration three times compared to raw curcumin. While the safety of this novel formulation has been demonstrated (TGA listed) its effectiveness to reduce markers of inflammation and oxidative damage is not yet known. Therefore the objective of this double blind, placebo controlled trial is to investigate, in healthy humans, the efficacy of the novel curcumin formulation (with LipiSperse® technology) to reduce markers of inflammation and oxidative stress compared to both natural curcumin (without LipiSperse® technology) and a placebo control.

Auditory information is also used to shape predictions about the body. The marble hand illusion demonstrates that when vision of the hand being struck by a small hammer is paired with the sound of a hammer hitting a piece of marble, the hand starts to feel stiffer, heavier and harder, and this changes sensitivity to noxious input. Furthermore, auditory information of a creaky gate paired with back movement led to people overestimating forces applied to the back compared to pairing the movement with a smooth ‘whooshing’ sound. We wish to explore whether auditory information has an influence on pain and function using a clinical pain paradigm. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of auditory information on pain and function in people with AT. To achieve this, we will assess pain and leg stiffness with hopping in people with AT while they hop with no auditory input and compare this to a condition in which hopping is paired with auditory input that suggests enhanced functional capacity of the tendon (a springy “boing” sound) and hopping with auditory input that suggests impaired functional capacity of the tendon (a flat ”slapping” sound). To control for the confounding effect of sound we will also include a control condition in which participants hop while white noise is played through the speakers. Both studies will help inform 1) whether non-nociceptive information sources are important in influencing pain in a clinical condition and 2) reveal if changes in pain are associated with functional performance changes. Furthermore, by enhancing our understanding of how visual and auditory information influences pain intensity we will extend our understanding of the pain experience and may improve the potential utility of these types of feedback as a treatment tools.

Patients with a Cardiac Implantable Electronic Device (CIED) can undergo Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan provided that certain device conditions are met. This requires interrogation of the device and fulfillment of conditionality checklists in the peri-MRI setting. The number of patients with a CIED is increasing and many of whom may at some stage require an MRI, it is therefore anticipated that the number of requests for CIED check in the peri-MRI setting will increase. Additionally, recent data suggests that non-conditional CIED are safe for MRI scan, and if permitted by our radiology department would further increase the burden of peri-MRI scan CIED checks. Our proposed research is to analyze the clinical burden and model of care for CIED checks in the peri-MRI setting