ANZCTR search results

The aim of this randomised control trial is to evaluate the efficacy of a lunchbox program on the nutritional content of student lunchboxes. 36 primary schools in the Hunter New England, Central Coast and Mid North Coast regions will be randomly allocated to either the program group or a waitlist control group. The program aims to support parents/carers to swap what is packed in lunchboxes from sometimes to everyday food through the development of school lunchbox guidelines, weekly support messages delivered through a school communication app and resources for parents and schools.

The study is interventional, employing behavioural approaches and diagnostic procedures. The behavioural change aims to instil during the day (awake) and continue abdominal breathing by the participants during sleep. The study will include instructions, training and bringing abdominal muscle awareness to participants during breathing which will be mirrored with biofeedback. Secondly diagnostic procedure via Polysomnographic (PSG) sleep studies will authenticate definitive outcomes. The training on the interventions will be delivered by staff trained by Dr Peter Keller and Ms Thanusha Sothiratnam with 26 years and 14 years of experience respectively in the field of sleep diagnosis and treatment. The mode of delivery will be face to face preferably in group sessions (individually if requested by participants), employing instructions, training, as well as remote monitoring via telephone and internet.

Physical activity is often recommended to people living with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) in an effort to reduce the risk of long-term complications associated with T1D, improve insulin requirements and improve well-being. Although beneficial, we know that as a whole, people living with T1D are less active than the general population. Research suggests these differences in physical activity may be due to specific barriers experienced by people living with T1D. We believe existing physical activity promotion initiatives for the general population do not take into account the complex factors affecting people with T1D. Currently, there are no researched programs to help people with T1D become more physically active. This project is designed to see if a group education program, Type 1 TACTICS for Exercise helps people living with T1D overcome fear of hypoglycaemia as a barrier to physical activity. The project is based on previous exploratory work done at Curtin University and Diabetes WA in 2017. The study will involve approximately 120 adults living with T1D. If we can help people with T1D become more physically active, we may reduce the incidence of diabetes related complications and improve the lives of people living with the condition.

Conceiving before natural fertility declines is impossible or unsuitable for some women, which may lead to missed opportunity due to age-related infertility. Egg freezing can extend a woman's reproductive lifespan, however the decision to freeze is complex and requires consideration of a number of different factors including the uncertainty of outcomes, age, health, financial and psychological factors. Although increasing numbers of women are freezing their eggs, very little is known about their understanding of egg freezing and its potential impact. Nor is it known what information and support women need when making this decision. This study aims to assess the uncertainty, understanding of egg freezing, and the information and decision making support needs of women who are interested in egg freezing. It also aims assess women's preferences for non-medical egg-freezing terminology. To be eligible for this study: - You are female and aged between 18 - 45 years; - Interested in receiving egg freezing information (even if you have already frozen your eggs or made a decision about egg freezing); - Live in Australia; - Able to read English well, and; - Have access to the internet. Participants will be asked to complete a one-off online survey, which will take about 10-15 minutes to complete. It is hoped the findings from this study will help to develop a greater understanding of women considering egg freezing, and help to develop useful resources to support their needs.

Despite strong research evidence on the physical and mental health benefits associated with physical activity, the proportion of older people who take part in physical activity is quite low. New, innovative, accessible and enjoyable physical activity options are required to improve physical activity participation rates and associated health outcomes for older Australians. The proposed research is built on the research team’s successful pilot research using an outdoor purpose-built Seniors’ Exercise Park for older people in improving their strength, balance, function and social enjoyment. The overall aim of the ENJOY project is to implement and evaluate the effects of sustained engagement in physical activity on mental health and physical outcomes through the use of a community-based novel outdoor physical activity program (purpose-built exercise park) for older people in the community. The long term aim is to design and promote an innovative and sustainable outdoor exercise park and program for senior residents within the parks / grounds of participating partners (Whittlesea City Council, Wyndham City Council and Old Colonists Association of Victoria). Older people will be recruited and undergo a 12 week structured supervised exercise program, twice a week. At the completion of the structured exercise program, participants will be able to continue their physical activity using the exercise park (independent use or attending supervised exercise sessions at the park). Selected physical, health, mental and social measures as well as health services costs will be assessed at various time points for an overall 12 months trial participation.

Waiting is a universal phenomenon in health care access. This time is unproductive and frustrating for patients. Brief educational interventions targeting cardiovascular disease risk factors have shown potential for improving patient health outcomes. This trial will, in patients waiting for a cardiology clinic appointment, investigate the impact of a personalised series of curated health educational videos on satisfaction with clinic, motivation to improve lifestyle behaviours and actual lifestyle behaviours at end of clinic and 30 day follow up. In addition it will also investigate the potential for education specifically targeting CPR to improve awareness of and confidence to perform CPR. This will be compared to a control of usual care.

We are seeking to identify whether large supportive social networks in older adults are linked with better memory function and quality of life, and help to protect against memory decline. We would also like to see whether current aged care services offered in the community can improve social networks and halt memory decline. For further information please refer to our study video for clients (https://youtu.be/ChsF7ypNiMo) and aged care providers (https://youtu.be/_EIyiPOpjmw).

People in treatment for substance use disorders have high rates of cognitive impairment. Problematic substance use is likely to be both a cause and an effect of cognitive impairment. Cognitive Remediation (CR) has been shown to improve cognitive functioning in other clinical populations but is rarely available in Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) treatment settings. We will add a CR program to an existing AOD residential rehabilitation program and evaluate its effectiveness and feasibility in this setting. Participants are residents of Wattlegrove, a 3-month residential AOD rehabilitation program in Orange NSW. We will compare standard care with standard care + CR with a non-randomised allocation. The CR intervention will follow the Neuropsychological Educational Approach to Cognitive Remediation (NEAR; Medalia et al, 2009, 2017) and will involve three, hour-long group sessions per week for the duration of treatment. Each group session involves participants working through an individualised program of computerised CR exercises and a manualised group intervention which aims to link the computerised exercises with real life tasks. We aim to determine: (1) whether CR results in better cognitive, AOD, mental health, wellbeing and functional outcomes than standard care, and (2) the feasibility and costs of implementing a cognitive remediation program in a residential rehabilitation setting, for possible future incorporation into routine care at Wattlegrove and other AOD rehabilitation facilities.

The purpose of this study is to determine the acceptability of two different decision aids in assisting with making an informed decision about screening for prostate cancer. Who is it for? You may be eligible for this study if you are a male aged 45-60 years, who has not been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Study details Participants in this study will be randomised by chance to receive one of two online information sheets (referred to as ‘decision aids’). One version of the decision aid is short, while the other is slightly longer. Participants will then be asked to complete a questionnaire based on the information they have just received. It is hoped that this research will help determine which information tool will help better inform men about prostate cancer screening.

Study Aims This study aims to assess the effects of a supervised outpatient multidisciplinary therapy program, compared to standard care, on neurological and clinical decline in individuals with premanifest Huntington's disease (HD). Who is it for? You may be eligible to participate in this study if you are 21 years or older and have been diagnosed as gene positive for the HD mutation (>39 CAG repeats). Study Details This study is a controlled exploratory study. Participants will be allocated to either the multidisciplinary therapy group (Perth) or standard care group (Melbourne). Participants in the multidisciplinary therapy group will be asked to undertake thrice-weekly training sessions for two hours per session for nine months. Training sessions comprise cognitive and exercise training, dual tasking and lifestyle guidance. The standard care group will receive their normal care throughout the study. Participants will be assessed with brain imaging, cognitive, movement, mood, sleep, physical and cognitive activity and biological tests and questionnaires. Potential Study Outcomes It is hoped that the finding of this research project will highlight the therapeutic utility of multidisciplinary therapy programs for people living with HD and provide much needed data to apply for funding for a randomised controlled trial across Australia.