ANZCTR search results

This research is being conducted to investigate the impact of 3 different interventions on the stress hormone cortisol. Dr Stapleton is leading the study in her role within the Faculty Society and Design, Bond University. What you will be asked to do If you have responded to a call for participants and meet the inclusion criteria, you will be randomly allocated to one of three conditions designed to impact stress levels. Firstly, you will be sent an online link for the pre-questionnaire survey. You will then attend Bond University at a set time on a set day for a 1-hour stress intervention. You will be asked to attend 30 minutes prior to your session for the salivary cortisol testing to be done. You will then immediately attend your 1-hour intervention, and 30 minutes after it concludes, you will be asked to provide a salivary cortisol sample again and complete your post questionnaire (same as pre-questionnaire). You will be expected to attend Bond University for a total of 2 hours maximum. What are the 3 interventions being offered? 1. Emotional Freedom Techniques is a type of exposure therapy which includes a somatic and cognitive component. Likened to a version of psychological acupuncture but without the use of fine needles, EFT uses a statement you say out loud while you tap on acupressure points on the face and upper body. The session will teach how to use EFT for stress reduction. 2. Another condition will be a psychotherapy group who will receive information about how to reduce stress. 3. The third group will be asked to enjoy reading as a way of reducing stress for the hour. Participants will be randomly allocated to these different 1-hour treatment conditions. There will be no choice in this aspect. What will happen to my test sample? Saliva samples will be used immediately or stored for future analysis. All data processing will occur by use of a unique code number and not your name. You can withdraw from the study at any time and your sample and personal information will be destroyed. Data collected will remain in a coded format. How participants will be selected or screened Participants will be called for through community advertising, and will have to be over 18 years (for consent issues), You CANNOT participate if: You are taking any of these medications: • Antidepressants (e.g. for depression) • Steroids (e.g. for asthma) • Hormonal medication (eg for Menopause) • Thyroid medication • Diabetes medication (including insulin) • Contraceptives (e.g Pill) You cannot participate if you are pregnant, undergoing menopause currently or have Cushing’s disease, a history of major depressive disorder, PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), or chronic diseases characterized by abnormal cortisol levels (e.g. osteoporosis, hypertension or high blood pressure, diabetes). The expected benefits of the research The benefits of this study will include determining the most effective brief treatment for stress.. When this is established it will form an invaluable component of future stress programs where time is limited.

To explore the effect of sensory awareness practice program in patients following stroke to see if a greater focus on quality of movement improves body awareness, quality of life and somatosensory function. It is hypothesised a greater emphasis on quality of movement during awareness practice will improve patient outcomes following stroke.

Reading is an important leisure activity with multiple health benefits, and the elderly are known to spend more time reading than any other age group. People living with dementia may find book reading difficult to access and enjoy. This study asks whether participating in a shared reading group, using dementia-friendly books, at an aged care facility provides psychosocial benefits. This single-blinded, randomized controlled trial tests the hypothesis that participation in a book club for fourteen sessions improves quality of life (as measured by Resident QoL –AD, self and proxy). Secondary outcome measures are effects on thriving (TOPAS, self and proxy), Theory of Mind (Adapted RMET), cognition (ACE-III), mood (GDS), and behaviour (NPI). The control participants will engage in activities as usual at the facility. The study will include participants with moderate dementia and their family carer.

This pilot study aims to determine the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary effectiveness of using an online platform to deliver a group-based physical activity intervention for first responders (police, fire and ambulance workers) and their partners/carers. By nature of their occupation which involves repeated exposure to potentially traumatic events, first responders are at a significantly increased risk of experiencing poor mental and physical health, including developing depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as premature cardiovascular disease. These health conditions are also associated with lower levels of physical activity and higher levels of sedentary behaviour. The low levels of physical activity among this underserviced population and the potential physical and mental health benefits justifies the importance of exploring innovative and effective ways to promote physical activity in first responders. It is expected that our online intervention will be both feasible and acceptable. We also expect that physical activity levels will increase which may have beneficial flow on effects on mental health outcomes . Sedentary first responders and their chosen support partner will be recruited to a 10-week, group based physical activity promotion intervention delivered online through a secret Facebook group. The group will allow members to receive information and contribute to weekly conversations on pre-specified topics related to physical activity. The purpose of the Facebook group is to facilitate social support and provide participants with a platform to exchange personal experiences including barriers and facilitators to commencing and maintaining a physical activity program. All participants will also be provided with a Fitbit and encouraged to set goals and track their physical activity levels as a way to support self-monitoring. The iterative development of this intervention has occurred through collaboration with project advisors with lived experience of working as a first responder, and of living with mental illness related to occupational trauma. By closely involving carers and consumers in the development and implementation of the online intervention we aim to gain a better understanding of how to adopt and translate these online strategies into real world settings. These advisors will also act as peer support members within the Facebook group.

The overall aim of this research is to evaluate whether group education and individual monitoring of recovery delivered by telehealth improves follow-up attendance rates compared with usual face to face care for breast cancer patients who have undergone axillary dissection. Who is it for? You may be eligible to join this study if you are a male or female aged 18 years or over and have undergone breast wide local excision or mastectomy and axillary lymph node dissection for breast cancer at Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. To be eligible to receive the telehealth service, patients must be able to access an Internet-enabled computer device within their own home. Study details Four to six weeks after axillary dissection at Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, all patients will receive group lymphoedema education and individual review by a physiotherapist. There will be two groups in this study. One group will be reviewed face-to-face at Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital (as is standard practice). The other group will be reviewed in their home remotely using telehealth. Attendance rates will be compared between groups, and all participants will be asked to complete a number of questionnaires at 3, 5 and 8 months post breast surgery in order to evaluate lymphoedema symptoms, shoulder function, scar appearance, satisfaction and costs. It is hoped that telehealth can help to address high nonattendance rates at lymphoedema education and review sessions post surgery.

The aim of the study is to examine the effect of lifestyle-focused program delivered by text message on function in people with non-persistent low back pain. 304 people will be recruited to the study and randomly assigned to receive either the text message intervention or minimal intervention. Those assigned to receive the text messages will receive semi-personalised text messages providing advice, motivation and information to improve education, physical activity, sleep, mood, use or care and medication. Participants will receive 4 text messages every week for 12 weeks. Messages will be sent on randomly selected days and at one of 4 randomly selected time slots. Participants will be eligible to receive certain messages depending on whether they have acute low back pain, sleep issues, are more than moderately active, report taking medication for their low back pain at baseline and have a sedentary job. Health related data will be collected from all participants via online surveys following recruitment, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months after recruitment. The health data collected will be those that are recommended by the key groups in this field of research: The Outcome Measures in Rheumatology Clinical Trials group (OMERACT) The Initiative on Methods, Measurement, and Pain Assessment in Clinical Trials (IMMPACT). These will include measures of pain, functional status, patient reported impression of change, generic quality of life, levels of activity, health literacy and health care use and costs.

Following preliminary screening via telephone, potential participants will attend the clinic for an information session and will be required to provide their consent for inclusion in the trial. Consenting participants will undergo a health assessment including lifestyle, current medications and medical history; this data will be used for the comprehensive screening and to provide contextual data for the study. Once enrolled in the trial, participants will be randomly allocated to either one of 2 placebo comparator groups or one of two investigational intervention groups. Prior to treatment, participants will undertake various hair assessments including photographs of scalp (unidentifiable), hair comb/count test, hair tug/pull test, densitometry (haircheck®) and also undertake a blood test. Participants will be asked to consume or apply the allocated product according to the dose prescribed and attend the clinic every month for a repeat of baseline measures excluding the blood test. At week 12 participants will be asked to attend the clinic for a final assessment including all measures undertaken at baseline, a final blood test and an exit interview.

Post-operative ileus (POI) is characterized by impairment of bowel motility and is a common complication after major abdominal surgery in general, and after colorectal surgery in particular. The principal features of POI include nausea and vomiting, inability to tolerate diet, significant abdominal distension and delayed passage of flatus and stool. POI as a complication has the largest overall effect on length of postoperative hospitalization. The purpose of this open-label randomized controlled trial is to determine the effectiveness of stimulant and osmotic laxatives on reducing the duration of postoperative ileus following bowel resection in an optimized Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) setting. We hypothesize that in an optimized ERAS setting, using a combination of stimulant and osmotic laxatives post-operatively will result in a reduction in the duration of postoperative Ileus.

The aim of this research project is to evaluate an online mindfulness-based program for people with Multiple Sclerosis. The eight-week program involves five online modules, and mindfulness meditation practice, which will be supplemented by meditation audio-guides and weekly telephone calls with a psychologist. We hypothesize that people with MS who complete this program will improve in symptoms of depression (primary outcome), anxiety, fatigue, and health-related quality of life.

This study aims to test the effectiveness of cognitive behaviour therapy in combination with light therapy compared to relaxation audio. Who is it for? You may be eligible for this study if you are a woman aged over 18, have a diagnosis of primary breast cancer (any stage) and are receiving (or will receive) chemotherapy. Study details Participants will be randomised (by chance) to one of two treatments. One treatment (the Intervention group) is a cognitive behavioural therapy session in addition to use of Light glasses to be worn for 30 minutes each morning. The other group (the Control group) will receive relaxing audio tracks by email. The Control group will receive the information provided to the Intervention group after 3 months. All participants (both groups) will fill out a sleep diary, fill out a questionnaire and wear a watch that measures sleep. It is hoped that this research will help us understand whether a combined behavioural and bright light intervention can reduce sleep disruption and fatigue during chemotherapy for breast cancer and provide a basis for expanding the treatment to people with other types of cancer.