ANZCTR search results

The primary goal of the Return to Work study is to help supervisors to better support their injured or ill workers so that these workers can achieve sustainable return to work (RTW). Previous research has found that improved supervisor and employee relationships could assist in sustainable RTW. However, supervisors may be unsure about how to best support the employee, or they may get busy or overwhelmed. The study's main hypothesis is that addressing supervisors’ cognitive overload, decision fatigue and availability bias through behavioural interventions may improve worker-supervisor relationships and consequently improve sustainable return to work rates. This study will evaluate the effect of materials package for supervisors to assist them in supporting their injured or ill workers during their absence and through the various stages of the return to work process. The outcomes examined in this study include the RTW rate, supervisor confidence and behaviours in supporting their employees, employee's perceived level of support from their supervisor and perceived usefulness of intervention materials.

Case-based learning (CBL) is widely used in health professional education (Thistlewaite, 2015) about which they engage in problem solving, practical skills development, and independent study. Currently, ‘cases’ or ‘scenarios’ are typically presented in class, using a ‘pen and paper’ format, with learning assessed through written and oral exams, but whether this is the most engaging or effective approach to develop students’ theoretical or professional reasoning is unknown. In comparison, integrating Science and Practice (iSAP) is an online CBL framework that incorporates elements of learning through practice, collaboration and discussion by presenting students with multimedia case studies that simulate real-world practice issues reflective of their future roles as health professionals (Williams, Schliphake, Heinrich & Baird, 2017). This study to compare students’ learning outcomes, clinical reflection and reasoning skills, students’ experience with learning and costs associated with delivering iSAP and CBL/SBL. We aim to evaluate learning outcomes and clinical reflection and reasoning skills using standardised outcomes, academic assessments and surveys. We will use survey with open ended questions and focus groups to explore students’ experience. We hypothesise that students who complete iSAP will achieve equal or better learning outcomes compare to CBL/SBL.

Advancing age is synonymous with physiological changes that contribute to loss of muscle mass and weakness (sarcopenia), gut function, integrity and overall health. Dietary intake often reduces in the elderly, which is a result of reduced satiety, altered oral health (decreased saliva production, dental loss), sensory changes etc. These factors lead to altered structure, amounts and type of fibre reaching the large bowel and therefore contributes to changes in the composition and metabolic activity of the gut microbiota, resulting in a less diverse microbiome with fewer commensal bacteria and an unfavourable metabolic environment. Several in vitro and animal studies have demonstrated a relationship between the gut microbiome and muscle physiology or vice versa. Putative molecular pathways include amino acids (e.g. tryptophan and its metabolites), pro-inflammatory cytokines composition and function linked to microbiome and pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPS) such as lipopolysaccharide, flagellins, peptidoglycan etc. Supporting unpublished preclinical evidence using germ free (GF) animal models has now identified a gut microbiome-skeletal muscle axis which regulates muscle growth The mice conventionalized with exercised young adult microbiota showed significantly increased muscle function. These findings are of paramount importance as it establishes microbial regulation of muscle mass and its functions, which may hold true in humans as well. These findings strongly support the possibility of microbial manipulation to enhance host muscle function. Several recent human clinical trials have found that exercise significantly impacts upon host microbiome structure and function. Aim: To conduct a pilot study to develop an integrated framework for elucidating a deeper understanding of the relationship between gut health, body composition and cognitive function in free-living sedentary and active elderly populations to optimise personalised lifestyle interventions in Singapore and Australia. Objectives: To establish a framework and commence the establishment of a reference baseline of functional microbiome and metabolic profiles among active and sedentary elderly in Singapore and Australia. To establish a framework and commence comparative phenotyping of the brain, liver, muscle and bone using advanced imaging technologies in active and sedentary elderly in Singapore and Australia. Hypotheses H0: Participants from the active group will not have significantly higher gut microbial diversity than participants from the sedentary group and this will not lead to systemic health benefits. H1: Participants from the active group will have significantly higher gut microbial diversity than participants from the sedentary group and this will lead to systemic health benefits.

To examine a prospective cohort of patients who are planned to undergo transfusion with red blood cells (including transfusions optimised for HLA compatibility between donor and recipient), and examine the incidence of de novo formation of antibodies to blood donor HLA molecules (bDSA).

Women with a history of gestational diabetes (GDM) have up to a 7 times higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2DM) than women without GDM. Many women with GDM report that following delivery, they feel a lack of support and feel abandoned by the health system in terms of T2DM prevention. The risk of developing T2DM can be lowered by adopting a healthy lifestyle. However, women from this group often report that it is challenging to adopt and maintain a healthy lifestyle due to work and family commitments, lack of time, cost constraints, and limited access to information on healthy behaviours. This project aims to assess how feasible, acceptable and effective the Body Balance Beyond program is, with or without individualised video coaching and/or personalised text messages, among women with recent GDM.

The study will involve providing a psychological intervention to parents whose children suffer from arthritis. The intervention will focus on changing the parent’s thinking and behaviours around their child’s experience of pain in arthritis, and helping parents develop skills to better assist their child in learning to cope with pain. This intervention will consist of four, two-hour sessions at Murdoch University and will be delivered in groups of 6-8 parents. Only parents will be required to attend these sessions as this intervention will be parent-focused, helping to educate parents about chronic pain and providing them with skills to better equip them to helping their child manage their pain.We aim to investigate whether this intervention can to lead to: a. reduction in unhelpful thoughts that parents may have about the impact of pain on their child. b. increase helpful parenting strategies; c. reduce parent’s fear of pain and, d. improve parent self-care. This will be assessed by administering questionnaires to the parents before and after the completion of the intervention. We also want to investigate whether any improvements amongst parents will lead to improvements in children’s functioning and mental health. Improvements amongst children will be assessed by the parents, who will be administered questionnaires before and after the completion of the intervention. Children will not be required to complete any questionnaires.

Smartphones are increasingly commonplace in the general population. Patient-facing mobile applications (“apps”) are software programs installed on smartphones that offer an opportunity to help modify behaviour of the smartphone user at low cost and with little or no clinician input. Multiple smoking cessation apps exist but very few have been independently evaluated, particularly in a hard-to-treat, hospital setting. The most downloaded smoking cessation app in Australia is My Quit Buddy, developed and marketed for the Department of Health. Preliminary data shows encouraging effects on smoking cessation in a self-selected and self-reported younger user group. Smokers seen in hospital settings are older, perhaps less sophisticated users of information technology with probably more ‘hard core’ nicotine addiction coupled with end-organ disease. The acceptability and potential effects of smoking cessation apps in this population are important to assess. Aims We propose a pilot randomized controlled study to help answer these questions and determine the sample size required for a definitive study. The smoking cessation app and standard care (online, generic smoking cessation information provided by Queensland Health) will be delivered as an adjunct to normal standards of care (i.e. as per RACGP guidelines). Both groups will have full access to all standard therapies for smoking cessation including pharmacotherapy, counselling. This study will estimate the incremental effect of My Quit Buddy app on smoking cessation rates at 3 months.

The purpose of this study is to trial a combination treatment of speech pathology and amitriptyline for vocal cord dysfunction and compare this to speech pathology alone. The aim is to reduce the symptoms of vocal cord dysfunction.

The purpose of the study is to determine whether Botulinum toxin type A (BoNTA)injections into upper limb muscles can improve impairment, function and quality of life in patients with disabling upper limb postural / kinetic tremor.

The aim of the study is to determine the clinical effectiveness of a system for turning and positioning Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients, when compared to usual care turning and positioning devices, for preventing pressure injuries.