Publications by authors named "Alexandra McCarthy"

Aim: To investigate the effects of a multimodal couple-based sexual health intervention for premenopausal women treated for breast cancer and their partners to provide personalised psychosexual care, and to understand participants' experience of, and adherence to, the intervention.

Methods: This is an assessor-blinded, randomised controlled trial. Premenopausal women treated for breast cancer (N = 160) and their partners will be recruited.

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Purpose: To investigate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of a theory-driven multimodal cancer rehabilitation intervention (MCRI) programme among Hong Kong Chinese women treated for female reproductive cancers (FRC).

Methods: A single-blinded randomised controlled trial was conducted in two regional hospitals in Hong Kong involving 35 women treated for FRC. The intervention group (n = 18) received a 12-week MCRI which included 30 modules of app-based health education and three nurse-led individual counselling sessions.

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Purpose: Demand for stroke services is increasing. To save time and costs, stroke care could be reorganised using a transdisciplinary assessment model embracing overlapping allied health professional skills. The study compares transdisciplinary assessment to discipline-specific allied health assessment on an acute stroke unit, by evaluating assessment time, quality of care, and cost implications.

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Background: To maintain and improve the quality of the cancer nursing workforce, it is crucial to understand the factors that influence retention and job satisfaction. We aimed to investigate the characteristics of cancer nurses in Australia and identify predictors of job satisfaction.

Methods: We analysed data from an anonymous cross-sectional survey distributed through the Cancer Nurses Society Australia membership and social media platforms from October 2021 to February 2022.

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Cancer of the head and neck is a confronting condition, as the disease and its treatments alter the appearance and function of body organs associated with physical appearance and identity. Many of the risk factors for head and neck cancers, including tobacco, alcohol, and human papilloma virus, can also have significant negative social and moral permutations. Language and action (discourse) plays an important role in constructing disease and illness and shape the way it is managed, both institutionally and socially.

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Background: There is substantial interest in the role of ginger as an adjuvant therapy for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). However, available evidence lacks robust methodology.

Objective: To assess the effect of adjuvant ginger compared with placebo on chemotherapy-induced nausea-related quality of life (QoL) and CINV-related outcomes.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of neutral versus negative-pressure needleless connectors in preventing peripheral intravenous catheter failure among adult patients in an Australian hospital.
  • The research was a pilot randomized control trial involving 201 participants, where neutral connectors resulted in a higher catheter failure rate (39%) compared to negative connectors (19%).
  • While the trial met most feasibility criteria, it indicated that adjustments to participant eligibility screening were necessary, and highlighted the need for further research on needleless connector designs to better understand their impact on patient care.
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Background: Research led by nurses has evolved rapidly over the last 2 decades globally. Assessing the work that has been conducted so far can help the specialty to strategically shape future directions of nurse-led cancer research.

Objective: The aim of this study was to provide a comprehensive, up-to-date synthesis of all nurse-led cancer research published articles over 20 years.

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Aim: To develop and psychometrically test the Patient-reported Experience Measure-Cancer (PREM-C), reflecting patients' perceptions of cancer care experiences according to the Institute of Medicine domains.

Design: A three-phase cross-sectional survey was conducted.

Methods: Development, reliability and validity testing of the PREM-C measure was undertaken.

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Many middle-aged or older women are treated for cancer and their quality of life can be significantly impaired following treatment. Exercise and dietary interventions could address this. The aim of this review was to determine whether exercise and/or dietary interventions which are scaffolded by behaviour change theories and techniques are associated with improved quality of life in middle-aged and older women following cancer treatment.

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Purpose: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death after treatment for endometrial cancer (EC). There is clinical evidence that exercise significantly reduces the risks of CVD and cancer recurrence in this population; however, it is unclear whether there is value for money in integrating exercise into cancer recovery care for women treated for EC. This paper assesses the long-term cost-effectiveness of a 12-week supervised exercise intervention, as compared with standard care, for women diagnosed with early-stage EC.

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Introduction: Cancer-related pain is common and undertreated. Exercise is known to have a pain-relieving effect in non-cancer pain.

Objectives: This systematic review aimed to evaluate (1) the effect of exercise on cancer-related pain in all cancers, and (2) whether the effect of exercise differed according to exercise mode, degree of supervision, intervention duration and timing (during or after cancer treatment), pain types, measurement tool and cancer type.

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Purpose: To systematically synthesise evidence of exercise intervention efficacy for physical/psychosocial outcomes that matter to women during/following treatment for gynaecological cancer.

Methods: Five databases were searched (PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsychInfo, Scopus). Exercise-only intervention studies that included women during/ following treatment for any gynaecological cancer, with/ without control comparison, on any physical or psychosocial outcome(s), were included and qualitatively appraised using the Revised Cochrane Risk of Bias tool and a modified Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.

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Objective: To assess the feasibility and acceptability of a culturally-adapted Women's Wellness After Cancer Programme (WWACPHK) for improving health-related quality of life, anxiety and depressive symptoms and enhancing self-efficacy in engaging in healthy lifestyles among Chinese women treated for gynaecological cancer.

Methods: This pilot randomised controlled trial was conducted from May to December 2018. Twenty-six women aged 18 or above who had completed treatment for gynaecological cancer were recruited from a gynaecology outpatient clinic of a public hospital in Hong Kong.

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Purpose: Cancer treatments exert vascular toxic effects that can lead to the development of cardiovascular disease. Exercise training has the potential to prevent or reduce cancer treatment-induced damage to vascular structure and function. This systematic review with meta-analyses aimed to determine the isolated effects of exercise training on vascular outcomes in people with cancer.

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While there is good evidence that exercise is an effective adjunct therapy to cancer care, little is known about its value for money. The aim of this systematic review is to explore the available evidence pertaining to the cost-effectiveness of exercise interventions following cancer. A search of eight online databases (CINAHL, the Cochrane Library (NHSEED), Econlit, Embase, PsycInfo, PubMed, Scopus, Web of science) was first conducted on 26 March 2021 and updated on 8 March 2022.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study analyzed 351 women who underwent treatment for various cancers to understand the prevalence and predictors of sleep issues among them.
  • Most participants (59%) experienced significant sleep disturbances, with various factors like younger age and having a partner linked to better sleep outcomes, while higher pain disability led to worse sleep.
  • The findings highlight the need for targeted sleep intervention strategies for cancer survivors, using identified predictors to tailor support.
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Background: The incidence of breast cancer in younger women, that is, aged 50 years or younger, in Hong Kong is increasing. The Internet-based Younger Women's Wellness After Cancer Program (YWWACP) is a whole-lifestyle intervention that can help young women to manage their health and risks of chronic diseases.

Objectives: The study aimed to test the acceptability and feasibility of the culturally adapted YWWACP in Hong Kong (YWWACPHK) and to evaluate its preliminary effects in improving health-related quality of life, distress, sexual function, menopausal symptoms, dietary intake, physical activity, and sleep among younger Chinese women with breast cancer.

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Background: Transdisciplinary approaches can streamline processes and build workforce capacity by blurring traditional responsibilities and integrating aspects of care. Emerging evidence shows transdisciplinary approaches can improve time-efficiency, quality of care and cost-effectiveness across various healthcare settings, however no empirical study is based on an acute stroke unit.

Methods: The SPIRIT checklist was used to guide the content of the research protocol.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the impact of sleep disturbances following cancer treatment on women's health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and tests an e-enabled lifestyle intervention for improving sleep outcomes.
  • Results show that sleep issues, particularly affecting physical HRQoL, do not significantly improve with the intervention after 12 or 24 weeks.
  • The conclusion emphasizes that addressing sleep problems could enhance physical HRQoL in women post-cancer treatment, suggesting that the intervention's sleep components need refinement.
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Background: The residual effects of cancer and its treatment can profoundly affect women's quality of life. This paper presents results from a multisite randomized controlled trial that evaluated the clinical benefits of an e-health enabled health promotion intervention (the Women's Wellness after Cancer Program or WWACP) on the health-related quality of life of women recovering from cancer treatment.

Methods: Overall, 351 women previously treated for breast, blood or gynaecological cancers were randomly allocated to the intervention (WWACP) or usual care arms.

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Background: Needleless connectors (NCs) are essential devices designed to provide safe, needle-free connection between venous access devices, syringes and infusions. There is a variety of designs, and associated decontamination products and practices; the resulting confusion can cause detrimental patient outcomes. This study aimed to explore nurses' attitudes, techniques, and practices around the use and decontamination of NCs in clinical practice.

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Aim: One definition of research co-production is a collaboration between researchers and healthcare professionals throughout a research process to facilitate knowledge translation and improve the clinical impact of research findings. In this paper, we present a case study of clinical research co-production and reflect on how the process was facilitated between researchers and healthcare professionals. Type of program or service: Development of a novel transdisciplinary assessment for implementation in an acute stroke unit (ASU).

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Objectives: This paper examines the utility of a common climacteric symptoms scale, the Greene Climacteric Scale (GCS), in two groups of women with a history of breast cancer, those who were at menopause before commencing breast cancer treatment, and those who were not.

Study Design: This pooled analysis of 297 women previously diagnosed with breast cancer, aged 28-74 years, was undertaken on baseline data from two structured lifestyle interventions: the Women's Wellness After Cancer Program (WWACP) and the Younger Women's Wellness After Cancer Program (YWWACP). Data were split into two data subsets (women who were post-menopausal on commencement of breast cancer treatment and those who were either pre- or peri‑menopausal).

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