Amplifying the voices of Black racial minorities in mental health research through public involvement and engagement: The importance of advisory roles.

Introduction: Ensuring adequate representation and the active, meaningful and visible involvement of groups likely to be most impacted by research findings and/or the lack of research inquiry are increasingly acknowledged. This is particularly relevant for Black racially minoritised groups who are less visible as research participants and in patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) roles. Our viewpoint article sought to discuss reflections and insights on their involvement experience, with particular attention to perceived barriers and enablers to PPIE involvement.

Providing Care by Telephone to Refugees and Asylum Seekers: An Evaluation of Telephone Mode-of-Care in Monash Health Refugee Health and Wellbeing Clinic in Victoria, Australia.

An evaluation of accessibility, appropriateness, acceptability and efficiency of telephone consultations, implemented at Monash Health Refugee Health and Wellbeing (MH RHW) throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, was conducted. A convergent mix-methods design was used, with both patients (n = 50) and clinicians (n = 11) participating in a survey, and two focus groups (n = 14) involving clinicians being conducted. Service utilization data was sourced from the MH RHW database.

Cash transfers and nutrition education to improve dietary diversity among children aged 6-23 months in Grand Gedeh County, Liberia: a cluster-randomized trial.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of a cash transfer and nutrition education program on dietary diversity among children in Liberia. We hypothesized that a multi-pronged intervention would result in improved dietary diversity among children.

Methods: We conducted a three-armed, cluster-randomized study in 42 communities (12 children per community) in Grand Gedeh County, Liberia, over a 12-month period.

Delegation of patient related tasks to allied health assistants: a time motion study.

Background: Allied health assistants (AHAs) are support staff who complete patient and non-patient related tasks under the delegation of an allied health professional. Delegating patient related tasks to AHAs can benefit patients and allied health professionals. However, it is unclear whether the AHA workforce is utilised optimally in the provision of patient care.

Exploring the role of medical imaging assistants in Australian medical imaging departments: A mixed-methods study.

Introduction: Allied health assistants are support staff who assist medical imaging professionals in their clinical and non-clinical role. Assistants can improve efficiency of medical imaging services; however, little is known about the specific tasks they perform.

Method: A two-phase explanatory, sequential mixed-methods study design comprising a time motion survey and qualitative interviews was conducted across three health services in Victoria, Australia.

Allied health assistants' perspectives of their role in healthcare settings: A qualitative study.

Allied health assistants (AHAs) are important members of the health workforce and key to meeting population health needs. Previous studies exploring the role and utility of AHAs from multiple stakeholder perspectives suggest AHAs remain poorly utilised in many healthcare settings. This qualitative study explores the experiences and perspectives of AHAs working in healthcare settings to determine the contextual factors influencing their role, and mechanisms to maximise their utility.

COVID-19 and UK family carers: policy implications.

Informal (unpaid) carers are an integral part of all societies and the health and social care systems in the UK depend on them. Despite the valuable contributions and key worker status of informal carers, their lived experiences, wellbeing, and needs have been neglected during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this Health Policy, we bring together a broad range of clinicians, researchers, and people with lived experience as informal carers to share their thoughts on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on UK carers, many of whom have felt abandoned as services closed.

Socio-environmental models of allied health disability support: an exploration of narrative experiences in the Australian National Disability and Insurance Scheme.

Objective The primary aims of this study were to explore: (1) manifestations of socio-environmental models of allied health support provision in the disability sector; and (2) narrative experiences of individual allied health professionals in the disability sector. Methods A narrative qualitative study using interviews from a purposive sample of two allied health professionals working in the disability sector explored manifestations of socio-environmental models of allied health support provision and their experiences from case examples. The key informants had more than 10 years of experience in the disability support services setting.

Study to evaluate the optimal dose of remifentanil required to ensure apnea during magnetic resonance imaging of the heart under general anesthesia.

Background: Magnetic resonance (MRI) scanning of the heart is an established part of the investigation of cardiovascular conditions in children. In young children, sedation is likely to be needed, and multiple controlled periods of apnea are often required to allow image acquisition. Suppression of spontaneous ventilation is possible with remifentanil; however, the dose required is uncertain.

The effect of delegation of therapy to allied health assistants on patient and organisational outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Allied health assistants (AHAs) are support staff who complete clinical and non-clinical tasks under the supervision and delegation of an allied health professional. The effect of allied health professional delegation of clinical tasks to AHAs on patient and healthcare organisational outcomes is unknown. The purpose of this systematic review was to investigate the effect of allied health professional delegation of therapy to AHAs on patient and organisational outcomes.

Exploration of an allied health workforce redesign model: quantifying the work of allied health assistants in a community workforce.

The Victorian Assistant Workforce Model (VAWM) enables a systematic approach for the identification and quantification of work that can be delegated from allied health professionals (AHPs) to allied health assistants (AHAs). The aim of the present study was to explore the effect of implementation of VAWM in the community and ambulatory health care setting. Data captured using mixed methods from allied health professionals working across the participating health services enabled the measurement of opportunity for workforce redesign in the community and ambulatory allied health workforce.

Effect of footwear on minimum foot clearance, heel slippage and spatiotemporal measures of gait in older women.

Footwear has been implicated as a factor in falls, which is a major issue affecting the health of older adults. This study investigated the effect of footwear with dorsal fixation, slippers and bare feet on minimum foot clearance, heel slippage and spatiotemporal variables of gait in community dwelling older women. Thirty women participated (mean age (SD) 69.

Building allied health workforce capacity: a strategic approach to workforce innovation.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to identify areas where allied health assistants (AHAs) are not working to their full scope of practice in order to improve the effectiveness of the allied health workforce.

Methods: Qualitative data collected via focus groups identified suitable AHA tasks and a quantitative survey with allied health professionals (AHPs) measured the magnitude of work the current AHP workforce spends undertaking these tasks.

Results: Quantification survey results indicate that Victoria's AHP workforce spends up to 17% of time undertaking tasks that could be delegated to an AHA who has relevant training and adequate supervision.

"Good for older ladies, not me": how elderly women choose their shoes.

Background: Footwear selection is important among older adults. Little is known about factors that influence footwear selection among older women. If older women are to wear better footwear that reduces their risk of falls and foot abnormalities, then a better understanding of the factors underlying footwear choice is needed.