Patient Power: A feasibility study on the impact of providing a bedside notepad to encourage patients to ask questions following surgery.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate a behaviour change strategy to enhance the patient voice in the early post-operative setting.

Methods: The Patient Power notepad was evaluated in an uncontrolled, single-group, mixed-methods trial including a patient evaluation survey and staff phone interviews.

Results: Patients thought that the notepad was well-designed and prompted them to think of and ask questions.

Optimising acute non-critical inter-hospital transfers: A review of evidence, practice and patient perspectives.

Introduction: Patients who present to hospital with an acute non-critical illness or injury, which is considered outside the capability framework of that hospital to treat, will require inter-hospital transfer (IHT) to a hospital with a higher level of capability for that condition. Delays in IHT can negatively impact patient care and patient outcomes.

Objective: To review and synthesis academic evidence, practitioner insights and patient perspectives on ways to improve IHT from regional to metro hospitals.

Development of a Digital Health Intervention to Support Patients on a Waitlist for Orthopedic Specialist Care: Co-Design Study.

Background: The demand for orthopedic specialist consultations for patients with osteoarthritis in public hospitals is high and continues to grow. Lengthy waiting times are increasingly affecting patients from low socioeconomic and culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds who are more likely to rely on public health care.

Objective: This study aimed to co-design a digital health intervention for patients with OA who are waiting for an orthopedic specialist consultation at a public health service, which is located in local government areas (LGAs) of identified social and economic disadvantage.

"We don't want to run before we walk": the attitudes of Australian stakeholders towards using psychedelics for mental health conditions.

Objectives: This study was aimed at understanding the attitudes and positions of key Australian organisational and political stakeholders towards using psychedelic agents in medically supervised environments to treat mental health conditions. Specifically, this research was designed to identify some of the issues that might impede the clinical implementation of psychedelics.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four Australian politicians and nine representatives of key stakeholder organisations between September 2022 and January 2023.

Feasibility of a rapid diagnosis discussion tool for reducing misdiagnosis of patients presenting to emergency departments with abdominal pain.

Objectives: Providing accurate and timely diagnoses is challenging in ED settings. We evaluated the feasibility and effectiveness of a short, structured rapid diagnosis discussion (RaDD) between a patient's initial doctor and a second doctor for patients presenting to ED with abdominal pain.

Methods: Controlled pre-post, mixed-methods pilot study in a metropolitan hospital network in Melbourne, Australia.

The frequency and nature of barriers to escalation of care in two Australian teaching hospitals.

Background: Nurses and junior doctors are often the first clinicians to recognise signs of deterioration in patients. However, there can be barriers to having conversations about escalation of care.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to study the frequency and nature of barriers encountered during discussions related to escalation of care for deteriorating hospitalised patients.

What Happens Next? Traumatic Brain Injury in the Community.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) continues to substantially impact the lives of millions of people around the world annually. Community-based prevention and support of TBI are particularly challenging and underresearched aspects of TBI management. Ongoing cognitive, emotional, and other effects of TBI are not immediately obvious in community settings such as schools, workplaces, sporting clubs, aged care facilities, and support agencies providing homelessness or domestic violence support.

Behavioural drivers influencing emergency department attendance in Victoria during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed methods investigation.

Objective: To identify behavioural drivers and barriers that may have contributed to changes in ED attendance during the first 10 months of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Victoria.

Methods: We conducted a mixed methods analysis of patients who attended one of eight participating EDs between 1 November 2019 and 31 December 2020. A random sample of patients were chosen after their visit and invited to participate in an online survey assessing behavioural drivers and barriers to attendance.

From policy to practice: prioritizing person-centred healthcare actions in the state of Victoria.

Background: Meaningful involvement of consumers in healthcare is a high priority worldwide. In Victoria, Australia, a Partnering in Healthcare (PiH) policy framework was developed to guide health services in addressing consumer-focused healthcare improvements. The aim of this project was to identify priorities for improvement relating to the framework from the perspective of Victorian healthcare consumers and those who work in the healthcare sector.

An Analysis on the Implementation of the Evidence-based PCOS Lifestyle Guideline: Recommendations from Women with PCOS.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrinological disorder affecting women of reproductive age, affecting 8-13% in this group. Women with PCOS are more likely to have excess BMI, which in turn exacerbates the symptoms of PCOS in these women. The latest evidence-based guideline recommends lifestyle management as the first-line treatment for PCOS.

Gendered stereotypes and norms: A systematic review of interventions designed to shift attitudes and behaviour.

In the face of ongoing attempts to achieve gender equality, there is increasing focus on the need to address outdated and detrimental gendered stereotypes and norms, to support societal and cultural change through individual attitudinal and behaviour change. This article systematically reviews interventions aiming to address gendered stereotypes and norms across several outcomes of gender inequality such as violence against women and sexual and reproductive health, to draw out common theory and practice and identify success factors. Three databases were searched; ProQuest Central, PsycINFO and Web of Science.

Simulation-based training for increasing health service board members' effectiveness: a cluster randomised controlled trial.

Objectives: There is a paucity of research on how to improve the functioning of health service boards, despite their importance in influencing patient care. We examined the impact of simulation-based training on health service board members' perceptions of their skills in communicating during board meetings and of board meeting processes.

Design: Prospective, cluster randomised controlled trial.

Closing the loop on test results to reduce communication failures: a rapid review of evidence, practice and patient perspectives.

Background: Communication failures involving test results contribute to issues of patient harm and sentinel events. This article aims to synthesise review evidence, practice insights and patient perspectives addressing problems encountered in the communication of diagnostic test results.

Methods: The rapid review identified ten systematic reviews and four narrative reviews.

What interventions could reduce diagnostic error in emergency departments? A review of evidence, practice and consumer perspectives.

The purpose of this article is to synthesise review evidence, practice and patient perspectives on interventions to reduce diagnostic error in emergency departments (EDs). A rapid review methodology identified nine systematic reviews for inclusion. Six practice interviews were conducted to identify local contextual insights and implementation considerations.

Simulation-based training for increasing health service board members' effectiveness: protocol for a cluster-randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Research indicates that health service boards can influence quality of care. However, government reviews have indicated that board members may not be as effective as possible in attaining this goal. Simulation-based training may help to increase board members' ability to effectively communicate and hold hospital staff to account during board meetings.

A systematic review of the content and quality of clinical practice guidelines for management of the neurogenic bladder following spinal cord injury.

Introduction: Neurogenic bladder following acute spinal cord injury (SCI) increases urinary tract infection (UTI) risk and affects quality of life and health system costs.

Objectives: This study aimed to identify, describe and evaluate quality of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for managing neurogenic bladder following SCI.

Methods: A comprehensive search covered six electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Health Systems Evidence, Cochrane, CINAHL, Epistomonikos) and 12 CPG portals.

Ambulances are for emergencies: shifting attitudes through a research-informed behaviour change campaign.

Background: In Victoria, Australia, emergency calls requesting an ambulance have been increasing at a rate higher than population growth. While most of these calls are for genuine emergencies, many do not require an immediate ambulance response. A collaborative research approach was undertaken to address this issue.

Understanding the biosecurity monitoring and reporting intentions of livestock producers: Identifying opportunities for behaviour change.

In many countries, government strategies for biosecurity planning and outbreaks depend upon private livestock producers being willing and able to conduct surveillance of their animals and the timely reporting of suspicious signs of disease. From a behavioural perspective, these two kinds of behaviours - surveillance and reporting - should be treated separately when developing a biosecurity plan in which producers play a key role in the prevention, detection, and reporting of animal diseases. Having an effective surveillance system in place is conceptually and practically independent of a reporting system that is both feasible and trustworthy.

Optimal Bladder Management Following Spinal Cord Injury: Evidence, Practice and a Cooperative Approach Driving Future Directions in Australia.

We examined spinal cord injury (SCI) catheterization practices in Australia to understand practice patterns and consistency with research evidence. A national facilitated discussion forum was held during the annual Australian and New Zealand Spinal Cord Society conference attended by 66 conference delegates. Initially, presentations were given on the latest laboratory research examining bladder changes following SCI; an overview of evidence-based recommendations indicating that intermittent catheterization is best practice; and results of a single-center practice audit that demonstrated substantial delay in transition between acute SCI and intermittent catheterization.

Symptom attribution and treatment seeking in Australian veterans.

To understand the role of symptom attribution in treatment-seeking behaviours, survey results of 1356 veterans (age = 38-72 years) were analysed. Controlling for symptom frequency, significant relationships were found for specialist and psychological-related consultations. Those who favoured psychological explanations for symptoms were more likely to attend specialist and psychology-related consultations and filled significantly more prescriptions than people who predominantly explained symptoms by situational factors (normalisers).

Predictors of illegal dumping at charitable collection points.

Cleaning and disposal of illegal dumping at charitable collection points costs charities and diverts funds from their charitable programs. However, there is no published literature that attempts to better understand this problem. The current study assesses site-specific characteristics, community level indicators and sociodemographic factors as predictors of both charity stores and collection bin dumping in the metropolitan area of Perth, Australia.

Interventions to promote healthy eating choices when dining out: A systematic review of reviews.

Purpose: To synthesize review research pertaining to the effectiveness of interventions in dining-out settings to reduce food/calorie consumption.

Methods: A rapid review methodology was employed to focus on synthesized research. A comprehensive search for peer-reviewed systematic reviews from 2010 to 2015 yielded 1,847 citations.

Symptom attribution and symptom reporting in Australian Gulf War veterans.

Objective: To better understand the consistent elevated symptom reporting by Gulf War veterans; we compared Australian Gulf War veterans and military-comparison group on symptom attributional styles and the relationship with total number and grouping of somatic and psychological symptoms.

Method: Postal questionnaires were completed by Australian Gulf War veterans (n=697) and military-comparison group (n=659) in 2000-2002 and 2011-2012. Data were collected on deployments, military-psychological stressors, symptom reporting, symptom factors and attributional style (normalising, psychologising, somatising, mixed-attribution).