Improving rural and remote practitioners' knowledge of the diabetic foot: findings from an educational intervention.

Background: This study aimed to determine knowledge of national guidelines for diabetic foot assessment and risk stratification by rural and remote healthcare professionals in Western Australia and their implementation in practice. Assessment of diabetic foot knowledge, availability of equipment and delivery of foot care education in a primary healthcare setting at baseline enabled evaluation of the effectiveness of a diabetic foot education and training program for generalist healthcare professionals.

Methods: This study employed a quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test study design.

Risk of antenatal psychosocial distress in indigenous women and its management at primary health care centres in Australia.

Objective: This study explored the risk of antenatal psychosocial distress (APD) and associated potential factors and examined management aspects of risk of APD in women attending Aboriginal primary health care services in Australia.

Method: Audits of medical records of 797 pregnant women from 36 primary health centres in five jurisdictions (NSW, QLD, SA, WA and NT) were undertaken as part of a quality improvement programme. Information collected included mental health assessed by a standard screening tools, enquiry regarding social and emotional well-being (SEWB), depression management (including antidepressant medications) and referral.

Contribution of university departments of rural health to rural health research: An analysis of outputs.

Objective: To assess the research contribution of eleven University Departments of Rural Health (UDRH) which were established as a rural health workforce program in the late 1990s through analysis of peer-reviewed journal output.

Design And Settings: Descriptive study based on validated publications from publication output reported in annual key performance indicator (KPI) reports to the Commonwealth Department of Health, Australia.

Main Outcome Measures: In addition to counts and the type of publications, articles were examined to assess fields of research, evidence of research collaboration, and potential for influencing policy.

Antenatal emotional wellbeing screening in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary health care services in Australia.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the extent to which antenatal emotional wellbeing (EW) assessments are undertaken in primary health care (PHC) centres and factors associated with completion of EW screening.

Methods: Medical records of 797 pregnant women from 36 PHC centres in five states (NSW, QLD, SA, WA and NT) were audited.

Results: Overall, 85% of the women were Aboriginal.

Psychological and social consequences among mothers suffering from perinatal loss: perspective from a low income country.

Background: In developed countries, perinatal death is known to cause major emotional and social effects on mothers. However, little is known about these effects in low income countries which bear the brunt of perinatal mortality burden. This paper reports the impact of perinatal death on psychological status and social consequences among mothers in a rural area of Bangladesh.

Bangla translation, adaptation and piloting of Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.

Standardized questionnaires for screening common health problems in the community often need to be translated for use in non-English speaking countries. There is a lack of literature documenting the process of translation of such questionnaire/scale that would enable their application in cross-cultural settings and standardization of the procedure. This paper reports the process of translation into Bangla of the widely used Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) for use in Bangladesh.

Sexually transmitted infections and risk factors among truck stand workers in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Objective: This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of selected sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and their risk factors among workers in and near a truck stand in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Study Design: A random sample of 696 men and 206 women were recruited into a cross-sectional study using a census that enumerated transport agents, motor mechanics, laborers, and vendors in Tejgaon truck stand.

Results: The prevalence rates of syphilis (rapid plasma reagin and Treponema pallidum hemagglutination), gonorrhea (polymerase chain reaction [PCR]), and chlamydial infections (PCR) among men were 4.

Equity in use of home-based or facility-based skilled obstetric care in rural Bangladesh: an observational study.

Background: Few studies have assessed whether the poorest people in developing countries benefit from giving birth at home rather than in a facility. We analysed whether socioeconomic status results in differences in the use of professional midwives at home and in a basic obstetric facility in a rural area of Bangladesh, where obstetric care was free of charge.

Methods: We routinely obtained data from Matlab, Bangladesh between 1987 and 2001.

Reproductive tract infections: prevalence and risk factors in rural Bangladesh.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of and risk factors for reproductive tract infections among men and women in a rural community in Bangladesh.

Methods: In the Matlab area a systematic sample of married non-pregnant women aged 15-50 years was drawn from a comprehensive household registration system for married women. A systematic sample of married and unmarried men in the same age group was drawn from a census-derived demographic surveillance list.