Primary care practice-based interventions and their effect on participation in population-based cancer screening programs: a systematic narrative review.

Aim: To provide a systematic synthesis of primary care practice-based interventions and their effect on participation in population-based cancer screening programs.

Background: Globally, population-based cancer screening programs (bowel, breast, and cervical) have sub-optimal participation rates. Primary healthcare workers (PHCWs) have an important role in facilitating a patient's decision to screen; however, barriers exist to their engagement.

Implementation of Australia's primary human papillomavirus (HPV) cervical screening program: The STakeholders Opinions of Renewal Implementation and Experiences Study.

In this study, we aimed to document stakeholders' experiences of implementing Australia's renewed National Cervical Screening Program. In December 2017, the program changed from 2nd yearly cytology for 20-69 year olds to 5 yearly human papillomavirus (HPV) screening for women 25-74 years. We undertook semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders including government, program administrators, register staff, clinicians and health care workers, non-government organisations, professional bodies, and pathology laboratories from across Australia between Nov 2018 - Aug 2019.

'I'm a bit of a champion for it actually': qualitative insights into practitioner-supported self-collection cervical screening among early adopting Victorian practitioners in Australia.

Background: Self-collection for cervical screening has been available in the Australian National Cervical Screening Program since 2017 and is now available to all people as an option for cervical screening through a practitioner-supported model. Documenting early adopting practitioner experiences with self-collection as a mechanism to engage people in cervical screening is crucial to informing its continuing roll-out and implementation in other health systems.

Aim: This study aimed to describe the experiences of practitioners in Victoria, Australia, who used human papillomavirus (HPV)-based self-collection cervical screening during the first 17 months of its availability.

Education support services for improving school engagement and academic performance of children and adolescents with a chronic health condition.

Background: Chronic health conditions in children and adolescents can have profound impacts on education, well-being and health. They are described as non-communicable illnesses that are prolonged in duration, do not resolve spontaneously, and rarely cured completely. Due to variations in the definition of chronic health conditions and how they are measured prevalence estimates vary considerably and have been reported to be as high as 44% in children and adolescents.

"Nothing to lose and the possibility of gaining": a qualitative study on the feasibility and acceptability of registry-based randomised controlled trials among cancer patients and clinicians.

Background: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are considered the "gold standard" for evaluating the effectiveness of interventions in clinical research. However, conventional RCTs are typically complex, expensive, and have narrow eligibility criteria, which limits generalisability. Registry-based randomised controlled trials (RRCTs) are an alternative approach that integrates the internal validity of an RCT with the external validity of a clinical registry by recruiting real-world patients and leveraging an existing registry platform for data collection.

-Key Stakeholder Perspectives on the Initial Implementation of Self-Collection in Australia's Cervical Screening Program: A Qualitative Study.

Background: In December 2017, the Australian National Cervical Screening Program transitioned from 2-yearly cytology-based to 5-yearly human papillomavirus (HPV)-based cervical screening, including a vaginal self-collection option. Until July 2022, this option was restricted to under- or never-screened people aged 30 years and older who refused a speculum exam. We investigated the perspectives and experiences of stakeholders involved in, or affected by, the initial implementation of the restricted self-collection pathway.

Perceptions and experiences of intravenous iron treatment for anaemia in pregnancy in Malawi: a formative qualitative study.

Background: The study objective was to explore opinions, identify experiences, and describe perspectives on the acceptability of intravenous (IV) iron to treat anaemia in pregnancy and identify potential barriers and facilitators of introducing IV iron in the Malawian healthcare system.

Methods: We conducted 15 in-depth interviews and two focus group discussions with pregnant women, and seven in-depth interviews with health workers at a community-based health centre in Blantyre and a tertiary hospital in Zomba.

Results: Most women who used IV iron treatment during the second trimester of pregnancy reported feeling better and stronger after receiving the intervention.

Investigating disparity in access to Australian clinical genetic health services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Globally, there is a recognised need that all populations should be able to access the benefits of genomics and precision medicine. However, achieving this remains constrained by a paucity of data that quantifies access to clinical genomics, particularly amongst Indigenous populations. Using administrative data from clinical genetic health services across three Australian jurisdictions (states/territories), we investigate disparities in the scheduling and attendance of appointments among Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, compared to non-Indigenous people.

Clinical registries data quality attributes to support registry-based randomised controlled trials: A scoping review.

Background: Clinical registries have become an important platform for performance measurement, quality improvement, and clinical research including registry-based randomised controlled trials (RRCTs). However, the success of RRCTs is highly dependent on the quality of the registry. The aim of this study was to undertake a scoping review to identify the key characteristics that a registry must possess to be considered of high quality to successfully support the conduct of a RRCT.

Health care system factors influencing primary healthcare workers' engagement in national cancer screening programs: a qualitative study.

Objective: This study aimed to explore factors across the environment, organisation and care team levels of the health care system that influence the engagement of primary healthcare workers (PHCWs) in Australia's national cancer screening programs.

Methods: A cross-sectional qualitative study involving semi-structured interviews with PHCWs - general practitioners (n=10), practices nurses (n=10), and practice managers (n=10) from settings across Australia. Transcripts were analysed using the Framework Method.

An implementation research programme to support an intravenous iron intervention for pregnant women with moderate and severe anaemia in Malawi: study protocol.

Background: Antenatal iron supplementation is critical to maternal and child health; however, access and adherence to oral iron are inconsistent in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Modern intravenous (IV) iron products have become available in high-income clinical settings and provide an opportunity to deliver high doses of iron in a single-short infusion during pregnancy. However, there is limited knowledge of the drivers and barriers for such an intervention to be effectively delivered and upscaled in LMICs.

Questioning the ethics of evidence-based practice for Indigenous health and social settings in Australia.

Australian government planning promotes evidence-based action as the overarching goal to achieving health equality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations. However, an inequitable distribution of power and resources in the conduct of evidence-based practice produces a policy environment counterintuitive to this goal. This context of contemporary evidence-based practice gives legitimacy to 'expert practitioners' located in Australian governments and universities to use Western guidelines and tools, embedded in Western methodology, to make 'evidence' informed policy and programming decisions about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations.

The experience of under-screened and never-screened participants using clinician-supported self-collection cervical screening within the Australian National Cervical Screening Program.

Background: Australia has had significant successes in the prevention of cervical cancer. However, there is considerable scope for improving screening participation. In December 2017, Australia shifted from cytology to a human papillomavirus-based screening program as part of the renewed National Cervical Screening Program.

Understanding the types of racism and its effect on mental health among Muslim women in Victoria.

Background: Discrimination against racial and ethnic minority groups, especially the Muslim community, is more prevalent in Western countries and anti-Muslim belief, or Islamophobia, is also increasing around the world. Intersectionality of religion, race, and gender makes Muslim women vulnerable to racism. This study investigates different types of racism experienced by Muslim and non-Muslim women living in Victoria, Australia, and the adverse mental health outcome to them after experiencing racism.

Cultural determinants of health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people - a narrative overview of reviews.

Introduction: The cultural determinants of health centre an Indigenous definition of health, and have been linked to positive health and wellbeing outcomes. There is growing evidence for the importance of the cultural determinants of health; however, to date, no high-level overview of the evidence-base has been provided. Synthesising existing literature on cultural determinants of health for Aboriginal peoples in a single manuscript will highlight what we know, and what needs to be explored in future research.

Evaluation of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander strengths based coaching program: a study protocol.

Background: Increasingly, strength-based approaches to health and wellbeing interventions with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are being explored. This is a welcome counter to deficit-based initiatives which can represent a non-Indigenous view of outcomes of interest. However, the evidence base is not well developed.

Challenges in Implementing Community-Based Healthcare Teams in a Low-Income Country Context: Lessons From Ethiopia's Family Health Teams.

Background: Addressing chronic diseases and intra-urban health disparities in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) requires new health service models. Team-based healthcare models can improve management of chronic diseases/complex conditions. There is interest in integrating community health workers (CHWs) into these teams, given their effectiveness in reaching underserved populations.

Self-collection cervical screening in the renewed National Cervical Screening Program: a qualitative study.

Objectives: To evaluate the implementation and acceptability of the self-collection cervical screening pathway since commencement of the renewed National Cervical Screening Program (rNCSP), from the perspectives of screening participants and primary care practitioners.

Design, Setting, Participants: Qualitative study; individual semi-structured interviews with 45 screening participants and 18 primary care practitioners in Victoria who had engaged with the self-collection pathway during the first 17 months of the rNCSP (1 December 2017 - 30 April 2019).

Results: The self-collection pathway was highly acceptable as an alternative cervical screening pathway for most participating screening participants and practitioners.

Study protocol for the Healthier Wealthier Families (HWF) pilot randomised controlled trial: testing the feasibility of delivering financial counselling to families with young children who are identified as experiencing financial hardship by community-based nurses.

Introduction: Poverty and deprivation can harm children's future health, learning, economic productivity and societal participation. The Australian Healthier Wealthier Families project seeks to reduce the childhood inequities caused by poverty and deprivation by creating a systematic referral pathway between two free, community-based services: universal, well-child nursing services, which provide health and development support to families with children from birth to school entry, and financial counselling. By adapting the successful Scottish 'Healthier Wealthier Children' model, the objectives of this Australian pilot are to test the (1) of systematising the referral pathway, and (2) short-term on household finances, caregiver health, parenting efficacy and financial service use.

"This is my boy's health! Talk straight to me!" perspectives on accessible and culturally safe care among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients of clinical genetics services.

Background: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people do not enjoy equal access to specialist health services that adequately meet their needs. Clinical genetics services are at the vanguard of realising the health benefits of genomic medicine. As the field continues to expand in clinical utility and implementation, it is critical that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are able to participate and benefit equally to avoid further widening of the existing health gap.

Using an adaptive, codesign approach to strengthen clinic-level immunisation services in Khayelitsha, Western Cape Province, South Africa.

Introduction: Optimal immunisation programme service delivery and childhood vaccine coverage remains an ongoing challenge in South Africa. Previous health systems approaches have made recommendations on how to address identified barriers but detailed local implementation studies are lacking. This study aimed to improve immunisation service delivery in children under 24 months in Khayelitsha, Western Cape Province using an adaptive, co-design approach to assess and improve childhood immunisation service delivery at the clinic level.

Mechanisms and impact of public reporting on physicians and hospitals' performance: A systematic review (2000-2020).

Background: Public performance reporting (PPR) of physician and hospital data aims to improve health outcomes by promoting quality improvement and informing consumer choice. However, previous studies have demonstrated inconsistent effects of PPR, potentially due to the various PPR characteristics examined. The aim of this study was to undertake a systematic review of the impact and mechanisms (selection and change), by which PPR exerts its influence.

The impact of public performance reporting on cancer elective surgery waiting times: a data linkage study.

Background: Excessive waiting times for cancer elective surgery are a concern in publicly funded healthcare systems. Several countries including Australia have introduced healthcare reforms involving time-based targets and public performance reporting (PPR) of hospital data. However, there is mixed evidence of their benefits.