Using an SMS to improve bowel cancer screening: the acceptability and feasibility of a multifaceted intervention.

Background: The Australian National Bowel Cancer Screening Program sends an immunochemical faecal occult blood test to Australians aged 50-74 years to screen for bowel cancer, but uptake is low (40.9%). The SMARTscreen trial demonstrated that sending a short messaging services (SMS) prompt from the participant's general practitioner (GP) increased the proportion of kit returns by 16.

Sarcopenia in general practice: Towards improving muscle health screening, assessment and management in Australia.

Background: An estimated one in five Australians aged 60 years and older have sarcopenia, marked by progressive and accelerated loss in muscle mass, strength and function. Sarcopenia is associated with considerable healthcare costs and a myriad of adverse health outcomes, including increased risk of death. Despite its clinical importance, muscle health is often overlooked in routine clinical practice, hindering diagnosis and treatment.

Transforming health care delivery: The role of primary health care nurses in rural and remote Australia.

Aim: This paper describes the policy context and approaches taken to improve access to primary health care in Australia by supporting nurses to deliver improved integrated care meeting community needs.

Context: In Primary Health Care (PHC), the nursing workforce are predominantly employed in the general practice sector. Despite evidence that nurse-led models of care can bridge traditional treatment silos in the provision of specialised and coordinated care, PHC nurses' scope of practice varies dramatically.

Nurse-led clinics in primary health care: A scoping review of contemporary definitions, implementation enablers and barriers and their health impact.

Aims: To define nurse-led clinics in primary health care, identify barriers and enablers that influence their successful implementation, and understand what impact they have on patient and population health outcomes.

Background: Nurse-led clinics definitions remain inconsistent. There is limited understanding regarding what enablers and barriers impact successful nurse-led clinic implementation and their impact on patient health care.

Increasing bowel cancer screening using SMS in general practice: the SMARTscreen cluster randomised trial.

Background: Australia has one of the highest incidences of colorectal cancer (CRC) worldwide. The Australian National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) is a best-practice, organised screening programme, but uptake is low (40.9%) and increasing participation could reduce morbidity and mortality associated with CRC.

The SMARTscreen Trial: a randomised controlled trial investigating the efficacy of a GP-endorsed narrative SMS to increase participation in the Australian National Bowel Cancer Screening Program.

Background: Increasing participation in the Australian National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) is the most efficient and cost-effective way of reducing mortality associated with colorectal cancer by detecting and treating early-stage disease. Currently, only 44% of Australians aged 50-74 years complete the NBCSP. This efficacy trial aims to test whether this SMS intervention is an effective method for increasing participation in the NBCSP.

RE-ENGINEERING PRIMARY HEALTHCARE NURSING AS A FIRST CAREER CHOICE.

In line with international models and critical to the primary healthcare nursing workforce, the Australian Primary Health Care Nursing Association (APNA) has been funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health to develop an Education and Career Framework and Toolkit for primary healthcare nurses. The aim of the project is to improve the recruitment and retention of nurses and to re-engineer primary healthcare as a first choice career option.

Feasibility and economic impact of a clinical pathway for pap test utilization in Gynecologic Oncology practice.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility and impact on cost to the U.S. healthcare system of implementing a clinical pathway for Pap test utilization in screening and surveillance of gynecologic cancers in a university-based gynecologic oncology practice.