Background: Intravenous iron therapy with ferric derisomaltose (FDI) has been shown to improve outcomes in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and iron deficiency. However, its effects across different age groups remain unclear. This analysis of the Effectiveness of Intravenous Iron Treatment versus Standard Care in Patients with Heart Failure and Iron Deficiency (IRONMAN) trial explored the efficacy and safety of FDI across age groups.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: The Heart Failure Frailty Score (HFFS) is a novel, multidimensional tool to assess frailty in patients with heart failure (HF). It has been developed to overcome limitations of existing frailty assessment tools while being practical for clinical use. The HFFS reflects the concept of frailty as a multidimensional, dynamic and potentially reversible state, which increases vulnerability to stressors and risk of poor outcomes in patients with HF.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: Concerns exist that intravenous (IV) iron might increase the risk of infections. The IRONMAN trial provided an opportunity to investigate whether giving IV ferric derisomaltose (FDI) to patients with heart failure and iron deficiency alters the rate of hospitalization or death due to infections.
Methods And Results: IRONMAN was a randomized trial of IV FDI versus usual care in patients with symptomatic heart failure, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤45%, and transferrin saturation (TSAT) <20% or ferritin <100 μg/L.
Despite the progress in the care of individuals with heart failure (HF), important sex disparities in knowledge and management remain, covering all the aspects of the syndrome, from aetiology and pathophysiology to treatment. Important distinctions in phenotypic presentation are widely known, but the mechanisms behind these differences are only partially defined. The impact of sex-specific conditions in the predisposition to HF has gained progressive interest in the HF community.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHeart failure is the most common cardiovascular complication during pregnancy and the postpartum period. It is associated with increased risk of maternal morbidity and mortality as well as potentially life-threatening foetal pathology. Management of heart failure in pregnancy requires expert knowledge of cardiovascular disease as well as obstetrics which underscores the importance of multidisciplinary cardio-obstetrics teams in order to optimize diagnosis, treatment and outcome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Multidiscip Healthc
February 2024
Context: Healthcare consumers are encouraged to develop an Advance Care Plan (ACP) to help to ensure their preferences are known and respected. However, the role of governing systems in the application of ACPs must be understood if patients' voices (expressed within this medium) are to be heard.
Objective: To explore systemic barriers influencing Queensland public hospital doctors' application of the Advance Care Plans of hospitalized people with a neurodegenerative disorder.
Background: Trans and gender-diverse people visiting pharmacies may not always receive optimum care due to pharmacists' lack of knowledge and confidence to provide such care. This situation prompts a need for training.
Objectives: This paper aimed to describe a guide to the design, implementation, and evaluation of a training program on transgender healthcare for pharmacists in Australia.
Background: Disparities in healthcare for transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people are well-recognized, with pharmacists reporting a lack of knowledge impacting confidence in their interactions with TGD people. Therefore, a training program in TGD healthcare was designed to address this knowledge gap.
Objective: To evaluate the impact of the TGD healthcare training program on the awareness, knowledge, and behaviour of pharmacists and pharmacy students in Australia.
J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs
January 2024
Objective: To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Breastfeeding and Employment Scale (BES).
Design: Secondary analysis of data from the Infant Feeding Practices Study II survey, a longitudinal study on infant feeding practices.
Setting: United States.
Background: Many transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people access care through community pharmacy in Australia. However, there is limited information available about the role of Australian pharmacists in providing care for TGD people.
Objective: To explore the attitudes, practices, and training needs of pharmacists in the provision of care for TGD people in Australia.
Background: In some countries, intravenous ferric derisomaltose (FDI) is only licensed for treating iron deficiency with anemia. Accordingly, we investigated the effects of intravenous FDI in a subgroup of patients with anemia in the IRONMAN (Effectiveness of Intravenous (IV) Iron Treatment Versus Standard Care in Patients With Heart Failure and Iron Deficiency) trial.
Method And Results: IRONMAN enrolled patients with heart failure, a left ventricular ejection fraction of ≤45%, and iron deficiency (ferritin <100 µg/L or transferrin saturation of <20%), 771 (68%) of whom had anemia (hemoglobin <12 g/dL for women and <13 g/dL for men).
Objectives: Clients from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds experience challenges in receiving care from community pharmacies, resulting in poorer health outcomes compared with the majority population. The aim of this study was to explore migrants' and pharmacy staff's understanding of the facilitators for the delivery of care to CALD clients.
Methods: Focus groups were conducted with predominantly older, female Nepali-speaking migrants.
Objectives: To investigate factors which influence stroke survivors' decision-making about their rehabilitation and the prospect of taking recovery-promoting drugs, to enhance their recovery.
Methods: Seventeen stroke survivors who had undertaken stroke rehabilitation, and three spouses, participated in focus groups and individual interviews in northern Queensland, Australia. Inductive thematic analysis of the interview data was conducted in accordance with Braun and Clarke's six-phase process.
Workplace Health Saf
August 2023
Background: Breastfeeding is recommended for infants through 6 months of age, when solid foods are introduced, and continued until 12 months of age. However, many mothers in the United States discontinue breastfeeding at an early age and return to work following childbirth. The purpose of this study was to identify individual and organizational factors associated with breastfeeding practices in a sample of employed mothers who participated in the Infant Feeding Practices Study II.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Globally, with the increased visibility, the number of transgender people accessing healthcare services has risen in the last decade. Although pharmacists are required to provide equitable and respectful care to all patients, their experiences interacting with trans and gender-diverse (TGD) people and attitudes towards the provision of care are largely unknown.
Objectives: This study aimed to determine the experiences and attitudes of pharmacists providing care to TGD people in Queensland, Australia.
Background: Pharmacists in the community are often among the first health professionals encountered by new arrivals. Their accessibility and the longevity of the relationship gives pharmacy staff unique opportunities to work with migrants and refugees to meet their health needs. While the language, cultural and health literacy barriers that cause poorer health outcomes are well documented in medical literature, there is a need to validate the barriers to accessing pharmaceutical care and to identify facilitators for efficient care in the migrant/refugee patient-pharmacy staff interaction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The number of young people utilising sexual and reproductive health services in Pacific Island Countries and Territories remains poor despite the availability and the existence of the fundamental rights to access these services. Adolescents and youth need accurate information and timely access to contraceptives to prevent adverse consequences associated with unintended pregnancies, abortion, childbirth and untreated sexually transmitted infections. This scoping review identifies and analyses factors contributing to young people's low access to sexual and reproductive health information and services in this region.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: For patients with heart failure, reduced left ventricular ejection fraction and iron deficiency, intravenous ferric carboxymaltose administration improves quality of life and exercise capacity in the short-term and reduces hospital admissions for heart failure up to 1 year. We aimed to evaluate the longer-term effects of intravenous ferric derisomaltose on cardiovascular events in patients with heart failure.
Methods: IRONMAN was a prospective, randomised, open-label, blinded-endpoint trial done at 70 hospitals in the UK.
Background: Despite the increased visibility of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people, little is known about their interactions with pharmacists and pharmacy staff while accessing care from the pharmacies.
Objectives: The objective of this study was to explore the experiences and expectations of the TGD people regarding their interactions with pharmacists and pharmacy staff in Queensland, Australia.
Methods: This study is situated in a transformative paradigm and utilized narrative inquiry to conduct semi-structured interviews with TGD participants.
Setting: Ottawa Public Health (OPH) provides public health programming and services in the Ottawa region. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, the OPH COVID-19 Case and Contact Management Team was established to help manage the spread of COVID-19 and support individuals who test positive, and their close contacts.
Intervention: In order to guide and support the COVID-19 Case and Contact Management Team, the COVID-19 Strategic Support Team implemented an anonymous internal communication tool called the COVID-19 Case Management Forum.
Aim: To evaluate consistency in the assessment of neonatal skin injuries.
Materials And Methods: Injury images collected during a multicentre period prevalence study (n = 297) were screened for optimal quality before 60 images, stratified for size and colour, were randomly selected for assessment by three neonatal and two adult specialists. The principal investigator's assessments were the baseline for comparison and consistency.