"Extremely Painful, but Worth It": The Lived Experience of Receiving Collagenase as Treatment for Dupuytren Disease.

Background: Collagenase injection is a relatively new, minimally invasive treatment option for Dupuytren disease. Most literature focusses on quantitative outcome measures, such as degree of residual contracture and recurrence. The patient experience of the treatment has rarely been explored.

Implementation of an advanced occupational therapy assistant-led groups programme in aged care rehabilitation.

Background/aim: The use of support workers such as occupational therapy assistants is emerging as a strategy to enhance the health workforce, but there has been little evaluation of the feasibility of expanding support worker roles and responsibilities. This study aimed to implement an advanced occupational therapy assistant-led groups programme in a subacute aged care rehabilitation setting and to evaluate the impact on the clinical outcomes of group participants.

Method: A prospective quasi-experimental cohort study was conducted comparing outcomes of 30 patients receiving a groups programme led by an advanced occupational therapy assistant with a historical control group of 40 patients receiving the groups programme led by an occupational therapist.