Attitudes, perceptions, and experiences of Western Australians towards vaccine safety surveillance systems following COVID-19 vaccines: A qualitative descriptive study.

Objective: Concerns regarding adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) are a barrier to vaccine uptake. Health professionals use vaccine safety surveillance systems (VSSS) to monitor vaccines and inform the public of safety data. With little known about public attitudes, perceptions, and experiences with VSSS, we examined them in the context of COVID-19 vaccinations in Western Australia.

Attitudes, perceptions, and experiences of Western Australians towards vaccine safety surveillance systems following COVID-19 vaccines: A qualitative descriptive study.

Objective: Concerns regarding adverse events following immunisation are a barrier to vaccine uptake. Health professionals use vaccine safety surveillance systems (VSSSs) to monitor vaccines and inform the public of safety data. With little known about public attitudes, perceptions, and experiences with VSSS, we examined them in the context of COVID-19 vaccinations in Western Australia.

"Fighting the pandemic!" Western Australian pharmacists' perspectives on COVID-19 vaccines: A qualitative study.

Background: In Western Australia, community pharmacists are authorized to administer a range of vaccines without a prescription. Since mid-July 2021, pharmacists can also administer Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines. Little is known about how pharmacists think and feel about giving and receiving COVID-19 vaccines and how they discuss it with patients.

Patients' Perspectives on Commencing Oral Anticoagulants in Atrial Fibrillation: An Exploratory Qualitative Descriptive Study.

Background: Oral anticoagulants (OACs) are prescribed to patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) in order to lower stroke risk. However, patient refusal to commence OACs hinders effective anticoagulation. This study aimed to explore barriers and facilitators to patient agreement to commence OACs from the perspectives of patients with AF attending Australian general practices.

Contemporary trends in anaphylaxis burden and healthcare utilisation in Western Australia: A linked data study.

Background: Anaphylaxis is a growing public health problem in Australia. To determine the extent of the problem, we linked multiple health datasets to examine temporal trends in anaphylaxis events across the health system in Western Australia (WA).

Methods: We identified an anaphylaxis cohort from 1980 to 2020 using linked datasets from ambulance, emergency departments, hospital inpatients and deaths.

Making a SmartStart for peanut introduction to support food allergy prevention guidelines for infants.

Background: Food allergy affects up to 10% of Australian infants. It was hypothesized that if parents follow the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy guidelines, Australian food allergy rates may stabilize or decline.

Objective: This project aimed to determine whether SmartStartAllergy influenced parental introduction of peanut by age 12 months, including in high-risk infants.

Use of a reference text by pharmacists, intern pharmacists and pharmacy students: a national cross-sectional survey.

Background: Reference texts assist pharmacists by addressing knowledge gaps and enabling evidence-based decisions when providing patient care. It is unknown whether reference text utilisation patterns differ between pharmacists, intern pharmacists and pharmacy students. To describe and compare the self-reported use and perceptions of a reference text, namely the national formulary, by pharmacists, intern pharmacists and pharmacy students.

Pharmacists' use of guidelines for the supply of non-prescription medicines: a cross-sectional survey.

Objectives: Guidelines support best practice for healthcare practice. In Australia, some non-prescription medicines are only accessible after consultation with a pharmacist and are known as Pharmacist Only medicines. Guidelines for providing some Pharmacist Only medicines are available, however, it is currently unknown if and how these guidelines are used in practice.

Immediate Adverse Events Following COVID-19 Vaccination in Australian Pharmacies: A Retrospective Review.

Background: Four COVID-19 vaccines are approved for use in Australia: Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 (Comirnaty), AstraZeneca ChAdOx1 (Vaxzevria), Moderna mRNA-1273 (Spikevax), and Novavax NVX-CoV2373 (Nuvaxovid). We sought to examine the type and management of immediate adverse events following immunisation (I-AEFI) after COVID-19 vaccination.

Methods: Retrospective review of I-AEFI recorded between July 2021 and June 2022 in 314 community pharmacies in Australia.

Safety of Four COVID-19 Vaccines across Primary Doses 1, 2, 3 and Booster: A Prospective Cohort Study of Australian Community Pharmacy Vaccinations.

Four COVID-19 vaccines are approved for use in Australia: Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 (Comirnaty), AstraZeneca ChAdOx1 (Vaxzevria), Moderna mRNA-1273 (Spikevax) and Novavax NVX-CoV2373 (Nuvaxovid). We sought to examine adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) at days 3 and 42 after primary doses 1, 2, 3 and booster. We conducted active vaccine safety surveillance from 130 community pharmacies in Australia integrated with AusVaxSafety, between August 2021-April 2022.

Can Research Training be Improved in Health Professional Student Curricula? A Qualitative Descriptive Study of Health Students' Experiences with an Integrated Research Training Platform.

Introduction: Project-based learning is currently the status quo for research training for health professional students; however, it alone is not sufficient for holistic development of research skills. One promising style of intervention that can complement project-based research training is a centralised hub of e-learning resources. Therefore, we explored the perception of health professionals in tertiary education, towards the E-learning hub named ''.

Impact of public health interventions for food allergy prevention on rates of infant anaphylaxis.

Background: Eleven percent of Australian infants have confirmed food allergy. We hypothesized earlier introduction may lead to higher rates of infant anaphylaxis, irrespective of whether the overall rate of food allergy in the population was ultimately reduced.

Objective: To determine whether a public health campaign, targeting earlier introduction of allergenic foods, affected rates of infant anaphylaxis.

Overview of registries for anaphylaxis: a scoping review.

Objective: This review aimed to describe the scope and operational features of anaphylaxis registries, and to assess their contribution to improving knowledge of anaphylaxis and care of patients who experience anaphylaxis by measuring their research output.

Introduction: Structured data collection and reporting systems, such as registries, are needed to better understand the burden of anaphylaxis and to protect the growing number of patients with severe allergy. There is a need to characterize current anaphylaxis registries to identify their value in anaphylaxis surveillance, management, and research.

Nip allergies in the Bub: a qualitative study for a public health approach to infant feeding for allergy prevention.

Objective: To identify a brand, key messages and resources to underpin a public health approach to food allergy prevention.

Methods: A focus group design was used to explore perceptions and opinions of potential brands, infant feeding messages and resources for providing standardised food allergy prevention information. Focus groups were conducted in February 2018 using interview guides and were transcribed verbatim.

Use of thromboprophylaxis guidelines and risk stratification tools in atrial fibrillation: A survey of general practitioners in Australia.

Rationale And Objectives: Clinical guidelines produced by cardiology societies (henceforth referred to simply as 'clinical guidelines') recommend thromboprophylaxis with oral anticoagulants (OACs) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) who have moderate-to-high stroke risk. However, deviations from these recommendations are observed, especially in the primary healthcare setting. The primary aims of this study were to evaluate the self-reported use of AF clinical guidelines and risk stratification tools among Australian general practitioners (GPs), and their perceptions regarding the available resources.

Do pharmacy practice standards effectively describe behaviour? Reviewing practice standards using a behavioural specificity framework.

Background: Guidelines and practice standards exist to communicate the conduct and behaviour expected of health care professionals and ensure consistent quality practice. It is important that they describe behaviours explicitly so they can be interpreted, enacted and measured with ease. The AACTT framework specifies behaviour in terms of the: Action to be performed, Actor who performs the action, Context where the action occurs, Target who the action is performed with/for and Time when the action is performed (AACTT).

Use of professional practice guidance resources in pharmacy: a cross-sectional nationwide survey of pharmacists, intern pharmacists, and pharmacy students.

Background: Variations in practice are commonplace in healthcare where health professionals, such as pharmacists act as autonomous practitioners. This is evident in simulated patient studies, where pharmacists practice does not meet widely accepted standards for medicines supply or treatment of an ailment. To promote best pharmacy practice a myriad of guidance resources including practice guidelines, codes and standards are produced by professional organisations.

Reasons for non-adherence to thromboprophylaxis prescribing guidelines in atrial fibrillation in Western Australia: A qualitative descriptive study of general practitioners' views.

Background: A significant proportion of the atrial fibrillation (AF) population attending Australian primary care is not receiving guideline-adherent oral anticoagulant (OAC) treatment. This study aimed to explore reasons for non-adherence to thromboprophylaxis guidelines in AF from the perspectives of general practitioners (GPs) and to map these reasons to the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation-Behaviour (COM-B) model to identify potential opportunities to support practice change.

Methods: An exploratory qualitative descriptive study among GPs practising in Western Australia was conducted using semi-structured interviews, from November 2020 to February 2021.

A systematic review of infant feeding food allergy prevention guidelines - can we AGREE?

Food allergy is a significant issue worldwide, particularly in Westernised countries. There is no clear explanation why food allergy appears to have increased so rapidly in recent years, particularly in young children, hence ongoing research to identify effective primary prevention strategies. Food allergy prevention guidelines for health professionals have been developed based on existing clinical trial evidence for effective translation and implementation.

Increasing anaphylaxis events in Western Australia identified using four linked administrative datasets.

Background: Anaphylaxis events are increasing worldwide, based on studies of single administrative datasets including hospital admissions, emergency room presentations, and prescription and medical claims data. Linking multiple administrative datasets may provide better epidemiological estimates, by capturing a greater number of anaphylaxis events occurring at the individual level. In this linked data study in Western Australia, we combined 4 population-based datasets to identify anaphylaxis events, factors influencing occurrence, and change in event rates from 2002 to 2013.

Overview of registries for anaphylaxis: a scoping review protocol.

Objective: This review will describe the scope and operational features of global registries for anaphylaxis and assess their contribution to improving knowledge and care of anaphylaxis by measuring their research output.

Introduction: The incidence of anaphylaxis is increasing around the world. Structured reporting systems, such as patient registries, are needed to better understand the burden of anaphylaxis and protect the growing number of allergic patients.

Medication information and supply behaviours in elite and developing athletes.

Objectives: To investigate the behaviours of elite and developing athletes in obtaining medications and medication information, and to identify the role of pharmacists in athlete care.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Methods: An electronic, 39-item questionnaire was developed, piloted and distributed to elite and developing athletes aged 18 years and above at a state-based sporting institute.

Demonstration of epinephrine autoinjectors (EpiPen and Anapen) by pharmacists in a randomised, simulated patient assessment: acceptable, but room for improvement.

Background: Successful treatment of anaphylaxis in the community relies on early and correct use of epinephrine autoinjectors. Community pharmacists supply these devices and have a crucial role teaching patients how to use them. Supply of epinephrine autoinjectors in Australia increased 70-fold in the past decade.

Long-term effectiveness of online anaphylaxis education for pharmacists.

Objective: To evaluate the long-term effectiveness of an Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) anaphylaxis e-learning program compared to lectures or no training.

Design: A controlled interrupted-time-series study of Australian pharmacists and pharmacy students who completed ASCIA anaphylaxis e-learning or lecture programs was conducted during 2011-2013. Effectiveness was measured using a validated test administered pretraining, posttraining, and 3 and 7 months after training.