"Butterflies in the air, you're now a breastfeeding mother": A qualitative study of women's experiences receiving postnatal midwifery breastfeeding support.

Background: Despite breastfeeding being widely accepted as the optimal feeding method for infants many women do not meet their breastfeeding goals or continue to breastfeed as long as recommended. Continuation of exclusive breastfeeding is multifactorial, with midwifery support during the postnatal period considered to be an important component. However, little is known about how women receive this support from midwives across varying models of care.

Midwifery and nursing honours programs in Australia and New Zealand: A scoping review of contemporary challenges and opportunities.

Problem: Contemporary resources that identify the challenges and experiences of Midwifery and Nursing honours students and providers within Australia and New Zealand are lacking.

Background: The establishment and development of accredited, tertiary education for Midwifery and Nursing has enhanced professionalism and opportunity. However, the progression from registration pathway programs to Higher Degrees by Research remain limited.

OFFSPRING: A SPRING Follow-Up Study Assessing the Efficacy of Maternal Probiotics and Allergic Disease in the Child.

Introduction: There are a variety of factors that contribute to the development of allergic diseases in children, including environmental exposures during the maternal prenatal period. It has been proposed that probiotic supplementation during pregnancy could be used as a possible preventative measure to target childhood allergic disease.

Methods: Participants from a previously conducted prospective double-blind randomised control trial of probiotics versus placebo study (Study of PRrobiotics IN Gestation) were sent electronic questionnaires to complete about their child, who are now between 3 and 7 years of age.

Consent during labour and birth as observed by midwifery students: A mixed methods study.

Background: While consent is an integral part of respectful maternity care, how this is obtained during labour and birth presents conflicting understandings between midwives' and women's experiences. Midwifery students are well placed to observe interactions between women and midwives during the consent process.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to explore the observations and experiences of final year midwifery students of how midwives obtain consent during labour and birth.

The Pain Medicine Curriculum Framework-structured integration of pain medicine education into the medical curriculum.

Medical practitioners play an essential role in preventing pain, conducting comprehensive pain assessments, as well as promoting evidence-based practices. There is a need for the development of innovative, interprofessional and integrated pain medicine curricula for medical students. The Pain Medicine Curriculum Framework (PMCF) was developed to conceptualise a purposeful approach to the complex process of curriculum change and to prioritise the actions needed to address the gaps in pain medicine education.

Midwife-Led Continuity of Antenatal Care and Breastfeeding Duration Beyond Postpartum Hospital Discharge: A Systematic Review.

Background: The World Health Organization recommends that infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of life and that breastfeeding should continue for 2 years and beyond. Most women initiate breastfeeding, but many do not continue for the recommended duration. While midwife-led continuity of antenatal care is linked to improved mother and infant outcomes, the influence on breastfeeding duration has not been previously reviewed.

Clinicians' perspectives on gestational diabetes screening during the global COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.

Aim: There is no international consensus for the screening and diagnosis of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). In March 2020, modified screening and diagnostic recommendations were rapidly implemented in Queensland, Australia, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. How clinicians perceived and used these changes can provide insights to support high-quality clinical practice and provide lessons for future policy changes.

Gestational diabetes screening from the perspective of consumers: Insights from early in the COVID-19 pandemic and opportunities to optimise experiences.

Background: Consumer perspectives are a cornerstone of value-based healthcare. Screening and diagnosis of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) were among many of the rapid changes to health care recommended during the COVID-19 pandemic. The changes provided a unique opportunity to add information about women's perspectives on the debate on GDM screening.

Protocol for a mixed-method cohort study investigating the prevalence and impact of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in chronic pain rehabilitation.

Introduction: While there is considerable and growing research in the individual fields of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and chronic pain, focused research into their potential association remains limited. By exploring this potential association, better theoretical understanding of and better therapeutic approaches to chronic pain management could be developed. The study's aim is to explore the prevalence and impact of obsessions-compulsions on the experience and rehabilitation of chronic pain among individuals attending different branches of a New Zealand pain service.

Clinical and cost-effectiveness of an online-delivered group-based pain management programme in improving pain-related disability for people with persistent pain-protocol for a non-inferiority randomised controlled trial (iSelf-help trial).

Introduction: Persistent non-cancer pain affects one in five adults and is more common in Māori-the Indigenous population of New Zealand (NZ), adults over 65 years, and people living in areas of high deprivation. Despite the evidence supporting multidisciplinary pain management programmes (PMPs), access to PMPs is poor due to long waiting lists. Although online-delivered PMPs enhance access, none have been codesigned with patients or compared with group-based, in-person PMPs.

Exploring assessment of medical students' competencies in pain medicine-A review.

Introduction: Considering the continuing high prevalence and public health burden of pain, it is critical that medical students are equipped with competencies in the field of pain medicine. Robust assessment of student expertise is integral for effective implementation of competency-based medical education.

Objective: The aim of this review was to describe the literature regarding methods for assessing pain medicine competencies in medical students.

Physical Therapy Approaches in the Treatment of Low Back Pain.

Globally, in 2016, low back pain (LBP) contributed 57.6 million of total years lived with disability. Low Back Pain Guidelines regularly recommend the use of physical exercise for non-specific LBP.

A proposed clinical conceptual model for the physiotherapy management of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS).

There are no validated clinical models to show a reliable pathway of guaranteeing an effective recovery for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) with physiotherapy management. An array of medical, psychological and physiotherapy intervention methods show weak benefit. Spearman correlations, with significance p < 0.

Systematic Review of Pain Medicine Content, Teaching, and Assessment in Medical School Curricula Internationally.

Introduction: Pain management is a major health care challenge in terms of the significant prevalence of pain and the negative consequences of poor management. Consequently, there have been international calls to improve pain medicine education for medical students. This systematic review examines the literature on pain medicine education at medical schools internationally, with a particular interest in studies that make reference to: a defined pain medicine curriculum, specific pain medicine learning objectives, dedicated pain education modules, core pain topics, medical specialties that teach pain medicine, elective study opportunities, hours allocated to teaching pain medicine during the curriculum, the status of pain medicine in the curriculum (compulsory or optional), as well as teaching, learning, and assessment methods.

Pain medicine content, teaching and assessment in medical school curricula in Australia and New Zealand.

Background: The objective of pain medicine education is to provide medical students with opportunities to develop their knowledge, skills and professional attitudes that will lead to their becoming safe, capable, and compassionate medical practitioners who are able to meet the healthcare needs of persons in pain. This study was undertaken to identify and describe the delivery of pain medicine education at medical schools in Australia and New Zealand.

Method: All 23 medical schools in Australia and New Zealand in 2016 were included in this study.

A Review of the Opioid Epidemic: What Do We Do About It?

The opioid epidemic, with its noticeable increase in opioid prescriptions and related misuse, abuse and resultant deaths in the previous 12 years, is a particularly North American phenomenon. Europe, and particularly low- and middle-income countries, appear to be less influenced by this problem. There is undisputable value in using opioids not only in the treatment of acute pain, but in cancer pain as well.

Deaths from Opioid Overdosing: Implications of Coroners' Inquest Reports 2008-2012 and Annual Rise in Opioid Prescription Rates: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

Introduction: In the late 1990s multiple physicians and advocacy organizations promoted increased use of opioids for the treatment of acute, chronic and cancer pain. There has been an exponential growth in opioid prescribing in the last 20 years in the United States of America, in Australia, and in other developed Western countries. There are negative consequences associated with the liberal use of opioids.

The Cold Pressor Test as a Predictor of Prolonged Postoperative Pain, a Prospective Cohort Study.

Introduction: Presently, it is difficult to predict which patients are at increased risk of ongoing pain problems postoperatively. This study followed a group of patients from the week before their operation until 3 months after it, to identify potential risk variables.

Methods: Fifty-four patients undergoing moderate-major gynaecological surgery at Christchurch Women's Hospital were recruited and assessed preoperatively over an 11-week period.

Vitamin D and Pain: Vitamin D and Its Role in the Aetiology and Maintenance of Chronic Pain States and Associated Comorbidities.

The emergence of new data suggests that the benefits of Vitamin D extend beyond healthy bones. This paper looks at Vitamin D and its role in the aetiology and maintenance of chronic pain states and associated comorbidities. The interfaces between pain and Vitamin D and the mechanisms of action of Vitamin D on pain processes are explored.

Perioperative Pain Correlates and Prolonged Postoperative Pain Predictors: Demographic and Psychometric Questionnaires.

Introduction: Perioperatively, patients are near-guaranteed to experience acute pain by virtue of the surgical tissue insult. The transition of acute pain to pathological chronic pain is a complex and poorly understood process. To study this, the prevalence of pain was examined preoperatively, and at 6 weeks and 3 months postoperatively.

Vitamin D Deficiency and Pain: Clinical Evidence of Low Levels of Vitamin D and Supplementation in Chronic Pain States.

Introduction: A number of studies suggest a link between low levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D and incidence of acute and chronic pain. Clinical studies of vitamin D supplementation in patients with known vitamin D deficiency have shown mixed results in improving pain scores.

Methods: In this article, vitamin D deficiency risk factors are observed and adequate levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D defined.