The effectiveness of brief interventions in the clinical setting in reducing alcohol misuse and binge drinking in adolescents: a critical review of the literature.

Aims And Objectives: To investigate the effectiveness of brief interventions for adolescent alcohol misuse and to determine if these interventions are useful in reducing alcohol consumption. To determine if brief interventions could be used successfully by nurses in the clinical setting.

Background: Australian adolescents are consuming risky levels of alcohol in ever increasing numbers.

Improving the oral health of older people in long-term residential care: a review of the literature.

Background.  Unrefutable evidence now links poor oral health with the development of preventable systemic illnesses and debilitating conditions that threaten quality of life and life itself. This is especially significant for an increasing older population who are dependent on others for care.

Secondary prevention for acute coronary syndrome in rural South Australia: are drugs best? What about the rest?

Introduction: Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Current Australian clinical guidelines recommend all patients with ACS receive comprehensive secondary prevention services to address this burden. Optimal patient outcomes rely on the timely and effective implementation of proven therapies and for secondary prevention to be successful, pharmacological interventions must be combined with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor identification and management.

Unstructured cardiac rehabilitation and secondary prevention in rural South Australia: does it meet best practice guidelines?

Comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation programs that address risk factors, psychological problems, and physical activity are essential in optimizing health and reducing the risk of further cardiac events. Behavioural and lifestyle modification support offered through these programs is predicated on initial identification of risk. Many rural populations in Australia do not have access to structured cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs, and the level of support available to them in the form of unstructured CR is unclear.