Lung function may recover after coal mine fire smoke exposure: a longitudinal cohort study.

Background And Objective: The 2014 Hazelwood coal mine fire exposed residents in nearby Morwell to high concentrations of particulate matter <2.5 µm (PM) for approximately 6 weeks. This analysis aimed to evaluate the long-term impact on respiratory health.

Use of metered dose inhalers for bronchodilator responsiveness testing: laboratory practices in Australia and opportunities for carbon footprint reduction.

Background: Metered dose inhalers (MDIs) are important devices for delivering inhaled medications; however, they have an outsized carbon footprint due to their propellant gas. Many short-acting beta-agonist inhalers contain HFA-134a which has a global warming potential >1000 fold higher than carbon dioxide. We aimed to determine the practices around MDI use and disposal within Australia's major lung function testing laboratories and identify the actions that most influence the carbon footprint of bronchodilator responsiveness (BDR) testing.

Reducing unplanned extubation in the neonatal intensive care unit: a quality improvement project.

Background And Aim: Unplanned extubation (UE) is an adverse event that can occur for neonates that are intubated and mechanically ventilated. UE is recognised as an important quality measure in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) due to the negative impact these events may have on the neonate. We aimed to use quality improvement (QI) methodology to reduce the rate of UE to the global standard of <1/100 ventilation days.

Envisioning quality improvement education partnerships to teach pre-registration nursing students: A qualitative study.

Background: Quality improvement education partnerships occur when higher education and healthcare organisations collaborate to teach quality improvement. These partnerships have been used to increase pre-registration student engagement through experiential learning. However, there is limited evidence on the perspectives of higher education nursing academics and healthcare organisation participants in these quality improvement education partnerships.

Development of the quality improvement collaborative questionnaire (QuIC) to explore quality improvement partnerships to teach pre-registration nursing students.

Background: Quality improvement partnerships between healthcare organisations and higher education require further research to explore their potential to provide a valuable education experience for pre-registration nursing students.

Aims: Develop and validate a questionnaire for nurse academics to evaluate quality improvement content in pre-registration nursing curricula and the extent of partnership with higher education providers in developing this content. Conduct a pilot test of the questionnaire.

In-utero transfer, survival-focused care and survival to 28-days at 22-24 weeks' gestation pre- and post- implementation of an extreme prematurity management guideline in Victoria, Australia.

Background: Care for infants born at 22-24 weeks' gestation varies globally, with an increasing willingness to provide survival-focused ('active') care for infants born at 22 weeks' gestation in recent years. This study aims to report changes in care for infants born at 22-24 weeks before and after the introduction of a statewide guideline for extreme prematurity (EP).

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted, including all live births at 22-24 weeks in tertiary perinatal centres from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2022 in Victoria, Australia.

Voluntary assisted dying: impacts on health professionals.

Objective The introduction and implementation of voluntary assisted dying (VAD) legislation represents a major shift in Australian health policy. Given potential repercussions for health professionals, understanding how they are being affected by this legislation is important to guide future policy and legislative changes. This study aims to explore the perspectives and experiences of Australian health professionals on VAD and compare impacts on those working under different state legislation in Victoria and WA.

Characterisation and outcomes of different subsets of low disease activity states in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objectives: The lupus low disease activity state (LLDAS) allows for certain clinical and/or serological activity of SLE, provided overall disease activity does not exceed predefined cut-offs. This study aimed to evaluate the outcomes of patients who achieved LLDAS with clinical activity, serological activity only or neither clinical nor serological activity.

Methods: Patients with SLE enrolled in a prospective multinational cohort from March 2013 to December 2020 who were in LLDAS at least once were included.

ICON 2023: International Scientific Tendinopathy Symposium Consensus - the core outcome set for Achilles tendinopathy (COS-AT) using a systematic review and a Delphi study of professional participants and patients.

To develop a core outcome set for Achilles tendinopathy (COS-AT) for use in clinical trials we performed a five-step process including (1) a systematic review of available outcome measurement instruments, (2) an online survey on truth and feasibility of the available measurement instruments, (3) an assessment of the methodological quality of the selected outcome measurement instruments, (4) an online survey on the outcome measurement instruments as COS and (5) a consensus in-person meeting. Both surveys were completed by healthcare professionals and patients. The Outcome Measures in Rheumatology guidelines with a 70% threshold for consensus were followed.

Prognostic value of the 5-SENSE Score to predict focality of the seizure-onset zone as assessed by stereoelectroencephalography: a prospective international multicentre validation study.

Introduction: Epilepsy surgery is the only curative treatment for patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy. Stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) is the gold standard to delineate the seizure-onset zone (SOZ). However, up to 40% of patients are subsequently not operated as no focal non-eloquent SOZ can be identified.

Slow walking speed and health-related exit from employment among older workers over 5 years of follow-up: evidence from the Health and Employment After Fifty (HEAF) cohort study.

Introduction: With demographic changes, there is increasing demand for individuals and governments to lengthen working lives. Jobs that are very physically demanding are likely to be more difficult to sustain at older ages. If workers at risk of mismatch of demand and capability could be identified early, there would be opportunities for intervention for health or lifestyle and/or re-training or redeployment.

Supporting victim-survivors during investigations of health practitioner misconduct: early learnings from a trauma-informed service.

Objective: In 2021, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency established a support service to provide additional assistance to victim-survivors involved in complaints related to sexual boundary violations. This study evaluates the first stages of service delivery to understand participants' experiences with the service, gauge the service's reception, and improve support provided in future.

Design: Programme data was analysed descriptively to understand uptake and participant engagement since inception.

Predictors of successful neonatal intubation in inexperienced operators: a secondary, non-randomised analysis of the SHINE trial.

Objective: Neonatal endotracheal intubation is a lifesaving but technically difficult procedure, particularly for inexperienced operators. This secondary analysis in a subgroup of inexperienced operators of the Stabilization with nasal High flow during Intubation of NEonates randomised trial aimed to identify the factors associated with successful intubation on the first attempt without physiological stability of the infant.

Methods: In this secondary analysis, demographic factors were compared between infants intubated by inexperienced operators and those intubated by experienced operators.

The impact of gastroesophageal reflux disease and its treatment on interstitial lung disease outcomes.

Background: To determine the relationship between gastroesophageal reflux disease (GORD) and its treatment and interstitial lung disease in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc).

Methods: SSc patients from the Australian Scleroderma Cohort Study (ASCS) were included. GORD was defined as self-reported GORD symptoms, therapy with a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) or histamine 2 receptor antagonist (H2RA) and/or the presence of reflux oesophagitis diagnosed endoscopically.

Does voluntary assisted dying impact quality palliative care? A retrospective mixed-method study.

Objectives: We aimed to explore the relationship between the pursuit of voluntary assisted dying (VAD) and the delivery of quality palliative care in an Australian state where VAD was newly available METHODS: We adopted a retrospective convergent mixed-methods design to gather and interpret data from records of 141 patients who expressed an interest in and did or did not pursue VAD over 2 years. Findings were correlated against quality domains.

Results: The mean patient age was 72.

Risk of adjacent level fracture after percutaneous vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty vs natural history for the management of osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures: a network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Objectives: Percutaneous vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty are common interventions for osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures. However, there is concern about an increased risk of adjacent-level fractures after treatment. This study aimed to compare the risk of adjacent-level fractures after vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty with the natural history after osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures.

Exploring the influence of health system factors on adaptive capacity in diverse hospital teams in Norway: a multiple case study approach.

Objectives: Understanding flexibility and adaptive capacities in complex healthcare systems is a cornerstone of resilient healthcare. Health systems provide structures in the form of standards, rules and regulation to healthcare providers in defined settings such as hospitals. There is little knowledge of how hospital teams are affected by the rules and regulations imposed by multiple governmental bodies, and how health system factors influence adaptive capacity in hospital teams.

Exploring type 2 diabetes self-management practices in rural Bangladesh: facilitators, barriers and expectations-a qualitative study protocol.

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a global public health crisis impacting low-income and middle-income countries such as Bangladesh. While self-management is encouraged for individuals with T2DM, there is a significant lack of knowledge regarding the factors of facilitators, barriers and expectations associated with T2DM self-management in Bangladesh. This research aims to investigate the potential elements that support, impede and are anticipated in the effective practice of self-management for T2DM in rural areas of Bangladesh.

Medicine in the marketplace: clinician and patient views on commercial influences on assisted reproductive technology.

Research Question: What are the views and experiences of patient and expert stakeholders on the positive and negative impacts of commercial influences on the provision of assisted reproductive technology (ART) services, and what are their suggestions for governance reforms?

Design: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 31 ART industry experts from across Australia and New Zealand and 25 patients undergoing ART from metropolitan and regional Australia, between September 2020 and September 2021. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.

Results: Expert and patient participants considered that commercial forces influence the provision of ART in a number of positive ways - increasing sustainability, ensuring consistency in standards and providing patients with greater choice.

Australian researcher's perspectives on the Australian industry-led moratorium on genetic tests in life insurance.

Fear of insurance discrimination can inhibit genetic research participation. In 2019, an industry-led partial moratorium on using genetic results in Australian life insurance underwriting was introduced. This mixed-methods study used online surveys (n = 59 participants) and semi-structured interviews (n = 22 participants) to capture researchers' perceptions about the moratorium.

Emergency Nurse Roles, Challenges, and Preparedness in Hospitals in the Context of Armed Conflict.

Introduction: An understanding of emergency nurses' roles, challenges, and preparedness in the context of armed conflict is necessary to capture in-depth insights into this specialty and their preparational needs when working in these unique environments. Unfortunately, the evidence about emergency nurses' work in the context of armed conflict is scant.

Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 participants and analyzed using qualitative content analysis.

What next for behaviour change professional development in general practice? Insights from an environmental scan and workshops.

Background: A key role of general practice professionals (that is, GPs, and general practice nurses [GPNs]) is to support patients to change behaviours. Traditional approaches to assisting patients with, and learning about, behaviour change have modest outcomes.

Aim: To explore behaviour change with GPs and GPNs and the availability of related professional development (PD) opportunities.

'If I'm not sick, I'm not going to see the doctor': Access to preventive sexual and reproductive health care for Karen women from refugee backgrounds living in Melbourne, Australia-A qualitative study.

Issue Addressed: Women from refugee backgrounds have poorer health outcomes than host country populations. People from Myanmar, most of whom are from the Karen ethnic minority constitute one of the largest groups of humanitarian visa entrants to Australia since 2015. Barriers to and enablers of preventive sexual and reproductive health (SRH) for this group of women are poorly understood.

Exertional Stress-induced Pathogenic Luminal Content Translocation - Friend or Foe?

The incidence of perturbed gastrointestinal integrity, as well as resulting systemic immune responses and gastrointestinal symptoms, otherwise known as exercised-induced gastrointestinal syndrome (EIGS), is common among individuals who partake in prolonged exercise. EIGS may cause the translocation of pathogenic material, including whole bacteria and bacterial endotoxins, from the lumen into circulation, which may progress into clinical consequences such as sepsis, and potentially subsequent fatality. However, further investigation is warranted to assess the possibility of food allergen and/or digestive enzyme luminal to circulatory translocation in response to exercise, and the clinical consequences.

Role of machine learning in the management of epilepsy: a systematic review protocol.

Introduction: Machine learning is a rapidly expanding field and is already incorporated into many aspects of medicine including diagnostics, prognostication and clinical decision-support tools. Epilepsy is a common and disabling neurological disorder, however, management remains challenging in many cases, despite expanding therapeutic options. We present a systematic review protocol to explore the role of machine learning in the management of epilepsy.