2,796 results match your criteria: "University of Wollongong and Illawarra Health & Medical Research Institute[Affiliation]"

Supporting equitable cervical cancer elimination for Australia's culturally and linguistically diverse communities: A call for intersectoral action.

Health Promot J Austr

January 2025

Australian Centre for Health Engagement, Evidence and Values, Faculty of the Arts, Social Science and Humanities, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.

Cervical cancer is a preventable disease and is related to persistent health equities. Whilst several priority populations face health inequities related to cervical cancer prevention, my co-authors and I bring special attention to those who identify as culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD). By reflecting on some of our research and work experiences, we propose four ways that governments and policymakers can enact the community engagement goals of the published and proposed cervical cancer prevention and treatment strategies for CALD communities.

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: Cognition plays a major role in prosthetic rehabilitation success. The ability to identify patients who may have difficulty understanding and adapting to the rehabilitation process is beneficial for clinicians and patients to allow for targeted and appropriate therapy. The research aim was to codesign a process that facilitates routine cognitive screening into the amputee inpatient journey.

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Chemotherapy and radiotherapy for advanced pancreatic cancer.

Cochrane Database Syst Rev

December 2024

Medical Oncology, The Kinghorn Cancer Care Centre, St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, Australia.

Article Synopsis
  • Pancreatic cancer is a highly lethal disease with limited treatment options, leading to an updated review of randomized data focused on first-line treatments for advanced cases.
  • The review examines the impact of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or a combination of both on overall survival, severe adverse events, and quality of life for patients with unresectable or metastatic pancreatic cancer.
  • A total of 75 studies were analyzed, with 51 included in the meta-analysis, examining various treatment comparisons and finding that the studies generally had low risks for biases in methodology.
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Objective: The serratus anterior plane block (SAPB) is a regional anaesthesia technique with increasing use as an analgesic adjunct in patients with rib fractures. The present study aimed to generate consensus of the requirements of education, training and credentialing for the use of a 'single shot' SAPB in the management of rib fractures.

Methods: A modified Delphi process was designed using online questionnaires.

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Using real-time Delphi methods to develop a consensus-based framework to improve nursing assessment in residential aged care.

Australas J Ageing

November 2024

Faculty of Medicine and Health, Susan Wakil School of Nursing and Midwifery, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia.

Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to adapt the HIRAID® emergency nursing framework to enhance aged care nurses' ability to recognize and manage changes in residents' health conditions.
  • A real-time Delphi method was used, involving twelve expert healthcare leaders, which resulted in achieving consensus on how to modify the framework after two survey rounds.
  • Key changes focused on improving the assessment techniques and understanding the differences in practice between aged care and acute care nurses, ultimately supporting better education and practice in aged care settings.
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Introduction: Access to culturally appropriate healthcare is vital to ensure refugee and migrant women receive optimal care, particularly during the perinatal period. Refugee and migrant women report lower satisfaction with pregnancy care due to language barriers and a perceived lack of understanding of their needs. The aim of this study is to explore how to improve the experiences of migrant and refugee women with maternal health services through the lens of cultural humility.

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Background: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common however the widespread use of antibiotics has led to a rise in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) amongst uropathogens, rendering a significant proportion of infections resistant to first line treatment. AMR in UTIs may differentially affect men and women, younger and older patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate MDR (multi-drug resistance) and AMR in males and females in an Australian health district.

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Development of an evidence-based strategy to implement the HIRAID® emergency nursing framework in rural emergency departments using behaviour change theory.

Int Emerg Nurs

December 2024

Susan Wakil School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia. Electronic address:

Introduction: Emergency nurses are critical to emergency care delivery, particularly in rural areas with limited medical support. To support nurses, the validated emergency nursing framework, HIRAID®, was to be implemented. Implementing interventions in the emergency context is notoriously difficult and rural areas have added challenges with limited resources across large geographic areas.

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Purpose: Falls are a major concern for people with Parkinson's disease (PwPD) due to associated motor and non-motor impairments. Promoting safe mobility behaviour may be an effective fall prevention intervention, however this concept is poorly articulated in the literature. The aim of this scoping review was to map out the definition and concepts of safe mobility behaviour to draw implications for PwPD.

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Investigating the service utilization and pathways of patients with alcohol use disorders.

Alcohol Alcohol

September 2024

Centre for Digital Transformation, School of Computing and Information Technology, Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences, University of Wollongong, Northfields Ave Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia.

Background: Process mining was widely used in healthcare settings to analyse patient pathways, providing insights about patient care and resource allocation. This study aimed to apply process mining to explore service utilization and pathways of patients with alcohol use disorders in receiving the community-based Drug and Alcohol Service to establish a baseline for evaluating improvement initiatives.

Methods: Patients' encounters with the Drug and Alcohol Service and their direct care activities (i.

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Fertiloscopy and its place in the gynaecologist's armamentarium.

Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol

November 2024

Graduate School of Medicine, Faculty of Science Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.

Background: Infertility is a prevalent issue worldwide. Current investigation of female pelvic infertility uses transabdominal laparoscopy, exposing patients to its associated risks. An alternative method is fertiloscopy, comprising hysteroscopy, tubal dye studies, and transvaginal hydrolaparoscopy (TVHL), falling under the broader category of VNOTES.

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Background: Fluoropyrimidine (FP) chemotherapies are commonly prescribed for upper and lower gastrointestinal, breast and head and neck malignancies. Over 16,000 people with cancer require FP chemotherapies per annum in Australia. Between 10 and 40% patients experience grade 3-4 (≥ G3) toxicities that require hospital-based management ± intensive care admission.

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Background: Increased demand, wait times and length of stay have seen many emergency departments implement nurse-initiated protocols In New South Wales, Australia, 74 nurse-initiated protocols have been developed for implementation. The aim of this paper is to identify the barriers and enablers to nurses' use of these protocols to inform and maximise future implementation.

Methods: Data were collected via surveys informed by the theoretical domains' framework and the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index (PES-NWI).

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Prognostication with Thyroid GuidePx in the context of tall cell variants.

Surgery

January 2025

Department of Oncology, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, AB, Canada; Qualisure Diagnostics Inc, Calgary, AB, Canada; Department of Surgery, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, AB, Canada. Electronic address:

Background: The tall cell variant of papillary thyroid cancer generally has a worse prognosis compared with the classical variant. Thyroid GuidePx is a genomic classifier capable of classifying papillary thyroid cancer into 3 molecular subtypes using fine-needle aspirate. Type 1 and 2 have low recurrence rates, particularly in early tumors (1-4 cm and N0).

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Background: The health issues experienced by older people can often be severe and complex, and an increasing number are using residential aged care services to meet their care needs. High-quality nursing care is fundamental to the health and safety of aged care residents and is contingent on nurses' accurate assessment, informed decision-making, and delivery of timely interventions. However, the role of the aged care nurse is often challenging, impeded by factors such as understaffing, high workloads, and a lack of access to clinical infrastructure and resources.

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Evidence for the evolving role of neoadjuvant and perioperative immunotherapy in resectable non-small cell lung cancer.

Explor Target Antitumor Ther

September 2024

Department of Medical Oncology, Wollongong Hospital, Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District, Illawarra 2500, NSW, Australia.

Article Synopsis
  • - The treatment for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has evolved from standard adjuvant chemotherapy to incorporating neoadjuvant immunotherapy based on its potential to improve outcomes during surgery.
  • - Numerous studies have examined various combinations of chemotherapy and immunotherapy, revealing that some combinations significantly improve pathological response and survival rates.
  • - The growing complexity of NSCLC treatment, with over 20 combinations being tested and new agents in development, is reshaping clinical practice and necessitating further research into optimal strategies.
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The burden of colorectal cancer (CRC) is high in the Asia-Pacific region, and several countries in this region have among the highest and/or fastest growing rates of CRC in the world. A significant proportion of patients will present with or develop metastatic CRC (mCRC), and BRAF-mutant mCRC represents a particularly aggressive phenotype that is less responsive to standard chemotherapies. In light of recent therapeutic advances, an Asia-Pacific expert consensus panel was convened to develop evidence-based recommendations for the diagnosis, treatment, and management of patients with BRAF-mutant mCRC.

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Objective: To evaluate the use and impact of pathology tests in patients who present to the ED with mental health-related complaints. The primary objective is to measure the proportion of patients undergoing pathology tests and assess whether these tests trigger a change in management.

Methods: In this retrospective study, we reviewed all recorded mental health presentations to our regional ED between January and June 2021.

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Early screening and diagnosis of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and its impact on perinatal outcomes.

Diabetes Res Clin Pract

November 2024

School of Medical Indigenous and Health Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. Electronic address:

Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to assess the differences in maternal and neonatal outcomes between early and routine diagnoses of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).
  • 3494 women were analyzed based on when they were diagnosed, with early diagnoses considered to be at or before 20 weeks of gestation, and results were measured in terms of large and small for gestational age infants.
  • Findings indicated that early diagnosis and treatment benefits were present mainly for mothers with higher fasting blood glucose levels, showing fewer complications, while early treatment for those with lower fasting levels did not show similar advantages.
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What assessment, intervention and diagnostics should women with early pregnancy bleeding receive in the emergency department and when? A scoping review and synthesis of evidence.

Australas Emerg Care

October 2024

Susan Wakil School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Emergency Department, Wollongong Hospital, Wollongong, Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District, New South Wales, Australia.

Article Synopsis
  • - The study focuses on early pregnancy bleeding, a common issue that can lead to serious consequences, highlighting the lack of clear guidance on how to manage it in emergency departments (ED).
  • - After reviewing 122 studies and 6 practice guidelines, the authors synthesized this information to create an evidence-based clinical guideline, emphasizing assessments like vital signs and diagnostics primarily using ultrasound.
  • - The newly developed guideline aims to standardize care for early pregnancy bleeding in emergency settings, while stressing the need for ongoing research to improve practices and outcomes for affected women.
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Routine outcome monitoring and feedback in alcohol and other drug treatment: A qualitative study of client perspectives on implementation.

Drug Alcohol Rev

October 2024

National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.

Article Synopsis
  • Routine outcome monitoring (ROM) and feedback are important strategies for evaluating alcohol and drug treatment, but implementing them effectively poses challenges, requiring more research on client perspectives.
  • A study involving 26 Australian clients in AOD treatment revealed four key themes: the value of ROM in treatment, the necessity for clear outcome measures, a preference for visual feedback on progress, and the emotional difficulties that can arise from receiving feedback.
  • Participants emphasized that ROM is most effective when integrated into treatment with clear communication and visual aids, suggesting improvements like concise surveys and relevant feedback to enhance client engagement and treatment outcomes.
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Iliac venous stenting provides long-term relief from chronic pelvic pain.

J Vasc Surg Venous Lymphat Disord

October 2024

Graduate School of Medicine, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia.

Article Synopsis
  • Iliac Venous Obstruction (IVO) can cause chronic pelvic pain (CPP) in women, but there's limited data on how effective venous stenting is for treatment.
  • A study examined 113 women with CPP who underwent iliac vein stenting, finding that a significant majority experienced improved pain scores after an average follow-up of 5 years.
  • The findings suggest that stenting provides long-term relief from CPP, even in cases with ongoing ovarian vein reflux and during subsequent pregnancies, with 73% achieving complete pain resolution.
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Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is common. An AKI episode may disrupt the normal mineral bone balance maintained by normal kidney function, thereby modifying the risk of developing bone fractures. However, it remains unclear whether an AKI episode is associated with the risk of bone fractures.

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