What are the perceived unmet needs for patient care, education, and research among genitourinary cancer nurses in Australia? A mixed method study.

Objective: Specialist genitourinary (GU) nurses provide care to a broad and diverse group of patients diagnosed with kidney, bladder, prostate, testicular, adrenal, and penile cancer. The purpose of this study was to identify GU cancer nurse perspectives of perceived unmet needs in service provision, specific educational and research priorities.

Methods: A concurrent mixed methods study design incorporated quantitative and qualitative data collection from the GU Cancer nurses workforce in Australia.

Tobacco, nicotine, and cannabis use and exposure in an Australian Indigenous population during pregnancy: A protocol to measure parental and foetal exposure and outcomes.

Background: The Australian National Perinatal Data Collection collates all live and stillbirths from States and Territories in Australia. In that database, maternal cigarette smoking is noted twice (smoking <20 weeks gestation; smoking >20 weeks gestation). Cannabis use and other forms of nicotine use, for example vaping and nicotine replacement therapy, are nor reported.

Evaluation of the clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction related to the use of internal eye shields for electron external beam radiation therapy.

Introduction: Cancers around the eye are often treated using orthovoltage machines or by plastic surgery, neither of which are widely available in regional Australia. External beam radiation therapy (EBRT) using electrons and an internal eye shield is an alternative, relatively underreported technique which can provide similar cosmetic and functional outcomes. This report aimed to describe the process for the use of internal eye shields at GenesisCare Fraser Coast Radiation Oncology (GCFCRO) and the associated clinical outcomes and patient perceptions of the delivery and results of this procedure.

Protocol for a hybrid effectiveness-implementation clinical trial evaluating video-assisted electronic consent vs standard consent for patients initiating and continuing haemodialysis in Australia (eConsent HD).

Introduction: Communicating complex information about haemodialysis (HD) and ensuring it is well understood remains a challenge for clinicians. Informed consent is a high-impact checkpoint in augmenting patients' decision awareness and engagement prior to HD. The aims of this study are to (1) develop a digital information interface to better equip patients in the decision-making process to undergo HD; (2) evaluate the effectiveness of the co-designed digital information interface to improve patient outcomes; and (3) evaluate an implementation strategy.

Primary and specialist care interaction and referral patterns for individuals with chronic kidney disease: a narrative review.

Background: Timely referral of individuals with chronic kidney disease from primary care to secondary care is evidenced to improve patient outcomes, especially for those whose disease progresses to kidney failure requiring kidney replacement therapy. A shortage of specialist nephrology services plus no consistent criteria for referral and reporting leads to referral pattern variability in the management of individuals with chronic kidney disease.

Objective: The objective of this review was to explore the referral patterns of individuals with chronic kidney disease from primary care to specialist nephrology services.

First Isolation of Japanese Encephalitis Virus Genotype IV from Mosquitoes in Australia.

Widespread transmission of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) genotype four (GIV) occurred across mainland Australia in 2022. This resulted in forty-five human cases, including seven deaths, and the identification of JEV infection in over 80 commercial piggeries. We collected mosquitoes which were trapped using CO-baited light traps deployed near piggeries reporting disease or in regions linked to human cases in the Wide Bay region in the state of Queensland.

Medical students' awareness of overdiagnosis and implications for preventing overdiagnosis.

Overdiagnosis is a growing health issue, yet our understanding of medical students' exposure to this concept within medical education is limited. Our aim was to explore students' experience of diagnostic learning to identify how overdiagnosis may be understood by students. During in-person and online semi-structured interviews throughout 2021, we explored the education experience of twelve Western Sydney University medical students in years 3-5.

Barriers and enablers to implementation of COVID-19 vaccine programs in a rural and regional Queensland: A provider perspective.

Introduction: Vaccines formed the core of Australia's National COVID-19 Plan in combination with other public health measures. Vaccine rates varied geographically, and lower uptake was seen in some regional and remote areas.

Objective: Explore barriers and enablers to implementing COVID-19 vaccine programs and recommendations for improvement from a vaccine provider perspective in rural and regional Queensland (QLD).

Effect of infection control education program on childcare educator knowledge and confidence.

Issue Addressed: Childcare educator knowledge gaps in infection control practices and outbreak management. This can contribute to the well-reported issue of transmission of infectious diseases in childcare centres and the associated health and economic costs.

Methods: A health promotion program in the form of an educational slideshow presentation with interactive question/answer component was developed and offered to all childcare centre staff in the Wide Bay region, Queensland.

Hospitalizations Among Adults With CKD in Public Renal Specialty Practices: A Retrospective Study From Queensland, Australia.

Rationale & Objective: Little is known about hospital admissions in nondialysis patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) before death or starting kidney replacement therapy (KRT).

Study Design: Retrospective observational cohort study.

Setting & Participants: Hospitalizations among 7,201 patients with CKD from 10 public renal clinics in Queensland (QLD), enrolled in the CKD.

Evolving epidemiology of Q fever in Wide Bay.

Q fever is a notifiable disease in Australia due to its public health significance. Recent data in the Wide Bay region (Queensland, Australia) suggests a rising number and changing geographical distribution of Q fever cases. This study aims to evaluate these changes through analysis of data from Queensland Health's Notifiable Conditions System (NoCS) over a ten-year period.

Sexual knowledge of Queensland forensic mental health patients: A cross-sectional quantitative study.

Forensic patients with serious mental illnesses (SMI) encounter significant challenges including active symptomatology, associated social and interpersonal impairments, psychotropic medication side effects and institutionalization, all of which negatively affect sexual functioning and possibly their acquirement of sexual knowledge. Evidence shows an increased prevalence of high-risk sexual behavior by this group however, there is an absence of literature examining the sexual knowledge of forensic patients. This quantitative cross-sectional study enrolled = 50 patients currently under the treatment requirements of a Forensic Order and utilized the validated General Sexual Knowledge Questionnaire (GSKQ) to quantify the participants' sexual knowledge over the domains of physiology, sexual intercourse, pregnancy, contraception, sexually transmitted diseases, and sexuality.

The sexuality and sexual experiences of forensic mental health patients: An integrative review of the literature.

Introduction: Sexuality is an integral aspect of the human experience that defines an individual. Robust research, substantiated by the World Health Organization, demonstrates that healthy sexuality improves mental health and quality of life. Despite this level of global advocacy and clinical evidence, sexuality and sexual health as determinants of health have been largely overlooked in the mental healthcare of patients being treated under the requirements of a forensic order (forensic patients).

Understanding workforce needs of allied health staff in regional cancer care centres: Informing recruitment and succession planning.

Objective: To describe: (1) the type and frequency of interventions undertaken by regional cancer specialist Allied Health Professionals (AHPs); and (2) regional generalist AHPs' exposure and confidence in undertaking these interventions.

Design: Multiphase, observational study including a prospective study and a cross-sectional survey.

Setting: Two regional Queensland Hospitals.

Post COVID-19 vaccination: AusVaxSafety survey participation and adverse events - a community-based regional Queensland study.

Objective: To describe adverse events following COVID-19 immunisation (AEFI) and participation in AusVaxSafety surveillance in a Queensland regional community.

Methods: Participants presenting for second dose COVID-19 vaccine at the Hervey Bay Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service (WBHHS) vaccine clinic in July 2021 completed a survey pertaining to their first COVID-19 vaccine. Data collected included participation in AusVaxSafety surveillance, vaccine type (BNT162b2 (Pfizer/BioNTech) or ChAdOx1-S(Oxford/AstraZeneca), AEFI experienced and impact on work/routine activities.

The role of day-respite centres in supporting people with dementia to age in place: An interpretive phenomenological study.

Issue Addressed: Day-respite care opportunities for people with dementia help prevent informal carer burnout and enable ageing in place. Care workers in these settings are an under-researched workforce who play a pivotal role in providing an engaging and supportive environment for clients with dementia. This study aimed to understand their experiences of providing care for people with dementia.

COVID-19 Vaccination: An Exploratory Study of the Motivations and Concerns Detailed in the Medical Records of a Regional Australian Population.

Understanding motivations and concerns surrounding COVID-19 vaccine uptake is important to reduce vaccine hesitancy and inform strategies to mitigate concerns and increase vaccine uptake. This study aimed to explore motivations and concerns associated with COVID-19 vaccination among adults seeking their first COVID-19 vaccine in a regional Australian community with low prevalence of COVID-19, who received a medical consult prior to vaccination. Medical records from consults were audited and the modified Framework Method was used to conduct qualitative content analysis of data, generating themes and overall core concepts related to motivations for COVID-19 vaccination and associated concerns.

A Qualitative Study on Sexuality and Sexual Experiences in Community Forensic Mental Health Patients in Queensland, Australia.

This qualitative study reports on the sexuality and sexual experiences of community-based forensic mental health participants. The findings indicate that these participants feel the need for intimacy and want to engage in sexual activity more often than their neurotypical Australian peers. Participants identified their mental health and the side effects of compliance with prescribed psychotropic medications were barriers to achieving their desired level of sexual activity.

Referral patterns, disease progression and impact of the kidney failure risk equation (KFRE) in a Queensland Chronic Kidney Disease Registry (CKD.QLD) cohort: a study protocol.

Introduction: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a rapidly increasing and global phenomenon which carries high morbidity and mortality. Although timely referral from primary care to secondary care confers favourable outcomes, it is not possible for every patient with CKD to be managed at secondary care. With 1 in 10 Australians currently living with markers of CKD against a workforce of about 600 nephrology specialists, a risk stratification strategy is required that will reliably identify individuals whose kidney disease is likely to progress.

The economic impact of rostering junior doctors to triage to assist nursing staff in the early part of the patient journey through the emergency department.

Objective: This study aims to determine whether redeploying junior doctors to assist at triage represents good value for money and a good use of finite staffing resources.

Methods: We undertook a cost-minimisation analysis to produce new evidence, from an economic perspective, about the costs associated with reallocating junior doctors in the emergency department. We built a decision-analytic model, using a mix of prospectively collected data, routinely collected administrative databases and hospital costings to furnish the model.

Establishing Clinical Swallowing Assessment Services via Telepractice: A Multisite Implementation Evaluation.

Purpose While research has confirmed the feasibility and validity of delivering clinical swallowing evaluations (CSEs) via telepractice, challenges exist for clinical implementation. Using an implementation framework, strategies that supported implementation of CSE services via telepractice within 18 regional/rural sites across five health services were examined. Method A coordinated implementation strategy involving remote training and support was provided to 18 sites across five health services (five hub and spoke services) that had identified a need to implement CSEs via telepractice.

The Sexual Development, Sexual Health, Sexual Experiences, and Sexual Knowledge of Forensic Mental Health Patients: A Research Design and Methodology Protocol.

There is substantial evidence that severe mental illness (SMI) can have significant impacts on general development, knowledge acquisition, and quality of life including sexual function. However, whilst the sexual development, sexual health, sexual experiences and sexual knowledge of the broader Australian community and the Australian prisoner population have been well-described, these concepts have been less explored in people with a SMI. In particular, there is an absence of research around these topics involving people who are subject to a treatment order (aka a Forensic Order) under the relevant jurisdictional Mental Health Act.