Evaluating an intensive ward-based writing coach programme to improve nursing documentation: lessons learned.

Aim: This study aimed to develop a ward-based writing coach programme to improve the quality of patient information in nursing documentation.

Background: Omissions in the patient information make nursing notes an unreliable source for care planning. Strategies to improve the quality of nursing documentation have been unsuccessful.

Importance of predictors of rehospitalisation in heart failure: a survey of heart failure experts.

Aims: We investigated the opinion of clinical experts and researchers involved in chronic heart failure disease management regarding the ranking of patient, provider and system factors that predict the risk of rehospitalisation.

Methods: Item generation for the online survey was informed by a literature review and current risk prediction models. Consultation with experts was undertaken via a secure online survey platform.

Measures of psychophysiological arousal among resettled traumatized Iraqi refugees seeking psychological treatment.

Resettled refugees living in Western countries frequently report high levels of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. This study sought to measure levels of physiological arousal in a group of resettled Iraqi refugees in Australia receiving psychological treatment. A continuous recording of electrocardiogram (ECG) data was used to examine baseline heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) in refugees (n = 25) and healthy age- and sex-matched controls (n = 23).

Involvement of α- and β-catenins and E-cadherin in the development of mammary phyllodes tumours.

Aims: Phyllodes tumours (PT) are rare but clinically important fibroepithelial tumours of the breast. β-Catenin, a key component in Wnt signalling, has been shown to be important in the development of PT. It also functions as a component of the cadherin complex, which may therefore be implicated in PT pathogenesis.

Effective teaching of communication to health professional undergraduate and postgraduate students: A Systematic Review.

Review Question/objective: The objective is to identify and assess the effectiveness of tools and methods of teaching communication skills to health professional students in undergraduate and postgraduate programs, to facilitate communication in hospitals, nursing homes and mental health institutions.For this review, effective communication will be defined as that which enhances patient satisfaction, safety, symptom resolution, psychological status, or reduces the impact/burden of disease and/or improved communication skills within undergraduate or postgraduate studentsThe review question is: What is the best available evidence on strategies to effectively teach communication skills to undergraduate and postgraduate medical, nursing and allied health students (nutrition and dietetics, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech pathology etc)?

Background: Communication is a two-way interaction where information, meanings and feelings are shared both verbally and non-verbally. Effective communication is when the message being conveyed is understood as intended.

Enhancing management of depression and type 1 diabetes in adolescents and young adults.

Anxiety, depression, and eating disorders are higher in adolescents and young adults with diabetes than in their unaffected counterparts worldwide. This descriptive qualitative research paper, using secondary analysis, described the experiences of adolescents and young adults living with depression and Type 1 diabetes. The study showed that depression negatively affected the participants physically, emotionally, and socially and impacted on their relationships.

The effect of acupuncture on psychosocial outcomes for women experiencing infertility: a pilot randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: The study objectives were to examine the effectiveness of acupuncture for reducing infertility-related stress.

Design: The study design was a randomized controlled trial of acupuncture compared with a wait-list control.

Setting: The study was conducted at The University of Western Sydney.

Maintaining oral health during pregnancy: perceptions of midwives in Southwest Sydney.

Current evidence highlights the importance of maintaining good oral health during pregnancy, unfortunately, many women in Australia do not access dental services at this time. Compounding the situation is the lack of importance placed on the value of good maternal oral health by prenatal care providers. These constraints highlight the potential value of having preventive oral health advice and referral to an appropriate care pathway during the prenatal period.

Development of an instrument to assess the quality of acupuncture: results from a Delphi process.

Background: Quality acupuncture influences the outcomes of clinical research, and issues associated with effective administration of acupuncture in randomized controlled trials need to be addressed when appraising studies.

Objective: The study objective was to achieve consensus on domains and items for inclusion in a rating scale to assess quality acupuncture administered in clinical research.

Study Design And Subjects: An active group of Australian acupuncture researchers initially identified a pool of items assessing quality.

Acupuncture for primary dysmenorrhoea.

Background: This review examined the currently available evidence supporting the use of acupuncture to treat primary dysmenorrhoea.

Objectives: To determine the efficacy and safety of acupuncture in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhoea when compared with a placebo, no treatment, or conventional medical treatment (for example oral contraceptives and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication (NSAIDs)).

Search Strategy: The following databases were searched (from inception until March 2010): the Cochrane Menstrual Disorders and Subfertillity Group Trials Register, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library), PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), Chinese Medical Current Content (CMCC), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP database, Dissertation Abstracts International, BIOSIS, AMED (The Allied and Complementary Medicine Database), Acubriefs, and Acubase.

The ethics of traditional chinese and Western herbal medicine research: views of researchers and human ethics committees in australia.

Despite the growth of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and western herbal medicine (WHM) research in Australia, little is known about how ethics committees (HRECs) assess the ethics of TCM or WHM research. The objectives of this study were to examine the experiences of TCM and WHM researchers and HRECs with the evaluation of ethics applications. Two cross-sectional surveys were undertaken of HRECs and TCM and WHM researchers in Australia.

Australia's health care reform agenda: implications for the nurses' role in chronic heart failure management.

Introduction: The importance of the nursing role in chronic heart failure (CHF) management is increasingly recognised. With the recent release of the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission (NHHRC) report in Australia, a review of nursing roles in CHF management is timely and appropriate.

Aim: This paper aims to discuss the implications of the NHHRC report and nursing roles in the context of CHF management in Australia.

A global history of Australian trees.

Scholars studying the globalization of Australian trees have previously emphasized the rapid natural propagation of Australian trees outside of their native habitats, believing their success to be a reversal of "ecological imperialism" from the "new world" to the "old world." This article argues that the expansion of Australian trees should not be viewed as a biological phenomenon, but as the result of a long-term attempt by powerful states and state-sponsored scientists to select and breed Australian species that could grow in a variety of climates and ecological conditions. Five non-biological factors largely determined the success of these attempts to grow Australian trees: the abundance or paucity of natural forests, state power, the amount of scientific research directed to planting Australian trees, the cost of labor, and the ability to utilize hardwood timbers and bark.

Acupuncture to treat common reproductive health complaints: An overview of the evidence.

Background: Women specific health complaints are common, and women are higher users of complementary therapies and medicines. Acupuncture is one modality used by women. The aim of this paper was to summarise the evidence from scientific trials and systematic reviews assessing the effectiveness of acupuncture to treat the most common women specific reproductive health complaints.

Acupuncture for depression.

Background: There is interest from the community in the use of self help and complementary therapies for depression. This review examined the currently available evidence supporting the use of acupuncture to treat depression.

Objectives: To examine the effectiveness and adverse effects of acupuncture in the treatment for depression.

The effectiveness of using human patient simulation manikins in the teaching of clinical reasoning skills to undergraduate nursing students: a systematic review.

Background: Human patient simulation manikins are being used extensively both nationally (in Australia) and internationally in the education of health professionals. There is evidence suggesting that these types of technologies are effective in teaching psychomotor skills. Furthermore student satisfaction with simulation approaches is generally high.

Building resilience: a preliminary exploration of women's perceptions of the use of acupuncture as an adjunct to In Vitro Fertilisation.

Background: In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) is now an accepted and effective treatment for infertility, however IVF is acknowledged as contributing to, rather than lessening, the overall psychosocial effects of infertility. Psychological and counselling interventions have previously been widely recommended in parallel with infertility treatments but whilst in many jurisdictions counselling is recommended or mandatory, it may not be widely used. Acupuncture is increasingly used as an adjunct to IVF, in this preliminary study we sought to investigate the experience of infertile women who had used acupuncture to improve their fertility.

Caring for the pregnant woman and her baby in a changing maternity service environment: the role of acupuncture.

Women have traditionally been high users of complementary therapies and use of these therapies continues during pregnancy and birthing. While women look to acupuncture and other therapies to support them during this time, traditional maternity services are in a state of change. In Australia, there is an increase in births, a workforce crisis, an increase in birthing in labour ward settings, few opportunities for women to birth at home, increased caesarean sections and an increase in obstetric interventions.

Integration of extracellular matrix with chitosan adhesive film for sutureless tissue fixation.

Background And Objectives: Extracellular matrices (ECMs) are currently applied in reconstructive surgery to enhance wound healing and tissue remodelling. Sutures and staples are usually employed to stabilize ECM on tissue although they may damage the matrix structure. In this investigation, a novel biocompatible bandage was developed to fix ECM on tissue without sutures.

Clinical decision-making for repair of spontaneous childbirth trauma: validation of cues and related factors.

From recalled childbirth cases, a series of cues and related factors were previously identified that were used by midwives when making decisions to suture or not suture perineal and associated trauma incurred during spontaneous vaginal delivery. This study aimed to determine the validity of these cues and related factors. A panel of 18 experienced midwives evaluated their content validity using the criteria of "necessity" and "sufficiency.

Reducing plantar pressure in rheumatoid arthritis: a comparison of running versus off-the-shelf orthopaedic footwear.

Background: Foot pain in patients with rheumatoid arthritis is common and can be associated with excessive forefoot plantar pressure loading. Running and off-the-shelf orthopaedic footwear are commonly recommended to manage foot pain and discomfort in these patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of running footwear as an alternative to off-the-shelf orthopaedic footwear on plantar pressure loading characteristics in people with forefoot pain associated with rheumatoid arthritis.

Interpersonal violence and mental illness: a literature review.

There is a perception that people with a mental illness are dangerous. However, there are still arguments in the research literature as to whether the evidence supports this perception. The major aim of this paper is to review the findings of these studies in regard to the risk of violent behaviour in people with mental illness.

The relationship between measured vibrato characteristics and perception in Western operatic singing.

This study examined the association between acoustic and perceptual data related to vibrato in Western operatic singing using recordings of performances by internationally famous opera singers. Three related studies were conducted. Study 1 used commercial recordings of the same five singers and the same cadenza examined by Siegwart and Scherer(1), measured vibrato rate and extent in each singer's performance of the cadenza and tested possible associations between these vibrato attributes and judges' preference for singers.

Timing of intravenous administration set changes: a systematic review.

Objective: To determine the optimal time interval for the routine replacement of intravenous administration sets when crystalloids or parenteral nutrition are administered via a central or peripheral catheter in an acute care setting.

Design: Systematic review of all randomized or systematically allocated controlled trials addressing the frequency of replacing intravenous administration sets.

Methods: The Cochrane Controlled Trials Register (June 2001) and the Ovid databases (Medline, CINAHL, and CancerLit-July 2001) were searched.