Digital Commons Network^™

Podcasting-As-Care, An Exercise In Diasporic Digital Media Activism, Zoha Zokaei

RadioDoc Review

This article draws on my experience of engaging in diasporic digital media activism on the issue of child sexual abuse in Iran, which culminated in the production of the Price of Secrecy podcast. I introduce the method of Podcasting-as-Care as a method of activism that brings notions of feminist care, activism and listening in a close conversation framed through podcasting. Without resorting to a top-down vision of activism where a notion of listening, i.e. how the victims should be listened to, is prescribed and exemplified, the Price of Secrecy podcast becomes an experience of listening to how victims are failed …

Learning To Read Equine Agency: Sense And Sensitivity At The Intersection Of Scientific, Tacit And Situated Knowledges, Sanna Karkulehto, Nora Schuurman

Animal Studies Journal

The aim of this essay is to address the challenges and problems in communicating with horses and interpreting their communication in everyday handling and training situations. We seek ways to learn more about equine communication and agency in the prevention of cruelty against animals and in enhancing animal welfare. We ask how it would be possible to learn to read the subtle signs of equine communication and agency in a sensible, sensitive, and ethical way to increase the health and wellbeing of horses that humans interact with. We have placed this theoretical examination in a multidisciplinary framework that consists of …

Role Of Area-Level Access To Primary Care On The Geographic Variation Of Cardiometabolic Risk Factor Distribution: A Multilevel Analysis Of The Adult Residents In The Illawarra—Shoalhaven Region Of Nsw, Australia, Renin Melkias Baby Selvi Toms, Xiaoqi Feng, Darren J. Mayne, Andrew D. Bonney

Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute

Background: Access to primary care is important for the identification, control and management of cardiometabolic risk factors (CMRFs). This study investigated whether differences in geographic access to primary care explained area-level variation in CMRFs. Methods: Multilevel logistic regression models were used to derive the association between area-level access to primary care and seven discrete CMRFs after adjusting for individual and area-level co-variates. Two-step floating catchment area method was used to calculate the geographic access to primary care for the small areas within the study region. Results: Geographic access to primary care was inversely associated with low high density lipoprotein (OR …

Nursing Care Left Undone, Practice Environment And Perceived Quality Of Care In Small Rural Hospitals, Sarah Smith, Samuel Lapkin, Jenny Sim, Elizabeth J. Halcomb

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: Part B

No abstract provided.

The Use Of Primary Care Electronic Health Records For Research: Lipid Medications And Mortality In Elderly Patients, Adam J. Hodgkins, Judy Mullan, Darren J. Mayne, Andrew D. Bonney

Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute

General practice electronic health record (EHR) data have significant potential for clinical research. This study demonstrates the feasibility of utilising longitudinal EHR data analysis to address clinically relevant outcomes and uses the relationship between lipid medication prescription and all-cause mortality in the elderly as an exemplar for the validity of this methodology. EHR data were analysed to describe the association of lipid medication use, non-use or cessation with all-cause mortality in patients aged ≥75 years. Survival analysis with Cox regression was used to calculate hazard ratios, which were adjusted for confounders. There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality among …

Evaluation Of A Brief Intervention Within A Stepped Care Whole Of Service Model For Personality Disorder, Elizabeth A. Huxley, Kate L. Lewis, Adam Coates, Wayne Borg, Caitlin Miller, Michelle L. Townsend, Brin F. S Grenyer

Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute

Background Although there is growing evidence that stepped models of care are useful for providing appropriate, person centered care, there are very few studies applied to personality disorders. A brief, four session, psychological treatment intervention for personality disorder within a whole of service stepped care model was evaluated. The intervention stepped between acute emergency crisis mental health services and longer-term outpatient treatments. Methods Study 1 used service utilization data from 191 individuals referred to the brief intervention at a single community health site in a metropolitan health service. Proportions of individuals retained across the intervention and the referral pathways accessed …

Comparability Of The Australian National Cancer Symptom Trials (Cst) Group's Study Populations To National Referrals To Non-Cst Specialist Palliative Care Services Participating In The Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration, Hiromichi Matsuoka, Samuel F. Allingham, Belinda Fazekas, Linda Brown, Zac Vandersman, Katherine Clark, Meera Agar, David C. Currow

Australian Health Services Research Institute

Using the results of Phase III studies in clinical practice depends on how representative study participants are of the clinical population to whom the results will be applied. The closer the characteristics between the subgroup who participate in a clinical trial and the whole population, the easier it is for clinicians to apply the results directly to the patient that he/she is treating. Trial participation is generally more happenstance than a systematic sampling of a population and is limited by eligibility criteria that do not reflect the entire clinical population. Phase III study populations tend to be younger with fewer …

Topic 4: Future Directions In Health Care Delivery, Cristina J. Thompson, Elizabeth J. Halcomb, Cathy Duncan, Darcy Morris, Kathleen Peters, Conrad Kobel, David L. Fildes

Australian Health Services Research Institute

The Department of Health announced an Independent Review of Nursing Education – Educating the Nurse of the Future (the Review) as a measure in the 2018/19 Federal Budget in May 2018. This is the fouth of 4 literature reviews to inform the Review. The results of these literature reviews prompt and inform discussion about particular issues. This literature review focusses on the future directions in healthcare delivery. These are important issues for policy development and decision-making about the future of nursing education in Australia.

The Limits Of Care: Lines, Refrains, Becomings, Ryan Graham Frazer

University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+

Refugee migration sets in motion many geographies. Where do refugees belong? Who is responsible for the safety, welfare and happiness of migrants seeking refuge? And what constitutes a ‘right and proper’ response to refugee migration? In this thesis, I explore one civic organisation’s approach to answering these questions. LocalHouse is an independent and ‘volunteer-powered’ organisation that provides what might be described as ‘settlement support’ to refugees arriving in Wattle City. The aim, for LocalHouse, is not only to overcome the ‘barriers’ to settlement, but to develop a sense that one is home and that one belongs in the city. Drawing …

Developing A Theoretical Model And Questionnaire Survey Instrument To Measure The Success Of Electronic Health Records In Residential Aged Care, Ping Yu, Siyu Qian

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

Electronic health records (EHR) are introduced into healthcare organizations worldwide to improve patient safety, healthcare quality and efficiency. A rigorous evaluation of this technology is important to reduce potential negative effects on patient and staff, to provide decision makers with accurate information for system improvement and to ensure return on investment. Therefore, this study develops a theoretical model and questionnaire survey instrument to assess the success of organizational EHR in routine use from the viewpoint of nursing staff in residential aged care homes. The proposed research model incorporates six variables in the reformulated DeLone and McLean information systems success model: …

Patient, General Practitioner And Oncologist Views Regarding Long-Term Cancer Shared Care, Heike Schutze, Melvin Chin, David Weller, Mark Fort Harris

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background The rising incidence of cancer and increasing number of cancer survivors place competing demands on specialist oncology clinics. This has led to a need to consider collaborative care between primary and secondary care for the long-term post-treatment care of cancer survivors. Objective To explore the views of breast and colorectal cancer survivors, their oncologist and GP about GPs taking a more active role in long-term cancer follow-up care. Methods Semi-structured interviews using a thematic analysis framework. Respondents were asked their views on the specialist hospital-based model for cancer follow-up care and their views on their GP taking a greater …

All Care, But Whose Responsibility? Community Juries Reason About Expert And Patient Responsibilities In Prostate-Specific Antigen Screening For Prostate Cancer, Chris Degeling, Stacy M. Carter, Lucie Rychetnik

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

General practitioners have implicitly been given responsibility for guiding men's decisions about prostate-specific antigen-based screening for prostate cancer, but patients' expectations of the bounds of this responsibility remain unclear. We sought to explore how well-informed members of the public allocate responsibilities in prostate-specific antigen screening decision-making. In 2014, we convened two Community juries in Sydney, Australia, to address questions related to the content and timing of information provision and respective roles of patients and general practitioners in screening decisions. Participants in the first jury were of mixed gender and of all ages (n = 15); the participants in the second …

Fostering Effective Early Learning: A Review Of The Current International Evidence Considering Quality In Early Childhood Education And Care Programmes - In Delivery, Pedagogy And Child Outcomes, Iram Siraj, Denise Kingston, Cathrine Marguerite Neilsen-Hewett, Steven J. Howard, Edward Melhuish, Marc De Rosnay, Elisabeth Duursma, Betty Luu

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Executive Summary There is a large body of international academic research literature which examines the relationship between (i) early childhood education and care (ECEC) and (ii) children's developmental and learning outcomes. Decades of sustained international research by many different research groups demonstrate that children who attend ECEC are likely to experience better behavioural and learning outcomes than those who do not attend. The research findings are, of course, not always consistent, and are more robust over shorter measurement periods. Nevertheless, major national surveys (e.g. OECD, 2011) and ambitious longitudinal research projects (e.g. the EPPSE study, Sylva et al., 2014) document …

Physical Activity And Fitness Outcomes Of A Lifestyle Intervention For Primary Care Patients With Depression And Anxiety: A Randomised Controlled Trial, Adrienne Forsyth, Frank P. Deane, Peter G. Williams

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Patients currently being treated for depression and/or anxiety were referred by their GP and randomised to a 12-week individually tailored diet and exercise lifestyle intervention or an attention control group. Assessments at baseline and 12 weeks included the Active Australia Survey for self-reported physical activity, chair stands, arm curls and a 3-min step test to measure physical fitness. Intent-to-treat analyses using linear mixed modelling showed both groups significantly improved participation in physical activity and muscular endurance. There were no significant differences in improvement between groups. The only group by time interaction was found for body mass index and indicated greater …

Transition Of Children With Disabilities Into Early Childhood Education And Care Centres, Jane D. Warren, Wilma Vialle, Roselyn M. Dixon

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This paper reports on findings from research which sought to understand, in the New South Wales (NSW) context, the factors impacting on the transition into early childhood education and care (ECEC) centres for children with disabilities from the perspective of both parents of children with disabilities and educators in ECEC centres. The study aimed to identify successes and barriers, and consider potential interventions and procedures that might increase the participation of children with disabilities in ECEC centres. This paper will discuss findings from the educator perspective only, including 37 completed questionnaires and semi-structured interviews from 10 teacher participants. Thematic analysis …

Targeting Integrated Care To Those Most Likely To Need Frequent Health Care: A Review Of Social And Clinical Risk Factors, Janet E. Sansoni, Pamela E. Grootemaat, Habibur R. Seraji, Megan B. Blanchard, Milena Snoek

Australian Health Services Research Institute

Evidence check: Targeting integrated care: social and clinical risk factors

Innovation Determinants And Barriers: A Tri-Perspective Analysis Of It Appropriation Within An Early Childhood Education And Care Organisation, Melinda Plumb, Karlheinz Kautz

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

Empirical studies on information technology (IT) in early childhood education and care organisations are scant, despite an increasing number of these organisations choosing to innovate with IT. This paper presents a framework to understand the appropriation of IT as an innovation within such an organisation. The framework consists of three perspectives on innovation: an individualist, a structuralist and an interactive process perspective. While the first focuses on concepts such as leadership, IT champions, previous IT exposure, the second focuses on organisation size, parents as stakeholders, competitors, government compliance and regulatory requirements. The third perspective views the innovation as a dynamic …

Palliative Care Phase: Inter-Rater Reliability And Acceptability In A National Study, Malcolm Masso, Samuel Allingham, Maree Banfield, Claire Johnson, Tanya Pidgeon, Patsy Yates, Kathy Eagar

Australian Health Services Research Institute

Background: The concept of palliative care consisting of five distinct, clinically meaningful, phases (stable, unstable, deteriorating, terminal and bereavement) was developed in Australia about 20 years ago and is used routinely for communicating clinical status, care planning, quality improvement and funding.
Aim: To test the reliability and acceptability of revised definitions of Palliative Care Phase.
Design: Multi-centre cross-sectional study involving pairs of clinicians independently rating patients according to revised definitions of Palliative Care Phase.
Setting/participants: Clinicians from 10 Australian palliative care services, including 9 inpatient units and 1 mixed inpatient/community-based service.
Results: A total of …

Outcomes Of Rehabilitation For Reconditioning: Falls, Frailty, Care Service Requirements - What Does The National Data Tell Us?, Jacquelin T. Capell, Tara L. Stevermuer, Alexander Tome

Australian Health Services Research Institute

Presentation Outline

• What is AROC?

• AROC data collection

• AROC reconditioning impairment specific data:

• Question -> does the data show any association between level of frailty, falls or weight loss and outcomes (LOS, function, services required)?

A Survey Of Patients' Experience Of Pain And Other Symptoms While Receiving Care From Palliative Care Services, Tanya Pidgeon, Claire E. Johnson, David C. Currow, Patsy Yates, Maree Banfield, Leanne Lester, Samuel F. Allingham, Sonia Bird, Kathy Eagar

Australian Health Services Research Institute

Context In Australia, patients at the end of life with complex symptoms and needs are often referred to palliative care services (PCSs), but little is known about the symptoms of patients receiving palliative care in different settings.

Objective To explore patients' levels of pain and other symptoms while receiving care from PCSs.

Method PCSs registered through Australia's national Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration (PCOC) were invited to participate in a survey between 2008 and 2011. Patients (or if unable, a proxy) were invited to complete the Palliative Care Outcome Scale.

Results Questionnaires were completed for 1800 patients. One-quarter of participants reported …

The Impact Of Early Childhood Education And Care On Improved Wellbeing, Edward Melhuish

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

My one suggested intervention for the new health and wellbeing boards is to focus resources on improving life chances in early childhood through the universal provision of early education centres that integrate education, child care, parenting support and health services. There are great differences in the health and development of individuals, linked to their social origins. Despite decades of social and educational reform, there has been little progress in equalising opportunities. The impact of social origins on child outcomes and wellbeing have persisted, and even increased. In this proposal I argue that: • Learning capabilities are primarily formed during the …

South Australia: Patient Outcomes In Palliative Care: July - December 2013: Report 16, Alanna M. Holloway, Samuel Allingham, Carol Hope, Sabina Clapham, Linda Foskett

Australian Health Services Research Institute

The Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration (PCOC) assists services to improve the quality of the palliative care they provide through the analysis and benchmarking of patient outcomes. In this, the sixteenth PCOC report, data submitted for the July to December 2013 period are summarised and patient outcomes benchmarked to enable participating services to assess their performance and identify areas in which they may improve.

New South Wales: Patient Outcomes In Palliative Care: July - December 2013: Report 16, Alanna M. Holloway, Samuel Allingham, Carol Hope, Sabina Clapham, Linda Foskett

Australian Health Services Research Institute

The Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration (PCOC) assists services to improve the quality of the palliative care they provide through the analysis and benchmarking of patient outcomes. In this, the sixteenth PCOC report, data submitted for the July to December 2013 period are summarised and patient outcomes benchmarked to enable participating services to assess their performance and identify areas in which they may improve.

Improving National Hospice/Palliative Care Service Symptom Outcomes Systematically Through Point-Of-Care Data Collection, Structured Feedback And Benchmarking, David Currow, Samuel Allingham, Patsy Yates, Claire Johnson, Katherine Clark, Kathy Eagar

Sydney Business School - Papers

Purpose Every health care sector including hospice/palliative care needs to systematically improve services using patient-defined outcomes. Data from the national Australian Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration aims to define whether hospice/palliative care patients' outcomes and the consistency of these outcomes have improved in the last 3 years.

Methods Data were analysed by clinical phase (stable, unstable, deteriorating, terminal). Patient-level data included the Symptom Assessment Scale and the Palliative Care Problem Severity Score. Nationally collected point-of-care data were anchored for the period July-December 2008 and subsequently compared to this baseline in six 6-month reporting cycles for all services that submitted data in …

A Systematic Review Of Speech Recognition Technology In Health Care, Maree Johnson, Samuel Lapkin, Vanessa Long, Paula Sanchez, H Suominen, J Basilakis, Linda Dawson

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background To undertake a systematic review of existing literature relating to speech recognition technology and its application within health care. Methods A systematic review of existing literature from 2000 was undertaken. Inclusion criteria were: all papers that referred to speech recognition (SR) in health care settings, used by health professionals (allied health, medicine, nursing, technical or support staff), with an evaluation or patient or staff outcomes. Experimental and non-experimental designs were considered. Six databases (Ebscohost including CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE including the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, OVID Technologies, PreMED-LINE, PsycINFO) were searched by a qualified health librarian trained in systematic …

Innovation Within An Early Childhood Education And Care Organisation: A Tri-Perspective Analysis Of The Appropriation Of It, Melinda Plumb, Karlheinz Kautz

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

Empirical studies on information technology (IT) in early childhood are scant, despite an increasing number of early childhood education and care organisations choosing to innovate with IT. This paper presents a framework to understand the appropriation of IT as an innovation within such an organisation. The framework consists of three perspectives on innovation: an individualist, a structuralist and an interactive process perspective. While the first focuses on concepts such as leadership, IT champions, previous IT exposure, the second focuses on organisation size, parents as stakeholders, competitors, government compliance and regulatory requirements. The third perspective views the innovation as a dynamic, …

Mechanisms Which Help Explain Implementation Of Evidence-Based Practice In Residential Aged Care Facilities: A Grounded Theory Study, Malcolm Masso, Grace Mccarthy, Alison Kitson

Australian Health Services Research Institute

BACKGROUND: The context for the study was a nation-wide programme in Australia to implement evidence-based practice in residential aged care, in nine areas of practice, using a wide range of implementation strategies and involving 108 facilities. The study drew on the experiences of those involved in the programme to answer the question: what mechanisms influence the implementation of evidence-based practice in residential aged care and how do those mechanisms interact?

METHODS: The methodology used grounded theory from a critical realist perspective, informed by a conceptual framework that differentiates between the context, process and content of change. People were purposively sampled …

National Report On Patient Outcomes In Palliative Care In Australia: July - December 2013, Alanna M. Holloway, Samuel Allingham, Carol Hope, Sabina Clapham, Linda Foskett

Australian Health Services Research Institute

The Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration (PCOC) assists services to improve the quality of the palliative care they provide through the analysis and benchmarking of patient outcomes. In this, the sixteenth PCOC report, data submitted for the July to December 2013 period are summarised and patient outcomes benchmarked to enable participating services to assess their performance and identify areas in which they may improve.

Queensland: Patient Outcomes In Palliative Care: July - December 2013: Report 16, Alanna M. Holloway, Samuel Allingham, Carol Hope, Sabina Clapham, Linda Foskett

Australian Health Services Research Institute

The Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration (PCOC) assists services to improve the quality of the palliative care they provide through the analysis and benchmarking of patient outcomes. In this, the sixteenth PCOC report, data submitted for the July to December 2013 period are summarised and patient outcomes benchmarked to enable participating services to assess their performance and identify areas in which they may improve.

Victoria: Patient Outcomes In Palliative Care: July - December 2013: Report 16, Alanna M. Holloway, Samuel Allingham, Carol Hope, Sabina Clapham, Linda Foskett

Australian Health Services Research Institute

The Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration (PCOC) assists services to improve the quality of the palliative care they provide through the analysis and benchmarking of patient outcomes. In this, the sixteenth PCOC report, data submitted for the July to December 2013 period are summarised and patient outcomes benchmarked to enable participating services to assess their performance and identify areas in which they may improve.