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Australian Health Policy And End Of Life Care For People With Chronic Disease: An Analysis, Teresa Burgess, Annette J. Braunack-Mayer, Gregory Crawford, Justin J. Beilby

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

End of life care for people with advanced chronic disease is a growing international imperative, with the majority of deaths in the world now related to chronic disease. The provision of care that meets the needs of people with advanced chronic disease must be guided by appropriate policy. The key policy areas impacting directly on end of life care are related to chronic disease, palliative care and, increasingly, aged care.

This paper describes the outcomes of an audit of Australian chronic disease and end of life/palliative care policies. We identified that chronic disease health policies/strategies demonstrate a focus on prevention, …

Disinvestment Policy And The Public Funding Of Assisted Reproductive Technologies: Outcomes Of Deliberative Engagements With Three Key Stakeholder Groups, Katherine Hodgetts, Janet E. Hiller, Jackie M. Street, D Carter, Annette J. Braunack-Mayer, Amber M. Watt, John R. Moss, Adam Elshaug

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background

Measures to improve the quality and sustainability of healthcare practice and provision have become a policy concern. In addition, the involvement of stakeholders in health policy decision-making has been advocated, as complex questions arise around the structure of funding arrangements in a context of limited resources. Using a case study of assisted reproductive technologies (ART), deliberative engagements with a range of stakeholder groups were held on the topic of how best to structure the distribution of Australian public funding in this domain.

Methods

Deliberative engagements were carried out with groups of ART consumers, clinicians and community members. The forums …

How Western National Interest Drives Ebola Drug Development, Christopher J. Degeling

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Ebola virus disease typically only occurs in rural and remote areas among resource-poor populations. Until the large, recent outbreak in West Africa, cases of the illness were a rarity.

Faith-Based Perspectives On The Use Of Chimeric Organisms For Medical Research., Christopher J. Degeling, Rob Irvine, Ian Kerridge

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Efforts to advance our understanding of neurodegenerative diseases involve the creation chimeric organisms from human neural stem cells and primate embryos--known as prenatal chimeras. The existence of potential mentally complex beings with human and non-human neural apparatus raises fundamental questions as to the ethical permissibility of chimeric research and the moral status of the creatures it creates. Even as bioethicists find fewer reasons to be troubled by most types of chimeric organisms, social attitudes towards the non-human world are often influenced by religious beliefs. In this paper scholars representing eight major religious traditions provide a brief commentary on a hypothetical …

Toward Stronger Theory In Critical Public Health: Insights From Debates Surrounding Posthumanism, Melanie Rock, Christopher J. Degeling, Gwendolyn Blue

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The 'posthumanist turn' in critical theory comprises efforts to recognize and analyze the interdependence of human existence with non-human entities, including other animals, spaces, and technologies. Scholarship aligned to and debating posthumanism pertains to public health, but has yet to be clearly articulated for a public health audience. This commentary and an appended glossary illustrate the relevance of these ideas for enhancing critical theory in public health. 2013 Taylor & Francis.

Principals As Literacy Leaders With Indigenous Communities: Leadership For Learning To Read - 'Both Ways', Greer Johnson, Neil Dempster, Lynanne Mckenzie, Helen Klieve, Bev Fluckiger, Susan Lovett, Tasha Riley, Amanda A. Webster

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The Principals as Literacy Leaders with Indigenous Communities (PALLIC) project was funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) under Closing the Gap: Expansion of Intensive Literacy and Numeracy Programs for Underachieving Indigenous Students. Forty-eight (48) schools in three government jurisdictions, South Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory, took part. This Australian Primary Principals Association (APPA) initiative was, first and foremost, a research-informed leadership development project. Leadership development, in this instance, focussed on improving Indigenous children's reading while enhancing local leadership capacity to continue with this task after the project's completion. A collaborative …

Final Report: Evaluation Of The In2uni Program, Valerie Harwood, Sarah Elizabeth O'Shea, Steven J. Howard, Ken Cliff

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This report is an evaluation of the University of Wollongong's In2Uni outreach program. The In2Uni Program, delivered at the University of Wollongong, is an outreach program that works with primary and secondary students from low socioeconomic (SES) backgrounds on the NSW South Coast. These programs take the form of student academic mentoring, parent/caregiver/community and teacher engagement seminars, and university transition workshops. In2Uni's focus is on building the skills and aspirations required to enter Higher Education.

Diversion Of Prescribed Opioids By People Living With Chronic Pain: Results From An Australian Community Sample, Jessica Belcher, Suzanne Nielsen, Gabrielle Campbell, Raimondo Bruno, Bianca Hoban, Briony K. Larance, Nicholas Lintzeris, Louisa Degenhardt

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Introduction and Aims There has been an increase in prescription of opioids for chronic non‐cancer pain, and concern exists over possible diversion of prescription opioids to the illicit marketplace. Recent media coverage suggests that elderly patients sell their prescribed opioids for additional income. This study investigated the extent to which an Australian community sample of chronic pain patients prescribed opioids reported supplying their prescribed opioids to others. Design and Methods Participants living with chronic non‐cancer pain and prescribed opioids for their pain (n = 952) were recruited across Australia via advertisements at pharmacies. A telephone interview included questions about their …

The Experience Of Melanoma Follow-Up Care: An Online Survey Of Patients In Australia, Janine Mitchell, Peta Callaghan, Jacqueline M. Street, Susan Neuhaus, Taryn Bessen

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Investigating patients' reports on the quality and consistency of melanoma follow-up care in Australia would assist in evaluating if this care is effective and meeting patients' needs. The objective of this study was to obtain and explore the patients' account of the technical and interpersonal aspects of melanoma follow-up care received. An online survey was conducted to acquire details of patients' experience. Participants were patients treated in Australia for primary melanoma. Qualitative and quantitative data about patient perceptions of the nature and quality of their follow-up care were collected, including provision of melanoma specific information, psychosocial support, and imaging tests …

Feasibility And Acceptability Of Project Connect: A Couples-Based Hiv-Risk Reduction Intervention Among Young Couples In Johannesburg, South Africa, Audrey Pettifor, Catherine L. Mac Phail, Nadia Nguyen, Molly Rosenberg, Lisa Parker, Jabu Sibeko

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Given the importance of couples to the transmission of HIV, interventions focusing on both members of a partnership can play an important role in its prevention. We adapted and pilot-tested Project Connect, an evidence-based HIV prevention intervention for couples, to determine its acceptability and feasibility among a sample of young urban South African couples. We recruited couples from a clinic in inner-city Johannesburg to take part in the study. Interviewer-administered questionnaires were conducted at baseline and postintervention; an in-depth interview (IDI) was also conducted postintervention. Of 75 couples screened, 15 were eligible and enrolled. An important reason for ineligibility was …

Rising Cost Of Anticancer Drugs In Australia, Deme J. Karikios, Deborah Schofield, Glenn P. Salkeld, Kristy P. Mann, Judith Trotman, Martin R. Stockler

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background: Anticancer drugs are often expensive and are contributing to the growing cost of cancer care. Concerns have been raised about the effect rising costs may have on availability of new anticancer drugs. Aim: This study aims to determine the recent changes in the costs of anticancer drugs in Australia. Methods: Publicly available expenditure and prices paid by the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) for anticancer drugs from 2000 to 2012 were reviewed. The measures used to determine changes in cost were total PBS expenditure and average price paid by the PBS per prescription for anticancer drugs and for all …

Enhancing Informatics Competency Under Uncertainty At The Point Of Decision: A Knowing About Knowing Vision, Mette Kjer Kaltoft, Jesper Bo Nielsen, Glenn P. Salkeld, Jack Dowie

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Most informatics activity is aimed at reducing unnecessary errors, mistakes and misjudgements at the point of decision, insofar as these arise from inappropriate accessing and processing of data and information. Healthcare professionals use the results of scientific research, when available, and 'big data', when rigorously analysed, as inputs into the probability judgements that need to be made in decision making under uncertainty. But these judgements are needed irrespective of the state of 'the evidence' and personalised evidence on person/patient-important criteria is very often poor or lacking. This final stage in 'translation to the bedside' has received relatively little attention in …

Incorporating Evidence And Politics In Health Policy: Can Institutionalising Evidence Review Make A Difference?, Kathy Flitcroft, James Gillespie, Stacy Carter, Glenn P. Salkeld, Lyndal Trevena

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Much of the evidence translation literature focuses narrowly on the use of evidence in the initial policy formulation stages, and downplays the crucial role of institutions and the inherently political nature of policy making. More recent approaches acknowledge the importance of institutional and political factors, but make no attempt to incorporate their influence into new models of evidence translation. To address this issue, this article uses data from a comparative case study of bowel cancer screening policy in Australia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand, to propose alternative models of evidence incorporation which apply to all stages of the policy …

Future Of Cities: Living In The City, John Urry, Thomas Birtchnell, Javier Caletrio, Serena Pollastri

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Report looking at how urban living may change over the next 50 years.

Mapping Mi To The Dmgt: A Theoretical Framework, Russell Walton

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

When Howard Gardner proposed his Multiple Intelligences (MI) theory in 1983 it was not with the direct intent of influencing views or perceptions of gifted and talented education. Instead, he sought to change the way we view everyone's intelligence. That does not, however, preclude MI theory from having applicability for gifted and talented students, as the gifted and talented are, essentially, the highly intelligent, however that is viewed.

Criminal Justice As A Colonial Project In Settler-Colonialism, Juan M. Tauri, Ngati Porou

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This paper offers an Indigenous-centred, critical perspective on the Colonial Projects (Thomas, 1994) employed in settler-colonial contexts to negate, or at the very least nullify, the negative impact of two inter-related 'wicked problems' that are deemed peculiar to these jurisdictions: the high levels of Indigenous over-representation in the criminal justice system, and the impact of Indigenous resistance to the hegemony of the imposed, criminal justice systems deployed by settler-colonial states. The paper is comprised of three inter-related parts; the first two outline the construction and deployment of Colonial Projects in the colonial and neo-colonial contexts, wherein it is argued that …

Body Mass Index And Socio-Economic Circumstances In China: People And Places Matter, Xiaoqi Feng, Yong Jiang, Thomas Astell-Burt, Maigeng Zhou, Limin Wang, Linhong Wang, Andrew Page, Wenhua Zhao

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract presented at the Society for Social Medicine 58th Annual Scientific Meeting, 10-12 September 2014, Oxford, United Kingdom

Resisting Condescending Research Ethics In Aotearoa/New Zealand, Juan M. Tauri

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Recently, Indigenous scholars have raised a number of concerns with the activities of Research Ethics Boards (REBs) and their members, including the preference of REBs for Eurocentric conceptualizations of what does or does not constitute "ethical research conduct", and the privilege accorded liberal notions of the "autonomous individual participant". Informed by the author's refl ections on the REB process, those of Indigenous Canadian and New Zealand research participants, and the extant literature, this paper begins by critiquing the processes employed by New Zealand REBs to assess Indigenous- focused or Indigenous- led research in the criminological realm. The paper ends with …

An Indigenous Commentary On The Globalisation Of Restorative Justice, Juan M. Tauri

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The study and impact of the globalisation of crime control policy and related products have recently begun to receive significant attention from critical Indigenous scholars. The reasons for the increasing focus on this issue include the restorative justice industry's increasing utilisation of so-called 'Indigenous' philosophies and practices in the design of its various products; and the increasing global popularity of supposedly 'Indigenousinspired1 restorative justice initiatives, not only in settler colonial contexts, but throughout Western jurisdictions, as a response to crime control issues relating to minorities. The purpose of this paper is to provide an Indigenous critique of the globalisation of …

Validation Of Activpaltm Defined Sedentary Time And Breaks In Sedentary Time In 4- To 6-Year Olds., Xanne Janssen, Dylan P. Cliff, John J. Reilly, Trina Hinkley, Rachel A. Jones, Marijka Batterham, Ulf Ekelund, Soren Brage, Anthony D. Okely

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This study examined the classification accuracy of the activPAL™, including total time spent sedentary and total number of breaks in sedentary behavior (SB) in 4-6 year old children. Forty children aged 4-6 years (5.3±1.0 years) completed a ~150-min laboratory protocol involving sedentary, light and moderate-to vigorous-intensity activities. Posture was coded as sit/lie, stand, walk or 'other' using direct observation. Posture was classified using the activPAL™ software. Classification accuracy was evaluated using sensitivity, specificity and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC-AUC). Time spent in each posture and total number of breaks in SB were compared using paired sample t-tests. …