Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Paediatric Palliative And Supportive Care: Caring For Life: The Needs Of Children And Families In Western Australia, Leanne Monterosso, Linda Kristjanson, Marianne Phillips, Sue Rowell

Research outputs pre 2011

Palliative care is the relief of symptoms, regardless of their impact on the underlying disease process. The philosophical underpinning of current international paediatric palliative and supportive care models is that palliative and supportive care should be offered to all children with life threatening or chronic illnesses/disabilities with complex care needs. This approach allows the integration of cure-directed treatment and palliative care. allowing children to benefit from both philosophies of care. In Australia, there is increasing recognition of the need for the development of appropriate paediatric palliative care services, especially in Western Australia where supportive care services for children with life-limiting …

The Search For An Effective International Regime For The Long-Term Safety And Security Of High Level Radioactive Waste: Pangea And Beyond, Vincent Cusack

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis is a study of public policy issues relating to multinational geological repositories for high-level radioactive waste disposal (HLW). Nuclear states have attempted for decades to implement effective radioactive waste policies, though with limited success. The safe disposal of HLW has proven particularly troublesome and, thus far, a solution has eluded all states. A review of radioactive waste policy in the UK, the US and Switzerland reveals some of the underlying themes behind community opposition to repository siting and the reasons for a broader global search. The failure to achieve HLW repositories at a national level has led to …

In Search Of Possibilities : Informal Responding To Domestic Violence, Marilyn Palmer

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis is based on a feminist ethnography. designed to explore how we as members of informal networks (family, social,,student/work and neighbourhood networks) can respond usefully where there is domestic violence. Here, domestic violence refers to violence against women by their intimate partners and I have filtered the various discourses which seek to explain domestic violence through the lens of a feminist ecological model. The inquiry process has been informed by a postmodem feminism. Non-foundationalist ideas about knowledge have influenced the gathering, interpretatation and representation of the research data. The ideas which emanate from the stady have been informed by …

The Lived Experience Of Rural Mental Health Nurses, Vicki Drury, Karen Francis, Geoffery Dulhunty

Research outputs pre 2011

The lived experiences of five registered mental health nurses employed in community settings in the southwest region of Western Australia were examined in this study. The study was generated in response to concerns of clinicians working in the area about their scope of practice. Study participants were interviewed concerning their everyday “lived experience.” Interviews were audio taped, transcribed and coded numerically to ensure participant confidentiality. Data was analysed using van Manen’s hermeneutic phenomenological approach. Five essential themes were identified. They were holistic care of clients; isolation, autonomy and advanced practice; professional development and status recognition; educational support; and caseload numbers …

Eccentric Torque-Velocity Relationship Of The Elbow Flexors, Dale Chapman, Michael Newton, Kazunori Nosaka

Research outputs pre 2011

No abstract provided.

Common Versus Uncommon Causes Of Dementia, Nicola Lautenschlager, Ralph Martins

Research outputs pre 2011

When patients present with a dementia syndrome at a young age, the experienced clinician will automatically include uncommon dementias in the diagnostic considerations, as familial uncommon dementias due to genetic mutations frequently present as early-onset dementias. This paper highlights why uncommon dementias due to genetic mutations, although marginal in terms of prevalence numbers in the total population, are of significance in the quest to unravel the underlying cause of common dementias such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), frontotemporal dementias (FTD) and vascular dementia (VaD).

Exploring The Use Of Guided Interviews As A Research Tool In A Doctoral Study Of Safe Work Practices Of Young Construction Workers, Susanne Bahn

Research outputs pre 2011

This paper uses the research processes of a doctoral study that investigates young workers learning safe practices within the housing construction industry to explore the use of guided interviews with artefacts as an ethnographic technique to gather qualitative data. The paper identifies how this specifically vulnerable group are subject to the 'Cycle of Abuse'. The complications of gathering accurate data from the 15-19 age group in this industry are discussed, including dealing with low literacy levels, defensive trainers, power of access and high emotions. The paper reviews the use of images within guided interviews and provides a conceptual model. The …

Outcome Evaluation Of The School Drug Education Project: Final Report Presented To The School Drug Education And Road Aware Project, Therese Shaw, Margaret Hall, Donna Cross, Hamilton Greg

Research outputs pre 2011

In 2002, Curtin University's Western Australian Centre for Health Promotion Research provided a report which explored the feasibility of a range of options to evaluate the impact of the School Drug Education Project (SDEP) on students' drug use, perceptions of drug-related harm and attitudes towards drug use. Given the difficulties of achieving a prospective design, this proposal recommended comparing retrospective measures of SDEP participation, level of SDEP training and dose of SDEP implementation with Years 8-12 student drug-related outcome data collected from four large Western Australian studies conducted somewhat concurrently with the School Drug Education Project.

It was hypothesised that …

Implementing Best Practice Protocols For Occupational Hygiene Monitoring, Hayden Wing

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis outlines the results of an occupational hygiene monitoring program implemented at Minara Resources' Murrin Murrin mine site. The research was conducted as part of a collaborative agreement between Edith Cowan University and Minara Resources, the title of which was "Establishing best practice protocols in the management of occupational and environmental health in a high risk mining and ore processing environment". To form the basis of this research it was hypothesised that chemical hazards had not been adequately identified, that existing occupational hygiene monitoring programs did not adequately quantify employee exposures to these hazards, and that the implementation of …

Palliative Care Nurses' Perceptions Of Their Management Of The Psychosocial And Spiritual Pain Experienced By Their Clients In The Home Hospice Setting, Laurence Vogler

Theses : Honours

Pain, in palliative care clients, consists of more than just a physical manifestation of their condition. Pain can be experienced on a psychological or emotional level, a psychosocial level or even at a spiritual level. It is widely accepted that nurses in the palliative care setting manage well the physical issues that their clients have, but perceptions can vary on their management of the "non - physical" pain experienced by their clients. This study provided an opportunity for palliative care nurses to describe their perceptions of their management of the psychosocial and spiritual pain experienced by their clients in the …

Nurses' Perceptions Of The Pharmacological Management Of Acute Pain Experienced By Patients Hospitalised In The General Ward Setting, Susan Slatyer

Theses : Honours

This study explored and described the experiences and perceptions of nurses managing acute pain in a Western Australian public hospital. The focus was nurses practising in the general ward setting and using current prescribing guidelines. The aim of this research was to explore nurses' attitudes, beliefs and knowledge about pain and pain pharmacology and how this practice setting influences efficient pain management. Qualitative methodology was selected for its ability to explore complex issues in order to build nursing knowledge and guide nursing practice. This study used a descriptive, exploratory design based on a phenomenological approach. The sample comprised ten Registered …

Healthcare Practitioners' Perspectives On The Use Of E-Health Applications To Support Overweight And Obese Adolescents, Rachel J. Mahncke

Theses : Honours

The aim of this research was to investigate, from an Australian healthcare practitioners' perspective, whether online and e-health applications could provide support for and be beneficial to overweight and obese adolescents. This research has investigated whether diet and exercise related environmental causes of obesity could be positively affected by using e-health applications to re-educate adolescents about healthy eating and exercise behaviours the research identified what online and electronic resources healthcare practitioners' recommended to their patients, in order to understand how information systems· solutions could better assist these patients in achieving healthier lifestyle outcomes. Additionally, the research investigated what content, features …

The Effect Of Antioxidant Supplementation On Human Sperm Cryopreservation, Katrina E. Taylor

Theses : Honours

Semen cryopreservation has an important role in assisted reproductive technology however, the cooling, freezing and thawing processes often result in a significant loss of sperm motility, viability and nuclear integrity. The destructive effects of cryopreservation are significantly exacerbated in samples exhibiting low sperm number and poor morphological characteristics. Recent research into infertility has focused on the correlation between excessive oxidation and subfertility, in particular radical induced lipid peroxidation within the phospholipid bilayer of the spermatozoon plasma membrane and the promotion of cellular damage as a result of antioxidant insufficiency. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of …

A Descriptive Study Of Ethical Procedures That Maintain Cultural Security When Conducting Health Research With Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander School Children In Western Australia, Dionne Paki

Theses : Honours

Cultural security is the maintenance of values and beliefs and the celebration of diversity unique to different cultures. This honours thesis developed a proposed framework to guide collaborative ethics procedures that demonstrate the Aboriginal values relevant to health research for use in Western Australia (WA). These values of reciprocity, respect, equality, responsibility, survival and protection, and spirit and integrity have been identified in the National Health and Medical Research Council's Values and Ethics: Guidelines for Ethical Conduct in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Research. Ethical procedures for maintaining cultural security when conducting health research among Aboriginal people throughout Australia …

Performing Successfully In The Heat At The 2004 Olympic Games In Athens: Which Active Cooling Strategies Represent Best Practice For Endurance Athletes, Marc Quod

Theses : Honours

Previous research using athletes has documented that precooling can improve endurance performance, especially in warm conditions. However, research comparing performance following different cooling techniques which are incorporated into a prerace routine is rare. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of two precooling techniques on cycling time trial performance in warm conditions. Methods: Six endurance trained, regionally competitive cyclists completed one maximal graded exercise test (V0_2peak 71.4 ±3.2 ml’kg^-1min^-1) and four ~40 min laboratory cycling time trials in a heat chamber (34.3 ± 1.1°C; 41.2 ± 3.0% relative humidity (rh)) using …

Understanding Palliative Care: An Ethnographic Study Of Three Australian Palliative Care Services, Judith M. Greaves

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Palliative care commenced in Australia in the early 1980s. Although the value of palliative care has become more widely recognised by the public and other health care professionals, there is still a lack of understanding about what palliative care is and the depth and scope of this specialty area of health care. The research that I present in this thesis is based on examination of palliative care practice in a selection of Australian services, undertaken with the aim of enhancing understanding of Palliative Care. The significance of the research arises from the notion that members of the Australian community should …

Alcohol And Drug Related Offences: Determining Predictive Factors For Reducing Re-Offending, Rachel Bennett

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The association between dependent drug use and criminal behaviour is well known. This coupled with evidence about the efficacy of treatment in addressing drug use has led many jurisdictions to incorporate treatment interventions into their criminal justice systems. The aim of these interventions that use the law as a therapeutic agent (known as ‘therapeutic jurisprudence') is to reduce by mandating drug dependent offenders into treatment, future offending. However, within the treatment effectiveness literature there is also evidence of individuals resolving their drug use problems without engagement in treatment. The term ‘natural recovery’ has been used to describe this phenomenon. Research …

The Effectiveness Of Back Belts As A Control Measure For Occupational Low Back Pain In A Retail Hardware Chain, Nick Merdith

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The objective of this study was to examine the effect of the mandatory introduction of back belts on the incidence, days lost and cost of occupational low back injuries resulting from manual handling in 11 retail hardware chain. The study was of a non-experimental before-and-after design with all retail employees in Western Australia being included in a retrospective cohort. The pre-intervention period extended for 21 months and included 2,265,933 work hours with 647 full-time equivalent positions, while the intervention period was 32 months for 4,411,352 hours worked and 827 full-time equivalent positions. Workers' compensation claims for all occupational injuries occurring …

A Comparative Investigation Of Longevity And Morbidity In Angelman Syndrome And Prader-Willi Syndrome, Allyson K. Thomson

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The present study examined the life histories of individuals In Western Australia with a diagnosis of Angelman or Prader-Willi syndrome. Angelman and Prader_Willi syndrome, are phenoypically diverse disorders both of which result from the failure of imprinting at the chrl5qll-q13 locus. In most cases, loss of the maternal imprint from the region leads to Angelman syndrome, while lack of a paternal pattern results in Prader-WilIi syndrome. Between 4-14% of Angelman cases have a mutation in a single gene, UBE3A.

Fibromyalgia And Bladder Irritability, Carolyn K. Brand

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Urinary tract sensory symptoms provide an additional symptomatic burden for women with fibromyalgia. The urogenital symptoms of both fibromyalgia and interstitial cystitis have been described as non-infective sensory disorders, suggesting the existence of substantial clinical overlap between the two conditions. Research suggests that although interstitial cystitis has been treated as a specific bladder condition, it may be part of the disorder of central processing of sensory information as seen in fibromyalgia.

The interstitial cystitis symptom index and problem index (ICSI/ICPI) have been used to measure lower urinary tract symptoms and to examine the impact of these symptoms in patients with …

A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study Of/In Transformation : An Embodied And Creative Exploration Of Therapeutic Change Through Psychophonetics Psychotherapy, Robin I. Steele

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

A review of recent literature on therapeutic change reveals a growing body of research which focuses on what works from the client’s point of view in facilitating positive change. This longitudinal study addresses the need for further research into the meanings of therapeutic change itself, especially as lived from the client’s perspective.

Pax3 Expression In Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma, Judith A. Blake

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research investigated the repercussions of aberrant PAX3 re-expression in cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM). The transcription, factor encoded by PAX is amongst the first expressed in the embryo, with a principal role in the development of the melanocytic lineage. We theorised that abnormal re-expression of PAX3, consistently observed in CMM as compared to normal melanocytes, is linked to progression of CMM. Previous studies have stated that expression profiles of PAX3 in CMM demonstrate predominant generation of a protein encoded by exons 1-9 (PAX3D) utilizing cryptic splice sites in post-transcriptional pre-mRNA splicing. By contrast, normal human skin demonstrates low level generation …

Responding To Localised Prostate Cancer : Lifeworld Reconstruction During The First Post-Diagnostic Year, David P. Wall

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis investigated the experiences of men diagnosed with localised prostate cancer, as they reconstructed their lifeworlds during the first post-diagnostic year. With the exception of health related quality of life, a review of the psychosocial research literature revealed few studies that, explored the psychosocial experience of men diagnosed with localised prostate cancer. Furthermore, the review uncovered no studies that explored the process of Iifeworld reconstruction, and only three studies that considered the role of masculinity in the responses of men to the prostate cancer experience. Such a limited understanding, about the nature and process of lifeworld reconstruction, potentially compromises …

The Effects Of Combined Creatine Monohydrate Supplementation And Physical Training On Body Composition And Muscular Function In Patients With Inflammatory Myopathies, Lynda Murray

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

not available

The Changing Face Of Rural General Practice: An Ethnographic Study Of General Practitioners And Their Spouses, Angela Durey

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Rural general practice is general practice at its best: a comment by one GP interviewed for this study was echoed by colleagues who viewed their work in a rural setting as challenging, diverse, rewarding and satisfying. Despite reported difficulties associated with rural general practice, many GPs argued that the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. Few wanted to leave. Nonetheless, too few Australian trained GPs are willing to move from cities to work in the country. Consequently, overseas trained doctors have been recruited to fill vacancies or nurses provide health services in communities unable to attract a GP.