Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Older Australians Can Achieve High Adherence To The Mediterranean Diet During A 6 Month Randomised Intervention; Results From The Medley Study, Courtney Davis, Jonathan M. Hodgson, Janet Bryan, Manohar Garg, Richard Woodman, Karen Murphy

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Adherence to a Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) is thought to be achievable in non-Mediterranean regions, but this has yet to be investigated. We aimed to determine if an older Australian population could adhere to a MedDiet for six months. We conducted a randomised, parallel dietary intervention trial with two dietary arms: the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) group and the habitual diet (HabDiet) control group. A 15-point Mediterranean diet adherence score and food and nutrient intakes were estimated from three-day weighed food records collected at baseline, two and four months. Erythrocyte fatty acids, serum carotenoids and urinary metabolites were assessed at baseline, three …

Predictors Of Pneumococcal Carriage And The Effect Of The 13-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccination In The Western Australian Aboriginal Population, Deirdre A. Collins, Anke Hoskins, Thomas Snelling, Kalpani Senasinghe, Jacinta Bowman, Natalie A. Stemberger, Amanda J. Leach, Deborah Lehmann

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background

The 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) was introduced to prevent invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in Western Australian (WA) Aboriginal people in 2001. PCV13 replaced PCV7 in July 2011, covering six additional pneumococcal serotypes; however, IPD rates remained high in Aboriginal people in WA. Upper respiratory tract pneumococcal carriage can precede IPD, and PCVs alter serotype distribution.

Methods

To assess the impact of PCV13 introduction, identify emerging serotypes, and assess risk factors for carriage, nasopharyngeal swabs and information on demographic characteristics, health, medication and living conditions from Aboriginal children and adults across WA from August 2008 to November 2014 were …

Casual For A Cause: Exploring The Employment Status Of Nursing In Australia And China, Carol Wang, Sadie Geraghty

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This paper outlines obligatory nursing education and the registration process required to become a nurse in Australia, including nurses' workload, career structure and pay. It also provides an overview of the nursing workforce in Australia, with particular reference to casual employment, and its implications. The aim of this paper is to outline the development strategies that may assist with China's increasing need for nursing education, and how changes to healthcare policy and management are required to increase the recruitment and retention of nurses in hospitals worldwide.

Aboriginal Health Worker Perceptions Of Oral Health: A Qualitative Study In Perth, Western Australia, Angela Durey, Dan Mcaullay, Barry Gibson, Linda Slack-Smith

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background:

Improving oral health for Aboriginal Australians has been slow. Despite dental disease being largely preventable, Aboriginal Australians have worse periodontal disease, more decayed teeth and untreated dental caries than other Australians. Reasons for this are complex and risk factors include broader social and historic determinants such as marginalisation and discrimination that impact on Aboriginal people making optimum choices about oral health. This paper presents findings from a qualitative study conducted in the Perth metropolitan area investigating Aboriginal Health Workers’ (AHWs) perceptions of barriers and enablers to oral health for Aboriginal people.

Methods:

Following extensive consultation with Aboriginal stakeholders, …

Closing The Gap In Nursing Education: Comparing Nursing Registration Systems In Australia And China, Carol Wang

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Aim:

To provide a better understanding of how the nursing registration process in China compares to that of Australia and to identify common features and potential barriers that may affect or facilitate the development of China's ever-demanding need for healthcare and nursing education.

Background:

Chinese nursing graduates are increasingly being used to augment the shortage of nurses in other countries, including Australia. However, China is desperately in need of strategies to cope with its current challenges in healthcare and nursing education. There is little discussion concerning the differences in nursing registration systems between countries, such as China and …

General Practitioners' Experiences Of Bereavement Care And Their Educational Support Needs: A Qualitative Study, Moira O'Connor, Lauren J. Breen

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background: General Practitioners (GPs) are well-positioned to provide grief support to patients. Most GPs view the provision of bereavement care as an important aspect of their role and the GP is the health professional that many people turn to when they need support. We aimed to explore GPs' understandings of bereavement care and their education and professional development needs in relation to bereavement care. Methods. An in-depth qualitative design was adopted using a social constructionist approach as our aims were exploratory and applied. Nineteen GPs (12 women and 7 men) living in Western Australia were interviewed; 14 were based in …

Acute Hospital-Based Services Utilisation During The Last Year Of Life In New South Wales, Australia: Methods For A Population-Based Study, Dianne L. O'Connell, David E. Goldsbury, Patricia Davidson, Afaf Girgis, Jane L. Phillips, Michael Piza, Anne Wilkinson, Jane M. Ingham

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Objectives: The aim of this study is to describe healthcare utilisation in the last year of life for people in Australia, to help inform health services planning. The methods and datasets that are being used are described in this paper. Design/Setting: Linked, routinely collected administrative health data are being analysed for all people who died in New South Wales (NSW), Australia's most populous state, in 2007. The data comprised linked death records (2007), hospital admissions and emergency department presentations (2006-2007) and cancer registrations (1994-2007). Participants: There were 46 341 deaths in NSW in 2007. The initial analyses include 45 760 …

Positive Patient Experiences In An Australian Integrative Oncology Centre, Bonnie J. Furzer, Anna S. Petterson, Kemi E. Wright, Karen E. Wallman, Timothy R. Ackland, David J. Joske

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background: The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of cancer patients' utilising complementary and integrative therapies (CIT) within integrative oncology centres across Western Australia.Methods: Across four locations 135 patients accessed CIT services whilst undergoing outpatient medical treatment for cancer. Of the 135 patients, 66 (61 ± 12 y; female n = 45; male n = 21) agreed to complete a personal accounts questionnaire consisting of open-ended questions designed to explore patients' perceptions of CIT. All results were transcribed into nVivo (v9) and using thematic analysis, key themes were identified.Results: Of the 66 participants, 100% indicated they would …

Effect Of Bdnf Val66met On Memory Decline And Hippocampal Atrophy In Prodromal Alzheimer's Disease: A Preliminary Study, Yen Y. Lim, Victor L. Villemagne, Simon M. Laws, David Ames, Robert H. Pietrzak, Kathryn A. Ellis, Karra Harrington, Pierrick Bourgeat, Ashley I. Bush, Ralph N. Martins, Colin L. Masters, Christopher C. Rowe, Paul Maruff

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Objective: Cross-sectional genetic association studies have reported equivocal results on the relationship between the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val66Met and risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD). As AD is a neurodegenerative disease, genetic influences may become clearer from prospective study. We aimed to determine whether BDNF Val66Met polymorphism influences changes in memory performance, hippocampal volume, and Aβ accumulation in adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and high Aβ. Methods: Thirty-four adults with aMCI were recruited from the Australian, Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle (AIBL) Study. Participants underwent PiB-PET and structural MRI neuroimaging, neuropsychological assessments and BDNF genotyping at baseline, 18 month, …

The Reliability Of An Adolescent Dietary Pattern Identified Using Reduced-Rank Regression: Comparison Of A Ffq And 3 D Food Record, Geeta Appannah, Gerda K. Pot, Therese A. O'Sullivan, Wendy H. Oddy, Susan A. Jebb, Gina L. Ambrosini

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Despite the increasing use of dietary patterns (DP) to study diet and health outcomes, relatively few studies have examined the reliability of DP using different dietary assessment methods. Reduced-rank regression (RRR) is an emerging statistical method that incorporates a priori information to characterise DP related to specific outcomes of interest. The aim of the present study was to compare DP identified using the RRR method in a FFQ with those in a 3 d food record (FR). Participants were 783 adolescents from the Western Australian Pregnancy (Raine) Cohort Study who completed both a FFQ and FR at 14 years of …