PURPOSE: To understand how frequently exercise is discussed and/or prescribed as a supportive care measure and the barriers and facilitators to exercise uptake for men with prostate cancer receiving androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) at a regional cancer centre. METHODS: An observational, cross-sectional study was conducted at a regional cancer centre in three stages: (1) Retrospective chart review of men with prostate cancer undergoing ADT to identify the frequency of discussion and/or prescription of supportive care measures; (2) prospective patient survey exploring barriers and facilitators to exercise; and (3) prospective clinician survey exploring barriers, facilitators and awareness of exercise guidelines in men with prostate cancer. RESULTS: Files of 100 men receiving ADT (mean age 73 years; mean ADT duration =12 months) in the medical oncology (n = 50) and radiation oncology (n = 50) clinics were reviewed. Exercise was discussed with 16% of patients and prescribed directly to 5%. Patient survey (n = 49). 44.2% of patients reported participating in exercise at a high level. Common barriers to exercise participation included fatigue (51.0%), cancer/treatment-related weakness (46.9%) and joint stiffness (44.9%). 36.7% of patients reported interest in a supervised exercise program. Clinician survey (n = 22). 36.4% identified one or more exercise guidelines, and 40.9% correctly identified national exercise guidelines. Clinicians reported low knowledge of referral pathways to a supervised exercise program (27.3%). Clinicians believe physiotherapists (95.5%) are most suited to exercise prescription and 72.7% stated that exercise counselling should be part of supportive care. Limited time (63.6%) and patient safety (59.1%) were the two most common barriers to discussing exercise with patients. Clinicians reported that only 21.9% of their patients asked about exercise. The most endorsed facilitators to increase exercise uptake were patient handouts (90.9%) and integration of exercise specialists into the clinical team (86.4%). CONCLUSION: Despite a third of patient respondents indicating an interest in a supervised exercise program, only 16% of patients with prostate cancer undergoing ADT at a regional cancer centre engaged in a discussion about exercise with their treating clinicians. Physical limitations and fatigue were the greatest barriers for patients. Clinicians indicated a need for more clinician education and better integration of exercise specialists into clinical care. A tailored, integrated approach is needed to improve the uptake of exercise in men with prostate cancer.

Background: Hypertension, as one of the main predisposing factors of many non-communicable diseases, is generally underdiagnosed among women with a significant uncontrolled rate. This study explores the understanding, management practice and challenges related to hypertension among hypertensive women in rural Bangladesh. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted among hypertensive rural women at Kumarkhali Upazilla, Kushtia, Bangladesh, using purposive and snowball sampling technique. Data was collected through in-depth interviews among twenty-three hypertensive women until they reached saturation. Data were analyzed thematically. Results: Findings of the study found that a small number of participants perceived the symptoms, risk factors, management and treatment of hypertension based on biomedical understanding. Also, their awareness level and adherence to preventive practices reflected a significant gap between biomedical preventive practices and local practices. A substantial number of participants preferred home management and alternative treatment for hypertension over the medication adherence and hospital treatment. This investigation revealed that poor socio-economic conditions, such as financial insufficiency, and, gender-based negligence impacted women's perception of and practice for hypertension and resulted in risky hypertension management behaviors. Conclusion: Based on the study, formulation of a comprehensive health education program for creating awareness, provisioning of significant interventions services related to hypertensive care are needed. Further intensive research is needed at the community-level to manage this chronic disease.

OBJECTIVE: Prior to coronavirus disease (COVID-19), many Australians experienced extreme bushfires, droughts, and floods. A history of experiencing these events might be a risk factor for increased psychological distress during COVID-19. This study aimed to provide insight into the mental health of Australian workers during the initial COVID-19 outbreak, with an additional focus on whether previous disaster exposure and impact from that disaster is a risk factor for increased psychological distress. METHODS: A snowball recruitment strategy was used. Participants (n = 596) completed an online survey, which included the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21, and questions related to mental health and disaster exposure. RESULTS: Overall, 19.2%, 13.4%, and 16.8% of participants were experiencing moderate to extremely severe depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms, respectively. Multiple regression found that higher depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms were associated with a pre-existing mental health diagnosis; only higher stress symptoms were associated with having experienced a disaster, with impact, in addition to COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: People who have experienced impact from an additional disaster might need additional support to protect their mental health during COVID-19. A focus on the cumulative mental health impacts of multiple disasters and the implications for organizational communities where recovery work is undertaken, such as schools and workplaces, is needed.

Selective digestive decontamination (SDD) regimens, variously constituted with topical antibiotic prophylaxis (TAP) and protocolized parenteral antibiotic prophylaxis (PPAP), appear highly effective for preventing ICU-acquired infections but only within randomized concurrent control trials (RCCT's). Confusingly, SDD is also a concept which, if true, implies population benefit. The SDD concept can finally be reified  in humans using the broad accumulated evidence base, including studies of TAP and PPAP that used non-concurrent controls (NCC), as a natural experiment. However, this test implicates overall population harm with higher event rates associated with SDD use within the ICU context.

INTRODUCTION: Access to high-quality primary healthcare is limited for remote residents in Australia. Increasingly, remote health services are reliant on short-term or 'fly-in, fly-out/drive-in, drive-out' health workforce to deliver primary healthcare. A key strategy to achieving health service access equity, particularly evident in remote Australia, has been the development of Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs). This study aims to generate new knowledge about (1) the impact of short-term staffing in remote and rural ACCHSs on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities; (2) the potential mitigating effect of community control; and (3) effective, context-specific evidence-based retention strategies. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This paper describes a 3-year, mixed methods study involving 12 ACCHSs across three states. The methods are situated within an evidence-based programme logic framework for rural and remote primary healthcare services. Quantitative data will be used to describe staffing stability and turnover, with multiple regression analyses to determine associations between independent variables (population size, geographical remoteness, resident staff turnover and socioeconomic status) and dependent variables related to patient care, service cost, quality and effectiveness. Qualitative assessment will include interviews and focus groups with clinical staff, clinic users, regionally-based retrieval staff and representatives of jurisdictional peak bodies for the ACCHS sector, to understand the impact of short-term staff on quality and continuity of patient care, as well as satisfaction and acceptability of services. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study has ethics approval from the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Northern Territory Department of Health and Menzies School of Health Research (project number DR03171), Central Australian Human Research Ethics Committee (CA-19-3493), Western Australian Aboriginal Health Ethics Committee (WAAHEC-938) and Far North Queensland Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC/2019/QCH/56393). Results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals, the project steering committee and community/stakeholder engagement activities to be determined by each ACCHS.

OBJECTIVE: High-quality data regarding the prevalence of chronic disease in rural areas are essential in understanding the challenges faced by rural populations and for informing strategies to address health care needs. This study compared the prevalence of a range of self-reported chronic conditions and utilisation of GP services and emergency department in a regional Victorian setting between two studies conducted in the same region in 2001-2003 and 2014. DESIGN: Repeat cross-sectional studies conducted over a decade apart. SETTING: The projects were conducted in the Goulburn Valley in regional Victoria. PARTICIPANTS: The earlier study randomly selected households from local government lists. The later study randomly selected householders from the telephone directory. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants were asked whether they had been diagnosed with a range of chronic health conditions and how often they had visited a general practitioner or emergency department in the past 12 months. RESULTS: The age-standardised prevalence of depression was higher in the 2014 study than the 2001-2003 study in men (increased by 8.0% (95% CI 4.5, 11.5%)) and women (increased by 13.7% (95% CI 8.4, 19.0%)). Similarly, the prevalence of age-standardised diabetes and hypertension was higher in 2014 than 2001-2003 (men increased by 3.6% (95% CI 0.7, 6.5% (diabetes)) and 13.6% (95% CI 8.6, 18.6% (hypertension)), women increased by 3.1% (95% CI 0.3, 6.5% (diabetes)) and 8.4% (95% CI 2.3, 14.5% (hypertension))). CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that the prevalence of self-reported depression, diabetes and hypertension has increased in this regional Victorian area over the past 13 years. The reasons for these observed increases and the subsequent impact on the health care needs of regional communities warrants further investigation.

BACKGROUND: Anorectal malformations (ARM) are common congenital abnormalities of the terminal hindgut. Ideally, ARM should be diagnosed at, or shortly following, birth by careful physical examination of the perineum. Delayed diagnosis has been implicated as a risk factor for complications, including intestinal perforation. This study aimed to determine the rate of delayed diagnosis and associated intestinal perforation in ARM. METHODS: A retrospective review was performed for all ARM patients managed at The Royal Children's Hospital over a 16-year period (2000-2015). Data collected included ARM type, timing of diagnosis and complications. Delayed diagnosis was defined as being at more than 24 h of age. RESULTS: A total of 243 ARM patients (male 146/243, 60%) were included. The most frequent ARM types were perineal fistula (83/243, 34%) and rectovestibular fistula (40/243, 16%). Diagnosis was delayed beyond 24 h of age in 92 of 243 (38%) patients. The ARM type most commonly delayed in diagnosis was perineal fistula (37/83, 45%). Two patients in whom diagnosis was delayed suffered an intestinal perforation. CONCLUSION: Delayed diagnosis in ARM patients remains a common, and potentially fatal, occurrence. Improved assessment of newborns is required to ensure timely diagnosis of ARM, and avoidance of complications associated with delayed diagnosis.

AIM: Current International Association of the Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups/World Health Organization gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) diagnostic thresholds are based on a landmark study in which the pre-analytical plasma glucose sampling methodology is unclear. Worldwide, plasma glucose pre-analytical sampling methodology practices are divergent. We considered the effects of pre-analytical plasma glucose sampling methodology on GDM prevalence and gestational outcomes. METHODS: This is a retrospective observational cohort study of 1178 pregnant women undergoing an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Of the 1178 pregnant women, a subset of 892 non-GDM women with singleton births undergoing OGTT between 24 and 28 weeks' gestation were investigated for large for gestation age (LGA) outcomes. OGTT were determined using traditional methods (sodium fluoride tubes batched at roomed temperature). We modelled the potential effects of using a recommended pre-analytical plasma glucose methodology (lyophilized citrate tubes) on GDM prevalence. RESULTS: The GDM prevalence in our cohort was 13.5%. The incidence of LGA showed a linear association with maternal plasma glucose that was similar to the association observed in the Hyperglycemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcome study. Frequency of LGA exceeded 10% at HAPO glucose category 4 (fasting, 4.8 to 4.9 mmol/l; 1-h, 8.7 to 9.5 mmol/l) for fasting and 1-h plasma glucose. The use of a recommended pre-analytical method is projected to increase the prevalence of GDM to 39.2%. CONCLUSION: We challenge the consensus that recommended pre-analytical plasma glucose methodologies are optimal for the accurate diagnosis of GDM. Recommended pre-analytical plasma glucose methods may profoundly over-diagnose GDM. Centres using recommended pre-analytical plasma glucose methodologies may need to reappraise their diagnostic thresholds.

BACKGROUND: Pertuzumab, when combined with trastuzumab and chemotherapy, is a highly active human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), targeting agent in the neoadjuvant, adjuvant and first-line metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer setting. The efficacy of late-line (after first/second-line) pertuzumab in combination with trastuzumab and chemotherapy is unknown. AIMS: To establish pertuzumab efficacy by performing an audit of patients who received pertuzumab after first-line HER2 directed therapy. We sought to establish whether efficacy differed by clinicopathological factors. METHODS: The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS) and the secondary endpoint, overall survival (OS). Clinicopathological factors, PFS and OS data were collated and clinicopathological factors associated with PFS were evaluated using Cox regression models. RESULTS: Fourteen women were identified. Six (43%) had hormone receptor (HR) negative and eight (57%) had HR-positive, metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer. Median follow up was 22.8 months, median prior lines of therapy were 5 (range: 1-9). Median time from diagnosis of metastatic disease to receiving pertuzumab was 4.5 years (range: 4.2-5.8). All patients received initial chemotherapy with pertuzumab and trastuzumab (taxane-based 71%). Median PFS was 9 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 7-not estimable [NE]) and median OS was not reached (95% CI, 16 months-NE). Univariable analysis demonstrated that HR-negative patients had a significantly longer PFS than HR-positive patients (hazard ratio = 0.11; 95% CI, 0.01-0.88; P = 0.04). CONCLUSION: This small cases series reports a favorable PFS and OS for pertuzumab with trastuzumab and chemotherapy in the later line metastatic setting. This finding warrants further study.

OBJECTIVE: The need for more Remote Area Nurses in the Northern Territory is clear. This paper investigates the perspectives of Remote Area Nurse workforce issues among multiple stakeholders. The aim is to identify how Remote Area Nurse staffing issues are perceived by clinic managers, Remote Area Nurses themselves, Aboriginal colleagues and community members in seven remote communities in the Northern Territory. DESIGN: This is a qualitative study that uses interviews and focus groups to identify key messages of local stakeholders about Remote Area Nurse workforce issues. A content analysis was used for data analysis. SETTING: Seven diverse remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory with government-run health clinics were visited. PARTICIPANTS: Non-random sampling techniques were used to target staff at the clinics at the time of field work. Staff and community members, who agreed to participate, were interviewed either individually or in groups. Interviews were conducted with 5 Managers, 29 Remote Area Nurses, 12 Aboriginal staff (some clinics did not have Aboriginal staff) and 56 community residents. Twelve focus groups were conducted with community members. RESULTS: Content analysis revealed that participants thought having the "right" nurse was more important than having more nurses. Participants highlighted the need for Remote Area Nurses to have advanced clinical and cultural skills. While managers and, to a lesser extent, Remote Area Nurses prioritised clinical skills, Aboriginal staff and community residents prioritised cultural skills. CONCLUSIONS: Participants identified the importance of clinical and cultural skills and reiterated that getting the "right" Remote Area Nurse was more important than simply recruiting more nurses. Thus, retention strategies need to be more targeted and cultural skills prioritised in recruitment.

BACKGROUND: Anorectal malformations (ARM) are common congenital abnormalities of the terminal hindgut. The high incidence of associated anomalies necessitates systematic screening, which should include renal and spinal ultrasonography, spinal radiography and an echocardiogram. This study aimed to determine the incidence of associated anomalies in ARM, and whether screening protocols were appropriately applied. METHODS: A retrospective review was performed of all ARM patients managed at The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne over a 16-year period (2000-2015). Data collected included ARM type, presence of associated anomalies, as well as utilization of renal and spinal ultrasonography, spinal radiography and echocardiography. RESULTS: A total of 243 patients (male 146/243, 60%) were reviewed. The most frequent ARM types were perineal fistula (83/243, 34%) and rectovestibular fistula (40/243, 16%). Full screening was performed in 153/243 (63%), while 18/243 (7%) received no screening. In fully screened patients, associated anomalies were diagnosed in 143/153 (93%), with cardiovascular, renal and musculoskeletal anomalies being most frequent. CONCLUSIONS: The high incidence of associated anomalies identified in fully screened ARM patients highlights the importance of systematic screening. Clinically significant anomalies may have been overlooked in the more than one-third of ARM patients in whom screening was absent or incomplete. Standardized screening protocols for ARM patients have now been implemented.

BACKGROUND: Emerging evidence on the optimal use of chemotherapy and biologics in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer should impact management in routine care. Recent studies have demonstrated benefits for initial triplet chemotherapy (5-fluorouracil, oxaliplatin and irinotecan, FOLFOXIRI) and for initial treatment with an epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor (EGFRi) in patients with a RAS wild-type tumour and a left-sided primary tumour. AIM: To explore evolving pattern of metastatic colorectal cancer care over time in Australia. METHODS: We analysed data from the Treatment of Recurrent and Advanced Colorectal Cancer registry. RESULTS: From July 2009 to December 2017, 2552 metastatic colorectal cancer patients were entered into the Treatment of Recurrent and Advanced Colorectal Cancer registry. Of 1585 patients who initially underwent chemotherapy, treatment was with a doublet in 76%. FOLFOXIRI was given to 22 patients (1.4%), mostly young patients and those with potentially resectable disease. Along with first-line chemotherapy, 61% received bevacizumab, while 3.3% received an EGFRi, predominantly over the last 2 years. Within the KRAS wild-type left-sided tumour cohort, EGFRi use increased from 9% in 2015 to 37% in 2017. Across treatment sites, there was a wide variation in the utilisation of FOLFOXIRI and EGFRi therapy; bevacizumab use was more consistent. A clear impact on survival outcomes from these regimens is not evident, potentially due to multiple confounders. CONCLUSION: Doublet chemotherapy + bevacizumab remains the dominant initial strategy, with limited uptake of triplet chemotherapy and of EGFRi. Potential explanations include uncertainty about the significance of post hoc analyses for EGFRi and concerns regarding adverse events for both strategies.

OBJECTIVE: The quality of acute stroke care in a regional Victorian hospital (study hospital) was assessed by comparing with selected standard indicators of Acute Stroke Clinical Care. DESIGN: A retrospective review of records of patients with stroke was performed manually and by reviewing electronic database. SETTING: The study was carried out in Goulburn Valley Health, one of the five regional referral and teaching hospitals in Victoria, Australia. PARTICIPANTS: Patients with stroke who were discharged from the study hospital between October 2015 and March 2016. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Timeliness of brain imaging, proportion of patients thrombolysed if arrived within 4.5 hours of stroke and timeliness of thrombolysis. RESULTS: A total of 66 patients' records was found. Brain imaging was completed for 45%, compared to 25.8% nationally, if arrived to the study hospital within 1 hour of stroke and 100% imaging completed within 24 hours of arrival, compared to 75.6% nationally. When patients arrived to the emergency department within 4.5 hours of stroke, 37.5% (23.6% nationally and 18.6% in similar- sized hospitals) of them were thrombolysed, while none was thrombolysed within 60 minutes of arrival. Door-to-thrombolysis time was 85 minutes, 7 minutes longer than national standard. Symptoms onset to thrombolysis time was 225 minutes, 55 minutes longer than national standard. CONCLUSION: The timeliness of brain imaging and thrombolysis was comparable in the study hospital to that of the national standard, while other stroke management indicators still require improvement. Continuing efforts for improvement and revisiting possible areas of delay are warranted.

INTRODUCTION: Rural and remote populations experience the greatest burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the fifth leading cause of death in Australia. Currently there is a need to prioritise health services to improve health outcomes among those at higher risk of COPD. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the differences in COPD hospitalisation between rural and urban populations and determine predictive factors contributing to COPD hospitalisation. METHODS: Statewide hospitalisation data from 2010 to 2015 were obtained through the Victorian Admitted Episodes Dataset and other key data sets. The rates of hospitalisation were analysed using hierarchical multiple regression to examine the association between COPD hospitalisations and a number of predictor variables. RESULTS: The highest COPD incidence occurred in metropolitan males aged 85 years of age and older (35.092 hospitalisations per 1000 population). Among metropolitan residents, smoking, population density and household income had a significant association with COPD hospitalisations for both sexes. Among rural males, smoking rates, household income and rural land use (farming) were significant predictors of COPD hospitalisations. There was an overall stability in statewide COPD hospitalisation over the 5 years to 2015, P = 0.420. CONCLUSION: This investigation highlights many rural and regional areas have much lower COPD hospitalisation rates than metropolitan areas. Between males and females, there are heterogenetic factors that contribute to the significant variation associated with COPD hospitalisation in metropolitan and rural areas, such as rural land use among rural males. This indicates that risk factor assessments, beyond smoking alone, need to be individualised and prioritised in practice to optimise care.

A retrospective observational study of 21 patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Frankston Hospital with acute asthma between 2011 and 2014 was undertaken. We report the outcomes for three groups of patients; those that did (n = 7) or did not (n = 6) receive initial therapy with non-invasive ventilation (NIV) together with those that received invasive ventilation (n = 8). Patients successfully managed with NIV alone experienced a shorter ICU and hospital stay versus those who required invasive ventilation.

INTRODUCTION: Integrity is one of the core values in nursing that needs to be maintained by nurses in practice. However, the complexity in the nursing milieu can pose threats to integrity. An understanding of the common threats and coping strategies might assist nurses in preserving integrity in everyday practice. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To review and synthesis the concept of integrity in nursing and identify common threats and coping strategies. METHODS: Whittemore and Knafl's integrative review method was implemented. A search was performed in Scopus, Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and Proquest Health and Medical electronic databases published in English between 2000-2017. Two reviewers independently assessed eligibility for inclusion. Methodological appropriateness for the included studies was assessed using the critical appraisal skills programme. The constant comparative method of grounded theory was used to analyse and synthesise data from seven peer-reviewed articles. RESULTS: Two major conceptions of integrity were identified. These included the sense of wholeness with regard to personal-professional concerns and ethical-moral conducts. Five entities, self, patients, teamwork and work culture, the nature of work, and organisation, were identified as interweaving elements that may induce threats to integrity. When integrity is threatened, nurses use two key strategies to survive: adjusting and compensating. An emergent framework to facilitate understanding of nurses' threats to integrity is discussed. CONCLUSIONS: A threat to nurses' integrity takes form when there is an unmitigated gap between a nurse's expectation and reality. While the expectation comes from within the nurse, the reality materialises out of the complex interplays that occur in the healthcare workforce. Maintaining integrity demands a continual strive to balance personal expectations, professional concerns and nursing realities.

Progressive aged care reforms are shifting dementia care into the community. These efforts have been shown to prevent transition to residential aged care facilities and hospitals. There is a paucity of studies examining the utilisation of home care services for people living with dementia. This study aims to address the current knowledge gap by providing a comprehensive summary of older adults receiving home care and comparing service use for people with and without dementia. A retrospective secondary data analysis was conducted using routine data prospectively collected from a cohort (n = 2,703 with dementia matched to 9,224 without dementia; total 11,927) using a community home nursing service in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia, in 2014. Descriptive statistics compared individuals with and without dementia on client-level demographics and their episode of home care service use. A comparative analysis on select variables was also performed using a conditional Poisson regression to estimate relative risk (RR). Compared to older adults without dementia, people with dementia were more likely to be born overseas (RR 1.10, 95% CI [1.03-1.19]), require an interpreter (RR 1.41, 95% CI [1.26-1.59]), and live with family (RR 1.09 [1.01-1.16]). When examining an individual's episode of care, people with dementia were more likely to require acute care (RR 1.07, 95% CI [1.01-1.14]) and be discharged from home care with personal care services (RR 1.46, 95% CI [1.24-1.72]). People with dementia were less likely to be referred from a hospital (RR 0.73, 95% CI [0.69-0.77]), achieve their home care goals (RR 0.91, 95% CI [0.87-0.94]), or die while in receipt of home care services (RR 0.82, 95% CI [0.72-0.94]). Our findings suggest that people with dementia have different socio-demographic characteristics and interactions with home care services compared to people without dementia.

BACKGROUND: Paperwork is a key tool that transforms organizational intentions into actions in group homes, although prescriptive procedures may limit how frontline staff use it in practice. The aim of this study was to explore how frontline staff use paperwork in group homes for people with intellectual disability and identify practice implications. METHOD: Constructivist grounded theory methodology guided the research. Data collection included semi-structured interviews and participant observations. Coding, comparison and sorting methods were adopted to analyse how staff used paperwork. RESULTS: Staff followed organizational paperwork rules when they aligned with their resident-focused approach to work. When they perceived rules to misalign with this approach, they managed paperwork by adjusting the time and place of completion, managing content, creating alternative tools and refusing completion. CONCLUSIONS: Staff purposefully managed paperwork rather than simply following procedures. Disability service organizations could develop flexible paperwork procedures and include frontline perspectives in paperwork development.

AIM: To increase understanding of strategies graduate nurses use on a day-to-day basis to integrate themselves into pre-existing social frameworks. BACKGROUND: Being a graduate nurse and transitioning from a novice to beginner in the first year of clinical practice is stressful, challenging and overwhelming due to steep learning curves and adjusting to working in professional environments. How graduate nurses socially adapt and fit into ward cultures is a hurdle to successful transition and can be difficult. DESIGN: A qualitative constructivist grounded theory methodology was used. METHODS: Seven adult, Registered Nurses were recruited using a purposive sampling technique. Participants were undertaking a graduate nurse transition programme, in one of two acute care, adult public hospitals in South Australia. Data collection conducted in 2016 used individual interviews consisting of open-ended questions in an unstructured format. Transcripts were transcribed verbatim. Data analysis processes included initial and focused coding, theory building, memo-writing and theoretical sampling. RESULTS: Three main categories: self-embodiment and self-consciousness, navigating the social constructs and raising consciousness, supported by subcategories describe the main strategies graduate nurses use to facilitate adaptation into complex clinical environments and ward cultures. Subsequent concept and theory development explains how graduate nurses find the social and professional balance to fit in. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding the graduates' adaptation strategies can inform improvements in graduate nurse transition programmes. Facilitating and enhancing graduate nurse adaptation is the precursor in creating more resilient nurses ready to face the challenges that exist in today's work environments.

As many patients' sole point of contact with the health care system, primary health care physicians (general practitioners [GPs] in Australia) are often positioned as key players in responding to rates of overweight and obesity in dominant public discourse. However, research from Western industrialised countries suggests that GPs may not be prepared for, or confident in, having conversations about overweight and obesity with patients. Little attention has been given to this topic in Australia, particularly in the context of rural health. The aim of this study was to understand how GPs in two rural settings in Victoria, Australia talk about overweight and obesity with patients. Working from a multidisciplinary perspective, a qualitative study design was adopted, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven GPs and seven GP patients living in two rural communities between January and April, 2016. Data was coded manually and thematic analysis was used to explore the data. The findings of this study support the argument that, in contrast to dominant messages within public health discourses, GPs may not be best placed to act as the primary actors in responding to overweight and obesity as they are constructed in epidemiological terms. In fact, the perspectives of GP study participants suggest that to do so would compromise important dimensions of general medical practice that make it simultaneously a human practice. Instead, more balanced, holistic approaches to discussing and responding to overweight and obesity with patients could be taken up in local, interdisciplinary collaborations between different health professionals and patients, which utilise broader social supports. Focussing on long-term, incremental programs that consider the whole person within their particular socio-cultural environment would be a productive means of working with the complexities of overweight and obesity. However, structural level changes are required to ensure such initiatives are sustainable in rural practice.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of dominant knowledge in rural health, including how they shape issues central to rural health. In particular, this article examines the roles of: (i) deficit knowledge of rural health workforce; (ii) dominant portrayals of generalism; and (iii) perceptions of inferiority about rural communities in maintaining health disparities between rural- and metropolitan-based Australians. DESIGN: A Foucauldian framework is applied to literature, evidence, case studies and key messages in rural health. Three scenarios are used to provide practical examples of specific knowledge that is prioritised or marginalised. RESULTS: The analysis of three areas in rural health identifies how deficit knowledge is privileged despite it undermining the purpose of rural health. First, deficit knowledge highlights the workforce shortage rather than the type of work in rural practice or the oversupply of workforce in metropolitan areas. Second, the construction of generalist practice as less skilled and more monotonous undermines other knowledge that it is diverse and challenging. Third, dominant negative stereotypes of rural communities discourage rural careers and highlight undesirable aspects of rural practice. CONCLUSION: The privileging of deficit knowledge pertaining to rural health workforce, broader dominant discourses of generalism and the nature of rural Australian communities reproduces many of the key challenges in rural health today, including persisting health disparities between rural- and metropolitan-based Australians. To disrupt the operations of power that highlight deficit knowledge and undermine other knowledge, we need to change the way in which rural health is currently constructed and understood.

INTRODUCTION: The need to measure reporting workload in teaching departments remains a current pertinent need. In Australia, the Pitman-Jones reporting RVUs have been in the public domain since 2003 (revised in 2009). These are expressed in arbitrary units. In New Zealand, single-site Christchurch Hospital reporting times have been validated and placed in the public domain. Concurrently, the RANZCR has been developing a formulaic descriptor lexicon for imaging studies (the Body System Framework). There is a need to bring these three strands of work together into a common public resource. In 2015, under the auspices of the Chief Accreditation Officer, RANZCR convened the Radiologist Workload Working Group. The goal of the group was to develop a robust method of measuring radiologist workload in teaching departments in Australia and New Zealand for the RANZCR accreditation processes of teaching departments as training sites. This paper concerns itself with one aspect of the group's work, namely reaching a consensus on radiologist study ascribable times for common imaging studies. METHOD: The BSF examination descriptors were reduced to a smaller, generic dataset of descriptors at the expense of loss of specificity. BSF study ascribable times had been previously obtained by stopwatch observation. The dataset was harmonized with the Christchurch descriptors to ensure commonality of case mix. The two lead authors reached an approximate consensus study ascribable time for each descriptor in agreement with the BSF and Christchurch data. Specifically, the Christchurch reporting times were relied on extensively to validate the new dataset's study ascribable times. The first draft of descriptors and times was tabled at the meetings of the RANZCR Radiologist Workload Working Group, and was progressively refined by iterative consensus. RESULTS: The output of the Radiologist Workload Working Group comprises a simplified modality-based table of robust descriptors and 'best estimate' corresponding study ascribable times. These can be used with the extant Pitman-Jones methodology in order to estimate the reporting workload of a medical imaging teaching department in units of time. As a first for Australia and New Zealand, nuclear medicine and PET study ascribable times have been incorporated and balanced against radiology study ascribable times. CONCLUSION: The RANZCR 2016 study ascribable times are ready for use by the Australian and New Zealand radiologist and nuclear medicine specialist community. We hope these times will also stimulate further data collection in our two countries towards a robust, bi-national study ascribable times database.

BACKGROUND: The sickest Australians are often those belonging to non-privileged groups, including Indigenous Australians, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual, intersex and queer people, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, socioeconomically disadvantaged groups, and people with disabilities and low English literacy. These consumers are not always engaged by, or included within, mainstream health services, particularly in rural Australia where health services are limited in number and tend to be generalist in nature. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to present a new approach for improving the sociocultural inclusivity of mainstream, generalist, rural, health care organisations. DESIGN: This approach combines a modified Continuous Quality Improvement framework with Participatory Action Research principles and Foucault's concepts of power, discourse and resistance to develop a change process that deconstructs the power relations that currently exclude marginalised rural health consumers from mainstream health services. It sets up processes for continuous learning and consumer responsiveness. RESULTS: The approach proposed could provide a Continuous Quality Improvement process for creating more inclusive mainstream health institutions and fostering better engagement with many marginalised groups in rural communities to improve their access to health care. CONCLUSION: The approach to improving cultural inclusion in mainstream rural health services presented in this article builds on existing initiatives. This approach focuses on engaging on-the-ground staff in the need for change and preparing the service for genuine community consultation and responsive change. It is currently being trialled and evaluated.

BACKGROUND: Transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TES) using interferential current (IFC) is a new therapeutic treatment for constipation. Clinical studies show that TES-IFC for 3-6 months improves colonic transit, but it is not clear if short-term stimulation affects transit or the effect requires longer to develop. The aim of this study was to determine if TES-IFC for only four days affects oral-rectal transit time in healthy pigs. METHODS: Twenty-two 4-5-week old large white female piglets had transit studies during week 4 and week 5 by placing a capsule containing 18 radiopaque plastic markers in the esophagus under anesthetic followed by x-rays at 6, 30, 54, and 78 hours. Animals were randomly assigned to active or control groups. The active group received TES for 30 min daily for four days. Interferential current was applied through four electrodes (4 × 4 cm), with two para-spinal just below the last rib and two on the belly at the same level. Stimulation was at 4000 Hz and 4080-4160 Hz with currents crossing through the abdominal cavity. RESULTS: Whole bowel transit times ranged from 7.7 to 72.2 hours, stomach transit from <1 to 63 hours, and bowel with rectum transit time from 5 to 53 hours. Transit times were the same for the control (median 28.4 hours) and TES-IFC (23.0 hours) groups in the prestimulation and stimulation weeks (control 23.0, TES-IFC 19.8 hours) with no change within or between groups. CONCLUSION: Four days of half-hour TES-IFC daily in healthy 5-week-old piglets did not change oral-rectal transit time.

BACKGROUND: Docetaxel is an effective therapy for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC); however, many patients experience febrile neutropenia (FN) and cease treatment early due to toxicity. It is not known whether lower dose (LD) q3-weekly docetaxel impacts toxicity or efficacy. METHODS: Multicenter retrospective study included 166 patients with mCRPC who received q3-weekly docetaxel between 2010 and 2015. Demographic, disease, chemotherapy (standard dose, SD > 60 mg/m2 vs LD ≤ 60 mg/m2 ) and toxicity data were collected. Univariable and multivariable logistic and competing risk regression models evaluated docetaxel-dose association with FN and early treatment cessation (ETC) due to toxicity. Associations between dose and efficacy end points were also evaluated. Analyses were repeated employing inverse propensity score weights. RESULTS: Patients who received LD docetaxel (28.9%) were older with poorer Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) status. Fifteen percent of patients experienced FN, with a nonsignificant trend to lower incidence in the LD group (multiple adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 0.42; P = 0.21). Neither baseline patient nor prior treatment factors were predictive of FN. ETC due to toxicity occurred in 35%, with risk associated with increasing age, comorbidity count and poorer ECOG. There was no difference between LD and SD with respect to ETC due to toxicity, in unweighted and weighted analyses (LD vs SD, multivariable weighted hazard ratio [HR] = 1.47; P = 0.08). LD was associated with reduced prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response (50% vs 66.1%, multivariable weighted HR = 0.54; P = 0.03) and overall survival (median 7.9 vs 13.8 months, multivariable weighted HR = 2.19; P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: LD docetaxel for mCRPC did not mitigate the risk of FN or ETC due to toxicity. Dose reduction may result in poorer PSA response and survival.

Antenatal anxiety symptoms are not only a health problem for the expectant mother. Research has found that maternal anxiety may also have an impact on the developing baby. Therefore, it is important to estimate the prevalence of maternal anxiety and associated factors. The current study aims to estimate the prevalence of anxiety symptoms during the first trimester of pregnancy and to identify associated risk factors. Secondly, to investigate other factors associated with anxiety during early pregnancy including fear of childbirth and a preference for cesarean section. In a population-based community sample of 1,175 pregnant women, 916 women (78%) were investigated in the first trimester (gestation week 8-12). The Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS-A) was used to measure anxiety symptoms. The prevalence of anxiety symptoms (HADS-A scores≥8 during pregnancy) was 15.6% in early pregnancy. Women under 25 years of age were at an increased risk of anxiety symptoms during early pregnancy (OR 2.6, CI 1.7-4.0). Women who reported a language other than Swedish as their native language (OR 4.2, CI 2.7-7.0), reported high school as their highest level of education (OR 1.6, CI 1.1-2.3), were unemployed (OR 3.5, CI 2.1-5.8), used nicotine before pregnancy (OR 1.7, CI 1.1-2.5), and had a self-reported psychiatric history of either depression (OR 3.8, CI 2.6-5.6) or anxiety (OR 5.2, CI 3.5-7.9) before their current pregnancy were all at an increased risk of anxiety symptoms during early pregnancy. Anxiety symptoms during pregnancy increased the rate of fear of birth (OR 3.0, CI 1.9-4.7) and a preference for cesarean section (OR 1.7, CI 1.0-2.8). Caregivers should pay careful attention to history of mental illness to be able to identify women with symptoms of anxiety during early pregnancy. When presenting with symptoms of anxiety, the women might need counseling and or treatment in order to decrease her anxiety.

Background and objective: By adopting a trauma-informed approach to care at the organisational and clinical levels, health care systems and providers can enhance the quality of care that they deliver and improve health outcomes for individuals with a trauma history. This study aimed to explore the trauma-related knowledge, attitudes awareness, practice, competence and confidence of health service staff from three small rural health services in Victoria, Australia, and examine their self-reported capacity to respond to clients with a trauma history.Methods: Staff from each site were invited to complete a paper-based survey. The survey included demographic information and questions related to knowledge and understanding of trauma, experience of trauma-informed care and confidence engaging in, and perceived importance of, trauma-informed practices. Results: The respondents were predominately nurses. Results showed that 16% of respondents had undertaken training in trauma-informed care and 44% disagreed that they had an understanding of trauma-informed practices. There were high levels of agreement for statements related to knowledge and understanding of trauma and low levels of agreement with statements related to experience of trauma-informed care. More than 70% of respondents reported that they had little knowledge of the principals of trauma-informed care, and little experiencing with practicing trauma-informed care.Discussion and conclusions: Overall, the survey results showed that staff were trauma-aware, but supported the need for more education and training in trauma-informed practices and improved organisational approaches to support trauma-informed approaches. It is important for organisations to shift from being trauma aware to being trauma-informed, by building foundational awareness of these practices and reinforcement through continuing education.

There are several antiseptic, antibiotic and non-decontamination-based interventions for preventing intensive care unit (ICU) acquired infection. These have been evaluated in &gt;200 studies. Infection prevention using topical antibiotic prophylaxis (TAP) appears to be the most effective. Whether antibiotic use in the ICU may influence the risk of infection among concurrent control patients within the same ICU and result in asymmetrical herd effects cannot be resolved with individual studies examined in isolation. The collective observations within control and intervention groups from numerous ICU infection prevention studies simulates a multi-center natural experiment enabling the herd effects of antibiotics to be evaluated. Among the TAP control groups, the incidences for both ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) and mortality are unusually high in comparison to literature-derived benchmarks. Paradoxically, amongst the TAP intervention groups, the incidences of mortality are also unusually high and the VAP incidences are similar (i.e., not lower) compared to the incidences among studies of other interventions. By contrast, the mortality incidences among the intervention groups of other studies are similar to those among the intervention groups of TAP studies. Using topical antibiotics to prevent infections acquired within the ICU environment may result in profoundly asymmetrical effects.

Background: Complex, ongoing social factors have led to a context where metabolic syndrome (MetS) is disproportionately high in Aboriginal Australians. MetS is characterised by insulin resistance, abdominal obesity, hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, high blood-sugar and low HDL-C. This descriptive study aimed to document physical activity levels, including domains and intensity and sedentary behaviour, and MetS risk factors in the Perth Aboriginal (predominately Noongar) community. Methods: The Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ), together with a questionnaire on self-reported MetS risk factors, was circulated to community members for completion during 2014 (n = 129). Results: Data were analysed using chi-squared tests. The average (SD) age was 37.8 years (14) and BMI of 31.4 (8.2) kg/m2. Occupational, transport-related and leisure-time physical activity (PA) and sedentary intensities were reported across age categories. The median (interquartile range) daily sedentary time was 200 (78, 435), 240 (120, 420) and 180 (60, 300) minutes for the 18-25, 26-44 and 45+ year-olds, respectively (p = 0.973). Conclusions: An in-depth understanding of the types, frequencies and intensities of PA reported for the Perth Aboriginal community is important to implementing targeted strategies to reduce the prevalence of chronic disease in this context. Future efforts collaborating with community should aim to reduce the risk factors associated with MetS and improve quality of life.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the complex factors influencing the implementation of cultural competency frameworks for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples within rural, Victorian, mainstream health and community service organisations. METHODS: Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with key individuals from 20 public health and community services in rural Victoria who had participated in the Koolin Balit Aboriginal Health Cultural Competence Project (KB-AHCC project). Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim and a content analysis was undertaken. The findings informed the selection of six case study sites for more in-depth analysis. Following this, an expert reference group provided feedback on the findings. Findings from the different data were triangulated to identify eight factors. RESULTS: Key factors acting as barriers and/or enablers to implementing cultural competence frameworks were: comprehensive, structured tools; project workers; communication; organisational responsibility for implementation; prioritising organisational cultural competence resourcing; resistance to focussing on one group of people; and accountability. CONCLUSIONS: Embedding cultural competence frameworks within rural, mainstream health and community services requires sustained government resourcing, prioritisation and formal accountability structures. Implications for public health: Findings will inform and guide the future development, implementation and evaluation of organisational cultural competence projects for rural public health and community services.

BACKGROUND: Febrile neutropenia is a serious complication of chemotherapy. The Multinational Association for Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) risk index score identifies patients at low risk of serious complications. Outpatient management programs have been successfully piloted in other Australian metropolitan cancer centers. AIM: To assess current management of febrile neutropenia at our regional cancer center and determine potential impacts of an outpatient management program. METHOD: We performed a retrospective review of medical records for all patients admitted at our regional institution with febrile neutropenia between 1 January 2016, and 31 December 2018. We collected information regarding patient characteristics, determined the MASCC risk index score, and if low risk, we determined the eligibility for outpatient care and potential reduction in length of stay and cost benefit. RESULTS: A total of 98 hospital admissions were identified. Of these, 66 had a MASCC low-risk index score. Fifty-eight patients met the eligibility criteria for outpatient management. Seventy-one percent were female. The most common tumor type was breast cancer. Forty-eight percent were treated with curative intent. The median length of stay was 3 days. The median potential reduction in length of stay for each admission was 2 days. The total potential reduction in length of stay was 198 days. No admission resulted in serious complications. CONCLUSION: This review demonstrates a significant number of hospital admission days can be avoided. We intend to conduct a prospective pilot study at our center to institute an outpatient management program for such low-risk patients with potential reduction in hospital length of stay. This will have significant implications on health resource usage, service provision planning, and patient quality of life.

BACKGROUND: Effective person-centred interventions are needed to support people living with mental-physical multimorbidity to achieve better health and wellbeing outcomes. Depression is identified as the most common mental health condition co-occurring with a physical health condition and is the focus of this intervention development study. The aim of this study is to identify the key components needed for an effective intervention based on a clear theoretical foundation, consideration of how motivational interviewing can inform the intervention, clinical guidelines to date, and the insights of primary care nurses. METHODS: A multimethod approach to intervention development involving review and integration of the theoretical principles of Theory of Planned Behavior and the patient-centred clinical skills of motivational interviewing, review of the expert consensus clinical guidelines for multimorbidity, and incorporation of a thematic analysis of group interviews with Australian nurses about their perspectives of what is needed in intervention to support people living with mental-physical multimorbidity. RESULTS: Three mechanisms emerged from the review of theory, guidelines and practitioner perspective; the intervention needs to actively 'engage' patients through the development of a collaborative and empathic relationship, 'focus' on the patient's priorities, and 'empower' people to make behaviour change. CONCLUSION: The outcome of the present study is a fully described primary care intervention for people living with mental-physical multimorbidity, with a particular focus on people living with depression and a physical health condition. It builds on theory, expert consensus guidelines and clinician perspective, and is to be tested in a clinical trial.

This is the full version of the Australasian Diabetes in Pregnancy Society (ADIPS) 2020 guideline for pre-existing diabetes and pregnancy. The guideline encompasses the management of women with pre-existing type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes in relation to pregnancy, including preconception, antepartum, intrapartum and postpartum care. The management of women with monogenic diabetes or cystic fibrosis-related diabetes in relation to pregnancy is also discussed.

BACKGROUND: In response to the challenges of assessing fetal growth in obese women, guidelines recommend routine third trimester ultrasound scans. AIM: The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic performance of this routine scan in obese women (body mass index (BMI) ≥ 35 kg/m2 ). METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of 1008 pregnancies with maternal BMI ≥ 35 kg/m2 born after 37 weeks gestation at a Victorian hospital from 2015 to 2017. Multiple pregnancies and those affected by diabetes were excluded. Growth ultrasounds were performed between 34 + 0 and 36 + 6 weeks gestation. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) for the detection of large for gestational age (LGA > 90%) and small for gestational age (SGA < 10%) were calculated using ultrasound estimated fetal weight (EFW) or abdominal circumference (AC) and compared with gestational age and gender-based birthweight percentiles. RESULTS: Using EFW, sensitivity for detecting SGA at birth was 8.1% (six of 74) with a PPV of 100%. Sensitivity for detecting LGA at birth was 61.0% (119 of 195), PPV 54.8%. Sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV percentages were all lower using AC. Only 40% of actual birthweight percentiles (405/1008) were within ±10 percentiles of their growth ultrasound EFW percentile. CONCLUSION: The performance of a routine third trimester ultrasound in women with BMI ≥ 35 kg/m2 suggests limited utility in helping identify aberrant fetal growth. This has important implications for the management of obese pregnant women.