Improving Outcomes For People With Cancer: Consultation Skills Training With Oncologists
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$499,070.00
Summary
Each year approximately 30,000 Australians die from cancer and 65,000 new cancers are diagnosed. Despite much research for a cure for cancer, the incidence and mortality from cancer has not changed. New treatments now cause people with cancer to live longer with the disease, so we now need to focus on efforts to optimise the quality of life of these people. Although the emotional burden on patients and families is recognized, there is a sense that this is an inevitable by-product of the disease ....Each year approximately 30,000 Australians die from cancer and 65,000 new cancers are diagnosed. Despite much research for a cure for cancer, the incidence and mortality from cancer has not changed. New treatments now cause people with cancer to live longer with the disease, so we now need to focus on efforts to optimise the quality of life of these people. Although the emotional burden on patients and families is recognized, there is a sense that this is an inevitable by-product of the disease and its management in existing clinical systems. However, this does not need to be the case. There is now ample evidence that the way that doctors interact with their patients can effect the accuracy of diagnosis and prognosis, as well as patients' satisfaction, adherence with treatment instructions and quality of life after being diagnosed with cancer. Both patient advocate groups and clinicians have called for further training for doctors to effectively manage psychosocial aspects of cancer care, however, despite this support, there have been few opportunities for such training in Australia. We have developed an innovative consultation-skills program for oncologists. So that the effectiveness of the project can be evaluated, it will be implemented as a randomised controlled trial with oncologists from major Australian cancer clinics being randomly allocated to an intervention or control group. The training program will be delivered by videoconferencing, to overcome many of the barriers that have impeded busy clinicians from participating in previous training programs. This is the first international study to use videoconferencing between remote locations for this type of consultation skills training. A variety of measures will be used to evaluate the impact of the training, including patients' quality of life, anxiety, depression and perceived needs, and oncologists' burn-out.Read moreRead less
Communication Of Genetic Information In Families: A Randomised Controlled Trial Of A Genetic Counselling Intervention.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$359,728.00
Summary
The amount of genetic testing information available to Australians has exploded as a result of the human genome project. Our multi-disciplinary team will investigate the most acceptable and feasible way for important genetic information to be transmitted in families. This study will be a world first trial of a genetic counselling intervention which aims to help patients and health professionals communicate life-changing information in families where there is a serious genetic condition.
Improving The Communication Of People With Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: A Clinical Trial
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$448,293.00
Summary
Traumatic brain injury is the leading cause of disability in young Australians, and is particularly prevalent in young men. The condition disturbs thinking and problem solving. Ultimately, these problems manifest in impaired verbal communication. Communication problems following traumatic brain injury can make critical relationships-such as father, husband, and employee-impossible to sustain. Those affected are socially inappropriate and uncomfortable to be around, which causes a lifetime of los ....Traumatic brain injury is the leading cause of disability in young Australians, and is particularly prevalent in young men. The condition disturbs thinking and problem solving. Ultimately, these problems manifest in impaired verbal communication. Communication problems following traumatic brain injury can make critical relationships-such as father, husband, and employee-impossible to sustain. Those affected are socially inappropriate and uncomfortable to be around, which causes a lifetime of lost friendships, unemployability, and social isolation. Minimisation of these lifelong effects is of the utmost importance to the health of those affected, and is critical to reducing the economic burden of the condition. Two approaches have been shown to improve the communication of those with traumatic brain injury. Training in social skills is helpful, as is training partners to deal with difficult communication behaviours. However, to date, no research has concurrently studied these two approaches to rehabilitation. Consequently, it is unknown whether best results are achieved with either one of the two methods, or both. The present project uses a clinical trials approach in an innovative evaluation of three methods of treating those with traumatic brain injury compared with a control group. The trial involves the conceptual advances of including cost effectiveness of treatment as an outcome measure, and inclusion of advanced methods to measure the intricacies of verbal communication. The multidisciplinary team of Chief Investigators has international track records in the requisite disciplines for the study of traumatic brain injury and its rehabilitation.Read moreRead less
A Telehealth Adaptation Of A Treatment For Chronic Stuttering
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$389,400.00
Summary
Stuttering can have devastating effects on psychological development, social adjustment, and the realisation of educational and vocational potential. Best practice treatments for chronic stuttering in adulthood and late adolescence stop or reduce stuttering with a systematic process of speech restructuring. However, speech restructuring treatment for chronic stuttering is specialised and resource intensive. Probably half of Australians with chronic stuttering cannot access such specialised treat ....Stuttering can have devastating effects on psychological development, social adjustment, and the realisation of educational and vocational potential. Best practice treatments for chronic stuttering in adulthood and late adolescence stop or reduce stuttering with a systematic process of speech restructuring. However, speech restructuring treatment for chronic stuttering is specialised and resource intensive. Probably half of Australians with chronic stuttering cannot access such specialised treatment services because of distance and lifestyle factors, and because clinicians do not have the resources to provide the treatment. These problems present a research challenge. The present project aims to meet this challenge by developing an innovative treatment model for adults who stutter based on telehealth. This treatment model will make the treatment accessible to all rural and urban dwelling patients with chronic stuttering, and will make the treatment deliverable by every clinician. The research will have significant impact for many end users.Read moreRead less
What People With Aphasia Want: Towards Person-centred Goal-setting In Aphasia Rehabilitation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$427,702.00
Summary
Consumers of health services expect their concerns and priorities to form part of their health care. People with aphasia have difficulty communicating their needs and speech pathologists are challenged to plan therapy to meet aphasic clients' needs. Family members of people with aphasia also have unrecognised concerns. The first aim of this study is to determine the goals of people with aphasia and their families and to gain their perspective of whether these goals were addressed in speech thera ....Consumers of health services expect their concerns and priorities to form part of their health care. People with aphasia have difficulty communicating their needs and speech pathologists are challenged to plan therapy to meet aphasic clients' needs. Family members of people with aphasia also have unrecognised concerns. The first aim of this study is to determine the goals of people with aphasia and their families and to gain their perspective of whether these goals were addressed in speech therapy. The study will then seek the perspective of their treating speech pathologists about the goals of therapy and the challenges that speech pathologists face in practising person-centered goal setting. This study will not only provide a framework for aphasia services in Australia but also provide data that will inform professional educational programs about person-centered practice for speech pathologists and other health professionals. It will also contribute to current theories on collaborative goal setting in a rehabilitation context.Read moreRead less
Accurate Differentiation Of Acquired Speech And Language Disorders For Positive Rehabilitation Outcomes
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$398,840.00
Summary
Loss of speech due to acquired brain injury causes long-term disability, increased risk for depression, and substantial caregiver burden. Speech disorders can affect linguistic processes or control of speech movements. The current gold standard for diagnosis of speech movement disorders is expert judgment of speech characteristics. We propose to test a novel diagnostic tool that has potential to drive a reframing of rehabilitation strategies to improve outcomes and quality of life.