Understanding Health Professionals' Infection Control Practices In The Acute Care Setting
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$151,196.00
Summary
Health-care acquired infections have a considerable personal, social and economic impact in Australia, and better understanding of the causes of these infections is necessary. Failure by health professionals to follow infection control recommendations has important consequences in terms of the personal risk of acquiring an infection as well as the risk of infection transmission to patients. In Australia surgical site infections alone are estimated to cost as much as 268 million dollars a year. H ....Health-care acquired infections have a considerable personal, social and economic impact in Australia, and better understanding of the causes of these infections is necessary. Failure by health professionals to follow infection control recommendations has important consequences in terms of the personal risk of acquiring an infection as well as the risk of infection transmission to patients. In Australia surgical site infections alone are estimated to cost as much as 268 million dollars a year. Health-care acquired infections are associated with poorer health outcomes, a greater probability of prolonged hospital stays, greater re-hospitalisation rates, and significant reductions in health related quality of life. In this qualitative study we will use grounded theory and a comparative analysis strategy. We will initially identify participants sampled from health professionals employed in the acute care setting at a major teaching hospital in Perth, Western Australia. We will seek representation of a range of health professionals recruited from multiple occupational groups, including doctors, nurses and paramedical staff who have direct patient contact in the study sample. Sampling will also aim to recruit participants from a number of different acute care areas within the hospital, and staff with a range of individual characteristics, experiences and beliefs. We will interview a range of health care workers in order to explore their experiences of engagement in infection control practices and the factors influencing these experiences. We aim to develop a substantive theory that explains health professionals' engagement in high-risk infection control practices in the acute care setting. This will have implications for current understandings of the factors influencing adherence to recommended infection control practices, current theoretical perspectives which guide infection control practice, and strategies used to promote compliance with recommended practices.Read moreRead less
Is Male Circumcision An Acceptable And Feasible Intervention To Reduce HIV Transmission In Papua New Guinea
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$624,913.00
Summary
In PNG, Australia's nearest neighbour, 76 000 people live with HIV with predictions of up to 500 000 by 2025. African studies show 60% reduction in HIV if men are circumcised. Because relatively few men in PNG are circumcised, promoting circumcision may save thousands of lives. This study examines an NHMRC research priority area in Global Health by analysing social, cultural and religious aspects of circumcision. The study will assess if circumcision is an acceptable way to reduce HIV in PNG.
Obesity, Self Image, Eating Behaviour, Nutriton And Activity In Australian Preadolescent School Children.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$167,328.00
Summary
Obesity in children is increasing, but there is a great deal of concern about whether education about diet and obesity will produce eating disorders. While there is a lot of information about the eating practices, body image worries and self esteem in teenagers, there is no information really available about what primary school children in this country know about eating, about whether they diet or not, where they get their information about dieting and about their self esteem and body image part ....Obesity in children is increasing, but there is a great deal of concern about whether education about diet and obesity will produce eating disorders. While there is a lot of information about the eating practices, body image worries and self esteem in teenagers, there is no information really available about what primary school children in this country know about eating, about whether they diet or not, where they get their information about dieting and about their self esteem and body image particularly if they are overweight or very thin. It is important to gather this information as it is in the teen years that problems about eating and body image really emerge. These concerns must be starting in primary school children, This study aims to gather this information and more from 2442 primary school children across NSW. This information will enable proper education programs about eating, body image and obesity to be developed so no harm is caused by trying to reduce obesity. This study will also gather important information about how many children are obese or have eating disorders and will see what part their physical activity plays in their weight and the way they go about controlling it. To have healthy adults in the next generation, with less obesity and eating problems, it is important to gather information about nutrition and eating beliefs, dieting, body image and self esteem in children now.Read moreRead less
Predicting The Individual Risk Of Prostate Cancer In Australian Men
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$348,656.00
Summary
Prostate cancer is a major cause of disability and death in Australian men. A number of factors, particularly age and family history, influence the risk of prostate cancer but, in contrast to breast cancer, we don't know what is the risk of developing prostate cancer over a period of time for a man with a specific set of risk factors. In fact, while a number of statistical models have been developed that use a woman's risk factor profile to estimate her risk of breast cancer, none is currently a ....Prostate cancer is a major cause of disability and death in Australian men. A number of factors, particularly age and family history, influence the risk of prostate cancer but, in contrast to breast cancer, we don't know what is the risk of developing prostate cancer over a period of time for a man with a specific set of risk factors. In fact, while a number of statistical models have been developed that use a woman's risk factor profile to estimate her risk of breast cancer, none is currently available for prostate cancer. We will apply standard statistical methods to existing data from the Australian Risk Factors for Prostate Cancer study and from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare to develop a prostate cancer risk prediction model. We will test how factor like age, detailed family history, diet, baldness status and possibly previous PSA tests and prostate biopsies predict the risk. After developing the model, we will test the accuracy of the predictions in three ways. First, using existing data from the Australian Prostate Cancer Family Study, we will see whether the number of cases in a group of men is close to the number predicted by the model (calibration). Second, to test whether the model discriminate well men who develop prostate cancer from those who do not, we will collect family trees in a sample from the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study. We will use these data also to estimate the optimal cut point: men above this level of risk will be considered at high risk. Third, we will apply the model to existing data from the Dutch Prostate Cancer Family Study (DPCFS) to test whether the optimal cut point identify high-risk men and to validate the model in a non-Australian population. Finally, we will prepare a computer package that health professionals will use as decision-making tool in different scenarios including individual cancer risk assessment, design of prevention trials and targeting prevention programs to high-risk men.Read moreRead less
Automated Mammographic Measures That Predict Breast Cancer Risk
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$406,260.00
Summary
Mammographic density (MD) is one of the strongest predictors of breast cancer risk but its impractical measurement prevents its use in a clinical setting. An automated measure of MD would allow screening programs to identify and target women at higher risk of breast cancer which could lead to earlier diagnoses and better breast cancer outcomes. We aim to develop an automated measurement, maximized by its ability to predict breast cancer risk, and applicable to both film and digital mammograms.
Estimation Of Transient Increases In Bleeding Risk Associated With Physical Activity In Children With Haemophilia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$102,143.00
Summary
Haemophilia A and B are genetic conditions which affect 1 in 7,000 males in Australia. These disorders cause frequent bleeding due to problems with the clotting factor in blood. Over the past decade there has been a move to administer clotting factor to children with haemophilia in order to prevent bleeds and the consequent damage to joints that occurs when bleeds occur in a joint. Participation in vigorous physical activity and sport is thought to increase the risk of bleeding. Because of this, ....Haemophilia A and B are genetic conditions which affect 1 in 7,000 males in Australia. These disorders cause frequent bleeding due to problems with the clotting factor in blood. Over the past decade there has been a move to administer clotting factor to children with haemophilia in order to prevent bleeds and the consequent damage to joints that occurs when bleeds occur in a joint. Participation in vigorous physical activity and sport is thought to increase the risk of bleeding. Because of this, children are often given clotting factor prior to playing sport. However clotting factor is extremely expensive. For example, a boy wanting to play tennis three times a week would require three injections of cIotting factor per week at a cost of approximately $250,000 a year. To date there is no good evidence about which physical activities are likely to increase the risk of bleeding. If this information was available clinicians would be able to optimise timing of administration of clotting factor so that it is administered prior to activities associated with high risk of bleeds. Another reason to quantify risk of bleeds associated with activity is to inform decisions about participation in physical activity. Every boy with haemophilia wants to know if he can play sport or ride a skateboard or jump on a trampoline. Informed decisions about participation require accurate estimates of risk. This study will use an innovative design to provide, for the first time, accurate estimates of the risk of bleeding associated with physical activity. This information will form the basis for clinical practice guidelines regarding participation in physical activity.Read moreRead less
High blood pressure affects 1 in 5 Australian adults and is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity from heart attack and stroke. The condition tends to run in families and genetic predisposition, in the face of environmental factors, leads to the elevation in blood pressure. My Lab has demonstrated the capacity of a cohort of affected hypertensive sibships we have collected to find loci for essential hypertension at a level that has achieved genome-wide statistical significance and has been ....High blood pressure affects 1 in 5 Australian adults and is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity from heart attack and stroke. The condition tends to run in families and genetic predisposition, in the face of environmental factors, leads to the elevation in blood pressure. My Lab has demonstrated the capacity of a cohort of affected hypertensive sibships we have collected to find loci for essential hypertension at a level that has achieved genome-wide statistical significance and has been published in a leading molecular genetics journal. Moreover, this previous work, which included fine-mapping after finding a suggestive locus following a scan of chromosome 1, not only demonstrated significant linkage, but also went on to compare gene markers between a different cohort of (unrelated) hypertensive subjects with 2 affected parents (and early-onset, moderate to severe hypertension) and control normotensive matched subjects with unaffected parents, to identify a likely candidate gene. This same approach will be used to complete the rest of the genome. The discovery of all of the genes for essential hypertension will be an important prelude to: (1) developing new, more effective treatments, since the gene products responsible will be able to be targetted by novel therapeutics, (2) genotyping individuals early in life in order to advise them what their risk is, and thus allow couselling about lifestyle modification, (3) more logically apply existing treatment strategies according to the volume-neural-vasoconstrctor component of the contribution to high blood pressure.Read moreRead less