National Cancer Nursing Education project

Under its Strengthening Cancer Care initiative, the Australian Government provided funding for the development of education programs for nurses. This funding supported the creation of the National Cancer Nursing Education project (EdCaN). The EdCaN learning resources include:
eleven case based learning resources following a person’s cancer journey;
six supporting modules on key cancer control concepts ;
competency assessment tools and resources;
professional development portfolio templates ;
educator resources.
These resources are freely available online, and are relevant for individual nurses, educators and managers, academics, health service planners and policy makers. Click here to access the EdCaN framework and learning resources.
Item thanks to NurseClick, the RCNA e-newsletter.

World Views on Evidence-Based Nursing

The journal 'World Views on Evidence-Based Nursing' is offering free access to the five most-cited articles from the past two years. Simply click on the links for unrestricted access.

1. Factors influencing best-practice guideline implementation: Lessons learned from administrators, nursing staff, and project leaders, Ploeg, J et al
2. Outcomes-focused knowledge translation: A framework for knowledge translation and patient outcomes improvement, Doran, DM et al
3. Effectiveness of a computer-based educational program on nurse's knowledge, attitude, and skill level related to evidence-based practice, Hart, P et al
4. Managerial leadership for nurses use of research evidence: An integrative review of the literature, Gifford, W et al
5. An exploration of the factor structure of the Nursing Work Index, Slater, P et al

Searching for Clinical Trials

The New Zealand Guidelines Group this week in their Evidence-based Health Care Bulletin, gives a fantastic overview of different sites, registers and databases to find clinical trials.

Gaining on death, cooling therapy catches on slowly

The likelihood of surviving and thriving after an out of hospital cardiac arrest has been low for a host of reasons. Over the years, evidence has been mounting that cooling may improve both survival and brain function in cardiac arrest patients. The balance of the data has now swung to the recommendation side. Reuters Health has prepared a report on cooling patients after cardiac arrest in order to reduce the risk of brain damage and offers readers a wealth of detail on therapeutic hypothermia, the available evidence of its effects, and some of the apparent reasons most hospitals have yet to put it into routine use.

Hypothermia for neuroprotection in adults after cardiopulmonary resuscitation from the Cochrane Collaboration 2010 can be accessed here.

The 2005 American Heart Association Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care; Part 7.5: Postresuscitation Support also discuss the implications for cooling after cardiac arrest.

Electronic Health Records - future and effectiveness

ABC Radio National's Health Report has recently included a panel discussion on the future of Australia's pursuit of electronic health records; a venture that they report has already taken a considerable amount of time and money with little to show for it. The National Health and Hospital Reform Commission argued that the single thing that could most transform the safety, quality and effectiveness of health care in Australia was a shared electronic health record. However, the Coalition a few weeks ago said it would stop funding the development of such an electronic record. "The Coalition's stance may have softened a little since but it's still unclear what they'll do if they win power."

Doctors' earnings study

What factors influence the earnings of GPs and medical specialists in Australia? is a paper by Terence Chai Cheng and others from the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research. The authors used the first wave of the Medicine in Australia: Balancing Employment and Life (MABEL), a longitudinal survey of doctors in Australia, to assess the question.

For both GPs and specialists, earnings are 17-23% higher for men than for women. Also those who are self-employed, who do after hours or on-call work, and who work in areas with a high cost of living earn more money. GPs have higher earnings if they work in larger practices, in outer regional or rural areas, and in areas with lower GP density, whilst specialists earn more if they are a fellow of their college, have more working experience, spend more time in clinical work, have less complex patients, or work in inner regional areas. Overall, GPs earn about 32% less than specialists.

National dementia prevention strategy

Alzheimers Australia has published a paper, Towards a National Dementia Preventative Health Strategy. The prevalence of dementia is projected to reach around one million by 2050 with the cost of dementia care expected to outstrip any other health condition. It is proposed that the framework for a National Dementia Preventative Health Strategy should be guided by principles that are in accord with the national Chronic Disease Strategy, including adopting a population health approach to dementia, investing in research and facilitating integrated multi-disciplinary care.

"The framework and strategy put forward in this publication is modest compared with the economic and social costs of dementia. Moreover, it is a way perhaps of reducing the negativity that surrounds dementia and the hopelessness that flows from feeling that nothing can be done."

Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services NMDS Specifications

The Alcohol and other drug treatment services NMDS specifications 2010-11: specifications and collection manual has been prepared by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW)as a reference for those involved in collecting and supplying the data for the Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services National Minimum Data Set (AODTS_NMDS). Updated guidelines are released each year of the collection. This edition is relevant to the 2010-11 collection period for those directly involved in the collection and reporting of the data set. (From: AIHW)

Fear of Falls Can Lead to Actual Falls in Older People

New research has found that having a fear of falling can lead to actual falls among older people. The findings of the study, led by Prof Stephen Lord from Neuroscience Research Australia, has been published in the BMJ (accessible within our CIAP subscription) - "Determinants of disparities between perceived and physiological risk of falling among elderly people: cohort study". The research involved assessment of 500 Australians aged 70-90 years. It found that a large number of elderly people are overly fearful of falling. This is associated with poor balance, anxiety and depression. The study found up to one third of elderly people either underestimate or overestimate their risk of falls.

The Range and Magnitude of Alcohol's Harm to Others

The Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation (AER Foundation) has commissioned a report entitled "The Range and Magnitude of Alcohol's Harm to Others". The report found the hidden cost of harms caused by someone else's drinking brings the total economic impact of alcohol misuse to $36 billion more than double previous estimates. This includes tangible costs of $24.7 billion and intangible costs of $11.4 billion. The report found the cost of harm to others totalled more than $20 billion annually.

Bike helmet laws

Last week there were several media reports about a recent Sydney University study disproving the effectiveness of helmet laws, including ABC radio's The World Today report, Call for repeal of bike helmet laws.

The study referred to is, The effects of bicycle helmet legislation on cycling-related injury: the ratio of head to arm injuries over time, by Associate Professor Chris Rissel and Dr Alexander Voukelatos from Sydney University's School of Public Health. They looked into the ratio of cyclist head and arm injuries from 1988 to 2008, to show that most of Australia's fall in head injury rates occurred before helmet laws were introduced. Their main conclusion was "Helmet use is likely to prevent some head injury, particularly for younger age groups, and may also reduce severity of injury. However, the mandatory bicycle helmet legislation appears not to be the main factor for the observed reduction in head injuries among pedal cyclists at a population level over time."

Chronic Kidney Disease Hospitalisations in Australia 2000-01 to 2007-08

In 2007-08 chronic kidney disease (CKD) contributed to 15% (nearly 1.2 million) of all hospitalisations in Australia, one million of which were for regular dialysis. Indigenous Australians were hospitalised at 11 times the rate of other Australians for regular dialysis, and at 5 times the rate for other principal and additional CKD diagnoses. Hospitalisations for regular dialysis increased by an average of 60,000 per year between 2000-01 and 2007-08, equating to a 71% increase over the period. Increases of 12% for other principal diagnoses of CKD and 48% for additonal diagnoses were also recorded. This report has been produced by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).

Andrology Australia: Men's health – clinical summary guidelines

A series of clinical summary guides on the management of male sexual and reproductive health have been developed by Andrology Australia to assist health professionals in the management of their male patients.
Click here for more information

National electric Library for Medicines

NeLM is the largest medicines information portal for healthcare professionals in the UK National Health Service (NHS).In operation since 1998 as Druginfozone, this free service is updated daily with a wide range of information; including news, evidence-based reviews on drugs and drug therapy, and health promotion material. Go to the website here.

ECG Made Simple

"ECG Made Simple is a comprehensive web-based ECG learning program that teaches the art and science of electrocardiogram (ECG) interpretation. It addresses the needs of various groups of learners, from beginners to advanced." The tutorial modules cover all the basic concepts, make extensive use of animations, as well as present practice cases. The University of Toronto has developed this program, registration is required [but free] for instant access to the training modules.
ECG Made Simple

Families then and now: 1980-2010

This paper by Alan Hayes, Ruth Weston, Lixia Qu and Matthew Gray reviews data collected over three decades, and shows an increase in divorce rates, a decline in marriage rates and family size, and a shift to double income families and paid childcare. Compared with 30 years ago, parenthood today tends to start later in life, couples tend to have fewer children, and both parents are likely to be in paid employment.

NZ health improvement resource

The Health Improvement and Innovation Resource Centre is a web-based collection of resources, sponsored by the New Zealand Ministry of Health. Its aim is "to serve as a central repository of best practice, innovation, new evidence and learning and to make New Zealand related research more accessible to clinicians, providers and researchers."

Although New Zealand focused, the site is valuable for its links to evidence-based research, case studies, projects, and its tools such as the Productive Operating Theatre Programme, which includes modules to work through. It is a very new site and well worth checking regularly, or you can register for updates.

BreastScreen Australia Monitoring Report 2006-07 and 2007-08

Breast cancer is the second most common cause of death from cancer in Australian women. BreastScreen Australia monitoring report 2006-07 and 2007-08 is the tenth report presenting national statistics (combining data from both these reporting periods) on key program activity, performance and outcome indicators for BreastScreen Australia, which aims to reduce mortality and morbidity from breast cancer through detecting cancers early. (AIHW catalogue number CAN 51)

Homelessness, addiction and mental health services

A discussion paper, The integration of homelessness, mental health and drug and alcohol services in Australia, has just been published by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI).

Authored by Paula Flatau and others, this study aims to increase our understanding of the ways in which homelessness, mental health and drug and alcohol services can be coordinated or integrated to provide services to homeless people, the extent to which system and service integration is occurring in Australia at present and the effectiveness of various integrated service delivery responses. The authors conclude that a more integrated response to service delivery is required. "Homeless people have disproportionately high levels of poor mental health leading to increased disability in many walks of life. Our human services delivery system is often too fragmented, failing to address particular needs and providing conflicting advice and treatment to clients with such needs. Clients may not always be referred to an appropriate service for support, resulting in gaps in service delivery."

Diabetes incidence in children

Incidence of Type 1 diabetes in Australian children 2000-2008 is a new report from the AIHW. There were over 8,000 new cases of Type 1 diabetes diagnosed in Australian children between 2000 and 2008, an average of two new cases every day. But, while the rate of new cases increased significantly over the first part of the decade (2000-2004), there has been little change since 2005. This report presents the latest available national data on new cases of Type 1 diabetes for children from Australia's National Diabetes Register.

Mental Health Services in Australia 2007-08

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has released a report 'Mental health services in Australia 2007-08' which is the twelfth in the series of annual reports providing a detailed picture of the national response to the mental health care needs of Australians. Details from a wide range of data sources for the 2007-08 period, and where available 2008-09, are presented, as are changes over time. Expenditure on state and territory mental health services has been increasing on average by 6% per year (adjusted for inflation) since 2003-04, states and territories spent $3,323 million on these services in 2007-08. There were 4.6 million Medicare claims for subsidised psychiatrist, psychologist and other allied health professional services in 2008-09, an increase of 17.4% from the previous year. (AIHW catalogue number HSE 88)

Overview of Australian Indigenous health status 2010

The Overview of Australian Indigenous health status provides information about: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations; the context of Indigenous health; various measures of population health status; selected health conditions; and health risk factors. It is updated regularly as new information becomes available, and will expand to include details of other health conditions.
Download the publication as a pdf here.

Health Services: Patient Experiences in Australia, 2009

This publication presents summary results from the 2009 Patient Experience Survey. The survey was conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) from July to December 2009, collecting Australians' views of their health care experiences in the last 12 months. It provides national data on access and barriers to a range of health care services including general practitioners, medical specialists and other health professionals, imaging and pathology, after hours care and hospital/emergency departments. Data is also presented on patient experiences of care and information provision.

Health reform in NSW - feedback invited on LHN's

The NSW Premier has today announced the replacement of the existing 8 Area Health Services in NSW with 17 Local Health Networks. "Health Reform in NSW : a discussion paper on implementing the federal government's ‘A National Health and Hospitals Network for Australia’s Future’ in NSW" has been published for comment. It includes the suggested roles and boundaries of the new networks, which would see NCAHS divided into two LHNs, Mid North Coast and Far North Coast. "The establishment of LHNs will decentralise public hospital management, increasing local accountability to drive improvements in performance. LHNs will be accountable for treatment outcomes and responsive to their patients' needs, and will make active decisions about the control of their own budget."

NSW Health seeks further comment from clinicians and the community before a final decision is made. The closing date for submissions is September 1 2010. Email them to feedback@doh.health.nsw.gov.au or posted to: Locked Mail Bag 961, North Sydney 2059.

Community and Primary mental health care

The Mental Health Council of Australia has published this background paper in response to the NHHRC report in 2009 which recommended an examination of the scope and complexity of community mental health care.

Community Mental Health and Primary Mental Health Care seeks to clarify points of overlap and difference between primary health care and community mental health. It also identifies how their linkages could be strengthened whilst ensuring maintenance of the capacity and integrity of specialist mental health services delivered in the community.

Associated with this background paper are new Community Mental Health Guiding Principles developed to clarify the nature and scope of community mental health care, and to provide principles to guide its further development across Australia.

Avoiding hospitalisation

The Primary Health Care Research and Information Service (PHC-RIS) regularly publishes Research Roundups, summarising the latest evidence in various aspects of primary care. July's Roundup was entitled, "Avoiding hospitalisation : ambulatory care sensitive conditions." It examines the scope of ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSC) in Australia, and their reliability as a measure of primary health care performance. Statistics for Australia, Victoria and New South Wales are presented and complications of diabetes are found to be the most common ACSCs encountered in Australia. Rurality and socio-economic disadvantage are linked to avoidable hospitalisation.

Aboriginal sexual health resource (DVD)

The North Coast Area Health Service has produced : "The cultural respect & Communication Guide." This DVD aims to provide a resource for health professionals to gain a better understanding and knowledge of aboriginal communities, how to work together with communities, and how to provide culturally appropriate sexual health services for individuals and communities.

The DVD is available to professionals working with indigenous clients.
For further information, contact Jenny Heslop on 02 6656 7939 or email Jenny.Heslop@ncahs.health.nsw.gov.au

The pursuit of happiness

Australians are among the most satisfied people in the world with almost 90 per cent very satisfied or satisfied with their lives, despite having to work harder to juggle family, job and financial pressures, according to the latest AMP / NATSEM Income and Wealth Report. Australia ranks equal third with the United States and Sweden in overall life satisfaction among OECD countries, with an average score of 7.9 out of 10, beaten only by Ireland, Norway and Denmark (equal first) and Finland and Canada (equal second).

The AMP.NATSEM Income and Wealth Report: The pursuit of happiness explores life satisfaction trends in Australia, examining how different aspects of people's lives impact on happiness.

Calcium supplements - possible problems

There have been a number of news reports over the last couple of days referring to recent research on the taking of calcium supplements and the risk of heart problems. The original research has been published in BMJ Online, and is freely accessible. 341 (291): c3691. (2010)

Effect of calcium supplements on risk of myocardial infarction and cardiovascular events: meta-analysis, by Mark J Bolland et al, found that calcium supplements are associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction. The Editorial in the same edition of BMJ. concludes that "on the basis of the limited evidence available, patients with osteoporosis should generally not be treated with calcium supplements, either alone or combined with vitamin D, unless they are also receiving an effective treatment for osteoporosis for a recognised indication."

ABC Radio National's Health Report this morning included an interview with the authors of the research. You can download the transcript and podcast here.

Indigenous Health special issue

The Australian & NZ Journal of Public Health has released a special supplement on Indigenous Health. It includes articles on Diabetes, Cardiovascular disease, problems related to alcohol and tobacco, sexually transmitted infections and some epidemiological and sociological studies.
Volume 34 Sup 1 pgs. S3-S98 July.
You can access the articles through CIAP, or contact your Library.