February is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

Every year over 1,510 women in Australia will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

In the last 30 years, other cancers have been able to find fabulous improvements in awareness, funding and survival rates. The same hope is held for women with ovarian cancer. Some progress has been made but there is still a long way to go.

For the position of ovarian cancer and it's sufferers to improve, major changes are needed in awareness, treatment and funding. It's Ovarian Cancer's time to be in the spotlight. Ovarian Cancer Australia are asking ALL Australians to stand with them and take action.

                                                           Source: https://ovariancancer.net.au/

Find information on the Ovarian Cancer Australia website on the signs and symptoms as well as risk factors for ovarian cancer. 

Find out how you can get involved by giving, helping to fundraise, volunteering an more here. If you need help find that out too.

Start investigating today to spread the word.

Novel Coronavirus - Information and Answers

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are found world wide in humans and animals. These viruses cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to more severe disease such as Sever Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

A Novel Coronavirus (CoV) is a new strain of coronavirus that has not been previously identified in humans.

                                                                   Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

• What is known and unknown about this virus?
• What you need to do if you have been exposed to a person who has been confirmed as having the virus?
• Do you need to take any action following a recent return from China?
• How can you best look after yourself, your family and your community?
  
  To find these answers and much more go to the NSW Government Ministry of Health website
  Novel coronavirus - Frequently asked questions also provided is a basic Chinese version for those that require it. Read about the history of CoV since it was identified in China in late 2019 here.

More information is available from the World Health Organization and information and resources for health professionals from NSW Health is available here.

MNCLHD Staff Publications

Congratulations to the highlighted MNCLHD staff on their recent publications. Please contact the Library if you would like to read any of these publications.

New Staff Publications December 2019 -January 2020

Ball, R., R. Vaschak, A. Bailey, G. Whiteford, T. L. Burrows, K. Duncanson and C. E. Collins (2019). "Study Protocol of the Parents in Child Nutrition Informing Community (PICNIC) Peer Education Cohort Study to Improve Child Feeding and Dietary Intake of Children Aged Six Months to Three Years Old." Children (Basel) 7(1).

Davis, I. D., A. J. Martin, M. R. Stockler, S. Begbie, K. N. Chi, S. Chowdhury, X. Coskinas, M. Frydenberg, W. E. Hague, L. G. Horvath, A. M. Joshua, N. J. Lawrence, G. Marx, J. McCaffrey, R. McDermott, M. McJannett, S. A. North, F. Parnis, W. Parulekar, D. W. Pook, M. N. Reaume, S. K. Sandhu, A. Tan, T. H. Tan, A. Thomson, E. Tu, F. Vera-Badillo, S. G. Williams, S. Yip, A. Y. Zhang, R. R. Zielinski, C. J. Sweeney, E. T. Investigators, A. the, U. New Zealand and G. Prostate Cancer Trials (2019). "Enzalutamide with Standard First-Line Therapy in Metastatic Prostate Cancer." New England Journal of Medicine 381(2): 121-131.

Dwyer, M., G. Peterson, S. Gall, L. Kinsman, K. Francis, K. Ford, H. Castley, A. Kitsos, T. Hilliard and J. English (2019). "Regional differences in access to acute ischaemic stroke care and patient outcomes." Intern Med J.

Dwyer, M., S. Rehman, T. Ottavi, J. Stankovich, S. Gall, G. Peterson, K. Ford and L. Kinsman (2019). "Urban-rural differences in the care and outcomes of acute stroke patients: Systematic review." Journal of the Neurological Sciences 397: 63-74.

Hallenstein, L. and C. Sorensen (2019). "The ins and outs of a regional cancer genetics service; Review of referral handling and triage processes." Twin Research and Human Genetics 22 (5): 392.

Mersiades, A. J., A. Tognela, P. S. Haber, M. Stockler, N. Lintzeris, J. Simes, I. McGregor, I. Olver, D. J. Allsop, C. Gedye, A. C. Kirby, R. L. Morton, P. Fox, S. Clarke, K. Briscoe, M. Aghmesheh, N. Wong, A. Walsh, C. Hahn and P. Grimison (2018). "Oral cannabinoid-rich THC/CBD cannabis extract for secondary prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting: a study protocol for a pilot and definitive randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial (CannabisCINV)." BMJ Open 8(9): e020745.

Mesman, J., K. Walsh, L. Kinsman, K. Ford and D. Bywaters (2019). "Blending Video-Reflexive Ethnography With Solution-Focused Approach: A Strengths-Based Approach to Practice Improvement in Health Care." International Journal of Qualitative Methods 18: 1609406919875277.

Moloney, G., M. Sutherland, M. Norton, A. Bowling and I. Walker (2019). "Increasing registrations on the Australian Organ Donor Register." Medical Journal of Australia 210(3): 143-143.e141.

Sutherland, R., A. Brown, N. Nathan, L. Janssen, R. Reynolds, A. Walton, N. Hudson, A. Chooi, S. Yoong, J. Wiggers, A. Bailey, N. Evans, K. Gillham, C. Oldmeadow, A. Searles, P. Reeves, C. Rissel, M. Davies, K. Reilly, B. Cohen, T. McCallum and L. Wolfenden (2019). "Protocol for an effectiveness- implementation hybrid trial to assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of an m-health intervention to decrease the consumption of discretionary foods packed in school lunchboxes: the 'SWAP IT' trial." BMC Public Health 19(1): 1510.

Valiukas, S., M. Pickering, T. Hall, N. Seneviratne, A. Aitken, F. John-Leader and S. W. Pit (2019). "Sexting and Mental Health Among Young Australians Attending a Musical Festival: A Cross Sext-ional Study." Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking 22(8): 521-528.

Wong, P. K. K. and P. Hanrahan (2018). "Management of vaccination in rheumatic disease." Best Practice & Research in Clinical Rheumatology 32(6): 720-734.

MNCLHD Staff Publications Database – Maintained & updated by HMCN Health Services Library.

Article Alert : Patient-focused Information on Emergency Department Discharge

Awareness of diagnosis and follow up care after discharge from the emergency department
Leamy K, Thompson J, Mitra B
Australasian Emergency Care. 2019;22(4):221-226.

This Australian study looked at whether providing emergency department (ED) patients with more detailed information – a simplified discharge card – increased their understanding. It is standard for patients to receive a discharge summary after an ED visit, but the authors of this paper sought to see if a simplified discharge information card could improve patients’ awareness of their discharge diagnosis and follow-up requirements.

This was a prospective pre-post design interventional study with 112 patients in the pre-intervention group and 117 in the post-intervention group. The authors concluded that the patient-focused communication, in the form of a discharge information card, improved the patients' awareness of discharge diagnoses and follow-up requirements.

MNCLHD employees can find this article in full text on CIAP or request it from the Library.

Bushfires and your health - Reliable advice and evidence based information

Bushfires can severely affect your health, physically and mentally. Read below for some accurate and reliable information regarding bushfires and your health. 

• "Bushfires have always been a part of the Australian ecology, but now that ecology is changing." Doctors for the environment Australia provide information sheets that detail the impact of the current bushfire crisis in Australia on our health and how to reduce the risks.

Find the information sheets here.

• The Australian Medical Association is warning of "new health threats for people affected by the escalating bushfire crisis."

Read the AMA recommendations here.

• "NSW Health is assisting residents and their families affected by the bushfire emergency to look after their physical and mental health."

Read about the services available here.

And for more health information for the NSW bushfires here.

• The Heart Foundation warns that "bushfire smoke contains harmful gases such as carbon monoxide, and very small particles that can penetrate deep into the lungs."

Read their advice here.

• Unicef Australia offers advice on "how to talk to your children about Australia's bushfire emergency."

Read their recommendations here.

• Climate and Health Alliance advocates an evidence based factsheet developed by the Centre for Air Pollution which outlines what the "health impacts are to bushfire smoke, which groups are most vulnerable and what we can do to minimise exposure."

Read the factsheet here. 

                                                           Image by Daniel Zuflucht/pixabay.com

New CiAP JMO Specialty Guide for NSW Health

CIAP has created a new Specialty Guide to assist junior doctors through the trials and tribulations of those first few years on the job.

The JMO Guide will act as a quick access portal to some favourite sites like UpToDate and MEDLINE . It will also link to a variety of other useful resources like well-being links such as Fitness Passport and JMO Health.

Check out the complete guide here