Trends in hospitalisation rates for road traffic injuries in child motor vehicle passengers in New South Wales, July 1998 June 2005
- Du, Wei, Finch, Caroline, Hayen, Andrew, Hatfield, Julie
- Authors: Du, Wei , Finch, Caroline , Hayen, Andrew , Hatfield, Julie
- Date: 2007
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Medical Journal of Australia Vol. 187, no. 9 (Nov 2007), p. 515-518
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Objective: To analyse changes in the incidence of injuries requiring hospitalisation for child passengers in motor vehicle crashes. Design, setting and participants: Population-based study of children (aged 0-15 years) residing in New South Wales and admitted to hospital for injuries resulting from a traffic crash in the period 1 July 1998 - 30 June 2005, identified from the NSW Inpatient Statistics Collection. Main outcome measures: Age-standardised rates of hospitalisation for injuries, and trends by inpatient demographics, severity of injuries, and injury sites and types. Results: 2297 children were hospitalised for injuries sustained in a motor vehicle crash over the study period. The overall hospitalisation rate for injuries was relatively constant, with a non-significant decline of -0.4% (95% Cl, -3.1% to 2.3%). The rate of hospitalisation for serious injuries also declined non-significantly (-5.5% [95% Cl, -11.8% to 1.1%]). Only hospitalisation rates for traumatic brain injuries declined significantly (-11.1% [95% Cl, -19.0% to -2.8%]) over the study period. Conclusion: The rate of hospitalisation for injuries to NSW-resident child motor vehicle passengers due to traffic crashes has not significantly decreased. High hospitalisation rates and the subsequent burden to the community and public health system make further injury prevention efforts for child motor vehicle passengers a priority.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003005874
- Authors: Du, Wei , Finch, Caroline , Hayen, Andrew , Hatfield, Julie
- Date: 2007
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Medical Journal of Australia Vol. 187, no. 9 (Nov 2007), p. 515-518
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Objective: To analyse changes in the incidence of injuries requiring hospitalisation for child passengers in motor vehicle crashes. Design, setting and participants: Population-based study of children (aged 0-15 years) residing in New South Wales and admitted to hospital for injuries resulting from a traffic crash in the period 1 July 1998 - 30 June 2005, identified from the NSW Inpatient Statistics Collection. Main outcome measures: Age-standardised rates of hospitalisation for injuries, and trends by inpatient demographics, severity of injuries, and injury sites and types. Results: 2297 children were hospitalised for injuries sustained in a motor vehicle crash over the study period. The overall hospitalisation rate for injuries was relatively constant, with a non-significant decline of -0.4% (95% Cl, -3.1% to 2.3%). The rate of hospitalisation for serious injuries also declined non-significantly (-5.5% [95% Cl, -11.8% to 1.1%]). Only hospitalisation rates for traumatic brain injuries declined significantly (-11.1% [95% Cl, -19.0% to -2.8%]) over the study period. Conclusion: The rate of hospitalisation for injuries to NSW-resident child motor vehicle passengers due to traffic crashes has not significantly decreased. High hospitalisation rates and the subsequent burden to the community and public health system make further injury prevention efforts for child motor vehicle passengers a priority.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003005874
Therapist-Assisted, Internet-Based Treatment for Panic Disorder: Can General Practitioners achieve comparable patient outcomes to Psychologists?
- Shandley, Kerrie, Austin, David, Klein, Britt, Pier, Ciaran, Schattner, Peter, Pierce, David, Wade, Victoria
- Authors: Shandley, Kerrie , Austin, David , Klein, Britt , Pier, Ciaran , Schattner, Peter , Pierce, David , Wade, Victoria
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Medical Internet Research Vol. 10, no. 2 (2008), p. 1-15
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background: Mental illness is an escalating concern worldwide. The management of disorders such as anxiety and depression largely falls to family doctors or general practitioners (GPs). However, GPs are often too time constrained and may lack the necessary training to adequately manage the needs of such patients. Evidence-based Internet interventions represent a potentially valuable resource to reduce the burden of care and the cost of managing mental health disorders within primary care settings and, at the same time, improve patient outcomes. Objective: The present study sought to extend the efficacy of a therapist-assisted Internet treatment program for panic disorder, Panic Online, by determining whether comparable outcomes could be achieved and maintained when Panic Online was supported by either GPs or psychologists. Methods: Via a natural groups design, 96 people with a primary diagnosis of panic disorder (with or without agoraphobia) completed the Panic Online program over 12 weeks with the therapeutic assistance of their GP (n = 53), who had received specialist training in cognitive behavioral therapy, or a clinical psychologist (n = 43). Participants completed a clinical diagnostic telephone interview, conducted by a psychologist, and a set of online questionnaires to assess panic-related symptoms at three time periods (pretreatment, posttreatment, and 6 month follow-up). Results: Both treatments led to clinically significant improvements on measures of panic and panic-related symptomatology from pretreatment to posttreatment. Both groups were shown to significantly improve over time. Improvements for both groups were maintained at follow-up; however, the groups did differ significantly on two quality of life domains: physical (F1,82 = 9.13, P = .00) and environmental (F1,82 = 4.41, P = .04). The attrition rate was significantly higher among those being treated by their GP (χ 2 1 = 4.40, P = .02, N = 96). Conclusions: This study provides evidence that Internet-based interventions are an effective adjunct to existing mental health care systems. Consequently, this may facilitate and enhance the delivery of evidence-based mental health treatments to increasingly large segments of the population via primary care systems and through suitably trained health professionals.
- Description: Background: Mental illness is an escalating concern worldwide. The management of disorders such as anxiety and depression largely falls to family doctors or general practitioners (GPs). However, GPs are often too time constrained and may lack the necessary training to adequately manage the needs of such patients. Evidence-based Internet interventions represent a potentially valuable resource to reduce the burden of care and the cost of managing mental health disorders within primary care settings and, at the same time, improve patient outcomes. Objective: The present study sought to extend the efficacy of a therapist-assisted Internet treatment program for panic disorder, Panic Online, by determining whether comparable outcomes could be achieved and maintained when Panic Online was supported by either GPs or psychologists. Methods: Via a natural groups design, 96 people with a primary diagnosis of panic disorder (with or without agoraphobia) completed the Panic Online program over 12 weeks with the therapeutic assistance of their GP (n = 53), who had received specialist training in cognitive behavioral therapy, or a clinical psychologist (n = 43). Participants completed a clinical diagnostic telephone interview, conducted by a psychologist, and a set of online questionnaires to assess panic-related symptoms at three time periods (pretreatment, posttreatment, and 6 month follow-up). Results: Both treatments led to clinically significant improvements on measures of panic and panic-related symptomatology from pretreatment to posttreatment. Both groups were shown to significantly improve over time. Improvements for both groups were maintained at follow-up; however, the groups did differ significantly on two quality of life domains: physical (F1,82 = 9.13, P = .00) and environmental (F1,82 = 4.41, P = .04). The attrition rate was significantly higher among those being treated by their GP (
- Authors: Shandley, Kerrie , Austin, David , Klein, Britt , Pier, Ciaran , Schattner, Peter , Pierce, David , Wade, Victoria
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Medical Internet Research Vol. 10, no. 2 (2008), p. 1-15
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background: Mental illness is an escalating concern worldwide. The management of disorders such as anxiety and depression largely falls to family doctors or general practitioners (GPs). However, GPs are often too time constrained and may lack the necessary training to adequately manage the needs of such patients. Evidence-based Internet interventions represent a potentially valuable resource to reduce the burden of care and the cost of managing mental health disorders within primary care settings and, at the same time, improve patient outcomes. Objective: The present study sought to extend the efficacy of a therapist-assisted Internet treatment program for panic disorder, Panic Online, by determining whether comparable outcomes could be achieved and maintained when Panic Online was supported by either GPs or psychologists. Methods: Via a natural groups design, 96 people with a primary diagnosis of panic disorder (with or without agoraphobia) completed the Panic Online program over 12 weeks with the therapeutic assistance of their GP (n = 53), who had received specialist training in cognitive behavioral therapy, or a clinical psychologist (n = 43). Participants completed a clinical diagnostic telephone interview, conducted by a psychologist, and a set of online questionnaires to assess panic-related symptoms at three time periods (pretreatment, posttreatment, and 6 month follow-up). Results: Both treatments led to clinically significant improvements on measures of panic and panic-related symptomatology from pretreatment to posttreatment. Both groups were shown to significantly improve over time. Improvements for both groups were maintained at follow-up; however, the groups did differ significantly on two quality of life domains: physical (F1,82 = 9.13, P = .00) and environmental (F1,82 = 4.41, P = .04). The attrition rate was significantly higher among those being treated by their GP (χ 2 1 = 4.40, P = .02, N = 96). Conclusions: This study provides evidence that Internet-based interventions are an effective adjunct to existing mental health care systems. Consequently, this may facilitate and enhance the delivery of evidence-based mental health treatments to increasingly large segments of the population via primary care systems and through suitably trained health professionals.
- Description: Background: Mental illness is an escalating concern worldwide. The management of disorders such as anxiety and depression largely falls to family doctors or general practitioners (GPs). However, GPs are often too time constrained and may lack the necessary training to adequately manage the needs of such patients. Evidence-based Internet interventions represent a potentially valuable resource to reduce the burden of care and the cost of managing mental health disorders within primary care settings and, at the same time, improve patient outcomes. Objective: The present study sought to extend the efficacy of a therapist-assisted Internet treatment program for panic disorder, Panic Online, by determining whether comparable outcomes could be achieved and maintained when Panic Online was supported by either GPs or psychologists. Methods: Via a natural groups design, 96 people with a primary diagnosis of panic disorder (with or without agoraphobia) completed the Panic Online program over 12 weeks with the therapeutic assistance of their GP (n = 53), who had received specialist training in cognitive behavioral therapy, or a clinical psychologist (n = 43). Participants completed a clinical diagnostic telephone interview, conducted by a psychologist, and a set of online questionnaires to assess panic-related symptoms at three time periods (pretreatment, posttreatment, and 6 month follow-up). Results: Both treatments led to clinically significant improvements on measures of panic and panic-related symptomatology from pretreatment to posttreatment. Both groups were shown to significantly improve over time. Improvements for both groups were maintained at follow-up; however, the groups did differ significantly on two quality of life domains: physical (F1,82 = 9.13, P = .00) and environmental (F1,82 = 4.41, P = .04). The attrition rate was significantly higher among those being treated by their GP (
Online alcohol interventions: A systematic review
- White, Angela, Kavanagh, David, Stallman, Helen, Klein, Britt, Kay-Lambkin, Frances, Proudfoot, Judith, Drennan, Judy, Connor, Jason, Baker, Amanda, Hines, Emily, Young, Ross
- Authors: White, Angela , Kavanagh, David , Stallman, Helen , Klein, Britt , Kay-Lambkin, Frances , Proudfoot, Judith , Drennan, Judy , Connor, Jason , Baker, Amanda , Hines, Emily , Young, Ross
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Journal of Medical Internet Research Vol. 12, no. 5 (2010), p. e62p.1-e62p.12
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background: There has been a significant increase in the availability of online programs for alcohol problems. A systematic review of the research evidence underpinning these programs is timely. Objectives: Our objective was to review the efficacy of online interventions for alcohol misuse. Systematic searches of Medline, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Scopus were conducted for English abstracts (excluding dissertations) published from 1998 onward. Search terms were: (1) Internet, Web*; (2) online, computer *; (3) alcohol*; and (4) Eeffect *, trial*, random* (where * denotes a wildcard). Forward and backward searches from identified papers were also conducted. Articles were included if (1) the primary intervention was delivered and accessed via the Internet, (2) the intervention focused on moderating or stopping alcohol consumption, and (3) the study was a randomized controlled trial of an alcohol-related screen, assessment, or intervention. Results: The literature search initially yielded 31 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), 17 of which met inclusion criteria. Of these 17 studies, 12 (70.6%) were conducted with university students, and 11 (64.7%) specifically focused on at-risk, heavy, or binge drinkers. Sample sizes ranged from 40 to 3216 (median 261), with 12 (70.6%) studies predominantly involving brief personalized feedback interventions. Using published data, effect sizes could be extracted from 8 of the 17 studies. In relation to alcohol units per week or month and based on 5 RCTs where a measure of alcohol units per week or month could be extracted, differential effect sizes to posttreatment ranged from 0.02 to 0.81 (mean 0.42, median 0.54). Pre-post effect sizes for brief personalized feedback interventions ranged from 0.02 to 0.81, and in 2 multi-session modularized interventions, a pre-post effect size of 0.56 was obtained in both. Pre-post differential effect sizes for peak blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) ranged from 0.22 to 0.88, with a mean effect size of 0.66. Conclusions: The available evidence suggests that users can benefit from online alcohol interventions and that this approach could be particularly useful for groups less likely to access traditional alcohol-related services, such as women, young people, and at-risk users. However, caution should be exercised given the limited number of studies allowing extraction of effect sizes, the heterogeneity of outcome measures and follow-up periods, and the large proportion of student-based studies. More extensive RCTs in community samples are required to better understand the efficacy of specific online alcohol approaches, program dosage, the additive effect of telephone or face-to-face interventions, and effective strategies for their dissemination and marketing.
- Description: Background: There has been a significant increase in the availability of online programs for alcohol problems. A systematic review of the research evidence underpinning these programs is timely. Objectives: Our objective was to review the efficacy of online interventions for alcohol misuse. Systematic searches of Medline, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Scopus were conducted for English abstracts (excluding dissertations) published from 1998 onward. Search terms were: (1) Internet, Web*; (2) online, computer *; (3) alcohol*; and (4) E\effect *, trial*, random* (where * denotes a wildcard). Forward and backward searches from identified papers were also conducted. Articles were included if (1) the primary intervention was delivered and accessed via the Internet, (2) the intervention focused on moderating or stopping alcohol consumption, and (3) the study was a randomized controlled trial of an alcohol-related screen, assessment, or intervention. Results: The literature search initially yielded 31 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), 17 of which met inclusion criteria. Of these 17 studies, 12 (70.6%) were conducted with university students, and 11 (64.7%) specifically focused on at-risk, heavy, or binge drinkers. Sample sizes ranged from 40 to 3216 (median 261), with 12 (70.6%) studies predominantly involving brief personalized feedback interventions. Using published data, effect sizes could be extracted from 8 of the 17 studies. In relation to alcohol units per week or month and based on 5 RCTs where a measure of alcohol units per week or month could be extracted, differential effect sizes to posttreatment ranged from 0.02 to 0.81 (mean 0.42, median 0.54). Pre-post effect sizes for brief personalized feedback interventions ranged from 0.02 to 0.81, and in 2 multi-session modularized interventions, a pre-post effect size of 0.56 was obtained in both. Pre-post differential effect sizes for peak blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) ranged from 0.22 to 0.88, with a mean effect size of 0.66. Conclusions: The available evidence suggests that users can benefit from online alcohol interventions and that this approach could be particularly useful for groups less likely to access traditional alcohol-related services, such as women, young people, and at-risk users. However, caution should be exercised given the limited number of studies allowing extraction of effect sizes, the heterogeneity of outcome measures and follow-up periods, and the large proportion of student-based studies. More extensive RCTs in community samples are required to better understand the efficacy of specific online alcohol approaches, program dosage, the additive effect of telephone or face-to-face interventions, and effective strategies for their dissemination and marketing.
- Authors: White, Angela , Kavanagh, David , Stallman, Helen , Klein, Britt , Kay-Lambkin, Frances , Proudfoot, Judith , Drennan, Judy , Connor, Jason , Baker, Amanda , Hines, Emily , Young, Ross
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Journal of Medical Internet Research Vol. 12, no. 5 (2010), p. e62p.1-e62p.12
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background: There has been a significant increase in the availability of online programs for alcohol problems. A systematic review of the research evidence underpinning these programs is timely. Objectives: Our objective was to review the efficacy of online interventions for alcohol misuse. Systematic searches of Medline, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Scopus were conducted for English abstracts (excluding dissertations) published from 1998 onward. Search terms were: (1) Internet, Web*; (2) online, computer *; (3) alcohol*; and (4) Eeffect *, trial*, random* (where * denotes a wildcard). Forward and backward searches from identified papers were also conducted. Articles were included if (1) the primary intervention was delivered and accessed via the Internet, (2) the intervention focused on moderating or stopping alcohol consumption, and (3) the study was a randomized controlled trial of an alcohol-related screen, assessment, or intervention. Results: The literature search initially yielded 31 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), 17 of which met inclusion criteria. Of these 17 studies, 12 (70.6%) were conducted with university students, and 11 (64.7%) specifically focused on at-risk, heavy, or binge drinkers. Sample sizes ranged from 40 to 3216 (median 261), with 12 (70.6%) studies predominantly involving brief personalized feedback interventions. Using published data, effect sizes could be extracted from 8 of the 17 studies. In relation to alcohol units per week or month and based on 5 RCTs where a measure of alcohol units per week or month could be extracted, differential effect sizes to posttreatment ranged from 0.02 to 0.81 (mean 0.42, median 0.54). Pre-post effect sizes for brief personalized feedback interventions ranged from 0.02 to 0.81, and in 2 multi-session modularized interventions, a pre-post effect size of 0.56 was obtained in both. Pre-post differential effect sizes for peak blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) ranged from 0.22 to 0.88, with a mean effect size of 0.66. Conclusions: The available evidence suggests that users can benefit from online alcohol interventions and that this approach could be particularly useful for groups less likely to access traditional alcohol-related services, such as women, young people, and at-risk users. However, caution should be exercised given the limited number of studies allowing extraction of effect sizes, the heterogeneity of outcome measures and follow-up periods, and the large proportion of student-based studies. More extensive RCTs in community samples are required to better understand the efficacy of specific online alcohol approaches, program dosage, the additive effect of telephone or face-to-face interventions, and effective strategies for their dissemination and marketing.
- Description: Background: There has been a significant increase in the availability of online programs for alcohol problems. A systematic review of the research evidence underpinning these programs is timely. Objectives: Our objective was to review the efficacy of online interventions for alcohol misuse. Systematic searches of Medline, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Scopus were conducted for English abstracts (excluding dissertations) published from 1998 onward. Search terms were: (1) Internet, Web*; (2) online, computer *; (3) alcohol*; and (4) E\effect *, trial*, random* (where * denotes a wildcard). Forward and backward searches from identified papers were also conducted. Articles were included if (1) the primary intervention was delivered and accessed via the Internet, (2) the intervention focused on moderating or stopping alcohol consumption, and (3) the study was a randomized controlled trial of an alcohol-related screen, assessment, or intervention. Results: The literature search initially yielded 31 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), 17 of which met inclusion criteria. Of these 17 studies, 12 (70.6%) were conducted with university students, and 11 (64.7%) specifically focused on at-risk, heavy, or binge drinkers. Sample sizes ranged from 40 to 3216 (median 261), with 12 (70.6%) studies predominantly involving brief personalized feedback interventions. Using published data, effect sizes could be extracted from 8 of the 17 studies. In relation to alcohol units per week or month and based on 5 RCTs where a measure of alcohol units per week or month could be extracted, differential effect sizes to posttreatment ranged from 0.02 to 0.81 (mean 0.42, median 0.54). Pre-post effect sizes for brief personalized feedback interventions ranged from 0.02 to 0.81, and in 2 multi-session modularized interventions, a pre-post effect size of 0.56 was obtained in both. Pre-post differential effect sizes for peak blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) ranged from 0.22 to 0.88, with a mean effect size of 0.66. Conclusions: The available evidence suggests that users can benefit from online alcohol interventions and that this approach could be particularly useful for groups less likely to access traditional alcohol-related services, such as women, young people, and at-risk users. However, caution should be exercised given the limited number of studies allowing extraction of effect sizes, the heterogeneity of outcome measures and follow-up periods, and the large proportion of student-based studies. More extensive RCTs in community samples are required to better understand the efficacy of specific online alcohol approaches, program dosage, the additive effect of telephone or face-to-face interventions, and effective strategies for their dissemination and marketing.
Anxiety online-A virtual clinic: Preliminary outcomes following completion of five fully automated treatment programs for anxiety disorders and symptoms
- Klein, Britt, Meyer, Denny, Austin, David, Kyrios, Michael
- Authors: Klein, Britt , Meyer, Denny , Austin, David , Kyrios, Michael
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Medical Internet Research Vol. 13, no. 4 (2011), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background: The development of e-mental health interventions to treat or prevent mental illness and to enhance wellbeing has risen rapidly over the past decade. This development assists the public in sidestepping some of the obstacles that are often encountered when trying to access traditional face-to-face mental health care services. Objective: The objective of our study was to investigate the posttreatment effectiveness of five fully automated self-help cognitive behavior e-therapy programs for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder with or without agoraphobia (PD/A), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and social anxiety disorder (SAD) offered to the international public via Anxiety Online, an open-access full-service virtual psychology clinic for anxiety disorders. Methods: We used a naturalistic participant choice, quasi-experimental design to evaluate each of the five Anxiety Online fully automated self-help e-therapy programs. Participants were required to have at least subclinical levels of one of the anxiety disorders to be offered the associated disorder-specific fully automated self-help e-therapy program. These programs are offered free of charge via Anxiety Online. Results: A total of 225 people self-selected one of the five e-therapy programs (GAD, n = 88; SAD, n = 50; PD/A, n = 40; PTSD, n = 30; OCD, n = 17) and completed their 12-week posttreatment assessment. Significant improvements were found on 21/25 measures across the five fully automated self-help programs. At postassessment we observed significant reductions on all five anxiety disorder clinical disorder severity ratings (Cohen d range 0.72-1.22), increased confidence in managing one's own mental health care (Cohen d range 0.70-1.17), and decreases in the total number of clinical diagnoses (except for the PD/A program, where a positive trend was found) (Cohen d range 0.45-1.08). In addition, we found significant improvements in quality of life for the GAD, OCD, PTSD, and SAD e-therapy programs (Cohen d range 0.11-0.96) and significant reductions relating to general psychological distress levels for the GAD, PD/A, and PTSD e-therapy programs (Cohen d range 0.23-1.16). Overall, treatment satisfaction was good across all five e-therapy programs, and posttreatment assessment completers reported using their e-therapy program an average of 395.60 (SD 272.2) minutes over the 12-week treatment period. Conclusions: Overall, all five fully automated self-help e-therapy programs appear to be delivering promising high-quality outcomes; however, the results require replication. © Britt Klein, Denny Meyer, David William Austin, Michael Kyrios.
- Authors: Klein, Britt , Meyer, Denny , Austin, David , Kyrios, Michael
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Medical Internet Research Vol. 13, no. 4 (2011), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background: The development of e-mental health interventions to treat or prevent mental illness and to enhance wellbeing has risen rapidly over the past decade. This development assists the public in sidestepping some of the obstacles that are often encountered when trying to access traditional face-to-face mental health care services. Objective: The objective of our study was to investigate the posttreatment effectiveness of five fully automated self-help cognitive behavior e-therapy programs for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder with or without agoraphobia (PD/A), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and social anxiety disorder (SAD) offered to the international public via Anxiety Online, an open-access full-service virtual psychology clinic for anxiety disorders. Methods: We used a naturalistic participant choice, quasi-experimental design to evaluate each of the five Anxiety Online fully automated self-help e-therapy programs. Participants were required to have at least subclinical levels of one of the anxiety disorders to be offered the associated disorder-specific fully automated self-help e-therapy program. These programs are offered free of charge via Anxiety Online. Results: A total of 225 people self-selected one of the five e-therapy programs (GAD, n = 88; SAD, n = 50; PD/A, n = 40; PTSD, n = 30; OCD, n = 17) and completed their 12-week posttreatment assessment. Significant improvements were found on 21/25 measures across the five fully automated self-help programs. At postassessment we observed significant reductions on all five anxiety disorder clinical disorder severity ratings (Cohen d range 0.72-1.22), increased confidence in managing one's own mental health care (Cohen d range 0.70-1.17), and decreases in the total number of clinical diagnoses (except for the PD/A program, where a positive trend was found) (Cohen d range 0.45-1.08). In addition, we found significant improvements in quality of life for the GAD, OCD, PTSD, and SAD e-therapy programs (Cohen d range 0.11-0.96) and significant reductions relating to general psychological distress levels for the GAD, PD/A, and PTSD e-therapy programs (Cohen d range 0.23-1.16). Overall, treatment satisfaction was good across all five e-therapy programs, and posttreatment assessment completers reported using their e-therapy program an average of 395.60 (SD 272.2) minutes over the 12-week treatment period. Conclusions: Overall, all five fully automated self-help e-therapy programs appear to be delivering promising high-quality outcomes; however, the results require replication. © Britt Klein, Denny Meyer, David William Austin, Michael Kyrios.
Asian migrants' lived experience and acculturation to western health care in rural Tasmania
- Terry, Daniel, Ali, Mohammed, Lê, Quynh
- Authors: Terry, Daniel , Ali, Mohammed , Lê, Quynh
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Rural Health Vol. 19, no. 6 (2011), p. 318-323
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Objectives: The study was designed to explore the lived experience of Asian migrants' health care-seeking behaviour in Tasmania, to discern the acculturation process by which Asian migrants are enabled to use the health system and to identify strategies, which assist migrants to understand and use the health system better. Methods: Qualitative research was adopted. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 36 Asian migrants residing in North, South and North West Tasmania, which were recruited through purposive sampling. Results: Six main themes emerged from the interviews: the acculturation process, interactions with the health care system, access issues, culturally appropriate health care, positive health care in Tasmania and suggestions for improving health care. Conclusions: The findings indicated that Asian migrants' views affected their health care-seeking behaviours because of the lack of information, poor communication, limited access and choices in Tasmania. Interestingly, those married to local Tasmanians had the shortest trajectory to health system acculturation. The study recommended developing health and well-being for Asian migrants by increasing access to information regarding navigating the health system and improving access to and awareness of language services. In addition, ensuring adequate, appropriately written, culturally specific and congruent information should be available to assist migrants' transition into a new health care system. Lastly, greater cultural awareness within the health profession to meet the needs of culturally specific individuals and communities is required when they seek care. © 2011 The Authors. Australian Journal of Rural Health © National Rural Health Alliance Inc.
- Authors: Terry, Daniel , Ali, Mohammed , Lê, Quynh
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Rural Health Vol. 19, no. 6 (2011), p. 318-323
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Objectives: The study was designed to explore the lived experience of Asian migrants' health care-seeking behaviour in Tasmania, to discern the acculturation process by which Asian migrants are enabled to use the health system and to identify strategies, which assist migrants to understand and use the health system better. Methods: Qualitative research was adopted. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 36 Asian migrants residing in North, South and North West Tasmania, which were recruited through purposive sampling. Results: Six main themes emerged from the interviews: the acculturation process, interactions with the health care system, access issues, culturally appropriate health care, positive health care in Tasmania and suggestions for improving health care. Conclusions: The findings indicated that Asian migrants' views affected their health care-seeking behaviours because of the lack of information, poor communication, limited access and choices in Tasmania. Interestingly, those married to local Tasmanians had the shortest trajectory to health system acculturation. The study recommended developing health and well-being for Asian migrants by increasing access to information regarding navigating the health system and improving access to and awareness of language services. In addition, ensuring adequate, appropriately written, culturally specific and congruent information should be available to assist migrants' transition into a new health care system. Lastly, greater cultural awareness within the health profession to meet the needs of culturally specific individuals and communities is required when they seek care. © 2011 The Authors. Australian Journal of Rural Health © National Rural Health Alliance Inc.
Association of genetic variation with systolic and diastolic blood pressure among African Americans: the Candidate Gene Association Resource study
- Fox, Ervin, Young, J. Hunter, Li, Yali, Dreisbach, Albert, Charchar, Fadi
- Authors: Fox, Ervin , Young, J. Hunter , Li, Yali , Dreisbach, Albert , Charchar, Fadi
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Human molecular genetics Vol. 20, no. 11 (June 2011), p. 2273
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The prevalence of hypertension in African Americans (AAs) is higher than in other US groups; yet, few have performed genome-wide association studies (GWASs) in AA. Among people of European descent, GWASs have identified genetic variants at 13 loci that are associated with blood pressure. It is unknown if these variants confer susceptibility in people of African ancestry. Here, we examined genome-wide and candidate gene associations with systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) using the Candidate Gene Association Resource (CARe) consortium consisting of 8591 AAs. Genotypes included genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data utilizing the Affymetrix 6.0 array with imputation to 2.5 million HapMap SNPs and candidate gene SNP data utilizing a 50K cardiovascular gene-centric array (ITMAT-Broad-CARe [IBC] array). For Affymetrix data, the strongest signal for DBP was rs10474346 (P= 3.6 × 10−8) located near GPR98 and ARRDC3. For SBP, the strongest signal was rs2258119 in C21orf91 (P= 4.7 × 10−8). The top IBC association for SBP was rs2012318 (P= 6.4 × 10−6) near SLC25A42 and for DBP was rs2523586 (P= 1.3 × 10−6) near HLA-B. None of the top variants replicated in additional AA (n = 11 882) or European-American (n = 69 899) cohorts. We replicated previously reported European-American blood pressure SNPs in our AA samples (SH2B3, P= 0.009; TBX3-TBX5, P= 0.03; and CSK-ULK3, P= 0.0004). These genetic loci represent the best evidence of genetic influences on SBP and DBP in AAs to date. More broadly, this work supports that notion that blood pressure among AAs is a trait with genetic underpinnings but also with significant complexity.
- Authors: Fox, Ervin , Young, J. Hunter , Li, Yali , Dreisbach, Albert , Charchar, Fadi
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Human molecular genetics Vol. 20, no. 11 (June 2011), p. 2273
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The prevalence of hypertension in African Americans (AAs) is higher than in other US groups; yet, few have performed genome-wide association studies (GWASs) in AA. Among people of European descent, GWASs have identified genetic variants at 13 loci that are associated with blood pressure. It is unknown if these variants confer susceptibility in people of African ancestry. Here, we examined genome-wide and candidate gene associations with systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) using the Candidate Gene Association Resource (CARe) consortium consisting of 8591 AAs. Genotypes included genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data utilizing the Affymetrix 6.0 array with imputation to 2.5 million HapMap SNPs and candidate gene SNP data utilizing a 50K cardiovascular gene-centric array (ITMAT-Broad-CARe [IBC] array). For Affymetrix data, the strongest signal for DBP was rs10474346 (P= 3.6 × 10−8) located near GPR98 and ARRDC3. For SBP, the strongest signal was rs2258119 in C21orf91 (P= 4.7 × 10−8). The top IBC association for SBP was rs2012318 (P= 6.4 × 10−6) near SLC25A42 and for DBP was rs2523586 (P= 1.3 × 10−6) near HLA-B. None of the top variants replicated in additional AA (n = 11 882) or European-American (n = 69 899) cohorts. We replicated previously reported European-American blood pressure SNPs in our AA samples (SH2B3, P= 0.009; TBX3-TBX5, P= 0.03; and CSK-ULK3, P= 0.0004). These genetic loci represent the best evidence of genetic influences on SBP and DBP in AAs to date. More broadly, this work supports that notion that blood pressure among AAs is a trait with genetic underpinnings but also with significant complexity.
Implementing an exercise-training programme to prevent lower-limb injuries : Considerations for the development of a randomised controlled trial intervention delivery plan
- Finch, Caroline, White, Peta, Twomey, Dara, Ullah, Shahid
- Authors: Finch, Caroline , White, Peta , Twomey, Dara , Ullah, Shahid
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: British Journal of Sports Medicine Vol. 45, no. 10 (2011), p. 791-796
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/565900
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Objective To identify important considerations for the delivery of an exercise training intervention in a randomised controlled trial to maximise subsequent participation in that randomised controlled trial and intervention uptake. Design A cross-sectional survey, with a theoretical basis derived from the Health Belief Model (HBM) and the Reach, Efficacy/Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework. Participants 374 male senior Australian Football players, aged 17-38 years. Main outcome measurements Beliefs about lowerlimb injury causation/prevention, and the relative value of exercise training for performance and injury prevention. The data are interpreted within HBM constructs and implications for subsequent intervention implementation considered within the RE-AIM framework. Ordinal logistic regression compared belief scores across player characteristics. Results 74.4% of players agreed that doing specific exercises during training would reduce their risk of lower-limb injury and would be willing to undertake them. However, 64.1% agreed that training should focus more on improving game performance than injury prevention. Younger players (both in terms of age and playing experience) generally had more positive views. Players were most supportive of kicking (98.9%) and ball-handling (97.0%) skills for performance and warm-up runs and cool-downs (both 91.5%) for injury prevention. Fewer than three-quarters of all players believed that balance (69.2%), landing (71.3%) or cutting/stepping (72.8) training had injury-prevention benefits. Conclusions Delivery of future exercise training programmes for injury prevention aimed at these players should be implemented as part of routine football activities and integrated with those as standard practice, as a means of associating them with training benefits for this sport.
- Authors: Finch, Caroline , White, Peta , Twomey, Dara , Ullah, Shahid
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: British Journal of Sports Medicine Vol. 45, no. 10 (2011), p. 791-796
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/565900
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Objective To identify important considerations for the delivery of an exercise training intervention in a randomised controlled trial to maximise subsequent participation in that randomised controlled trial and intervention uptake. Design A cross-sectional survey, with a theoretical basis derived from the Health Belief Model (HBM) and the Reach, Efficacy/Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework. Participants 374 male senior Australian Football players, aged 17-38 years. Main outcome measurements Beliefs about lowerlimb injury causation/prevention, and the relative value of exercise training for performance and injury prevention. The data are interpreted within HBM constructs and implications for subsequent intervention implementation considered within the RE-AIM framework. Ordinal logistic regression compared belief scores across player characteristics. Results 74.4% of players agreed that doing specific exercises during training would reduce their risk of lower-limb injury and would be willing to undertake them. However, 64.1% agreed that training should focus more on improving game performance than injury prevention. Younger players (both in terms of age and playing experience) generally had more positive views. Players were most supportive of kicking (98.9%) and ball-handling (97.0%) skills for performance and warm-up runs and cool-downs (both 91.5%) for injury prevention. Fewer than three-quarters of all players believed that balance (69.2%), landing (71.3%) or cutting/stepping (72.8) training had injury-prevention benefits. Conclusions Delivery of future exercise training programmes for injury prevention aimed at these players should be implemented as part of routine football activities and integrated with those as standard practice, as a means of associating them with training benefits for this sport.
Cancer incidence and soil arsenic exposure in a historical gold mining area in Victoria, Australia : A geospatial analysis
- Pearce, Dora, Dowling, Kim, Sim, Malcolm
- Authors: Pearce, Dora , Dowling, Kim , Sim, Malcolm
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology Vol. 22, no. 3 (2012), p. 248-257
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Soil and mine waste around historical gold mining sites may have elevated arsenic concentrations. Recent evidence suggests some systemic arsenic absorption by residents in the goldfields region of Victoria, Australia. Victorian Cancer Registry and geochemical data were accessed for an ecological geographical correlation study, 1984-2003. Spatial empirical Bayes smoothing was applied when estimating standardised incidence ratios (SIRs) for cancers in 61 statistical local areas. The derived soil arsenic exposure metric ranged from 1.4 to 1857 mg/kg. Spatial autoregressive modelling detected increases in smoothed SIRs for all cancers of 0.05 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.02-0.08) and 0.04 (0.01-0.07) per 2.7-fold increase in the natural log-transformed exposure metric for males and females, respectively, in more socioeconomically disadvantaged areas; for melanoma in males (0.05 (0.01-0.08) adjusted for disadvantage) and females (0.05 (0.02-0.09) in disadvantaged areas). Excess risks were estimated for all cancers (relative risk 1.21 (95% CI, 1.15-1.27) and 1.08 (1.03-1.14)), and melanoma (1.52 (1.25-1.85) and 1.29 (1.08-1.55)), for males and females, respectively, in disadvantaged areas in the highest quintile of the exposure metric relative to the lowest. Our findings suggest small but significant increases in past cancer risk associated with increasing soil arsenic in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas and demonstrate the robustness of this geospatial approach. Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology advance online publication, 21 March 2012.
- Authors: Pearce, Dora , Dowling, Kim , Sim, Malcolm
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology Vol. 22, no. 3 (2012), p. 248-257
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Soil and mine waste around historical gold mining sites may have elevated arsenic concentrations. Recent evidence suggests some systemic arsenic absorption by residents in the goldfields region of Victoria, Australia. Victorian Cancer Registry and geochemical data were accessed for an ecological geographical correlation study, 1984-2003. Spatial empirical Bayes smoothing was applied when estimating standardised incidence ratios (SIRs) for cancers in 61 statistical local areas. The derived soil arsenic exposure metric ranged from 1.4 to 1857 mg/kg. Spatial autoregressive modelling detected increases in smoothed SIRs for all cancers of 0.05 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.02-0.08) and 0.04 (0.01-0.07) per 2.7-fold increase in the natural log-transformed exposure metric for males and females, respectively, in more socioeconomically disadvantaged areas; for melanoma in males (0.05 (0.01-0.08) adjusted for disadvantage) and females (0.05 (0.02-0.09) in disadvantaged areas). Excess risks were estimated for all cancers (relative risk 1.21 (95% CI, 1.15-1.27) and 1.08 (1.03-1.14)), and melanoma (1.52 (1.25-1.85) and 1.29 (1.08-1.55)), for males and females, respectively, in disadvantaged areas in the highest quintile of the exposure metric relative to the lowest. Our findings suggest small but significant increases in past cancer risk associated with increasing soil arsenic in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas and demonstrate the robustness of this geospatial approach. Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology advance online publication, 21 March 2012.
Coding OSICS sports injury diagnoses in epidemiological studies : Does the background of the coder matter?
- Finch, Caroline, Orchard, John, Twomey, Dara, Saleem, Muhammad Saad, Ekegren, Christina, Lloyd, David, Elliott, Bruce
- Authors: Finch, Caroline , Orchard, John , Twomey, Dara , Saleem, Muhammad Saad , Ekegren, Christina , Lloyd, David , Elliott, Bruce
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: British Journal of Sports Medicine, Vol.48, p.552-556.
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/565900
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Objective: To compare Orchard Sports Injury Classification System (OSICS-10) sports medicine diagnoses assigned by a clinical and non-clinical coder. Design: Assessment of intercoder agreement. Setting: Community Australian football. Participants: 1082 standardised injury surveillance records. Main outcome measurements: Direct comparison of the four-character hierarchical OSICS-10 codes assigned by two independent coders (a sports physician and an epidemiologist). Adjudication by a third coder (biomechanist). Results: The coders agreed on the first character 95% of the time and on the first two characters 86% of the time. They assigned the same four-digit OSICS-10 code for only 46% of the 1082 injuries. The majority of disagreements occurred for the third character; 85% were because one coder assigned a non-specific 'X' code. The sports physician code was deemed correct in 53% of cases and the epidemiologist in 44%. Reasons for disagreement included the physician not using all of the collected information and the epidemiologist lacking specific anatomical knowledge. Conclusions: Sports injury research requires accurate identification and classification of specific injuries and this study found an overall high level of agreement in coding according to OSICS-10. The fact that the majority of the disagreements occurred for the third OSICS character highlights the fact that increasing complexity and diagnostic specificity in injury coding can result in a loss of reliability and demands a high level of anatomical knowledge. Injury report form details need to reflect this level of complexity and data management teams need to include a broad range of expertise. Copyright Article author (or their employer) 2012.
- Authors: Finch, Caroline , Orchard, John , Twomey, Dara , Saleem, Muhammad Saad , Ekegren, Christina , Lloyd, David , Elliott, Bruce
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: British Journal of Sports Medicine, Vol.48, p.552-556.
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/565900
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Objective: To compare Orchard Sports Injury Classification System (OSICS-10) sports medicine diagnoses assigned by a clinical and non-clinical coder. Design: Assessment of intercoder agreement. Setting: Community Australian football. Participants: 1082 standardised injury surveillance records. Main outcome measurements: Direct comparison of the four-character hierarchical OSICS-10 codes assigned by two independent coders (a sports physician and an epidemiologist). Adjudication by a third coder (biomechanist). Results: The coders agreed on the first character 95% of the time and on the first two characters 86% of the time. They assigned the same four-digit OSICS-10 code for only 46% of the 1082 injuries. The majority of disagreements occurred for the third character; 85% were because one coder assigned a non-specific 'X' code. The sports physician code was deemed correct in 53% of cases and the epidemiologist in 44%. Reasons for disagreement included the physician not using all of the collected information and the epidemiologist lacking specific anatomical knowledge. Conclusions: Sports injury research requires accurate identification and classification of specific injuries and this study found an overall high level of agreement in coding according to OSICS-10. The fact that the majority of the disagreements occurred for the third OSICS character highlights the fact that increasing complexity and diagnostic specificity in injury coding can result in a loss of reliability and demands a high level of anatomical knowledge. Injury report form details need to reflect this level of complexity and data management teams need to include a broad range of expertise. Copyright Article author (or their employer) 2012.
Comparison of physical activity in small-sided basketball games versus full-sided games
- McCormick, Brian, Hannon, James, Newton, Maria, Shultz, Barry, Miller, Nicole, Young, Warren
- Authors: McCormick, Brian , Hannon, James , Newton, Maria , Shultz, Barry , Miller, Nicole , Young, Warren
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching Vol. 7, no. 4 (2012), p. 689-697
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Organized youth sports leagues attempt to meet many goals. Three primary needs for a youth sports league are to meet the participants' desires, provide quality learning experiences, and develop the competencies needed for continued participation. Possessing the ball, shooting more, and being more involved with a team's offense lead to more enjoyment and feelings of competence. Therefore, increasing the involvement of each player through more ball contacts should be a goal of youth sports leagues. Twelve male basketball players (age=15) from one high-school basketball team participated in this study. This study used paired t-tests to examine the differences between three-on-three basketball games and five-on-five basketball games that lasted for eight minutes in terms of average heart rate, moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity, vigorous intensity activity, and ball contacts. There were no significant differences between average heart rate, moderate-to-vigorous intensity activity, or vigorous intensity activity in the two conditions, but there were significantly more ball contacts on average in the three-on-three games. These results suggest that three-on-three leagues may be an appropriate sport for the initial exposure to basketball for youth players.
- Description: 2003010574
- Authors: McCormick, Brian , Hannon, James , Newton, Maria , Shultz, Barry , Miller, Nicole , Young, Warren
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching Vol. 7, no. 4 (2012), p. 689-697
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Organized youth sports leagues attempt to meet many goals. Three primary needs for a youth sports league are to meet the participants' desires, provide quality learning experiences, and develop the competencies needed for continued participation. Possessing the ball, shooting more, and being more involved with a team's offense lead to more enjoyment and feelings of competence. Therefore, increasing the involvement of each player through more ball contacts should be a goal of youth sports leagues. Twelve male basketball players (age=15) from one high-school basketball team participated in this study. This study used paired t-tests to examine the differences between three-on-three basketball games and five-on-five basketball games that lasted for eight minutes in terms of average heart rate, moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity, vigorous intensity activity, and ball contacts. There were no significant differences between average heart rate, moderate-to-vigorous intensity activity, or vigorous intensity activity in the two conditions, but there were significantly more ball contacts on average in the three-on-three games. These results suggest that three-on-three leagues may be an appropriate sport for the initial exposure to basketball for youth players.
- Description: 2003010574
Is sports safety policy being translated into practice: What can be learnt from the Australian Rugby Union Mayday procedure?
- Poulos, Roslyn, Donaldson, Alex
- Authors: Poulos, Roslyn , Donaldson, Alex
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: British Journal of Sports Medicine Vol. 46, no. 8 (2012), p. 585-590
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Description: Aim To investigate the level of translation of the Australian Rugby Union “Mayday” safety procedure into practice among community rugby union coaches in New South Wales (Australia). Methods All registered coaches of senior community rugby union teams in five zones/associations in the north eastern region of the state were invited to complete a short online questionnaire at the end of the 2010 rugby season. The questionnaire was designed around the five RE-AIM dimensions and assessed: Reach, perceived Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance of the Mayday procedure. Results Seventy (39%) coaches participated. There was a high level of awareness of the Mayday procedure, and most coaches believed it was effective in preventing injuries. The majority reported training their players in the procedure, although training was generally infrequent. Coaches were confident that their own players could implement the procedure appropriately if required to do so, but less confident that other teams or referees could do so. Barriers to providing training included: not enough players at training; players not taking training seriously; and technical difficulties (e.g. verbalisation of instructions for physical tasks). Conclusion The findings suggest that the translation of the Mayday ‘policy’ could be improved by building individual coach, and club or zone organisational capacity by: ensuring coaches have the resources and skills in ‘how’ to train their players to complement their existing knowledge on ‘what’ to train them; setting expectations that encourage coaches to provide regular training for players; and regular monitoring of player competency to perform the procedure appropriately.
- Authors: Poulos, Roslyn , Donaldson, Alex
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: British Journal of Sports Medicine Vol. 46, no. 8 (2012), p. 585-590
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Description: Aim To investigate the level of translation of the Australian Rugby Union “Mayday” safety procedure into practice among community rugby union coaches in New South Wales (Australia). Methods All registered coaches of senior community rugby union teams in five zones/associations in the north eastern region of the state were invited to complete a short online questionnaire at the end of the 2010 rugby season. The questionnaire was designed around the five RE-AIM dimensions and assessed: Reach, perceived Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance of the Mayday procedure. Results Seventy (39%) coaches participated. There was a high level of awareness of the Mayday procedure, and most coaches believed it was effective in preventing injuries. The majority reported training their players in the procedure, although training was generally infrequent. Coaches were confident that their own players could implement the procedure appropriately if required to do so, but less confident that other teams or referees could do so. Barriers to providing training included: not enough players at training; players not taking training seriously; and technical difficulties (e.g. verbalisation of instructions for physical tasks). Conclusion The findings suggest that the translation of the Mayday ‘policy’ could be improved by building individual coach, and club or zone organisational capacity by: ensuring coaches have the resources and skills in ‘how’ to train their players to complement their existing knowledge on ‘what’ to train them; setting expectations that encourage coaches to provide regular training for players; and regular monitoring of player competency to perform the procedure appropriately.
Working to rule or working safely? Part 2 : The management of safety rules and procedures
- Authors: Hale, Andrew , Borys, David
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Safety Science Vol.55, no. (2012), p.54-59
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Part 1, the companion paper to this paper () reviews the literature from 1986 on the management of those safety rules and procedures which relate to the workplace level in organisations. It contrasts two different paradigms of how work rules and their development and use are perceived and managed. The first is a top-down classical, rational approach in which rules are seen as static, comprehensive limits of freedom of choice, imposed on operators at the sharp end and violations are seen as negative behaviour to be suppressed. The second is a bottom-up constructivist view of rules as dynamic, local, situated constructions of operators as experts, where competence is seen to a great extent as the ability to adapt rules to the diversity of reality. That paper explores the research underlying and illustrating these two paradigms. In this second paper we draw on that literature study to propose a framework of rule management which attempts to draw the lessons from both paradigms. It places the monitoring and adaptation of rules central to its management process and emphasises the need for participation of the intended rule followers in the processes of rule-making, but more importantly in keeping those rules alive and up to date in a process of regular and explicit dialogue with first-line supervision, and through them with the technical, safety and legal experts on the system functioning. The framework is proposed for testing in the field as a benchmark for good practice. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
- Authors: Hale, Andrew , Borys, David
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Safety Science Vol.55, no. (2012), p.54-59
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Part 1, the companion paper to this paper () reviews the literature from 1986 on the management of those safety rules and procedures which relate to the workplace level in organisations. It contrasts two different paradigms of how work rules and their development and use are perceived and managed. The first is a top-down classical, rational approach in which rules are seen as static, comprehensive limits of freedom of choice, imposed on operators at the sharp end and violations are seen as negative behaviour to be suppressed. The second is a bottom-up constructivist view of rules as dynamic, local, situated constructions of operators as experts, where competence is seen to a great extent as the ability to adapt rules to the diversity of reality. That paper explores the research underlying and illustrating these two paradigms. In this second paper we draw on that literature study to propose a framework of rule management which attempts to draw the lessons from both paradigms. It places the monitoring and adaptation of rules central to its management process and emphasises the need for participation of the intended rule followers in the processes of rule-making, but more importantly in keeping those rules alive and up to date in a process of regular and explicit dialogue with first-line supervision, and through them with the technical, safety and legal experts on the system functioning. The framework is proposed for testing in the field as a benchmark for good practice. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Working to rule, or working safely? Part 1 : A state of the art review
- Authors: Hale, Andrew , Borys, David
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Safety Science Vol.55, no. June (2013), p.207-221
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The paper reviews the literature from 1986 on the management of those safety rules and procedures which relate to the workplace level in organisations. It contrasts two different paradigms of how rules and their development and use are perceived and managed. The first is a top-down classical, rational approach in which rules are seen as static, comprehensive limits of freedom of choice, imposed on operators at the sharp end and violations are seen as negative behaviour to be suppressed. The second is a bottom-up constructivist view of rules as dynamic, local, situated constructions of operators as experts, where competence is seen to a great extent as the ability to adapt rules to the diversity of reality. The paper explores the research underlying and illustrating these two paradigms, drawn from psychology, sociology and ethnography, organisational studies and behavioural economics. In a separate paper following on from this review (Hale and Borys, this issue http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925753512001312#b0285) the authors propose a framework of rule management which attempts to draw the lessons from both paradigms. It places the monitoring and adaptation of rules central to its management process. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
- Authors: Hale, Andrew , Borys, David
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Safety Science Vol.55, no. June (2013), p.207-221
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The paper reviews the literature from 1986 on the management of those safety rules and procedures which relate to the workplace level in organisations. It contrasts two different paradigms of how rules and their development and use are perceived and managed. The first is a top-down classical, rational approach in which rules are seen as static, comprehensive limits of freedom of choice, imposed on operators at the sharp end and violations are seen as negative behaviour to be suppressed. The second is a bottom-up constructivist view of rules as dynamic, local, situated constructions of operators as experts, where competence is seen to a great extent as the ability to adapt rules to the diversity of reality. The paper explores the research underlying and illustrating these two paradigms, drawn from psychology, sociology and ethnography, organisational studies and behavioural economics. In a separate paper following on from this review (Hale and Borys, this issue http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925753512001312#b0285) the authors propose a framework of rule management which attempts to draw the lessons from both paradigms. It places the monitoring and adaptation of rules central to its management process. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
A systematic review of the psychological and social benefits of participation in sport for adults : Informing development of a conceptual model of health through sport
- Eime, Rochelle, Young, Janet, Harvey, Jack, Charity, Melanie, Payne, Warren
- Authors: Eime, Rochelle , Young, Janet , Harvey, Jack , Charity, Melanie , Payne, Warren
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity Vol. 10, no. (2013), p. 1-14
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background: The definition of health incorporates the physical, social and mental domains, however the Physical Activity (PA) guidelines do not address social health. Furthermore, there is insufficient evidence about the levels or types of PA associated specifically with psychological health. This paper first presents the results of a systematic review of the psychological and social health benefits of participation in sport by adults. Secondly, the information arising from the systematic review has been used to develop a conceptual model of Health through Sport. Methods: A systematic review of 14 electronic databases was conducted in June 2012, and studies published since 1990 were considered for inclusion. Studies that addressed mental and/or social health benefits from participation in sport were included. Results: A total of 3668 publications were initially identified, of which 11 met the selection criteria. There were many different psychological and social health benefits reported, with the most commonly being wellbeing and reduced distress and stress. Sport may be associated with improved psychosocial health in addition to improvements attributable to participation in PA. Specifically, club-based or team-based sport seems to be associated with improved health outcomes compared to individual activities, due to the social nature of the participation. Notwithstanding this, individuals who prefer to participate in sport by themselves can still derive mental health benefits which can enhance the development of true-self-awareness and personal growth which is essential for social health. A conceptual model, Health through Sport, is proposed. The model depicts the relationship between psychological, psychosocial and social health domains, and their positive associations with sport participation, as reported in the literature. However, it is acknowledged that the capacity to determine the existence and direction of causal links between participation and health is limited by the cross-sectional nature of studies to date. Conclusion: It is recommended that participation in sport is advocated as a form of leisure-time PA for adults which can produce a range of health benefits. It is also recommended that the causal link between participation in sport and psycho-social health be further investigated and the conceptual model of Health through Sport tested. © 2013 Eime et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
- Authors: Eime, Rochelle , Young, Janet , Harvey, Jack , Charity, Melanie , Payne, Warren
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity Vol. 10, no. (2013), p. 1-14
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background: The definition of health incorporates the physical, social and mental domains, however the Physical Activity (PA) guidelines do not address social health. Furthermore, there is insufficient evidence about the levels or types of PA associated specifically with psychological health. This paper first presents the results of a systematic review of the psychological and social health benefits of participation in sport by adults. Secondly, the information arising from the systematic review has been used to develop a conceptual model of Health through Sport. Methods: A systematic review of 14 electronic databases was conducted in June 2012, and studies published since 1990 were considered for inclusion. Studies that addressed mental and/or social health benefits from participation in sport were included. Results: A total of 3668 publications were initially identified, of which 11 met the selection criteria. There were many different psychological and social health benefits reported, with the most commonly being wellbeing and reduced distress and stress. Sport may be associated with improved psychosocial health in addition to improvements attributable to participation in PA. Specifically, club-based or team-based sport seems to be associated with improved health outcomes compared to individual activities, due to the social nature of the participation. Notwithstanding this, individuals who prefer to participate in sport by themselves can still derive mental health benefits which can enhance the development of true-self-awareness and personal growth which is essential for social health. A conceptual model, Health through Sport, is proposed. The model depicts the relationship between psychological, psychosocial and social health domains, and their positive associations with sport participation, as reported in the literature. However, it is acknowledged that the capacity to determine the existence and direction of causal links between participation and health is limited by the cross-sectional nature of studies to date. Conclusion: It is recommended that participation in sport is advocated as a form of leisure-time PA for adults which can produce a range of health benefits. It is also recommended that the causal link between participation in sport and psycho-social health be further investigated and the conceptual model of Health through Sport tested. © 2013 Eime et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
A systematic review of the psychological and social benefits of participation in sport for children and adolescents: Informing development of a conceptual model of health through sport
- Eime, Rochelle, Young, Janet, Harvey, Jack, Charity, Melanie, Payne, Warren
- Authors: Eime, Rochelle , Young, Janet , Harvey, Jack , Charity, Melanie , Payne, Warren
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity Vol. 10, no. Article 98 (2013), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background: There are specific guidelines regarding the level of physical activity (PA) required to provide health benefits. However, the research underpinning these PA guidelines does not address the element of social health. Furthermore, there is insufficient evidence about the levels or types of PA associated specifically with psychological health. This paper first presents the results of a systematic review of the psychological and social health benefits of participation in sport by children and adolescents. Secondly, the information arising from the systematic review has been used to develop a conceptual model.Methods: A systematic review of 14 electronic databases was conducted in June 2012, and studies published since 1990 were considered for inclusion. Studies that addressed mental and/or social health benefits from participation in sport were included.Results: A total of 3668 publications were initially identified, of which 30 met the selection criteria. There were many different psychological and social health benefits reported, with the most commonly being improved self-esteem, social interaction followed by fewer depressive symptoms. Sport may be associated with improved psychosocial health above and beyond improvements attributable to participation in PA. Specifically, team sport seems to be associated with improved health outcomes compared to individual activities, due to the social nature of the participation. A conceptual model, Health through Sport, is proposed. The model depicts the relationship between psychological, psychosocial and social health domains, and their positive associations with sport participation, as reported in the literature. However, it is acknowledged that the capacity to determine the existence and direction of causal links between participation and health is limited by the fact that the majority of studies identified (n=21) were cross-sectional.Conclusion: It is recommended that community sport participation is advocated as a form of leisure time PA for children and adolescents, in an effort to not only improve physical health in relation to such matters as the obesity crisis, but also to enhance psychological and social health outcomes. It is also recommended that the causal link between participation in sport and psychosocial health be further investigated and the conceptual model of Health through Sport tested. © 2013 Eime et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
- Description: C1
- Authors: Eime, Rochelle , Young, Janet , Harvey, Jack , Charity, Melanie , Payne, Warren
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity Vol. 10, no. Article 98 (2013), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background: There are specific guidelines regarding the level of physical activity (PA) required to provide health benefits. However, the research underpinning these PA guidelines does not address the element of social health. Furthermore, there is insufficient evidence about the levels or types of PA associated specifically with psychological health. This paper first presents the results of a systematic review of the psychological and social health benefits of participation in sport by children and adolescents. Secondly, the information arising from the systematic review has been used to develop a conceptual model.Methods: A systematic review of 14 electronic databases was conducted in June 2012, and studies published since 1990 were considered for inclusion. Studies that addressed mental and/or social health benefits from participation in sport were included.Results: A total of 3668 publications were initially identified, of which 30 met the selection criteria. There were many different psychological and social health benefits reported, with the most commonly being improved self-esteem, social interaction followed by fewer depressive symptoms. Sport may be associated with improved psychosocial health above and beyond improvements attributable to participation in PA. Specifically, team sport seems to be associated with improved health outcomes compared to individual activities, due to the social nature of the participation. A conceptual model, Health through Sport, is proposed. The model depicts the relationship between psychological, psychosocial and social health domains, and their positive associations with sport participation, as reported in the literature. However, it is acknowledged that the capacity to determine the existence and direction of causal links between participation and health is limited by the fact that the majority of studies identified (n=21) were cross-sectional.Conclusion: It is recommended that community sport participation is advocated as a form of leisure time PA for children and adolescents, in an effort to not only improve physical health in relation to such matters as the obesity crisis, but also to enhance psychological and social health outcomes. It is also recommended that the causal link between participation in sport and psychosocial health be further investigated and the conceptual model of Health through Sport tested. © 2013 Eime et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
- Description: C1
Family support and ease of access link socio-economic status and sports club membership in adolescent girls : A mediation study
- Eime, Rochelle, Harvey, Jack, Craike, Melinda, Symons, Caroline, Payne, Warren
- Authors: Eime, Rochelle , Harvey, Jack , Craike, Melinda , Symons, Caroline , Payne, Warren
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity Vol. 10, no. (2013), p. 1-12
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background: Much research has been conducted into the determinants of physical activity (PA) participation among adolescent girls. However, the more specific question of what are the determinants of particular forms of PA participation, such as the link between participation through a sports club, has not been investigated. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between participation in a sports club and socio-economic status (SES), access to facilities, and family and peer support, for female adolescents.Methods: A survey of 732 female adolescent school students (521 metropolitan, 211 non-metropolitan; 489 Year 7, 243 Year 11) was conducted. The survey included demographic information (living arrangements, ethnicity indicators, and indicators of SES such as parental education and employment status and locality); access to facilities; and family and peer support (travel, encouragement, watching, praise, joint participation). For each characteristic, sports club participants and non-participants were compared using chi-square tests. Multiple mediation analyses were used to investigate the role of access, family and peer support in the link between SES and sport participation.Results: There were significant associations (p<0.05) between sports club participation and: all demographic characteristics; all measures of family and peer support; and access to sport-related facilities. Highest levels of participation were associated with monolingual Australian-born families, with two parents, at least one of whom was well-educated, with both parents employed, and high levels of parental assistance, engagement and support. Participation in club sport among both younger and older adolescent girls was significantly positively associated with the SES of both their neighbourhoods and their households, particularly in metropolitan areas. These associations were most strongly mediated by family support and by access to facilities.Conclusions: To facilitate and promote greater participation in club sport among adolescent girls from low SES neighbourhoods and households, strategies should target modifiable determinants such as facility access and parental support. This will involve improving access to sports facilities and promoting, encouraging and assisting parents to provide support for their daughters' participation in sport clubs. © 2013 Eime et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
- Description: 2003011031
- Authors: Eime, Rochelle , Harvey, Jack , Craike, Melinda , Symons, Caroline , Payne, Warren
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity Vol. 10, no. (2013), p. 1-12
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background: Much research has been conducted into the determinants of physical activity (PA) participation among adolescent girls. However, the more specific question of what are the determinants of particular forms of PA participation, such as the link between participation through a sports club, has not been investigated. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between participation in a sports club and socio-economic status (SES), access to facilities, and family and peer support, for female adolescents.Methods: A survey of 732 female adolescent school students (521 metropolitan, 211 non-metropolitan; 489 Year 7, 243 Year 11) was conducted. The survey included demographic information (living arrangements, ethnicity indicators, and indicators of SES such as parental education and employment status and locality); access to facilities; and family and peer support (travel, encouragement, watching, praise, joint participation). For each characteristic, sports club participants and non-participants were compared using chi-square tests. Multiple mediation analyses were used to investigate the role of access, family and peer support in the link between SES and sport participation.Results: There were significant associations (p<0.05) between sports club participation and: all demographic characteristics; all measures of family and peer support; and access to sport-related facilities. Highest levels of participation were associated with monolingual Australian-born families, with two parents, at least one of whom was well-educated, with both parents employed, and high levels of parental assistance, engagement and support. Participation in club sport among both younger and older adolescent girls was significantly positively associated with the SES of both their neighbourhoods and their households, particularly in metropolitan areas. These associations were most strongly mediated by family support and by access to facilities.Conclusions: To facilitate and promote greater participation in club sport among adolescent girls from low SES neighbourhoods and households, strategies should target modifiable determinants such as facility access and parental support. This will involve improving access to sports facilities and promoting, encouraging and assisting parents to provide support for their daughters' participation in sport clubs. © 2013 Eime et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
- Description: 2003011031
High adherence to a neuromuscular injury prevention programme (FIFA 11+) improves functional balance and reduces injury risk in Canadian youth female football players : A cluster randomised trial
- Steffen, Kathrin, Emery, Carolyn, Romiti, Maria, Kang, Jian, Bizzini, Mario, Dvorak, Jiri, Finch, Caroline, Meeuwisse, Willem
- Authors: Steffen, Kathrin , Emery, Carolyn , Romiti, Maria , Kang, Jian , Bizzini, Mario , Dvorak, Jiri , Finch, Caroline , Meeuwisse, Willem
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: British Journal of Sports Medicine Vol. 47, no. 12 (2013), p. 794-802
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/565900
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background A protective effect on injury risk in youth sports through neuromuscular warm-up training routines has consistently been demonstrated. However, there is a paucity of information regarding the quantity and quality of coach-led injury prevention programmes and its impact on the physical performance of players. Objective The aim of this cluster-randomised controlled trial was to assess whether different delivery methods of an injury prevention programme (FIFA 11+) to coaches could improve player performance, and to examine the effect of player adherence on performance and injury risk. Method During the 2011 football season (May- August), coaches of 31 tiers 1-3 level teams were introduced to the 11+ through either an unsupervised website or a coach-focused workshop with and without additional on-field supervisions. Playing exposure, adherence to the 11+, and injuries were recorded for female 13-year-old to 18-year-old players. Performance testing included the Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT), single-leg balance, triple hop and jumping-over-a-bar tests. Results Complete preseason and postseason performance tests were available for 226 players (66.5%). Compared to the unsupervised group, singleleg balance (OR=2.8; 95% CI 1.1 to 4.6) and the anterior direction of the SEBT improved significantly in the onfield supervised group of players (OR=4.7; 95% CI 2.2 to 7.1), while 2-leg jumping performance decreased (OR=-5.1; 95% CI -9.9 to -0.2). However, significant improvements in 5 of 6 reach distances in the SEBT were found, favouring players who highly adhered to the 11+. Also, injury risk was lower for those players (injury rate ratio, IRR=0.28, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.79). Conclusions Different delivery methods of the FIFA 11+ to coaches influenced players' physical performance minimally. However, high player adherence to the 11+ resulted in significant improvements in functional balance and reduced injury risk.
- Description: 2003011216
- Authors: Steffen, Kathrin , Emery, Carolyn , Romiti, Maria , Kang, Jian , Bizzini, Mario , Dvorak, Jiri , Finch, Caroline , Meeuwisse, Willem
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: British Journal of Sports Medicine Vol. 47, no. 12 (2013), p. 794-802
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/565900
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background A protective effect on injury risk in youth sports through neuromuscular warm-up training routines has consistently been demonstrated. However, there is a paucity of information regarding the quantity and quality of coach-led injury prevention programmes and its impact on the physical performance of players. Objective The aim of this cluster-randomised controlled trial was to assess whether different delivery methods of an injury prevention programme (FIFA 11+) to coaches could improve player performance, and to examine the effect of player adherence on performance and injury risk. Method During the 2011 football season (May- August), coaches of 31 tiers 1-3 level teams were introduced to the 11+ through either an unsupervised website or a coach-focused workshop with and without additional on-field supervisions. Playing exposure, adherence to the 11+, and injuries were recorded for female 13-year-old to 18-year-old players. Performance testing included the Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT), single-leg balance, triple hop and jumping-over-a-bar tests. Results Complete preseason and postseason performance tests were available for 226 players (66.5%). Compared to the unsupervised group, singleleg balance (OR=2.8; 95% CI 1.1 to 4.6) and the anterior direction of the SEBT improved significantly in the onfield supervised group of players (OR=4.7; 95% CI 2.2 to 7.1), while 2-leg jumping performance decreased (OR=-5.1; 95% CI -9.9 to -0.2). However, significant improvements in 5 of 6 reach distances in the SEBT were found, favouring players who highly adhered to the 11+. Also, injury risk was lower for those players (injury rate ratio, IRR=0.28, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.79). Conclusions Different delivery methods of the FIFA 11+ to coaches influenced players' physical performance minimally. However, high player adherence to the 11+ resulted in significant improvements in functional balance and reduced injury risk.
- Description: 2003011216
Local immune responses of the Chinese water buffalo, Bubalus bubalis, against Schistosoma japonicum larvae: crucial insights for vaccine design
- McWilliam, Hamish, Piedrafita, David, Li, Yuesheng, Zheng, Mao, He, Yongkang, Yu, Xinling, McManus, Donald, Meeusen, Els
- Authors: McWilliam, Hamish , Piedrafita, David , Li, Yuesheng , Zheng, Mao , He, Yongkang , Yu, Xinling , McManus, Donald , Meeusen, Els
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. Vol.7, no.9(Art.No: e2460) (2013), p. 1-11
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Asian schistosomiasis is a zoonotic parasitic disease infecting up to a million people and threatening tens of millions more. Control of this disease is hindered by the animal reservoirs of the parasite, in particular the water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis), which is responsible for significant levels of human transmission. A transmission-blocking vaccine administered to buffaloes is a realistic option which would aid in the control of schistosomiasis. This will however require a better understanding of the immunobiology of schistosomiasis in naturally exposed buffaloes, particularly the immune response to migrating schistosome larvae, which are the likely targets of an anti-schistosome vaccine. To address this need we investigated the immune response at the major sites of larval migration, the skin and the lungs, in previously exposed and re-challenged water buffaloes. In the skin, a strong allergic-type inflammatory response occurred, characterised by leukocyte and eosinophil infiltration including the formation of granulocytic abscesses. Additionally at the local skin site, interleukin-5 transcript levels were elevated, while interleukin-10 levels decreased. In the skin-draining lymph node (LN) a predominant type-2 profile was seen in stimulated cells, while in contrast a type-1 profile was detected in the lung draining LN, and these responses occurred consecutively, reflecting the timing of parasite migration. The intense type-2 immune response at the site of cercarial penetration is significantly different to that seen in naive and permissive animal models such as mice, and suggests a possible mechanism for immunity. Preliminary data also suggest a reduced and delayed immune response occurred in buffaloes given high cercarial challenge doses compared with moderate infections, particularly in the skin. This study offers a deeper understanding into the immunobiology of schistosomiasis in a natural host, which may aid in the future design of more effective vaccines.
- Authors: McWilliam, Hamish , Piedrafita, David , Li, Yuesheng , Zheng, Mao , He, Yongkang , Yu, Xinling , McManus, Donald , Meeusen, Els
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. Vol.7, no.9(Art.No: e2460) (2013), p. 1-11
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Asian schistosomiasis is a zoonotic parasitic disease infecting up to a million people and threatening tens of millions more. Control of this disease is hindered by the animal reservoirs of the parasite, in particular the water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis), which is responsible for significant levels of human transmission. A transmission-blocking vaccine administered to buffaloes is a realistic option which would aid in the control of schistosomiasis. This will however require a better understanding of the immunobiology of schistosomiasis in naturally exposed buffaloes, particularly the immune response to migrating schistosome larvae, which are the likely targets of an anti-schistosome vaccine. To address this need we investigated the immune response at the major sites of larval migration, the skin and the lungs, in previously exposed and re-challenged water buffaloes. In the skin, a strong allergic-type inflammatory response occurred, characterised by leukocyte and eosinophil infiltration including the formation of granulocytic abscesses. Additionally at the local skin site, interleukin-5 transcript levels were elevated, while interleukin-10 levels decreased. In the skin-draining lymph node (LN) a predominant type-2 profile was seen in stimulated cells, while in contrast a type-1 profile was detected in the lung draining LN, and these responses occurred consecutively, reflecting the timing of parasite migration. The intense type-2 immune response at the site of cercarial penetration is significantly different to that seen in naive and permissive animal models such as mice, and suggests a possible mechanism for immunity. Preliminary data also suggest a reduced and delayed immune response occurred in buffaloes given high cercarial challenge doses compared with moderate infections, particularly in the skin. This study offers a deeper understanding into the immunobiology of schistosomiasis in a natural host, which may aid in the future design of more effective vaccines.
Predicting cardiac autonomic neuropathy category for diabetic data with missing values
- Abawajy, Jemal, Kelarev, Andrei, Chowdhury, Morshed, Stranieri, Andrew, Jelinek, Herbert
- Authors: Abawajy, Jemal , Kelarev, Andrei , Chowdhury, Morshed , Stranieri, Andrew , Jelinek, Herbert
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Computers in Biology and Medicine Vol. 43, no. 10 (2013), p. 1328-1333
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy (CAN) is a serious and well known complication of diabetes. Previous articles circumvented the problem of missing values in CAN data by deleting all records and fields with missing values and applying classifiers trained on different sets of features that were complete. Most of them also added alternative features to compensate for the deleted ones. Here we introduce and investigate a new method for classifying CAN data with missing values. In contrast to all previous papers, our new method does not delete attributes with missing values, does not use classifiers, and does not add features. Instead it is based on regression and meta-regression combined with the Ewing formula for identifying the classes of CAN. This is the first article using the Ewing formula and regression to classify CAN. We carried out extensive experiments to determine the best combination of regression and meta-regression techniques for classifying CAN data with missing values. The best outcomes have been obtained by the additive regression meta-learner based on M5Rules and combined with the Ewing formula. It has achieved the best accuracy of 99.78% for two classes of CAN, and 98.98% for three classes of CAN. These outcomes are substantially better than previous results obtained in the literature by deleting all missing attributes and applying traditional classifiers to different sets of features without regression. Another advantage of our method is that it does not require practitioners to perform more tests collecting additional alternative features. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.
- Description: C1
- Authors: Abawajy, Jemal , Kelarev, Andrei , Chowdhury, Morshed , Stranieri, Andrew , Jelinek, Herbert
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Computers in Biology and Medicine Vol. 43, no. 10 (2013), p. 1328-1333
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy (CAN) is a serious and well known complication of diabetes. Previous articles circumvented the problem of missing values in CAN data by deleting all records and fields with missing values and applying classifiers trained on different sets of features that were complete. Most of them also added alternative features to compensate for the deleted ones. Here we introduce and investigate a new method for classifying CAN data with missing values. In contrast to all previous papers, our new method does not delete attributes with missing values, does not use classifiers, and does not add features. Instead it is based on regression and meta-regression combined with the Ewing formula for identifying the classes of CAN. This is the first article using the Ewing formula and regression to classify CAN. We carried out extensive experiments to determine the best combination of regression and meta-regression techniques for classifying CAN data with missing values. The best outcomes have been obtained by the additive regression meta-learner based on M5Rules and combined with the Ewing formula. It has achieved the best accuracy of 99.78% for two classes of CAN, and 98.98% for three classes of CAN. These outcomes are substantially better than previous results obtained in the literature by deleting all missing attributes and applying traditional classifiers to different sets of features without regression. Another advantage of our method is that it does not require practitioners to perform more tests collecting additional alternative features. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.
- Description: C1
Social marketing: why injury prevention needs to adopt this behaviour change approach
- Newton, Joshua, Ewing, Michael, Finch, Caroline
- Authors: Newton, Joshua , Ewing, Michael , Finch, Caroline
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: British Journal of Sports Medicine Vol. 47, no. (2013), p. 665-667
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Authors: Newton, Joshua , Ewing, Michael , Finch, Caroline
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: British Journal of Sports Medicine Vol. 47, no. (2013), p. 665-667
- Full Text:
- Reviewed: