The behaviour change techniques used by Australian physiotherapists to promote non-treatment physical activity to patients with musculoskeletal conditions

Objectives

To determine: (i) the behaviour change techniques used by a sample of Australian physiotherapists to promote non-treatment physical activity; and (ii) whether those behaviour change techniques are different to the techniques used to encourage adherence to rehabilitation exercises.

Improving Prenatal Diagnosis of Coarctation of the Aorta

Background

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the association between fetal echocardiographic measurements and the need for intervention (primary coarctation repair, staged coarctation repair, or catheter intervention) in prenatally diagnosed coarctation of the aorta.

On estimands arising from misspecified semiparametric rate-based analysis of recurrent episodic conditions

Marginal rate-based analyses are widely used for the analysis of recurrent events in clinical trials. In many areas of application, the events are not instantaneous but rather signal the onset of a symptomatic episode representing a recurrent infection, respiratory exacerbation, or bout of acute depression. In rate-based analyses, it is unclear how to best handle the time during which individuals are experiencing symptoms and hence are not at risk. We derive the limiting value of the Nelson-Aalen estimator and estimators of the regression coefficients under a semiparametric rate-based model in terms of an underlying two-state process. We investigate the impact of the distribution of the episode durations, heterogeneity, and dependence on the asymptotic and finite sample properties of standard estimators. We also consider the impact of these features on power in trials designed to test intervention effects on rate functions. An application to a trial of individuals with herpes simplex virus is given for illustration.     

Evaluating systems of care: Missing links in children's mental health research

Systems of care (SOCs) have been developed throughout the country to meet the needs of children with severe emotional disturbances (SED) and their families. In these SOCs, multiple agencies and disciplines are expected to work together with informal community supports to address families' needs (Stroul & Friedman, 1986a). A review of the literature on the impact of SOCs suggests: (a) communities' service delivery systems change; and (b) children experience modest improvements in symptomatology and functioning. At the same time, little is known about (a) which components of the SOC approach, at what levels, are necessary to impact child and family outcomes; (b) the degree to which SOCs affect other family members, beyond the target child; and (c) the impact of community contexts and supports in SOCs. Future research should improve measurement of key SOC constructs, examine the relation between specific levels of implementation and outcomes for the entire family, and investigate the impact of broader community systems and supports on families within SOCs. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comm Psychol 32: 655–674, 2004.     

Multiple dimensions of caring for a patient with acute necrotizing fasciitis.

Critical care nurses within acute care settings are responsible for providing healthcare to a wide variety of patients and, consequently, knowledge regarding how to care for a patient with acute necrotizing fasciitis is imperative. A case study is presented to evidence the need for a multidisciplinary approach. Necrotizing fasciitis is defined and treatment options are presented. Caring for this patient is very challenging and demands a multidisciplinary team to coordinate all aspects of care to promote better patient outcomes.