Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity Is Associated With Liver Insulin Sensitivity In Obese Non-Diabetic Men, Daniel L.T Chen, Rachael Brown, Carsten Liess, Anne Poljak, Aimin Xu, Jialiang Zhang, Michael Trenell, Arthur Jenkins, Donald B. Chisholm, Dorit Samocha-Bonet, Vaughan G. Macefield, Jerry R. Greenfield

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Introduction: Muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) may play a role in insulin resistance in obesity. However, the direction and nature of the relationship between MSNA and insulin resistance in obesity remain unclear. We hypothesized that resting MSNA would correlate inversely with both muscle and liver insulin sensitivity and that it would be higher in insulin-resistant vs. insulin-sensitive subjects.

Materials and methods: Forty-five non-diabetic obese subjects were studied. As no significant relationships were found in women, the data presented in on 22 men aged 48 ± 12 years. Two-step (15 and 80 mU/m2/min) hyperinsulinaemic-euglycaemic clamps were performed using deuterated …

Mid To Late Paleozoic Shortening Pulses In The Lachlan Orogen, Southeastern Australia: A Review, Chris L. Fergusson

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

In the late Silurian, the Lachlan Orogen of southeastern Australia had a varied paleogeography with deep-marine, shallow-marine, subaerial environments and widespread igneous activity reflecting an extensional backarc setting. This changed to a compressional-extensional regime in the Devonian associated with episodic compressional events, including the Bindian, Tabberabberan and Kanimblan orogenies. The Early Devonian Bindian Orogeny was associated with SSE transport of the Wagga-Omeo Zone that was synchronous with thick sedimentation in the Cobar and Darling basins in central and western New South Wales. Shortening has been controlled by the margins of the Wagga-Omeo Zone with partitioning along strike-slip faults, such as …

The Existence And Break-Up Of The Antarctic Land Bridge As Indicated By Both Amphi-Pacific Distributions And Tectonics, Conrad Van Den Ende, Lloyd T. White, Peter Van Welzen

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Amphi-Pacific disjunct distributions between South America and Australasia are correlated with the breakup and changing palaeo-climate of Gondwana. For a long period, with a temperate climate, Antarctica formed a land bridge between Australia and South America, allowing species to disperse/vicariate between both continents. Dated phylogenies in the literature, showing sister-clades with a distribution disjunction between South America and Australia, were used for the correlation. The initiation of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, and a change to a colder Antarctic climate is associated with the opening of the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica at c. 30 Ma, and the final …

Influence Of Mantle Flow On The Drainage Of Eastern Australia Since The Jurassic Period, Tristan Salles, Nicolas Flament, R. Dietmar Muller

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Recent studies of the past eastern Australian landscape from present-day longitudinal river profiles and from mantle flow models suggest that the interaction of plate motion with mantle convection accounts for the two phases of large-scale uplift of the region since 120 Ma. We coupled the dynamic topography predicted from one of these mantle flow models to a surface process model to study the evolution of the eastern Australian landscape since the Jurassic Period. We varied the rainfall regime, erodibility, sea level variations, dynamic topography magnitude, and elastic thickness across a series of experiments. The approach accounts for erosion and sedimentation …

Incorporating The Nursing And Midwifery Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Health Curriculum Framework Into A Bn Program, Rebekkah Middleton, Moira Stephens, Maria T. Mackay

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

When considering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's culture, the appropriate approach with students should be to explore and reflect upon cultural safety initially followed by context, with an overlay of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health throughout. * Learning outcomes should be reflective of this process throughout a curriculum - novice, intermediate and entry to practice, developing complexity throughout a degree to increase understanding and application. * Using the CATSINaM Nursing and Midwifery Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Curriculum Framework will facilitate progression and integration into curriculum. * How can I develop Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal partnerships to cocreate …

The Development And Testing Of The Dementia Friendly Communities Environment Assessment Tool (Dfc Eat), Richard Fleming, Kirsty A. Bennett, Terri Preece, Lyn Phillipson

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Background: There is a growing recognition of the need to make the built environment in towns and cities more enabling for people with dementia. This study reports the development of a reliable tool to assess the support provided to people with dementia by public and commercial buildings such as council offices, supermarkets, banks, and medical centers as they approach, use, and leave them.

Methods: A three-step process was carried out to develop and establish the reliability of the tool: (1) a review of principles and available tools informed the development and modification of an environmental audit tool of …

The Development Of Professional Practice Standards For Australian General Practice Nurses, Elizabeth J. Halcomb, Moira Stephens, Julianne Bryce, Elizabeth Foley, Christine Ashley

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Aims The aim of this study was to explore the current role of general practice nurses and the scope of nursing practice to inform the development of national professional practice standards for Australian general practice nurses.

Background Increasing numbers of nurses have been employed in Australian general practice to meet the growing demand for primary care services. This has brought significant changes to the nursing role. Competency standards for nurses working in general practice were first developed in Australia in 2005, but limited attention has been placed on articulating the contemporary scope of practice for nurses in this setting.

Design …

Preparing The Family And Children For Surgery, Ahmad Al-Sagarat, Haytham Mohammad Al-Oran, Hala Obeidat, Adlah Mohammad Hamlan, Lorna Moxham

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

The focus of this literature analysis is the concept of preparing the family and children for surgery. As posited in the literature, surgery causes stress and anxiety that have a negative impact on both parents and their children. Therefore, the need for health care professionals to facilitate positive preparation for surgery to minimize anxiety and enhance postoperative recovery is important. Preparing the family and children for surgery is discussed in depth under the following themes: Preoperative Anxiety in Children, the Impact of Preoperative Anxiety on the Pediatric Patients and Parents, Preoperative Psychological Preparation for Children and Parents, and the Role …

Nanofiltration Applications Of Tough Mwnt Buckypaper Membranes Containing Biopolymers, Md. Harun-Or Rashid, Gerry Triani, Nicholas Scales, Marc In Het Panhuis, Long D. Nghiem, Stephen Frederick Ralph

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

The ability of biopolymers (bovine serum albumin, lysozyme, chitosan, gellan gum and DNA) to facilitate formation of aqueous dispersions of MWNTs was investigated using a combination of absorption spectrophotometry and optical microscopy. Subsequently, self-supporting carbon nanotube membranes, known as buckypapers (BPs), were prepared by vacuum filtration of the dispersions. Microanalytical data obtained from the BPs confirmed the retention of biopolymers within their structures. Tensile test measurements performed on the BPs showed that incorporation of the biopolymers resulted in significant improvements in mechanical properties, compared to analogous BPs containing MWNTs and the low molecular mass dispersant Triton X-100. For example, MWNT/CHT …

The Recent Increase Of Atmospheric Methane From 10 Years Of Ground-Based Ndacc Ftir Observations Since 2005, Whitney Bader, Benoit Bovy, Stephanie Conway, Kimberly Strong, D Smale, Alexander J. Turner, Thomas Blumenstock, C D. Boone, Martine Collaud Coen, Ancelin Coulon, David W. T Griffith, Nicholas B. Jones, Clare Paton-Walsh

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Changes of atmospheric methane total columns (CH4) since 2005 have been evaluated using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) solar observations carried out at 10 ground-based sites, affiliated to the Network for Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC). From this, we find an increase of atmospheric methane total columns of 0.31 ± 0.03 % year^-1 (2σ level of uncertainty) for the 2005-2014 period. Comparisons with in situ methane measurements at both local and global scales show good agreement. We used the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model tagged simulation, which accounts for the contribution of each emission source and one sink in the …

Synthesis Of Bulky-Tailed Sulfonamides Incorporating Pyrido[2,3-D][1,2,4]Triazolo[4,3-A]Pyrimidin-1(5h)-Yl) Moieties And Evaluation Of Their Carbonic Anhydrases I, Ii, Iv And Ix Inhibitory Effects, Mohamed Fares, Radwa A. Eladwy, Alessio Nocentini, Soha El Hadi, Hazem A. Ghabbour, Ashraf Mostafa Kamal Abdel-Megeed, Wagdy M. Eldehna, Hatem A. Abdel-Aziz, Claudiu Supuran

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Using celecoxib as lead, two novel series of sulfonamides incorporating the pyridotriazolopyrimidine scaffold have been synthesized and evaluated in vitro as inhibitors against four relevant human (h) carbonic anhydrases (CAs, EC 4.2.1.1), the cytosolic and ubiquitous hCA I and II as well as the transmembrane hCA IV and hCA IX. Most of the reported sulfonamides acted as efficient, low micromolar inhibitors of hCAI, II and IV, whereas they displayed higher efficacy in inhibiting the tumor-associated isoform hCA IX. Many derivates herein reported showed better hCA IX versus hCA II selectivity ratios compared to celecoxib or acetazolamide. Considering isoform IX is …

Total Carbon Column Observing Network Philippines: Toward Quantifying Atmospheric Carbon In Southeast Asia, Voltaire A. Velazco, Isamu Morino, Osamu Uchino, Nicholas M. Deutscher, Beata Bukosa, Dmitry A. Belikov, Yu Oishi, Takashi Y. Nakajima, Ronald Macatangay, Takahiro Nakatsuru, David W. T Griffith

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

TCCON (Total Carbon Column Observing Network) is dedicated to the precise measurements of greenhouse gases such as CO2 and CH4. TCCON measurements are used extensively for satellite validation, for atmospheric chemistry modeling, and for carbon cycle studies. With the global effort to cap greenhouse gas emissions, TCCON has taken on a vital role in validating past, current, and future satellite missions such as Japan's Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT & GOSAT-2), National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2 & future OCO-3), and others. However, the lack of reliable validation data for satellite-based greenhouse gas observations in the …

Punctuated Progradation Of The Seven Mile Beach Holocene Barrier System, Southeastern Tasmania, Thomas Oliver, Paul Donaldson, Chris Sharples, Michael Roach, Colin D. Woodroffe

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Prograded barriers are depositional coastal landforms which preserve past shoreline locations and have been studied in order to understand the fundamental drivers of barrier formation. This paper reconstructs the Holocene history of the Seven Mile Beach, prograded barrier in Tasmania, Australia using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating, ground penetrating radar (GPR), light detection and ranging (LiDAR) elevation models and sedimentological analyses. Shoreline progradation of the barrier commenced around 7300 years ago and continued to near present despite a ~ 3000 pause in deposition between 6700 and 3600 years ago indicative of substantial changes in sediment availability. GPR imaged subsurface structures …

Single-Grain Osl Chronologies For The Still Bay And Howieson's Poort Industries And The Transition Between Them: Further Analyses And Statistical Modelling, Zenobia Jacobs, Richard G. Roberts

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

The chronology of the Still Bay (SB) and Howieson's Poort (HP) lithic industries remains an issue of keen interest because of the central role of these two phases of technological and behavioural innovation within the Middle Stone Age of southern Africa. Several dating studies have been conducted on SB and HP sites, including a pair published by the present authors and our colleagues in 2008 and 2013. These reported the results of systematically applying single-grain optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating procedures to 10 sites in South Africa, Lesotho and Namibia to constrain the timing of the start and end of …

Tropical Forcing Of Increased Southern Ocean Climate Variability Revealed By A 140-Year Subantarctic Temperature Reconstruction, Christian Turney, Christopher Fogwill, Jonathan G. Palmer, Erik Van Sebille, Zoë Thomas, Matt S. Mcglone, Sarah Richardson, J M. Wilmshurst, Pavla Fenwick, Violette Zunz, Eleanor Rainsley

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Occupying about 14% of the world's surface, the Southern Ocean plays a fundamental role in ocean and atmosphere circulation, carbon cycling and Antarctic ice-sheet dynamics. Unfortunately, high interannual variability and a dearth of instrumental observations before the 1950s limits our understanding of how marine-atmosphere-ice domains interact on multi-decadal timescales and the impact of anthropogenic forcing. Here we integrate climate-sensitive tree growth with ocean and atmospheric observations on southwest Pacific subantarctic islands that lie at the boundary of polar and subtropical climates (52-54°S). Our annually resolved temperature reconstruction captures regional change since the 1870s and demonstrates a significant increase in variability …

Extending The Record Of Lacustrine Phases Beyond The Last Interglacial For Lake Eyre In Central Australia Using Luminescence Dating, Xiao Fu, Tim J. Cohen, Lee J. Arnold

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

We show with multiple luminescence dating techniques that the sedimentary record for Lake Eyre, Australia's largest lake, extends beyond 200 thousand years (ka) to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 7. Transgressive clayey sand and finely laminated clays overlying the Miocene Etadunna Formation in Lake Eyre North document the deep-lake phases of central South Australia in the past. Until now, unresolved chronology has hampered our ability to interpret these sedimentary records, which are important for understanding the timing of the wettest phase of central Australia's late Quaternary climate. In this study, we apply quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating, thermally-transferred OSL (TT-OSL) …

Ebola Virus Disease: An Update On Current Prevention And Management Strategies, Mohamad-Ali Trad, W Naughton, Alison Yeung, L Mazlin, M O'Sullivan, N Gilroy, D A. Fisher, R L. Stuart

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Ebola virus disease (EVD) is characterised by systemic viral replication, immuno-suppression, abnormal inflammatory responses, large volume fluid and electrolyte losses, and high mortality in under-resourced settings. There are various therapeutic strategies targeting EVD including vaccines utilizing different antigen delivery methods, antibody-based therapies and antiviral drugs. These therapies remain experimental, but received attention following their use particularly in cases treated outside West Africa during the 2014-15 outbreak, in which 20 (80%) out of 25 patients survived. Emerging data from current trials look promising and are undergoing further study, however optimised supportive care remains the key to reducing mortality from EVD.

Effect Of Work Boot Type On Work Footwear Habits, Lower Limb Pain And Perceptions Of Work Boot Fit And Comfort In Underground Coal Miners, Jessica Dobson, Diane L. Riddiford-Harland, Alison F. Bell, Julie R. Steele

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Lower limb injuries are highly prevalent in underground coal mining. Wearing gumboots with inadequate ankle support was thought to contribute to these injuries. Despite the uptake of leather lace-up boots, which provide more ankle support, no recent research could be found investigating the effect of this alternative work boot in underground coal mining. Consequently, this study aimed to determine whether boot type (gumboot, leather lace-up boot) influenced work footwear habits, foot problems, lower limb pain, lower back pain, or perceptions of work boot fit and comfort in underground coal miners. Chi-squared tests were applied to 358 surveys completed by underground …

Evaluation Of The Quality And Health Literacy Demand Of Online Renal Diet Information, Kelly Lambert, Judy Mullan, Kylie J. Mansfield, A Koukomous, Lisa Mesiti

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Background: Dietary modification is critical in the self-management of chronic kidney disease. The present study describes the accuracy, quality and health literacy demand of renal diet information for adults with kidney disease obtained from the Internet and YouTube (www.youtube.com).

Methods: A comprehensive content analysis was undertaken in April and July 2015 of 254 eligible websites and 161 YouTube videos. The accuracy of the renal diet information was evaluated by comparing the key messages with relevant evidence-based guidelines for the dietary management of people with kidney disease. The DISCERN tool (www.discern.org.uk) was used to evaluate the quality of the material. Health …

Impact Of Southeast Asian Smoke On Aerosol Properties In Southwest China: First Comparison Of Model Simulations With Satellite And Ground Observations, Jun Zhu, Xiangao Xia, Jun Wang, Jinqiang Zhang, Christine Wiedinmyer, Jenny A. Fisher, Christoph A. Keller

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Smoke aerosols have been observed in Southwest China as a result of long-range transport from surrounding areas in March and April. The processes driving this transport and the resultant impact on regional aerosol optical properties are studied here through a combined use of the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS)-Chem chemistry transport model in conjunction with satellite and the first-ever ground-based observations in the Southwest China. The potential biomass burning source regions as well as their respective contributions to aerosol loading in Southwest China are quantified. Compared to Sun photometer observations of aerosol optical depth (AOD) at 550nm at eight stations …

Psychological Functioning Predicts Competence Development For Postgraduate Students Of Professional Psychology, Leanne Humphreys, Rocco Crino, Ian G. Wilson

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

This study sought to examine the psychological functioning of students enrolled in postgraduate programs of clinical and forensic psychology in an Australian university, and the degree to which psychological functioning predicted competence attainment while participating in an extended clinical placement. Results revealed that as a group students reported psychological functioning within normal ranges, with levels of conscientiousness found to positively predict, and levels of depression found to negatively predict the development of the necessary competencies. However, a subgroup of 27% of students reported experiencing clinical levels of psychological distress on at least one measure during the placement. At the completion …

Implementing Exercise In Cancer Care: Study Protocol To Evaluate A Community-Based Exercise Program For People With Cancer, Prue Cormie, Stephanie Lamb, Robert U. Newton, Lani Valentine, Sandy Mckiernan, Nigel Spry, David Joseph, Dennis R. Taaffe, Christopher Doran, Daniel A. Galvão

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Background: Clinical research has established the efficacy of exercise in reducing treatment-related side-effects and increasing wellbeing in people with cancer. Major oncology organisations have identified the importance of incorporating exercise in comprehensive cancer care but information regarding effective approaches to translating evidence into practice is lacking. This paper describes the implementation of a community-based exercise program for people with cancer and the protocol for program evaluation.

Methods/Design: The Life Now Exercise program is a community-based exercise intervention designed to mitigate and rehabilitate the adverse effects of cancer and its treatment and improve physical and psychosocial wellbeing in people with cancer. …

Measure For Measure: Pack Performance Versus Human Dexterity And Grip Strength, Alison F. Bell, Karen L. Walton, Alaster Yoxall

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

'Openability' of food and beverage packaging has been shown to be problematic for older consumers. Pressure on resources has seen the use of packaged food and beverages increase in hospitals within the New South Wales region of Australia. Studies at the University of Wollongong have explored the interaction between older people and the types of packages regularly encountered in the delivery of hospital food and nutrition. As these types of packs are commonly found in UK hospitals as well, a series of studies have been undertaken by the University of Wollongong, Australia, and Sheffield Hallam University, UK, to further evaluate …

Integrating Millennial And Interdecadal Shoreline Changes: Morpho-Sedimentary Investigation Of Two Prograded Barriers In Southeastern Australia, Thomas Oliver, Toru Dr Toru Tamura, J Hudson, Colin D. Woodroffe

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Prograded barriers are distinctive coastal landforms preserving the position of past shorelines as low relief, shore-parallel ridges composed of beach sediments and commonly adorned with variable amounts of dune sand. Prograded barriers have been valued as coastal archives which contain palaeoenvironmental information, however integrating the millennial timescale geological history of barriers with observed inter-decadal modern beach processes has proved difficult. Technologies such as airborne LiDAR, ground penetrating radar (GPR) and optically stimulated luminescence dating (OSL) were utilised at Boydtown and Wonboyn, in southeastern Australia, and combined with previously reported radiocarbon dates and offshore seismic and sedimentological data to reconstruct the …

Work Boot Design Affects The Way Workers Walk: A Systematic Review Of The Literature, Jessica Dobson, Diane L. Riddiford-Harland, Alison F. Bell, Julie R. Steele

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Safety boots are compulsory in many occupations to protect the feet of workers from undesirable external stimuli, particularly in harsh work environments. The unique environmental conditions and varying tasks performed in different occupations necessitate a variety of boot designs to match each worker's occupational safety and functional requirements. Unfortunately, safety boots are often designed more for occupational safety at the expense of functionality and comfort. In fact, there is a paucity of published research investigating the influence that specific variations in work boot design have on fundamental tasks common to many occupations, such as walking. This literature review aimed to …

Using Data Mining To Predict Success In A Weight Loss Trial, Marijka Batterham, Linda C. Tapsell, Karen E. Charlton, Jane E. O'Shea, Rebecca L. Thorne

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Background: Traditional methods for predicting weight loss success use regression approaches, which make the assumption that the relationships between the independent and dependent (or logit of the dependent) variable are linear. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between common demographic and early weight loss variables to predict weight loss success at 12 months without making this assumption.

Methods: Data mining methods (decision trees, generalised additive models and multivariate adaptive regression splines), in addition to logistic regression, were employed to predict: (i) weight loss success (defined as ≥5%) at the end of a 12-month dietary intervention …

Remote Monitoring Of Dynamic Canopy Photosynthesis With High Time Resolution Light-Induced Fluorescence Transients, Rhys Wyber, Barry Osmond, Michael B. Ashcroft, Zbynek Malenovky, Sharon A. Robinson

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Understanding the net photosynthesis of plant canopies requires quantifying photosynthesis in challenging environments, principally due to the variable light intensities and qualities generated by sunlight interactions with clouds and surrounding foliage. The dynamics of sunflecks and rates of change in light intensity at the beginning and end of sustained light (SL) events makes photosynthetic measurements difficult, especially when dealing with less accessible parts of plant foliage. High time resolved photosynthetic monitoring from pulse amplitude modulated (PAM) fluorometers has limited applicability due to the invasive nature of frequently applied saturating flashes. An alternative approach used here provides remote (m), high time …

Breaking The Chain Of Transmission: Nurses' Role In Preventing Sti's, Christopher F. Patterson, Lorraine P. Fields, Lorna Moxham

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Sexually transmitted infections (STI's) affect people of all ages, socioeconomic levels and cultures and are now a serious public health issue and have reached epidemic proportions in many nations. More than 30 different bacteria, viruses and parasites are known to be transmitted through sexual contact with 8 pathogens being linked to the greatest incidence of disease. Although often preventable, STIs are on the increase worldwide with the World Health Organization (WHO 2016) estimating that more than 500 million new infections of curable STI's like gonorrhoea, trichomoniasis, syphilis and chlamydia occur globally each year.

Identifying Sediment Compartment Dynamics On The Illawarra Coast, Rafael Cabral Carvalho, Michael Kinsela, David (Dave) Hanslow, Sarah Hamylton, Michelle Linklater, Timothy Ingleton, B Morris, K Allen, Colin D. Woodroffe

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

This project aims to produce a framework for assessing compartment dynamics within two sediment compartments in the Illawarra region to assist in assessing coastal hazards. Sediment sources, pathways and sinks will be examined for the Wollongong and Illawarra Coast - South compartments, defined by Geoscience Australia and CoastAdapt. A compartment based approach allows for more holistic coastal planning and management which considers sediment transport at differing scales, and interconnectivity of beaches. This type of approach underpins national guidance on open coast risk assessment and has been incorporated within the NSW Coastal Reforms and the Draft Coastal Management Manual. The adjacent …

A Self-Reported Survey On The Confidence Levels And Motivation Of New South Wales Practice Nurses On Conducting Advance-Care Planning (Acp) Initiatives In The General-Practice Setting, Emilia Fan, Joel J. Rhee

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Nurses are well positioned to initiate and conduct advance-care planning (ACP) conversations; however, there has been limited research on practice nurses performing this role in Australia. The aim of the present study was to understand the beliefs, attitudes, perceptions, confidence, training and educational needs of New South Wales practice nurses with regards to involvement in ACP. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in August to October 2014. Nurses were recruited through nursing organisations and Medicare Locals. There were 147 completed surveys (n = 147). Participants were mostly female registered nurses, with a median age of 50, and 6 years of …