The Potential for mHealth Interventions to Support Women with Breast Cancer after Active Treatment

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women worldwide. Chances of living one-year after diagnosis are high (~98%), and health self-management is essential to reduce risks of recurrence. Mobile health (mHealth) has emerged as a wide-reaching and cost-effective way of providing health information and support. Therefore, we conducted a narrative review of the currently available mHealth literature and synthesised the literature according to the impacts of mHealth interventions on patient outcomes, the potential mechanism for behaviour change and innovative approaches to developing future mHealth interventions. Results found a small amount of evidence for the value of mHealth interventions (text message programs, smartphone applications and activity trackers) for supporting women after breast cancer treatment. However, accessibility, cost and gender inequities may pose barriers to implementation. Developing consumer-led mHealth interventions based on lived-experiences will be essential to improving user outcomes. In conclusion, mHealth interventions are widely available and have the potential to support women after breast cancer treatment and further robust research will determine effectiveness in specific subgroups and populations

Embedding Changemaker Skills and Social Innovation into Design Student Learning

Building on entrepreneurship education and the United Kingdom (UK) government review on creativity in business, this paper discusses a case study of a funded project to develop design students' future skills by collaborating on transitioning student projects into start-up venture and commercialisation for the common good. Undergraduate students are shown to gain insights from different faculties and each other’s subject expertise using a variety of set activities throughout the academic year to challenge and support them. The learning for students included scheduled workshops with the possibility of new venture creation based on the new product development (NPD) methodology, student networking and applying their soft skills in a new context. Four workshop tasks (Enterprise, innovation and you, enterprise development, prototyping and venture articulation) were developed for this project and visualised in a route map. The collaboration of product design students with entrepreneurship students has been observed at the commencement stage, during and after the experience to understand their personal development and identify key learnings captured through opinion polls, focus groups and observation. Triangulation resulted through focus group and feedback from wider project team and academics reflecting on learning models in design/engineering versus entrepreneurship/business. This project is timely due to its year-long inter-faculty student experience during a pandemic using and developing ‘changemaker’ competencies and social innovation

Responses to the primary health care needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women experiencing violence: A scoping review of policy and practice guidelines

Issue Addressed It is demonstrated that primary health care (PHC) providers are sought out by women who experience violence. Given the disproportionate burden of violence experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, it is essential there is equitable access to appropriate PHC services. This review aimed to analyse whether Australian PHC policy accounts for the complex needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women experiencing violence and the importance of PHC providers responding to violence in culturally safe ways. Methods Using the Arskey and O’Malley framework, an iterative scoping review determined the policies for analysis. The selected policies were analysed against concepts identified as key components in responding to the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women experiencing violence. The key components are Family Violence, Violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women, Social Determinants of Health, Cultural Safety, Holistic Health, Trauma, Patient Centred Care and Trauma‐and‐Violence‐Informed Care. Results Following a search of Australian government websites, seven policies were selected for analysis. Principally, no policy embedded or described best practice across all key components. Conclusion The review demonstrates the need for a specific National framework supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women who seek support from PHC services, as well as further policy analysis and review. So what Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women disproportionately experience more severe violence, with complex impact, than other Australian women. PHC policy and practice frameworks must account for this, together with the intersection of contemporary manifestations of colonialism and historical and intergenerational traum

Examination of an eHealth literacy scale and a health literacy scale in a population with moderate to high cardiovascular risk: Rasch analyses

IntroductionElectronic health (eHealth) strategies are evolving making it important to have valid scales to assess eHealth and health literacy. Item response theory methods, such as the Rasch measurement model, are increasingly used for the psychometric evaluation of scales. This paper aims to examine the internal construct validity of an eHealth and health literacy scale using Rasch analysis in a population with moderate to high cardiovascular disease risk.MethodsThe first 397 participants of the CONNECT study completed the electronic health Literacy Scale (eHEALS) and the Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ). Overall Rasch model fit as well as five key psychometric properties were analysed: unidimensionality, response thresh-olds, targeting, differential item functioning and internal consistency.ResultsThe eHEALS had good overall model fit (χ2 = 54.8, p = 0.06), ordered response thresholds, reasonable targeting and good internal consistency (person separation index (PSI) 0.90). It did, however, appear to measure two constructs of eHealth literacy. The HLQ subscales (except subscale 5) did not fit the Rasch model (χ2: 18.18–60.60, p: 0.00–0.58) and had sub-optimal targeting for most subscales. Subscales 6 to 9 displayed disordered thresholds indi-cating participants had difficulty distinguishing between response options. All subscales did, nonetheless, demonstrate moderate to good internal consistency (PSI: 0.62–0.82)

Human-based approaches to pharmacology and cardiology: an interdisciplinary and intersectorial workshop.

Both biomedical research and clinical practice rely on complex datasets for the physiological and genetic characterization of human hearts in health and disease. Given the complexity and variety of approaches and recordings, there is now growing recognition of the need to embed computational methods in cardiovascular medicine and science for analysis, integration and prediction. This paper describes a Workshop on Computational Cardiovascular Science that created an international, interdisciplinary and inter-sectorial forum to define the next steps for a human-based approach to disease supported by computational methodologies. The main ideas highlighted were (i) a shift towards human-based methodologies, spurred by advances in new in silico, in vivo, in vitro, and ex vivo techniques and the increasing acknowledgement of the limitations of animal models. (ii) Computational approaches complement, expand, bridge, and integrate in vitro, in vivo, and ex vivo experimental and clinical data and methods, and as such they are an integral part of human-based methodologies in pharmacology and medicine. (iii) The effective implementation of multi- and interdisciplinary approaches, teams, and training combining and integrating computational methods with experimental and clinical approaches across academia, industry, and healthcare settings is a priority. (iv) The human-based cross-disciplinary approach requires experts in specific methodologies and domains, who also have the capacity to communicate and collaborate across disciplines and cross-sector environments. (v) This new translational domain for human-based cardiology and pharmacology requires new partnerships supported financially and institutionally across sectors. Institutional, organizational, and social barriers must be identified, understood and overcome in each specific setting

The Impact on Parents of Diagnosing PCD in Young Children

Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is an incurable, rare, inherited, chronic condition. Treatment includes the regular clearing of airway mucus, aggressive treatment of infections and management of hearing loss. Caregiver burden has not been explored, hence we interviewed 18 mothers and 6 fathers of children under 6 years to understand the impact of diagnostic testing and implications of a positive diagnosis. Interviews were transcribed and thematically analysed and five key themes were identified. These included the parents’ experiences following child’s diagnosis, impact of child’s treatment regimen on parent, impact of child’s health status on parent, parent’s coping strategies, and parental concerns for the future. Parents described their diagnostic journey, with the findings revealing how a lack of awareness among clinicians of the PCD symptom pattern can lead to a delayed diagnosis. Parents discussed the emotional and practical impact of a PCD diagnosis and the coping strategies employed to deal with challenges arising following a diagnosis. Parents use a variety of different lifestyle changes to accommodate their child’s treatment regimen and to cope with disruptive life events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This study provides valuable insights into parental adjustment and adaptation to a PCD diagnosis and management regimen. Going forward, this research highlights the need for integrated social care for PCD patients and their families