Plos One
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The cost-effectiveness of a 20% price discount on fruit, vegetables, diet drinks and water, trialled in remote Australia to improve Indigenous health.
This paper estimates the cost-effectiveness of a 20% price discount on healthy food and beverages with and without consumer nutrition education, as trialled in remote Northern Australia. Changes in actual store sales, from the pre-discount baseline period, were analysed for population impact on consumption of fruit and vegetables, water and artificially sweetened soft drinks, in addition with total dietary weight (grams), energy (Mega Joules), and sodium (milligrams). Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), arising from changes in dietary risk factor prevalence in the population, were estimated as the primary health outcome in a multi health-state Markov model. ⋯ However, the discount strategy, with or without consumer education led to a net loss of population health -36 95%CI (-47,-25) or -21(-28, -15) DALYs respectively, at increased cost to the retail and health sectors, of AUD860000 95%CI (710000, 1million) or AUD500000 (410000, 590000). The strategies trialled were thereby categorised as dominated by current practice while acknowledging considerable uncertainty surrounding the health outcome estimates. The 20% discount on limited targeted products appeared to need to be considered in conjunction with other marketing strategies to support healthy food choices, if remote Australian Indigenous population health is to be improved.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The efficacy of a brief app-based mindfulness intervention on psychosocial outcomes in healthy adults: A pilot randomised controlled trial.
Previous evidence suggests that mindfulness training may improve aspects of psychosocial well-being. Whilst mindfulness is traditionally taught in person, consumers are increasingly turning to mindfulness-based smartphone apps as an alternative delivery medium for training. Despite this growing trend, few studies have explored whether mindfulness delivered via a smartphone app can enhance psychosocial well-being within the general public. ⋯ This pilot randomised controlled trial shows that self-reported improvements in psychosocial outcomes can be achieved at low cost through short-term engagement with a mindfulness-based smartphone app, and should be followed up with more substantive studies.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Electrical dry needling as an adjunct to exercise, manual therapy and ultrasound for plantar fasciitis: A multi-center randomized clinical trial.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Unilateral electrical stimulation of the heart 7 acupuncture point to prevent emergence agitation in children: A prospective, double-blinded, randomized clinical trial.
Emergence agitation (EA) is a frequent phenomenon in children recovering from general anaesthesia and increases the risk of self-injury. Previously, our group reported that stimulating the heart 7 (HT7) acupuncture point bilaterally using two neuromuscular transmission monitoring devices (NTMs) decreased the incidence of EA. However, bilateral stimulation is a barrier to clinical use because two NTMs are needed for one patient. ⋯ We observed that there was no effect of unilateral single-twitch electrical stimulation to the HT7 on the incidence of EA, contrary to the findings with bilateral HT7 stimulation.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
An economic analysis of patient controlled remifentanil and epidural analgesia as pain relief in labour (RAVEL trial); a randomised controlled trial.
To compare the costs of a strategy of patient controlled remifentanil versus epidural analgesia for pain relief in labour. ⋯ From an economic perspective, there is no preferential pain treatment in labouring intermediate to high risk women. Since patient controlled remifentanil is not equivalent to epidural analgesia with respect to AUC for satisfaction with pain relief we recommend epidural analgesia as the method of choice. However, if appropriately counselled on effect and side effects there is, from an economic perspective, no reason to deny women patient controlled remifentanil.