The Medical journal of Australia
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Stepped care for depression in primary care: what should be offered and how?
Stepped-care approaches may offer a solution to delivering accessible, effective and efficient services for individuals with depression. In stepped care, all patients commence with a low-intensity, low-cost treatment. Treatment results are monitored systematically, and patients move to a higher-intensity treatment only if necessary. ⋯ The different treatments within the stepped-care model are evidence-based. Data on cost-effectiveness of the full model are still scarce, but we recently demonstrated that the incidence of new cases of depression and anxiety could be halved by introducing stepped care. Effects of web-based guided self-help could be enhanced by incorporating them in a stepped-care model.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
An education intervention for childhood asthma by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers: a randomised controlled trial.
To assess the outcomes of an education intervention for childhood asthma conducted by Australian Indigenous health care workers (IHCWs). ⋯ A community-based asthma education program conducted by trained IHCWs improves some important asthma outcomes in Indigenous children with asthma.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Does access to compensation have an impact on recovery outcomes after injury?
To conduct a descriptive study investigating the effect of access to motor vehicle accident (MVA) compensation on recovery outcomes at 24 months after injury. ⋯ Our findings do not support previous research showing that access to compensation is associated with poor recovery outcomes. The relationship between access to compensation and health outcomes is complex, and more high-level research is required.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Single-dose azithromycin versus seven days of amoxycillin in the treatment of acute otitis media in Aboriginal children (AATAAC): a double blind, randomised controlled trial.
To compare the clinical effectiveness of single-dose azithromycin treatment with 7 days of amoxycillin treatment among Aboriginal children with acute otitis media (AOM) in rural and remote communities in the Northern Territory. ⋯ Although azithromycin reduced nasal carriage of S. pneumoniae and NCHi, clinical failure was high in both treatment groups. The possibility of weekly azithromycin treatment in children with persistent AOM should be evaluated.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Tobacco use and measuring nicotine dependence among urban Indigenous pregnant women.
To examine patterns of nicotine dependence, the value of the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) and its correlation with self-reported tobacco use and urinary cotinine concentrations among pregnant Indigenous women in Townsville. ⋯ The use of the FTND in Indigenous pregnant women may assess physical nicotine dependence, thus providing information that will help in preparing quit-smoking plans, including tailoring of pharmacological support to individual need. Quit-smoking programs that better address the behavioural and psychological aspects of smoking within the Indigenous community in Australia are needed.