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Objective: To describe: (1) the type and frequency of interventions undertaken by regional cancer specialist Allied Health Professionals (AHPs); and (2) regional generalist AHPs' exposure and confidence in undertaking these interventions., Design: Multiphase, observational study including a prospective study and a cross-sectional survey., Setting: Two regional Queensland Hospitals., Participants: Cancer specialist AHPs (n = 13 in a prospective study; n = 7 in a cross-sectional survey) and generalist AHPs (n = 36 in a cross-sectional survey), across six disciplines from two regional hospitals and cancer services., Main Outcome Measures: Phase 1: Frequency of cancer care AHP occasions of service and interventions. Phase 2: Current practice in cancer care AHP interventions; confidence; access to training, professional development and mentorship; barriers to working in cancer care, among cancer care and generalist AHPs., Results: Over 10-months, cancer care AHPs collectively delivered 12 393 interventions across 8850 occasions of service. Only four cancer care interventions were exclusively or predominantly carried out by cancer care AHPs-laryngectomy pre-operative counselling, laryngectomy rehabilitation and tracheostomy management (speech pathology) and lymphoedema management (physiotherapy). Generalist AHPs reported slightly lower confidence across all tasks if asked to carry out known interventions in a cancer setting compared with familiar settings. The primary perceived barrier to working in cancer care was lack of skills/experience/training reported by most CC AHPs, generalist Physiotherapists and Speech Pathologists, but not other generalist AHPs., Conclusion: There was a significant overlap in interventions undertaken in the cancer care and generalist setting for AHPs. Appropriate on-boarding to contextualise interventions to cancer care is recommended to overcome reported lower confidence., (© 2022 National Rural Health Alliance Ltd.)

Background and Objectives: The dietary self-management of CKD is challenging. Telehealth interventions may provide an effective delivery method to facilitate sustained dietary change., Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements: This pilot, randomized, controlled trial evaluated secondary and exploratory outcomes after a dietitian-led telehealth coaching intervention to improve diet quality in people with stage 3-4 CKD. The intervention group received phone calls every 2 weeks for 3 months (with concurrent, tailored text messages for 3 months), followed by 3 months of tailored text messages without telephone coaching, to encourage a diet consistent with CKD guidelines. The control group received usual care for 3 months, followed by nontailored, educational text messages for 3 months., Results: Eighty participants (64% male), aged 62±12 years, were randomized to the intervention or control group. Telehealth coaching was safe, with no adverse events or changes to serum biochemistry at any time point. At 3 months, the telehealth intervention, compared with the control, had no detectable effect on overall diet quality on the Alternative Health Eating Index (3.2 points, 95% confidence interval, -1.3 to 7.7), nor at 6 months (0.5 points, 95% confidence interval, -4.6 to 5.5). There was no change in clinic BP at any time point in any group. There were significant improvements in several exploratory diet and clinical outcomes, including core food group consumption, vegetable servings, fiber intake, and body weight., Conclusions: Telehealth coaching was safe, but appeared to have no effect on the Alternative Healthy Eating Index or clinic BP. There were clinically significant changes in several exploratory diet and clinical outcomes, which require further investigation., Clinical Trial Registry Name and Registration Number: Evaluation of Individualized Telehealth Intensive Coaching to Promote Healthy Eating and Lifestyle in CKD (ENTICE-CKD), ACTRN12616001212448., (Copyright © 2020 by the American Society of Nephrology.)

Purpose: To examine associations of intervention dose with behavior change outcomes in a telephone counseling intervention for physical activity and dietary change., Design: Secondary analysis of intervention participants from a cluster-randomized controlled trial., Setting: Primary care practices in a disadvantaged community in Queensland, Australia., Subjects: Adult patients with type 2 diabetes or hypertension., Intervention: Patients (n = 228) received telephone counseling over a 12-month period. The initiation phase (1-4 months) consisted of up to 10 weekly or fortnightly calls; the maintenance-enhancement phase (5-12 months) consisted of up to eight monthly calls., Measures: Intervention dose was defined as the number of calls completed in total and during each phase and was categorized into tertiles. Diet and physical activity were measured using validated self-report instruments., Analysis: Multivariate analyses of call completion and change in health behaviors., Results: Those completing a high number of calls were more likely to be female, white, older than 60 years, retired, and earning less than an average weekly Australian wage. Relative to low call completion, high completion during the maintenance-enhancement phase was associated with significantly greater (least squares mean [SE]) behavioral improvement for the following: total fat intake as percentage of calories (-3.58% [.74%]), saturated fat intake (-2.51% [.51%]), fiber intake (4.23 [1.20] g), and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (187.82 [44.78] minutes)., Conclusion: Interventions of longer duration may be required to influence complex behaviors such as physical activity and fat and fiber intake.

Background: By 2025, it is estimated that approximately 1.8 million Australian adults (approximately 8.4% of the adult population) will have diabetes, with the majority having type 2 diabetes. Weight management via improved physical activity and diet is the cornerstone of type 2 diabetes management. However, the majority of weight loss trials in diabetes have evaluated short-term, intensive clinic-based interventions that, while producing short-term outcomes, have failed to address issues of maintenance and broad population reach. Telephone-delivered interventions have the potential to address these gaps., Methods/design: Using a two-arm randomised controlled design, this study will evaluate an 18-month, telephone-delivered, behavioural weight loss intervention focussing on physical activity, diet and behavioural therapy, versus usual care, with follow-up at 24 months. Three-hundred adult participants, aged 20-75 years, with type 2 diabetes, will be recruited from 10 general practices via electronic medical records search. The Social-Cognitive Theory driven intervention involves a six-month intensive phase (4 weekly calls and 11 fortnightly calls) and a 12-month maintenance phase (one call per month). Primary outcomes, assessed at 6, 18 and 24 months, are: weight loss, physical activity, and glycaemic control (HbA1c), with weight loss and physical activity also measured at 12 months. Incremental cost-effectiveness will also be examined. Study recruitment began in February 2009, with final data collection expected by February 2013., Discussion: This is the first study to evaluate the telephone as the primary method of delivering a behavioural weight loss intervention in type 2 diabetes. The evaluation of maintenance outcomes (6 months following the end of intervention), the use of accelerometers to objectively measure physical activity, and the inclusion of a cost-effectiveness analysis will advance the science of broad reach approaches to weight control and health behaviour change, and will build the evidence base needed to advocate for the translation of this work into population health practice., Trial Registration: ACTRN12608000203358.

Background: We compared the responsiveness to change (prepost intervention) of 3 commonly-used self-report measures of physical activity., Methods: In a cluster-randomized trial of a telephone-delivered intervention with primary care patients, physical activity was assessed at baseline and 4 months (n = 381) using the 31-item CHAMPS questionnaire; the 6-item Active Australia Questionnaire (AAQ); and, 2 walking for exercise items from the US National Health Interview Survey (USNHIS). Responsiveness to change was calculated for frequency (sessions/week) and duration (MET x minutes/week) of walking and moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity., Results: The greatest responsiveness for walking frequency was found with the USNHIS (0.45, 95% CI: 0.19, 0.72) and AAQ (0.43, 95% CI: 0.19, 0.67), and for walking duration with the USNHIS (0.27, 95% CI 0.13, 0.41) and CHAMPS (0.24, 95% CI: 0.12, 0.36). For moderate-to-vigorous activity, responsiveness for frequency was slightly higher for the AAQ (0.50, 95% CI: 0.30, 0.69); for duration it was slightly higher for CHAMPS (0.32, 95% CI: 0.17, 0.47)., Conclusions: In broad-reach trials, brief self-report measures (USNHIS and AAQ) are useful for their comparability to population physical activity estimates and low respondent burden. These measures can be used without a loss in responsiveness to change relative to a more detailed self-report measure (CHAMPS).