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Biomedical subjects

Erica L James

Publications and source records attributed to Erica L James.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Use of research by the Australian health promotion workforce.

This paper examines the attitudes and practices of Australian health promotion practitioners toward evidence-based practice (EBP). The study used a survey methodology and questionnaires were sent to 1114 members of the Australian Health Promotion Association. A response rate of 27% (n = 277) was achieved. The data showed that the vast majority of participant's attitudes toward EBP was very welcoming. However, in practice the impact of EBP was limited. Participants identified a range of significant barriers to implementing EBP including organizational culture, policy directives and lack of resources. A range of concerns was also identified regarding the applicability of the medically based EBP model within health promotion, which is based upon a social model of health. The findings highlight the importance of acknowledging the complexity of health promotion interventions and working toward developing an appropriate evidence base.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Teaching research and epidemiology to undergraduate students in the health sciences.

OBJECTIVE: To identify and address particular challenges in the teaching of epidemiological concepts to undergraduate students in non-clinical health disciplines. METHODS AND RESULTS: Relevant pedagogical literature was reviewed to identify a range of evidence-based teaching approaches. The authors also drew on their experience in curriculum development and teaching in this field to provide guidelines for teaching epidemiology in a way that is engaging to students and likely to promote deep, rather than surface, learning. Discussion of a range of practical strategies is included along with applied examples of teaching epidemiological content. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Increasingly, there is a greater emphasis on improved learning outcomes in higher education. Graduates from non-clinical health courses are required to have a core understanding of epidemiology and teachers of epidemiology need to be able to access resources that are relevant and useful for these students. A theoretically grounded framework for effective teaching of epidemiological principles to non-clinical undergraduates is provided, together with a range of useful teaching resources (both paper and web-based). Implementation of the strategies discussed will help ensure graduates are able to appropriately apply epidemiological skills in their professional practice.

Education, Public Health Professional↗
PubMed2006

Blurring boundaries in qualitative health research on sensitive topics.

Qualitative health researchers immerse themselves in the settings that they are studying. This immersion involves personal interaction with their participants, with the result that the boundaries between the researcher and the group of people under study can easily become blurred. Although health researchers have been undertaking qualitative research for many years, recognition of boundary issues inherent in this type of research have received little attention. To investigate such issues, the authors conducted interviews with 30 qualitative health researchers. A grounded theory analysis of the interview transcripts revealed that researchers can identify a number of boundaries in their research, including the boundaries between researcher and friend, researcher and counselor or therapist, and professional boundaries. The authors discuss the findings and offer recommendations for qualitative health researchers involved in researching sensitive topics, including the need for researchers to consider the impacts that undertaking research might have on them.

Ethics, Research↗
PubMed2005

The nutritional knowledge of Australian nurses.

Sound nutrition is an essential component of good health. A number of health professionals, including nurses, provide nutritional information to the community. However, little research exists which measures the nutrition knowledge of nurses in Australia. The aim of this study was to determine the nutrition knowledge of nurses in regional Victoria. A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used with 103 nurses (81% currently practicing in an acute regional hospital). The nurses answered 48 multiple choice general knowledge questions (using a valid and reliable questionnaire) and provided educational and demographic details. Each multiple choice question was scored as correct or incorrect and given the value of one point (maximum possible 48 points). The mean knowledge score for all nurses was 60.2% (SD = 8.4). Older nurses, those with more years of experience, and nurses with general training (rather than a degree) scored higher average knowledge scores. Respondents reported requests for nutrition information from patients and clients, and indicated that the most frequently used nutrition information sources were dietitians, other nurses, professional journals, books and literature from the National Heart Foundation. The nutrition knowledge score reported in this study is low to moderate by definition from previous studies using the same questionnaire. It is recommended that the Australian nursing profession determines its own nutrition knowledge standard and the nutrition knowledge needs of nurses working in particular areas of practice. Further work is required to determine the validity and reliability of an Australian knowledge instrument.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Conducting research in general practice: lessons learnt from experience.

ISSUE ADDRESSED: The increased focus on evidence-based practice and the World Health Organization (WHO) settings approach to health promotion have contributed to an increase in the importance of health promotion activity and therefore research being undertaken in the general practice setting. Primary care-based trials represent major investments in time and resources for researchers, health professionals and patients, and there are several methodological and logistical issues that need to be considered. The costs of failed trials are potentially significant and include wasted resources, opportunity costs of participants' time and discouragement of primary care professionals from co-operating with further research. DISCUSSION: This paper presents an overview of the important logistical and methodological considerations when conducting research in this setting. This paper is written for researchers new to the general practice setting. We discuss logistical challenges such as literature searching, ethical considerations, recruitment and retention of GPs, practices and patients, working with practices, and financial considerations. Methodological considerations including issues relating to patient recruitment, clustering, Hawthorne effect, ensuring conformity of intervention, avoiding contamination, and confounders are also discussed. A checklist for researchers contemplating research in this setting is supplied.

Australia↗
PubMed2005

Do university ethics committees adequately protect public health researchers?

OBJECTIVE: This paper aims to examine whether university human research ethics committees (HRECs) proactively seek to protect members of the research team as well as study subjects in their written documentation. METHODS: A content analysis of 37 Australian university HREC application forms and attachments was undertaken. Each form was allocated to one of four predetermined categories. RESULTS: Of the 37 forms, only three included an explicit request for the applicant to reflect on all possible aspects of safety of the researchers (physical, psychological and emotional). CONCLUSION: Few HRECs have taken issues of possible harm to researchers into account in their documentation. It is recommended that HRECs explicitly recognise potential risks to researchers, especially those engaged in exploration of sensitive topics, in their processes of approving human research. It is also recommended that researchers consider the possible implications of undertaking this type of research and ensure strategies are in place to minimise these risks.

Australia↗
PubMed2004

The Timed Up and Go Test: unable to predict falls on the acute medical ward.

Prevention of falls amongst older people is a high priority in health care. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of the Timed Up and Go Test to predict those older people who will fall whilst admitted to an acute hospital. The medical records of 160 older patients who were admitted to the medical ward of a large regional hospital were accessed retrospectively. The Timed Up and Go Test, used in isolation, was unable to identify those patients who were likely to fall. However the co-morbidity of incontinence was identified as a falls risk factor (OR = 8.7, p = 0.001). The Timed Up and Go Test alone does not possess predictive validity for acutely unwell older patients. It is therefore recommended that it not be used to identify those people who may fall.

Accidental Falls↗