School of Interprofessional Health Studies

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The School of Interprofessional Health Studies connects and integrates the health science disciplines’ principles and approaches to create solutions faster and more effectively.

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Advancing Speech Pathology Practice: Lessons From an Autoethnography
(Centre for Clinical Research Excellence (CCRE), 2012-10-09) Bright, Felicity
It has been suggested that balancing ‘technical skills with a ‘human approach’ may promote a client-centred approach to treatment and may be more consistent with what clients see as important in rehabilitation. This poster draws on a co-autoethnography that explored how a philosophy of client-centred practice which explicitly incorporated both ‘technical’ and ‘caring’ skills informed clinical practice with people with acquired brain injury. It reflects on how this approach to therapy could inform speech pathology practice with people with aphasia.
Hope in People With Aphasia: A Longitudinal Qualitative Study
(Centre for Clinical Research Excellence (CCRE), 2012-10-09) Bright, Felicity
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Hope has been shown to be important for life after stroke 1. People with aphasia have reported that having a sense of hope is essential for the post-acute recovery period 2. This study aimed to explore hope at two timepoints in recovery: the post-acute period (3-6 months post stroke) and the chronic period (~18 months poststroke).
Treatment With a Copper-selective Chelator Causes Substantive Improvement in Cardiac Function of Diabetic Rats With Left-ventricular Impairment
(BioMed Central (BMC), 2013) Lu, J; Pontré, B; Pickup, S; Choong, SY; Li, M; Xu, H; Gamble, GD; Phillips, AR; Cowan, BR; Young, AA; Cooper, GJ
Background Defective copper regulation is implicated as a causative mechanism of organ damage in diabetes. Treatment with trientine, a divalent-copper-selective chelator, improves arterial and renal structure/function in diabetes, wherein it also ameliorates left-ventricular (LV) hypertrophy. However, direct in vivo evidence that trientine can improve cardiac function in heart failure has hitherto been lacking. Methods To determine whether trientine treatment could improve in vivo outcome, we measured cardiac function in groups of trientine-treated diabetic (TETA-DIA), non-drug-treated diabetic (DIA) and sham-treated control (SHAM) rats, by using in vivo high-field cardiac magnetic-resonance imaging (cMRI) and an ex vivo isolated-perfused working heart method. Forty age-matched animals underwent a cMRI scan after which 12 were randomized to the SHAM group and 28 underwent streptozotocin-injection; of these, 25 developed stable diabetes, and 12 were then randomized to receive no treatment for 16 weeks (DIA) and the other 13 to undergo 8-weeks’ untreated diabetes followed by 8-weeks’ drug treatment (TETA-DIA). Animals were studied again by cMRI at 8 and 16 weeks following disease induction, and finally by measurement of ex vivo cardiac function. Results After eight weeks diabetes, rats (DIA/TETA-DIA) had developed significant impairment of LV function, as judged by impairment of ejection fraction (LVEF), cardiac output (CO), and LV mass (LVM)/body-mass (all P < 0.001), as well as other functional indexes. LVEF, CO (both P < 0.001) and the other indexes deteriorated further at 16 weeks in DIA, whereas trientine (TETA-DIA) improved cardiac function by elevating LVEF and CO (both P < 0.001), and also partially reversed the increase in LVM/body-mass (P < 0.05). In ex vivo hearts from DIA, the CO response to increasing preload pressure was deficient compared with SHAM (P < 0.001) whereas the preload-CO relationship was significantly improved in TETA-DIA animals (P < 0.001). Conclusions Trientine treatment significantly improved cardiac function in diabetic rats with substantive LV impairment. These results implicate impaired copper regulation in the pathogenesis of impaired cardiac function caused by diabetic cardiomyopathy, and support ongoing studies of trientine treatment in patients with heart failure.
Combining Multiple Serum Biomarkers in Tumor Diagnosis: A Clinical Assessment
(Spandidos Publications, 2013) Li, X; Lu, J; Ren, H; Chen, T; Gao, L; Di, L; Song, Z; et al
The present study aimed to assess the diagnostic/ prognostic value of various clinical tumor markers, including carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), neuron-specific enolase (NSE), cytokeratin 19 (CYFRA21-1), α-fetoprotein (AFP), carbohydrate antigen-125 (CA-125), carbohydrate antigen-19.9 (CA-19.9) and ferritin, individually or in combination. The electro-chemiluminescence immunization method was performed to detect the levels of seven tumor markers in 560 cancer patients and 103 healthy subjects for comparison. The serum levels of the seven markers measured in cancer patients were higher compared to healthy subjects (P<0.05 for AFP and P<0.001 for the remaining six markers). Different markers had different sensitivity towards different types of tumors. Combining more markers significantly increased the ratios of positive diagnosis in the tumors. The diagnostic sensitivities of combining seven markers were particularly high in digestive, urinary and skeletal tumors (82, 92 and 83%, respectively). Gynecological tumors have exhibited a constant yet relatively low positive diagnosis irrespective of the use of a single marker or combined markers. However, the increase in sensitivity when combining markers was accompanied by a decrease in specificity. Generally, combining more markers increased the tumor detection rates, while a combination of the seven markers provided the highest detection rate. Combined detection showed a particularly high sensitivity in detecting respiratory, digestive and urinary system tumors, with the lowest sensitivity observed in gynecological tumors. As a result, combining tumor markers may play an important role in early tumor detection/diagnosis while the loss of specificity can be tolerated.
Implementing an Interprofessional First-year Teamwork Project: Some Key Reflections
(Informa Healthcare, 2013-05-14) McNaughton, SM
Abstract Implementing an interprofessional teamwork project for first-year students presents pedagogical and practical challenges. While transferable skills and attributes are important, engagement of students with limited professional experience in teamwork depends on relevance to current learning needs. This report outlines principles learned from planning and implementing a teamwork project for an interprofessional health administration and service development course. Practising interprofessional teamwork as leaders and teachers, aligning with previous, current and future teamwork content and processes and responding to student feedback and achievement have been the key factors in shaping the project over three semesters. Face-to-face and online interprofessional teamwork learning has necessitated developing resources that support self-direction, using familiar technology and providing enabling physical environments. Implications for first-year interprofessional teamwork are that structured well-resourced processes, responsiveness and alignment of learning all improve student outcomes.
PTEN, Longevity and Age-related Diseases
(2013-12-13) Tait, I; Li, Y; Lu, J
Since the discovery of PTEN, this protein has been shown to be an effective suppressor of cancer and a contributor to longevity. This report will review, in depth, the associations between PTEN and other molecules, its mutations and regulations in order to present how PTEN can be used to increase longevity. This report will collect recent research of PTEN and use this to discuss PTEN’s role in caloric restriction, antioxidative defense of DNA-damage and the role it plays in suppressing tumors. The report will also discuss that variety of ways that PTEN can be compromised, through mutations, complete loss of alleles and its main antagonist, the PI3K/AKT pathway.
Microbial Community Structures and Dynamics in the O3/bac Drinking Water Treatment Process
(MDPI, 2014) Tian, J; Lu, J; Zhang, Y; Li, JC; Sun, LC; Hu, ZL
Effectiveness of drinking water treatment, in particular pathogen control during the water treatment process, is always a major public health concern. In this investigation, the application of PCR-DGGE technology to the analysis of microbial community structures and dynamics in the drinking water treatment process revealed several dominant microbial populations including: α-Proteobacteria, β-Proteobacteria, γ-Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria Firmicutes and Cyanobacteria. α-Proteobacteria and β-Proteobacteria were the dominant bacteria during the whole process. Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes were the dominant bacteria before and after treatment, respectively. Firmicutes showed season-dependent changes in population dynamics. Importantly, γ-Proteobacteria, which is a class of medically important bacteria, was well controlled by the O3/biological activated carbon (BAC) treatment, resulting in improved effluent water bio-safety.
Extracts From New Zealand Undaria Pinnatifida Containing Fucoxanthin As Potential Functional Biomaterials Against Cancer in Vitro
(MDPI, 2014) Wang, SK; Li, Y; White, WL; Lu, J
This study tested extracts from New Zealand seaweed Undaria pinnatifida containing fucoxanthin, in parallel with pure fucoxanthin, in nine human cancer cell lines, for anticancer activity. Growth inhibition effects of extracts from Undaria pinnatifida were found in all types of cancer cell lines in dose- and time- dependent manners. Cytotoxicity of fucoxanthin in three human non-cancer cell lines was also tested. Compared with pure fucoxanthin, our extracts containing low level of fucoxanthin were found to be more effective in inhibiting the growth of lung carcinoma, colon adenocarcinoma and neuroblastoma. Our results suggest that fucoxanthin is a functional biomaterial that may be used as a chemopreventive phytochemical or in combination chemotherapy. Furthermore, we show for the first time that some unknown compounds with potential selective anti-cancer effects may exist in extracts of New Zealand Undaria pinnatifida, and New Zealand Undaria pinnatifida could be used as a source for either functional biomaterial extraction or production of functional food.
Is "Working Together" Working? An Investigation Into Tertiary Students’ Attitudes Toward Collaborative Assessments
(Interprofessional Health Studies, Auckland University of Technology, 2014) Scherman, R
A growing body of knowledge is calling for a new pedagogic discourse in tertiary eduation that draws on the importance of peer learning and collaborative assessment as a meaningful framework for interdisciplinary studies. The literature highlights the benefits to students of cooperation and collaboration in the classroom, and some research even describes team-based testing and other shared-learning assessment structures. The literature also describes collaborative assessment strategies for academics. However, what seems to be lacking is a better understanding of the students’ own perspectives on the idea of collaborative assessments, where students “share” grades. With that in mind, and with the growing emphasis on interprofessional practice at AUT, I wanted to know what students thought of the idea of shared-learning environments and collaborative assessments. In particular, my aim was to assess whether or not those attitudes were influenced by either the students’ worldviews (i.e. individualism or collectivism) or their perceptions of academic achievement (i.e. belief that they were obtaining D, C, B or A range grades). A group of 82 AUT undergaduate students taking Social Psychology (a paper without a pre-req that attracts a large number of multi-disciplinary and ethnically-diverse students from across two Faculties) completed a purpose-built 10-question survey (with six additional demographic questions). (NOTE: AUTEC approval was obtained for the study.) Preliminary analyses indicate that a stronger sense of collectivism positively correlates with more positive attitudes toward collaborative assessments. On the other hand, perceiving themselves to be getting higher grades appears to be negatively correlating with positive attitudes toward collaborative assessments. A full discussion of the descriptive data will be offered at the presentation, in addition to the inferential analyses (still ongoing) and their implications for lecturers and interprofessional pedagogy.
Estimating Cyanobacteria Community Dynamics and Its Relationship With Environmental Factors
(MDPI, 2014) Luo, W; Chen, H; Lei, A; Lu, J; Hu, Z
The cyanobacteria community dynamics in two eutrophic freshwater bodies (Tiegang Reservoir and Shiyan Reservoir) was studied with both a traditional microscopic counting method and a PCR-DGGE genotyping method. Results showed that cyanobacterium Phormidium tenue was the predominant species; twenty-six cyanobacteria species were identified in water samples collected from the two reservoirs, among which fourteen were identified with the morphological method and sixteen with the PCR-DGGE method. The cyanobacteria community composition analysis showed a seasonal fluctuation from July to December. The cyanobacteria population peaked in August in both reservoirs, with cell abundances of 3.78 × 108 cells L-1 and 1.92 × 108 cells L-1 in the Tiegang and Shiyan reservoirs, respectively. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) was applied to further investigate the correlation between cyanobacteria community dynamics and environmental factors. The result indicated that the cyanobacteria community dynamics was mostly correlated with pH, temperature and total nitrogen. This study demonstrated that data obtained from PCR-DGGE combined with a traditional morphological method could reflect cyanobacteria community dynamics and its correlation with environmental factors in eutrophic freshwater bodies.
Voice(s) in Action: Using the Listening Guide in Observational Research
(2014) Bright, Felicity; Kayes, N; Worrall, L; McPherson, K
Patient engagement, a hot topic in the healthcare sector, involves not just the patient but staff and healthcare structures. Our study focuses on how rehabilitation providers engage people with communication difficulties in stroke rehabilitation. We use the Voice-Centered Relational Method, including the Listening Guide, to analyze interview and observational data, paying close attention to how participants speak of themselves and of others. While the Listening Guide is usually used with interview data, we use it also with observational data, considering how people represent themselves, and how they speak of themselves and others, within face-to-face clinical encounters. This methodological poster will demonstrate how we are applying the Listening Guide with observational data. We suggest bringing together interview and observational data can illuminate the multiplicity of voices evident within the practice of healthcare providers, and can provide an understanding of how and why they work in the ways they do.
Voices of Rehabilitation Providers: Talking About Engagement
(2014) Bright, Felicity; Kayes, N; Cummins, C; Worrall, L; McPherson, K
Engagement in healthcare has traditionally been seen as a patient responsibility. There is now growing consideration of the role of the clinician in patient engagement. Our study explores how rehabilitation providers engage people with communication difficulties in stroke rehabilitation. We utilise the Voice-Centred Relational Method and analysis techniques of the Listening Guide and I-Poems. Listenings focus on the story and our response to the story, the voices of participants (how they speak of themselves), how participants speak of the 'other' in the engagement encounter and the interactions between themselves and the 'other', and the context surrounding the encounter. These techniques highlight the multiplicity of voices within and between rehabilitation providers; these appear to have significant implications for patient-provider interaction. We will present several voices within the poster. We suggest paying close attention to the voices of providers can help illuminate rehabilitation practices and processes.
Miscommunication Kills: A Rationale for Shared Learning
(Interprofessional Health Studies, Auckland University of Technology, 2014-09-08) Weblemoe, TL; Haxell, A
No abstract.
Cluster Analysis of Assessment in a Compulsory Human Physiology Course for Health Science Undergraduates
(Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia (HERDSA), 2015-11-25) Brown, S; White, S; Power, N; Bowmar, A
No abstract.
Lifestyle Interventions for the Treatment of Women With Gestational Diabetes (Protocol)
(John Wiley and Sons, Ttd., 2015-12-01) Brown, S; Brown, J; Alwan, NA; West, J; McKinlay, CJD; Farrar, D; Crowther, CA
This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: To evaluate the effects of lifestyle interventions in treating women with gestational diabetes.
Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) in an introductory course in chemistry
(The University of Wollongong, 2015-12-01) Brown, S; White, S; Wakeling, L; Naiker, M
Approaches to study and learning may enhance or undermine educational outcomes, and thus it is important for educators to be knowledgeable about their students’ approaches to study and learning. TheApproaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students(ASSIST) – a 52 item inventory which identifies three learning styles (Deep, Strategic, and Surface), was given to first year undergraduate students undertaking an introductory chemistry course. Completed inventories (n=103, 85% response), included 30 BSc Biomedicine, 15 BSc Food and Nutrition, 22 BSc Geology, 18 BSc Science students, and a further 18 students on unnamed BSc pathways. The dominant learning style adopted was the Surface approach, with a mean score (SD) of 2.94 (0.54). The preference of the surface approach was consistent for all BSc pathways.There was a higher mean score for the strategic learning style in males (n= 59) compared to females (n=44) with no gender-based differences in either the deep or the surface learning styles.A surface approach may not necessarily indicate a lack of interest in chemistry, rather chemistry may be perceived as being peripheral to the students’ interests – this may be a problem when students with a diverse range of career aspirations study common content in large, first year introductory courses. Identifying students that adopt a surface learning style at an early stage in the undergraduate education journey is an important step in effectively targeting educational resources aimed at enhancing students’ learning habits.
Temporal Patterns in Bacterioplankton Community Composition in Three Reservoirs of Similar Trophic Status in Shenzhen, China
(MDPI AG, 2016) Li, J; Chen, C; Lu, J; Lei, A; Hu, Z
The bacterioplankton community composition’s (BCC) spatial and temporal variation patterns in three reservoirs (Shiyan, Xikeng, and LuoTian Reservoir) of similar trophic status in Bao’an District, Shenzhen (China), were investigated using PCR amplification of the 16S rDNA gene and the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) techniques. Water samples were collected monthly in each reservoir during 12 consecutive months. Distinct differences were detected in band number, pattern, and density of DGGE at different sampling sites and time points. Analysis of the DGGE fingerprints showed that changes in the bacterial community structure mainly varied with seasons, and the patterns of change indicated that seasonal forces might have a more significant impact on the BCC than eutrophic status in the reservoirs, despite the similar Shannon-Weiner index among the three reservoirs. The sequences obtained from excised bands were affiliated with Cyanobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteriodetes, Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Planctomycetes, and Proteobacteria.
Gestational Diabetes in New Zealand Ethnic Groups
(Open Access Text (OAT), 2016) Jowitt, L
In New Zealand the rise in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) prevalence reflects the current patterns of increasing obesity and diabetes. Approximately 61,000 women give birth in New Zealand every year, and about 4.9% (6.6%) of those women have diabetes. Screening for gestational diabetes is recommended for all pregnant women in New Zealand, unless an earlier diagnosis of diabetes was made. Indigenous Maori women, Pacific Island, and Asian Indian women are populations genetically prone to diabetes, and have high rates of gestational and type 2 diabetes. Exposure of the foetus to maternal diabetes influences changes in birthweight, adiposity, and foetal insulin production. GDM and type 2 diabetes in Pacific Island and Maori new-borns were associated with higher birthweight, skinfold thicknesses, raised cord insulin, insulin peptides, and increased leptin concentrations. Pacific Island and indigenous Maori women gave birth to macrosomic new-borns, who commonly suffered postnatal hypoglycaemia, respiratory distress, and shoulder dystocia. The association between maternal obesity and SGA raises a concern as SGA is less likely to be detected in early pregnancy in obese women, while the association between SGA and socioeconomic status, initially observed in Maori and Pacific women, was explained by high cigarette smoking rates, and obesity in deprived areas.
Person-Centred Rehabilitation: What Exactly Does It Mean? Protocol for a Scoping Review With Thematic Analysis Toward Framing the Concept and Practice of Person-Centred Rehabilitation
(BMJ Publishing, 2016) Jesus, T; Bright, Felicity; Kayes, NM; Cott, C
Introduction Person-centredness is a philosophy for organising and delivering healthcare based on patients’ needs, preferences and experiences. Although widely endorsed, the concept suffers from a lack of detail and clarification, in turn accounting for ambiguous implementation and outcomes. While a conceptual framework based on a systematic review defines person/patient-centred care components (Scholl et al, 2014), it applies across healthcare contexts and may not be sensitive to the nuances of the rehabilitation of adults with physical impairments. Accordingly, this study aims to build a conceptual framework, based on existing literature, of what person-centredness means in the rehabilitation of adults with physical impairments in the clinical encounter and broader health service delivery. Methods and analysis We will use a scoping review methodology. Searches on relevant databases will be conducted first, combining keywords for ‘rehabilitation’, ‘person-centered’ and associated terms (including patient preferences/experiences). Next, snowball searches (citation tracking, references lists) will be performed. Papers will be included if they fall within predefined selection categories (seen as most likely informative on elements pertaining to person-centred rehabilitation) and are written in English, regardless of design (conceptual, qualitative, quantitative). Two reviewers will independently screen titles and abstracts, followed by screening of the full text to determine inclusion. Experts will then be consulted to identify relevant missing papers. This can include elements other than the peer-reviewed literature (eg, book chapters, policy/legal papers). Finally, information that helps to build the concept and practice of person-centred rehabilitation will be abstracted independently by two reviewers and analysed by inductive thematic analysis to build the conceptual framework. Dissemination The resulting framework will aid clarification regarding person-centred rehabilitation, which in turn is expected to conceptually ground and inform its operationalisation (eg, measurement, implementation, improvement). Findings will be disseminated through local, national and international stakeholders, both at the clinical and service organisation levels.
Physical Assessment of a 3D Printed Poly Lactic Acid Dart for Wildlife Contraceptive Delivery
(Controlled Release Society, 2016-07) Bunt, C; Pickering, K; Long, J; Gholizadeh, H; Seyfoddin, A
Darts 3D printed in the horizontal orientation at right angles to the dart axis were stronger and remained intact when fired using an air-rifle compared to vertical orientation printed darts which were weaker and shattered.

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