We would like to congratulate Dr Carl Mahfouz who was accepted for a poster presentation at the RACGP Conference for General Practice 2014, held at the Adelaide Convention Centre from the 9-11 October.

Carl presented preliminary findings of his current study titled “GP attitudes towards hospital discharge summaries”. A photo of Carl and his poster are shown below. If you would like further information about this project contact Mrs Alyssa Munkman on amunkman@uow.edu.au.

Please join the Illawarra and Southern Practice Research Network (ISPRN) staff in congratulating the successful ISPRN researchers who summited abstracts to the Primary Health Care Research and  Information Service (PHCRIS) Conference held in Canberra from the 23-25 of July 2014.

All three ISPRN member led projects were accepted as either a poster presentation or a podium presentation.  Details of their success are listed below:

• Dr Lucie Stanford, Prof Andrew Bonney, Dr Rowena Ivers,  Ms Bridget Dijkmans-Hadley: “Another pair of eyes in the room: do patients want a chaperone for intimate examinations?” – accepted as a podium presentation
• Dr Fiona Williams, Dr Carl Mahfouz, Dr Russell Pearson, Dr Rowena Ivers: “The attitude of patients over 65yrs to ceasing long term sleeping tablets”- accepted as a poster presentation
• Dr Duncan MacKinnon, Prof Andrew Bonney, Mr Darren Mayne,  Dr Stephen Barnett, Ms Bridget Dijkmans-Hadley: “Weighing in general practice: Does it have an impact on weight management?” – accepted as a poster presentation

Further congratulations goes to Dr Duncan MacKinnon and his team whose poster won the PHCRIS Best Poster Award!

It was a very successful conference for ISPRN with the results of current research projects being introduced into the primary care academic environment.

Dr Lucie Stanford presenting her paper presentation “Another pair of eyes in the room: do patients want a chaperone for intimate examinations?”

Dr Fiona Williams and Dr Carl Mahfouz presenting their poster for the project titled: The attitude of patients over 65yrs to ceasing long term sleeping tablets.

Dr Duncan MacKinnon and ISPRN Coordinator Bridget Dijkmans-Hadley with the PHCRIS Best Poster-Weighing in general practice: Does it have an impact on weight management?

Check out our upcoming events page for new events and funding opportunities. Just click here: https://www.uowblogs.com/isprn/upcoming-events/ .

ISPRN has now released an ISPRN News Autumn 2014 edition. Please click here to view a copy, or head to our webpage: http://smah.uow.edu.au/medicine/research/.

We would love to hear your feedback about our ISPRN Newsletter, what other articles or information would you like to be included in ISPRN News? Please email your feedback to us on isprn-enquiries@uow.edu.au.

ISPRN would like to thank the people who attended the ISPRN Research Development Workshop which aimed to build participants knowledge of introductory research methodologies and critical analysis of the literature, and will specifically focus on qualitative research. We received an overwhelming response from people who wanted to attend this year and received fantastic feedback from attendees on the day!

We will be making these resources available to members in the research modules component of the blog, or alternatively you can email isprn-enquiries@uow.edu.au for a copy of the resources from the day.

Looking forward to another successful workshop in 2014.
With regards,
Bridget
ISPRN Research Coordinator

Hello everyone,

I am delighted to let you know that our Phase 2 research titled “Model of nutritional care in older adults: Assessing the feasibility of using the Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form (MNA-SF) in General Practice” is currently underway. Phase 2 research was developed based on results and feedback sessions of Phase 1 research (Nutrition screening of older adults in general practice settings: knowledge, attitude and practice of health professionals) which was conducted last year.

Discussion and training sessions about pathways for malnutrition screening and management in older adults have been performed in each participating general practice: Shellharbour Medical Centre, Culburra Beach General Practice and Junction Street Family Practice. Guidance on how to conduct a validated nutrition screening tool for older adults, the Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form (MNA-SF) and resource kit to assist general practitioners and practice nurses in identifying and managing malnutrition were provided to each participant during the sessions.

Below are photos from the sessions:

Associate Professor Karen Charlton (third from left) with Shellharbour Medical Centre staff during a discussion session. The resource kits for staff can be seen on the table in document wallets.

First session at Culburra Beach General Practice. Participants were answering multiple choice questionnaires pre discussion session.

Second session at Culburra Beach General Practice.

Participants at Junction Street Family Practice were watching a video regarding guidance on how to perform MNA-S

Each general practice was also provided with a stadiometer, tape measures and digital weighing scales for their participation in this research. The outcomes of the Phase 2 research will be evaluated at each General Practice in 3 months.

Thank you to all of those who are involved in this important research. We look forward to discussing and sharing the findings.

Regards,
Aliza Hamirudin

Phase 1 of this research which aimed to identify perceived barriers and opportunities to implementing nutrition screening of older adults in general practice has been completed. Feedback sessions regarding results of the research are ongoing at the moment in the participating general practices. A summary will be shared via the blog soon. Here are some photos from one of the feedback sessions.

Dr. Karen Walton, Professor Andrew Bonney and I

Dr. Karen Walton and I in front of one of the participating general practices

Phase 2 of the research is currently being discussed with the collaborators and will aim to assess the feasibility of conducting nutrition screening in general practice settings.

Regards,

Aliza Hamirudin

Nutrition screening of older adults in general practice settings: knowledge, attitude and practice of health professionals Aliza Hamirudin (PhD Candidate) has now completed the data collection for Phase one of this IHMRI funded study. She conducted in-depth interviews with a total of 27 staff at three general practices – Shellharbour Medical Centre, Culburra Beach General Practice and Junction Street Family Practice. Thank you to all who were involved in the planning and conduct of this important study.

Analysis of the typed interview transcripts is in progress. While time has been identified as a major barrier by both doctors and practice nurses, there appears to be widespread support for the incorporation of nutrition screening instruments into the annual Medicare-funded 75+ health assessment. More than half of the participants said they would like to receive training on how to conduct nutrition screening in a systematic way. An ethics application is currently being developed for Phase two, which aims to assess the impact of a short training session and a resource kit in these general practice settings.

Regards,

Karen Walton