New nurse-led protocols for stroke patients, based on ACU research, led by the Nursing Research Institute, have resulted in changes to policy, guidelines and clinical practice in Europe and Australia. The protocols were developed through the Quality in Acute Stroke Care (QASC) Trial (published in the Lancet, 2011) to manage fever, hyperglycaemia and swallowing (FeSS) post-stroke.
Professor Sandy Middleton FACN, FAAN is a Professor of Nursing and Director of the Nursing Research Institute at St Vincent’s Health Network Sydney, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne and Australian Catholic University. She focusses on stroke and the way research can improve care, particularly analysing the way nurses can initiate care to improve patient recovery.
Professor Middleton was the lead investigator on the landmark NHMRC-funded QASC cluster trial that demonstrated decreased death and dependency following implementation of nurse-initiated protocols to manage fever, hyperglycaemia and swallowing post-stroke, winning multiple national and international awards including ACU’s Vice-Chancellor’s Staff Excellence Award, Excellence in Research and Research Partnerships in 2019. These protocols have been translated into 64 hospitals in 17 European countries and in adopted in 36 NSW hospitals. She has published in high impact journals including The Lancet and The New England Journal of Medicine.
Australian Health Journal spoke with Professor Sandy Middleton on these significant achievements in nurse-led acute stroke care.
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Misinformation impacts routine vaccines
More significant changes in recent years have been health-related misinformation eroding trust in healthcare professionals, leading to people seeking alternative treatments or avoiding medical advice altogether. This can make it more difficult for healthcare professionals to provide effective treatment and care.
Recent vaccines delivered as part of the COVID-19 response, are having a consequential impact on the uptake of routine vaccines.
Australian Health Journal spoke with Dr Paul Griffin, an Infectious Diseases Physician and Microbiologist at Mater Health, and who has been involved in over 150 clinical trials in the field of infectious disease.
Paul talks about the importance of having reputable sources of information that can used to encourage people to understand what is involved in clinical trials and the roles of vaccines.
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Practising to top scope of urology practice, advancing treatment & patient care through research
Michael is a urology nurse practitioner with a special interest in prostate cancer survivorship, and has worked in urology for the past ten years. Michael has completed the Prostate Nursing Care course at Latrobe University, Graduate Certificate of Health with a specialisation in Scheduled Medicines (USQ), and the Master of Nursing (Flinders) to become a Nurse Practitioner in 2024.
As a Urology Nurse Practitioner he divides his time between the Australian Prostate Centre and Western Urology.
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HEALTH CARE BRIEF: Type 1 Diabetes (T1D)
Type 1 Diabetes – Incidence rates, management, lived experience & research
