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Objectives: Chinese medicine is a complex domain of theoretical and practical approaches that is being increasingly put under the research spotlight. The "Chinese Medicine in Australia"research project attempted to capture the clinical features of practitioners of Chinese medicine. Participants and Interventions: The project involved a national survey of Chinese medicine professional association members and registered practitioners in the state of Victoria, Australia (n = 655; response rate, 42%-55%) completed in 2012-2013. Design: The content and face validated survey was developed using new and previous workforce survey questions. Results: This paper reports on the workforce and practice characteristics of the survey respondents. Chinese medicine practitioners are highly educated, come from diverse backgrounds, and have chosen to practice predominantly in sole or multipractitioner private practice settings. An interest in the philosophy of Chinese medicine and previous experiences contributed to practitioners' decisions to study and practice Chinese medicine. Incorporating a variety of techniques, practitioners describe themselves as practicing predominantly Chinese acupuncture and herbal medicine. Conclusions: The results from this survey contribute to the understanding of the nature and description of Chinese medicine practice in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study examines involvement with a range of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) during pregnancy on the use of pharmacologic (PPMT) and nonpharmacologic (NPMT) pain management techniques for labor and birth. Design: Longitudinal analysis of survey data. Participants: A substudy ( n=2445) of the 'young' cohort of the nationally representative Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health was conducted. Outcome measures : Use of PPMT and NPMT during labor and birth. Results: The survey was completed by 1835 women (response rate, 79.2%). Most respondents used either intrapartum PPMT (81.9%) or NPMT (74.4%). Many (60.7%) used some form of CAM during pregnancy and also used PPMT during birth. More than two thirds of women (66.7%) who used NPMT used CAM during pregnancy. There was a general trend of increased likelihood of NPMT use by women who applied CAM during pregnancy. There was an inverse effect on use of epidural analgesia for women who consumed herbal teas during pregnancy (odds ratio, 0.60). Conclusions: Because of the study design, this paper does not confirm a causative relationship between the use of CAM during pregnancy and intrapartum pain management choices. It does, however, indicate that the use of CAM during pregnancy may not significantly affect the uptake of intrapartum PPMT, despite possible attempts to reduce PPMT by using NPMT. It also highlights the possibility of potential interactions between CAM and PPMT, given the high prevalence of concomitant use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chronic breathlessness is a significant problem in palliative care and oxygen is often prescribed in an attempt to ameliorate it. Often, this prescription falls outside the current funding guidelines for long-term home oxygen use. The aim of this qualitative study was to understand the factors that most influence Australian specialist palliative care nurses' initiation of home oxygen for their patients. Methods: A series of focus groups were held across three states in Australia in 2011 involving specialist palliative care nurses. The invitation to the nurses was sent by e-mail through their national association. Recorded and transcribed data were coded for themes and subthemes. A summary, which included quotes, was provided to participants to confirm. Results: Fifty-one experienced palliative care nurses participated in seven focus groups held in three capital cities. Two major themes were identified: 1) logistic/health service issues (not reported in this paper as specific to the Australian context) involving the local context of prescribing and, 2) clinical care issues that involved assessing the patient's need for home oxygen and ongoing monitoring concerns. Palliative care nurses involved in initiating or prescribing oxygen often reported using oxygen as a second-line treatment after other interventions had been trialed and these had not provided sufficient symptomatic benefit. Safety issues were a universal concern and a person living alone did not emerge as a specific issue among the nurses interviewed. Conclusion: The role of oxygen is currently seen as a second-line therapy in refractory dyspnea by specialist palliative care nurses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]