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BackgroundInnovative strategies are required to reduce care fragmentation for people with multimorbidity. Coordinated models of health care delivery need to be adopted to deliver consumer-centered continuity of care. Nurse-led services have emerged over the past 20 years as evidence-based structured models of care delivery, providing a range of positive and coordinated health care outcomes. Although nurse-led services are effective in a range of clinical settings, strategies to improve continuity of care across the secondary and primary health care sectors for people with multimorbidity have not been examined. ObjectiveTo implement a nurse-led model of care coordination from a multidisciplinary outpatient setting and provide continuity of care between the secondary and primary health care sectors for people with multimorbidity. MethodsThis action research mixed methods study will have two phases. Phase 1 includes a systematic review, stakeholder forums, and validation workshop to collaboratively develop a model of care for a nurse-led care coordination service. Phase 2, through a series of iterative action research cycles, will implement a nurse-led model of care coordination in a multidisciplinary outpatient setting. Three to five iterative action research cycles will allow the model to be refined and further developed with multiple data collection points throughout. ResultsPilot implementation of the model of care coordination commenced in October 2018. Formal study recruitment commenced in May 2019 and the intervention and follow-up phases are ongoing. The results of the data analysis are expected to be available by March 2020. ConclusionsNursing, clinician, and patient outcomes and experiences with the nurse-led model of care coordination will provide a template to improve continuity of care between the secondary and primary health care systems. The model template may provide a future pathway for implementation of nurse-led services both nationally and internationally. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/15006

Objective: To assess the impact of ejaculatory dysfunction (EjD; failure of emission or retrograde ejaculation) on health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) after retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND) for testicular cancer and explore the efficacy of pseudoephedrine hydrochloride as treatment. Patients and Methods: In a single arm, phase II trial, patients at ≥6 months after RPLND were invited to complete patient‐reported outcome measures (European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer [EORTC] quality of life questionnaire [QLQ]‐30‐item core, EORTC QLQ‐testicular cancer‐26, and Brief Male Sexual Function Inventory) evaluating HRQoL and sexual function in follow‐up (ACTRN12622000537752/12622000542796). If EjD was reported, post‐ejaculatory urine ± semen analysis was undertaken. In eligible patients, pseudoephedrine hydrochloride 60 mg was administered orally every 6 h for six doses. The primary endpoint was sperm count >39 million sperm/ejaculate (>5th centile) following treatment. The trial was powered to detect a clinically relevant 36% achieving sperm count of >39 million sperm/ejaculate. Secondary endpoints included semen volume >1.5 mL, total motile sperm count, safety, and HRQoL impacts. Results: Of the 58 patients enrolled, the median (interquartile range [IQR]) age was 35 (29–41) years, with a median (IQR) of 37 (18–60) months from RPLND. EjD was reported in 33 (57%), including 27/52 (52%) receiving follow‐up at our centre. There were no differences in global HRQoL; however, role functioning (P = 0.045), sexual problems (P < 0.005), and sexual enjoyment (P = 0.005) was poorer if EjD was present. In all, 24/33 (73%) patients with EjD consented to pseudoephedrine treatment. Of 22 evaluable patients, four (18%) achieved a sperm count of >39 million/ejaculate (P = 0.20), and four (18%) had a semen volume of >1.5 mL (P = 0.20). There was a mean increase of 105 million sperm/ejaculate (P = 0.051) and 1.47 mL increase in semen volume (P = 0.01). No safety concerns arose. Conclusion: Ejaculatory dysfunction is common after RPLND but did not impact global HRQoL in our cohort. Pseudoephedrine improved EjD for some; however, its efficacy was lower than expected. Pseudoephedrine may be considered on an individualised basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This observational, cross-sectional study examined students' retrospective recall of emotional distress when studying sensitive topics in psychology, and whether hardiness had a mediated pathway to emotional distress through a mental health condition (MHC). Psychology undergraduates (155 women, 34 men) from South Australian universities completed self-report questionnaires assessing hardiness, retrospective measures of emotional distress when studying a range of topics, their concurrent MHC and lifetime cumulative trauma. As hypothesised, students reported more emotional distress to sensitive topics relative to nonsensitive ones, p < 0.001 (r = -0.69). Hardiness was significantly negatively correlated with MHC, p < 0.001 (r = -0.38). Causal mediation analysis revealed, as predicted, that MHC mediated the effect of hardiness on emotional distress (p < 0.001). These results are consistent with existing literature on students' reactions to sensitive topics in medical, law and social work education, as well as previous findings of negative associations between hardiness and mental health outcomes. Implications for higher education policy and practice are discussed, including the use of hardiness assessments as an early screening tool for mental health decline. Future research should identify the specific MHCs involved in the mediated pathway from hardiness to course-related emotional distress, and employ longitudinal designs to confirm the temporal ordering of variables.

Introduction: Improving diet is a prime target for the prevention and management of chronic disease. The communal coping model suggests that families can mitigate shared risk of chronic disease through encouragement of healthful eating, eliciting preventive behaviors. Method: Using network data from 69 Australian families across three ancestry groups (Anglo, Italian, and Asian) with varied family health histories, the present study applied social network analysis to identify patterns of intergenerational encouragement of healthful eating behavior within families, and assess whether patterns varied by family ancestry or disease density. Results: Findings indicated variation in patterns of health encouragement by ancestry such that Asian-Australian families were most distinct from the other ancestry groups. While there was no main effect of familial disease history, it moderated the effect of Italian ancestry on intergenerational encouragement patterns. Discussion: These results provide important context for future family based interventions that leverage normative patterns of intergenerational exchange of encouragement or aim to modify such patterns in an effort to improve family health. Keywords: intergenerational relationships, family communication, family networks Supplemental materials: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/fsh0000448.supp, Complex, chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes, are the leading cause of death and disability worldwide (World Health Organization, 2014) and account for more than 90% of all [...]

Increasing public knowledge remains one of the key aims of skin cancer awareness campaigns, yet diagnosis rates continue to rise. It is essential we measure skin cancer knowledge adequately so as to determine the nature of its relationship to sun-related behaviors. This study investigated the psychometric properties of a new measure of skin cancer knowledge, the Skin Cancer and Sun Knowledge (SCSK) scale. A total of 514 Western young adults (females n = 320, males n = 194) aged 18 to 26 years completed measures of skin type, skin cancer knowledge, tanning behavior, sun exposure, and sun protection. Two-week test-retest of the SCSK was conducted with 52 participants. Internal reliability of the SCSK scale was acceptable (KR-20 = 0.69), test--retest reliability was high (r = 0.83, n = 52), and acceptable levels of face, content, and incremental validity were demonstrated. Skin cancer knowledge (as measured by SCSK) correlated with sun protection, sun exposure, and tanning behaviors in the female sample, but not in the males. Skin cancer knowledge appears to be more relevant to the behavior of young women than that of young males. We recommend that future research establish the validity of the SCSK across a range of participant groups.

Gynecological cancers make up nearly 10% of all cancers diagnosed in Australian women. Despite this, increased survival rates have seen many women facing changes to self-identity post diagnosis alone. This study investigated the factors influencing a woman's self-identity following gynecological cancer treatment by interviewing 11 women aged 30–61, with various gynecological cancer types. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and reflexive thematic analysis was utilized. Two overarching themes were identified, changes in self-identity and the influence of stigma, with four subthemes: the cancer identity, the real meaning of survivorship, understanding womanhood, and the socially changed body. Outcomes show that social norms play a major role in the way women see themselves following treatment and that a reevaluation of blanket terms (e.g., survivor) is required within this space. This knowledge can be used to inform health-care professionals working with women following treatment in order to improve psychological well-being and self-acceptance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]