Completed Research Projects

• A randomised clinical trial to test a pain education program for patients with cancer and their family carers
• A randomised control trial of magestrol acetate, dexamtheasone and placebo in the management of anorexia patients with cancer
• A randomised controlled trial of low level laser therapy for the treatment of lymphoedema secondary to breast cancer
• A randomised double blind placebo controlled trial of infusional subcutaneous octreotide in the management of malignant bowel obstruction in people with advanced cancer
• A randomised, double-blind placebo controlled study of subcutaneous ketamine in the management of cancer related pain
• A randomized clinical trial to test a pain education program for patients with cancer and their family carers
• A study to assess the grief experienced by Registered Nurses and Care Aides who work in community palliative care and to identify suitable strategies for support
• An analysis of the practical needs of rural and remote adult and paediatric cancer patients and their families when in the city for cancer diagnosis and treatment
• An evaluation of the Liverpool Care Pathway for care of the terminally ill in rural Western Australia: Post-trial evaluation
• Australian Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration (PCOC)
• Barriers to improved cancer and palliative care outcomes for Aboriginal Australians in Western Australia: a service provider perspective
• Computerised assessment of cancer patients' psychosocial wellbeing: Evaluation of the efficacy of touch screen technology in assessing their psychosocial needs
• Consumer health impact statements: a review of current practices
• Demonstration project to develop an evidence based/best practice model to facilitate quality clinical placements in aged care
• Determining and meeting the needs of Grade III-IV Glioma patients and their carers
• Determining indicators for palliative care provision in the life-limiting illness pathway in the last year of life
• Developing an EORTC quality of life module for proctitis
• Development and implementation of an education program to guide palliative care for people with Motor Neurone Disease
• Development and testing of an implementation strategy for the Australian Pain Society's Residential Aged Care Pain Management Guidelines
• Development of guidelines for a palliative approach for aged care in the community setting.
• Dignity intervention for terminally ill patients (Palliative Care Support Study).
• Discharge planning for oncology/haematology patients
• Discussing survivorship with patients with haematological malignancies
• Evaluation of the Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital bereavement program: Impact on bereaved families, hospital staff and general practitioners
• Experiences, attitudes, knowledge and psychological status of men from high risk breast cancer families
• Fatigue and functional capacity in women undergoing adjuvant breast radiotherapy
• Fatigue and improving quality of life of men with prostate cancer
• Follow up of breast cancer patients: is there scope to engage primary care?
• Implementation of sustainable evidence-based practice for the assessment and management of pain in aged care residential facilities.
• Implmentation and evaluation of Dignity Therapy in Denmark
• Improving the psychological function of family caregivers of palliative care patients: A randomised controlled trial
• Investigating the role of Community pharmacists in advising patients with lower bowel cancer symptoms.
• Management of significant personal and interpersonal problems in cancer: a simulated consultation study
• Mapping cancer prevalence and quality of care in residential aged care facilities in Western Australia
• Optimising the emotional comfort of hospitalised patients: Exploring the feasibility and effect of a coordinated approach to psychosocial care
• Outcomes of patients with end-stage disease admitted to the intesive care unit - is there a need for palliative care follow-up?
• Palliative care approaches for pain management education among care assistants in residential aged care hostels: A feasibility study
• Palliative Care Clinical Studies Collaborative (PaCCSC)
• Palliative Care Clinical Studies Collaborative (PaCCSC): Medical Record Audit
• Palliative care for people living at home: A Western Australian paediatric project. Phase 2.
• Pilot Project to Test the Feasibility of Measuring Quality of Life at the End of Life of Dying Patients in the Acute Care Hospital Setting
• Predicting bereavement outcomes in caregivers of women with ovarian cancer
• Preparing family caregivers for palliative care support, discharge and care planning options.
• Promoting Assent: Developing an instrument to assess the needs and preferences of children with cancer.
• Quality of life issues in patients undergoing peripheral blood stem cell transplantation
• Radiation therapy information for breast cancer patients: Appropriate timing, sources and content.
• Radiation therapy information for breast cancer patients: appropriate timing, sources and content
• Randomised controlled trial of nurse led education intervention on sexuality and body image for women with breast cancer
• Recovery of musculoskeletal and cardiopulmonary changes in children in remission from cancer
• Testing the feasibility, reliability and validity of two pain assessment tools in residential aged care, refining them for future use
• The Contribution of Integrative Therapies to the Comfort of Patients with Cancer.
• The experiences and psychosocial needs of children 11-16 years of age who have a parent living with MND
• Towards Improving Cancer Outcomes for Aboriginal Australians: Cancer Service Providers Experiences with Aboriginal People in Western Australia
• Using action research as a model of research utilisation to improve pain assessment and management
• Validation of the Modified Resident’s Verbal Brief Pain Inventory (M-RVBPI) in elderly patients in both the acute care and aged care settings

Research Projects Completed in 2005

• An Australian analysis of the supportive and palliative care needs of children who die from cancer and their families
• An exploration into the impact of patient characteristics and aspects of the hospital environment on the feelings of personal control experienced by hospitalised patients
• Bereavement support of parents whose child has died from cancer
• Brownes Dairy Support Centre for Cancer & Leukaemia: Evaluation of services
• Collecting quality of life data from patients in clinical studies attending hospital outpatient clinics: An innovative use of a touch screen tablet
• Developing an evidence based protocol for managing nausea in patients with advanced cancer
• Development and evaluation of a screening, management and education program for older patients admitted to an acute care setting, to prevent or minimise bowel problems
• Development of a communication tool to facilitate risk communications in consultations with women from high risk breast cancer families
• Development of a hydraulic resistance exercise treatment for prostate cancer patients
• Identifying and addressing education needs for patients undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions as a short stay procedure
• National inquiry into the social impact of caring for terminally ill people
• National analysis of the palliative and supportive care needs of families whose children die from cancer
• Review of Palliative Care in Western Australia
• Scoping the needs of palliative care for individuals living alone
• Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital Pain Project
• Study to pilot a clinical trial to test dignity psychotherapy for the frail aged
• Testing the feasibility, reliability and validity of two pain assessment tools in residential aged care, refining them for future use
• Western Australian Analysis of the supportive and palliative care needs of families of children with life threatening illnesses

Research Projects Completed in 2004

• A literature review of non-pharmacological methods of pain relief
• A narrative study of autobiographical accounts of cancer: exploration of metaphor and health care information
• A pain education program for prostate cancer patients and their family carers: A feasibility study
• Acute confusional state in general surgery patients: A pilot study to determine characteristics and feasibility of measurement
• An inclusive approach to raising standards in general practice: working with a 'community of practice' in Western Australia
• An Investigation into the Home Support Needs of Adults Living with Multiple Sclerosis, Huntington’s, Parkinson’s and Motor Neurone Diseases
• An Investigation of the Experience of Generalised Fatigue in Aged Care Residents Early Career Researcher Grant Scheme
• Assessing supportive care delivery to those affected by neurodegenerative diseases and their families
• Attitudes of cancer patients: obtaining tissues samples for research
• Can acupuncture help improve the symptoms of radiation induced xerostomia? A prospective study
• Cancer Referral Assessment Baseline. Electronic patient  cancer  Pathway
• Effectiveness of Dementia Specific Carer Education Delivered Throughout Western Australia
• Evaluating a "First Intervention Dementia Service"
• Evaluating the feasibility and effect of using a hospital wide coordinated approach to introduce evidence-based changes for pain management
• Exploring the experiences of persons who have donated a kidney
• Frequent Attenders to Emergency Departments: the FATED study
• Implantable cardioverter defibrillators: A qualitative study of recipients’ and family caregivers’ experiences, concerns and needs
• Implementation and evaluation of a rural palliative care respite service
• Implementing Referral Guidelines in Colorectal Cancer; developing a complex intervention in general practice
• International caregiving research collaborative
• Pain assessment: A prospective investigation into the use of a Behavioural Pain Scale by critical care nurses for patients who are mechanically ventilated, unconscious or sedated in ICU
• Pain project
• Palliative Care Clinical Studies Collaborative (PaCCSC): Medical Record Audit
• Palliative Residential Aged Care (APRAC) Project
• Preventing and managing faecal incontinence after sphincter-saving surgery for colorectal cancer:  A two phase study to determine post-operative bowel problems and self care practices and to evaluate a newly developed community education programme
• Radiation therapy information for breast cancer patients: Appropriate timing, sources and content
• Radiation therapy information for breast cancer patients: appropriate timing, sources and content
• Radiation therapy information for breast cancer patients: Appropriate timing, sources and content
• Randomised controlled trial to evaluate the effects of an electronic monitoring device in decreasing urinary incontinence in elderly patients in an acute care setting
• Reducing the Early Re-Presentation of Older Adults to Hospital after Discharge from an Acute Assessment Unit: Phase One, Determining Predictors
• Rotary Waist Disposal Challenge:  Implementation and Evaluation of Program
• Testing of a near-peer approach to implementing evidence-based mucositis prevention in cancer patients
• Testing pain assessment tools for older people with cognitive impairment:  A comparison of three pain assessment tools
• The effect of hormone ablation therapy for prostate cancer
• The impact of testicular cancer
• The information needs of the families of patients with advanced cancer in the acute hospital
• The Social Impact of Caring for Terminally Ill People
• Volunteering in Palliative Residential Aged Care (VPRAC) Project

Completed Evaluation Projects

• North Metropolitan Health Service falls risk management tool project
• The prevalence of skin tears within an acute care setting in Western Australia
• Validity and reliability of the Family Pain Knowledge Questionnaire (FPKQ): Measuring the pain management knowledge of Australian family carers of patients with progressive or recurrent cancer.