Paddington Cat Hospital

Carers, vital in the care of individuals with an eating disorder (ED), experience substantial caregiving burden and unmet needs. This study aims to identify factors which contribute to the burden experienced by carers of a loved one with an ED and their support service usage. Carers (N=245) completed an online questionnaire assessing demographic, carer-specific, individual and ED factors. Multivariate relationships with caregiving burden were examined using forwards elimination to produce a parsimonious model of carer burden. The final model, consisting of caregiving factors (e.g., relationship type, skills), carer mental health) and loved one wellbeing (i.e., purging symptoms, depression/self-harm/suicidality) explained a large proportion (62%) of the variance in carers' burden. Carer mental health, caregiving skills and relationship type (e.g., parent, spouse, sibling) were key predictors of carers' burden. Nearly a third of carers had not used any carer support services, yet most carers expressed an interest in such services. Caregiving burden is determined by experiences and skills of the carer as well as the person they are caring for. Carer support services should continue to address the general wellbeing of carers and caregiver skills. Research into the barriers to carer support uptake is needed.

An inner-city hospital purchased a local hotel to provide support, digital engagement, skill development groups and referrals to partner agencies. Being aware of the hotel's importance to the local community, we sought feedback on a model of care relevant to perceived gaps and needs in support for mental health. Four online focus groups included healthcare professionals, nominated opinion leaders from local Non-Government Organisations (NGOs), consumers and carers to reflect a range of views. Focus group data were qualitatively analysed. Participants made useful suggestions about WHAT educational, preventative and therapeutic services were needed. They emphasised the importance of HOW people engage with the service, the balance between accessibility and security. Other themes included targeting people with limited health literacy, integration with existing services, building on site heritage and ongoing evaluation of objectives and needs. This pilot study demonstrated clear support for providing safe and welcoming access to services, with resources and access to services to improve their health and wellbeing built on principles of social justice and inclusion. Participants had constructive ideas of what was needed, and ongoing patient and public research is anticipated.

Accessible Summary Lisa Scott became an artist after she joined a supported studio in Sydney, Australia. The studio is like her second family, and the staff have always told her ‘you can do this’. Lisa is proud that she is an artist and likes being able to share her work. Lisa made an artwork about her life story and some big changes she has experienced. AbstractBackgroundOver 10 years ago, Lisa Scott first began making art at a studio in Sydney that supports people with intellectual disability to realise their creative ambitions. In this article, we consider what it has meant for Lisa to become an artist and, in the process, share the story of other big changes in her life.MethodsDuring audio‐recorded conversations, we discussed Lisa’s life story and the role of her creative practice within it. We worked together to write about some of the things we discussed.FindingsBecoming an artist has been an important transition for Lisa. With the support of staff at the studio, she has realised what she is capable of, and so have other people—from her family to complete strangers—who all value her work. Through her art, Lisa has been able to find personal relief and reflect on big changes in her life, including the loss of her mum. In a dress hand‐stitched with words from her journals, she has explored another way of sharing her story.ConclusionsArt at its best forges connections between people. Lisa’s art and life are evidence of this.

To compare resistance training using a velocity loss threshold with training to repetition failure on upper-body strength parameters in professional Australian footballers. A total of 26 professional Australian footballers (23.9 [4.2]y, 189.9 [7.8]cm, 88.2 [8.8]kg) tested 1-repetition-maximum strength (FPmax) and mean barbell velocity at 85% of 1-repetition maximum on floor press (FPvel). They were then assigned to 2 training groups: 20% velocity loss threshold training (VL; n = 12, maximum-effort lift velocity) or training to repetition failure (TF; n = 14, self-selected lift velocity). Subjects trained twice per week for 3weeks before being reassessed on FPmax and FPvel. Training volume (total repetitions) was recorded for all training sessions. No differences were present between groups on any pretraining measure. The TF group significantly improved FPmax (105.2-110.9kg, +5.4%), while the VL group did not (107.5-109.2kg, +1.6%) (P > .05). Both groups significantly increased FPvel (0.38-0.46m·s-1, +19.1% and 0.37-0.42m·s-1, +16.7%, respectively) with no between-groups differences evident (P > .05). The TF group performed significantly more training volume (12.2 vs 6.8 repetitions per session, P > .05). Training to repetition failure improved FPmax, while training using a velocity loss threshold of 20% did not. Both groups demonstrated similar improvements in FPvel despite the VL group completing 45% less total training volume than the TF group. The reduction in training volume associated with implementing a 20% velocity loss threshold may negatively impact the development of upper-body maximum strength while still enhancing submaximal movement velocity.

As urban renewal agendas are fortified in cities globally, ‘creativity’ – as contained within discourses of the creative industries, the Creative City and the creative economy – is circulated as the currency of secure post-industrial urban futures. Using the nexus between creativity and the urban as a starting point, the authors investigate how local enterprises visually communicate the urban in a neighbourhood that is characterized by the interface between manufacturing and creative industries. This research takes a fine-grained approach to the notion of creativity through an audit and qualitative analysis of the visual presentation, material attributes and semiotic meaning of street numbers. The authors do this by collecting data on and analysing how street numbers have been made, selected, used, replaced and layered in a contested industrial precinct in Australia’s largest city, Sydney. They contend that street numbers, as a ubiquitous technology within the city that is both operational and creative, are metonyms for what they understand to be urban. In arguing for vernacular readings of the city, they make use of a top-down, governmental mode of reading the city – the operational legibility of street numbering – as an intervention in current discourses of the urban and of creativity in the city.

This chapter discusses the role that ‘cognitive apprenticeship model’ (Collins et al. in Knowing, learning, and instruction: essays in honor of Robert Glaser. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, 1989), online self and peer review, reflective blogging and collaborative writing can play towards promoting ‘a sense of community’ amongst coursework postgraduate students studying for careers in the arts industry (Rourke et al. in Did I tell you its anonymous? The triumphs and pitfalls of online peer review, 2008). According to Rourke and Coleman (Assessment for learning research and writing skills through scaffolded online peer review, 2011a) they are “positioned in a community of practice (COP) in the ever changing and developing art world. This art world in which they work or seek to work is creative, collaborative and connected, therefore the world in which they learn, authentically, should be modelled and correspond rather than be at odds” (p. 6143). Three case study examples are detailed: (1) an internship course that uses reflective blog journals; (2) a fully online course that teaches students to research and write a research paper; and (3) a writing course that uses collaborative writing to produce an ejournal (Artwrite blog). The chapter emphasises the importance of scaffolding the online learning environment and taking into account students’ interests and levels of understanding. The significant role alumni can play in higher education to mentor students while helping to break down the barriers between university studies and ‘real world’ practice is also discussed.

The patient requested information regarding potential treatments, as she had become aware of clinical trials for HD and of compounds used by patients with HD. A neurologist had previously recommended a healthy diet, exercise, avoiding excessive toxins (such as alcohol), social enrichment and cognitive stimulation, which together may modestly slow clinical disease progression and improve quality of life.1 She had used preimplantation genetic diagnosis during her pregnancies but preferred otherwise not to focus on her condition. She understood that there were no proven therapies for this incurable condition and did not want to attend HD clinics. She was asymptomatic.

Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a significant contributor to both morbidity and mortality in Australia. Generally speaking, sufferers of ACS who live in rural areas and are treated at rural hospitals have poorer outcomes than those living in metropolitan areas. To characterise the differences in the management and outcomes of rural and metropolitan populations in the context of ACS, as well as identify factors responsible for these differences and suggest how they may be addressed. A review of the current literature surrounding ACS in Australia was undertaken. Through the MEDLINE/PubMed database a thorough search using the terms "acute coronary syndrome" and "Australia" identified 460 papers for review, excluding abstracts and adding "rural", "metropolitan", "reperfusion", and "outcomes" to this search narrowed the results to 149 papers for review. Data was also extracted from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and other Australian government publications. The review draws on insights from both local and international resources and seeks to provide an understanding of the contemporary landscape of ACS in both rural and metropolitan Australia. The review is broken down into three key sections: An outline of the 2011 National Heart Foundation of Australia/Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (NHF/CSANZ) guidelines and adjuvant tools used in the assessment and treatment of ACS, and to what extent these guidelines have been implemented clinically.An exploration of the current landscape of ACS in Australia and identification of the disparities facing rural populations compared to those in metropolitan areas.Discussion of the factors that are resulting in poorer outcomes for ACS sufferers and suggestions of novel approaches towards addressing these factors. Disparities exist between the management and outcomes of rural and metropolitan populations experiencing ACS. While the causes of these discrepancies are multifactorial; the onus is on the healthcare system to effectively reduce associated morbidity and mortality. Improvements in the management of ACS may be achieved through a continued reduction in call-to-needles time via the use of remote and mobile thrombolysis services as well as improvements in in-hospital risk assessment in order to flag and investigate those at risk of ACS.