Marita Lynagh

A systematic review of medical skills laboratory training: where to from here?

Objectives  The aim of this review was to evaluate the effectiveness of medical skills laboratories or simulators. In particular, it aimed to determine if performance in medical skills laboratories is transferable to actual clinical performance and maintained over time.

What’s Good for the Goose is Good for the Gander. Guiding Principles for the Use of Financial Incentives in Health Behaviour Change

BackgroundThe use of financial incentives or pay-for-performance programs for health care providers has triggered emerging interest in the use of financial incentives for encouraging health behaviour change.PurposeThis paper aims to identify key conditions under which the use of financial incentives for improvements in public health outcomes is most likely to be effective and appropriate.MethodsWe review recent systematic reviews on their effectiveness in changing health behaviour and identify existing moral concerns concerning personal financial incentives.ResultsCurrent evidence indicates that incentives can be effective in driving health behaviour change under certain provisos, while a number of misgivings continue to be deliberated on. We outline a number of key principles for consideration in decisions about the potential use of incentives in leading to public health improvements.ConclusionThese key principles can assist policy makers in making decisions on the use of financial incentives directed at achieving improvements in public health.

Unmet needs of Australian and Canadian haematological cancer survivors: a cross-sectional international comparative study.

Few population‐based studies have assessed the needs of haematological cancer survivors or conducted international comparisons. We aimed to assess and compare the unmet needs of Australian and Canadian haematological cancer survivors.

Paying Women to Quit Smoking During Pregnancy? Acceptability Among Pregnant Women

INTRODUCTION There is growing international interest in the use of financial incentives in smoking cessation, yet little research on public opinion of the scheme. This paper reports on the acceptability of incentives for reducing smoking in pregnant women and the perceived size of incentive that would encourage smoking cessation during pregnancy. METHODS A cross-sectional survey was conducted on a convenience sample of 213 women attending the antenatal clinic of a large public hospital in Australia. Participants completed a questionnaire on their views on the use of incentives with responses measured on a 5-point Likert scale. RESULTS The majority of participants (60%) did not agree that paying pregnant smokers to quit is a good idea. Opinions regarding the likely effectiveness were mixed with 30% of respondents in agreement and 22% undecided. Most (62%) were not willing to pay smokers any amount to quit. Smokers were more likely to have more favorable views about incentives than nonsmokers (p < .0001) and considered payments of between

Supportive care needs of hematological cancer survivors: A critical review of the literature

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Improving Access to Information and Support for Patients With Less Common Cancers: Hematologic Cancer Patients’ Views About Web-Based Approaches

1,000 acceptable as reward for quitting smoking. CONCLUSIONS Acceptability for the use of financial incentives in reducing antenatal smoking is low among pregnant women. Future research should explore views of a wider audience and continue to gather stronger evidence of the efficacy of rewards for reducing smoking in pregnancy.

Money as motivation to quit: A survey of a non-random Australian sample of socially disadvantaged smokers' views of the acceptability of cash incentives

The purpose of this review was to determine the perceived supportive care needs of hematological cancer survivors, and the patient characteristics associated with higher levels of need. Medline, PsychInfo, CINAHL, EMBASE and PsycEXTRA, were searched for eligible articles published between 1979 and 2011. Ten full-text articles were identified. Extensive variation among study populations, methodologies and needs assessment measures used, made it difficult to synthesize results. Consequently, we could not confidently determine the most prevalent perceived needs of hematological cancer survivors. However, the limited data loosely suggests that concerns surrounding cancer recurrence and survival may be predominant needs experienced by hematological cancer survivors. Younger survivors were also identified by several studies as reporting higher levels of several areas of need. Future research is needed to assess the supportive care needs of large heterogeneous, population-based samples of hematological cancer survivors, utilizing valid, reliable and standardized measures of supportive care needs.

Financial and social impact of supporting a haematological cancer survivor

Background Meeting the psychosocial needs of vulnerable groups such as cancer survivors remains an ongoing challenge. This is particularly so for those who have less access to the usual forms of medical specialist and in-person support networks. Internet-based approaches offer an opportunity to better meet patients’ information and support needs by overcoming the barrier of geographic isolation. Objective The aim of the study was to assess the reported level of access to the Internet, preferred sources of information, and preferred sources of support among survivors of hematologic cancers. Method A population-based, Australian state cancer registry invited eligible survivors to complete a survey about psychosocial needs, including items measuring Internet access and patterns of use. Of the 732 eligible survivors invited to participate, 268 (36.6%) completed and returned the pen-and-paper-based survey. Results The majority of participants (186/254, 73.2%) reported a high level of access to the Internet, with higher Internet access associated with a higher level of education, larger household, younger age, and being married or employed. A total of 62.2% (156/251) of survivors indicated they were likely to use the Internet for accessing information, with the percentage much lower (69/251, 28%) for accessing support via the Internet. Likelihood of using the Internet for support was associated with feeling anxious and being employed. Conclusions While the Internet appears to offer promise in increasing equitable access to information and support for cancer survivors for both metropolitan and regional areas, it is viewed less favorably for support and by particular subgroups (eg, older people and those without a university degree) within the survivor population. Promoting greater understanding of this mode of support may be required to achieve its potential. Information and support options other than Web-based approaches may continue to be needed by vulnerable groups of cancer survivors.

The Survivor Unmet Needs Survey (SUNS) for haematological cancer survivors: a cross-sectional study assessing the relevance and psychometric properties

OBJECTIVE This study aimed to a) assess acceptability of personal financial incentives to socially disadvantaged smokers and non-smokers; b) examine factors associated with acceptability; and c) examine preferred levels of incentive amounts. METHODS A cross-sectional touch screen computer survey was conducted between February and October 2010 in New South Wales, Australia. Participants were clients experiencing financial or social hardship and receiving emergency welfare aid from a non-government social and community service organisation. RESULTS Of 383 participants (69% response rate), 46% believed personal financial incentives were an excellent/good idea, 47% believed personal financial incentives did more good than harm and 61% agreed they would motivate smokers to quit. High acceptability ratings were associated with participants being female, current smokers, living in low socioeconomic areas, experiencing smoking-induced deprivation, making a previous quit attempt and intending to quit in the next 6 months. When asked what amount of incentive they felt would be acceptable, 23% selected amounts between

Teaching about, and dealing with, sensitive issues in schools: How confident are pre-service teachers?

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