522 research outputs found
Cancer prehabilitation: Developing a complex intervention for patients undergoing upper gastrointestinal surgery
No full textPrehabilitation is recommended to improve surgical patient outcomes, but is not offered routinely in
upper gastrointestinal centres across the United Kingdom. Where prehabilitation is offered, the
delivery, and approaches to how it’s delivered and funded are not standardised, resulting in inequity of access and variability in patient outcomes. This thesis explores and identifies best practice components to inform the development of a complex prehabilitation intervention for patients undergoing upper gastrointestinal surgery.
To map and synthesise the current and available evidence for the effectiveness of prehabilitation
interventions on biopsychosocial and service outcomes for patients undergoing upper
gastrointestinal surgery, a systematic review was conducted. Following database searches, 6028 deduplicated records were screened. Prospective experimental studies exploring prehabilitation
interventions in adults undergoing upper gastrointestinal surgery were eligible with 25 studies (from
26 reports) included in the review. The prehabilitation interventions across the studies were
grouped into inspiratory muscle training (five studies n=450); exercise (nine studies n=683);
psychological (one study n=400); and nutritional (ten studies n=487). Study quality was assessed
using the Cochrane risk of bias tool (v.2). Data synthesis was narrative (SWiM guidance). The results confirmed a lack of robust, adequately powered clinical trials to inform intervention delivery. High quality studies showed preoperative improvements in directly targeted impairments, but generally these did not translate into functional or postoperative benefits. Included studies that combined more than one intervention showed greater promise of increased efficacy, particularly when exercise was combined with nutritional and/or psychological interventions, which supports the concept of a multimodal multidisciplinary approach in future prehabilitation intervention design.
Patient perspectives of exercise and physical activity were captured through a qualitative study
where four patients undergoing surgery for urological cancer management were interviewed.
Thematic analysis of the interview transcripts revealed the complexity of individual experiences of
patients undergoing surgery, emphasising a need for shared patient goals across the healthcare
team to enhance individual tailoring of interventions and optimise behaviour change. The potential
role for supportive technology and the need for multidisciplinary training for healthcare
professionals was evident, with transferable concepts and insights for all prehabilitation
interventions, including patients undergoing upper gastrointestinal surgery.
A service evaluation exploring the effects of existing preoperative interventions on postoperative
outcomes in 632 patients undergoing upper gastrointestinal surgery was conducted at a local centre over a four-year period. The results broadly demonstrated some useful insights regarding the acceptability of optional supervised exercise from a patient perspective. The use of low intensity preoperative inspiratory muscle training did not improve postoperative outcomes in this service.
A stakeholder consensus study, utilising a modified nominal group technique approach, combined
existing evidence and insight from the previous three studies with expert opinion to establish key
priorities for prehabilitation intervention development. The stakeholder panel (n=8) included
physiotherapists, dietitians with experience in prehabilitation, as well as an experienced patient
advocate. This study achieved a high level of consensus across many aspects of prehabilitation, with eight out of 89 ideas achieving 100% consensus agreement (9%) and 31 out of 89 ideas achieving consensus of 71% or higher (35%). The main findings demonstrated complete consensus that prehabilitation should be delivered as a multimodal, multidisciplinary intervention that combines all three core aspects (exercise, nutrition and psychological support) for patients undergoing upper gastrointestinal surgery.
Together, the findings from these four studies provide the basis for the development of a
prehabilitation intervention for patients undergoing upper gastrointestinal surgery. The intervention
would need further development with relevant stakeholder representation ready for refinement and
feasibility testing, prior to clinical implementation, but provides valuable insights for those currently
developing or delivering prehabilitation services for patients undergoing upper gastrointestinal
surgery in the United Kingdom
Supplemental Material - Investigating the impact of physical activity interventions on delirium outcomes in intensive care unit patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis
No full textSupplementary material for Investigating the impact of physical activity interventions on delirium outcomes in intensive care unit patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis by Annika Jarman, Keeleigh Chapman, Sarah Vollam, Robyn Stiger, Mark Williams and Owen Gustafson</p
Richard Dawkins in conversation with Robyn Williams
No full textDawkins and Williams discuss the intricacies, the fascinating patterns and the anomalies produced by the process of evolution on earth.
At the Melbourne Town Hall, presented by the Melbourne Writers Festival, outspoken and influential author and scientist Richard Dawkins speaks to Robyn Williams (ABC RN) about the ideas underpinning his new book, The Greatest Show on Earth. They discuss the intricacies, the fascinating patterns and the anomalies produced by the process of evolution on earth. Dawkins then takes further questions from the audience about the theory of evolution, genetic determinism, the climate change denial movement and the place of religion in the world of science. Melbourne, March 2010.
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Farm to Fork Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment for Norovirus on Frozen Strawberries
No full textFoodborne illness outbreaks have been increasingly linked to the consumption of fresh and frozen berries that were contaminated with pathogenic viruses, such as human norovirus (NoV). Contamination of berries is assumed to take place at harvest by the use of contaminated water for pesticide dilution, irrigation water source or by shedding berry pickers in the field. A quantitative microbial risk assessment simulation model was built to replicate the largest known NoV outbreak which sickened about 11,000 people over a 3-week period. The outbreak occurred in Germany in 2012 when contaminated frozen strawberries were served at nearly 400 schools and daycare centers. The risk model explicitly assumed that all contamination would arise from NoV contamination of surface water used for pesticide dilution. Input data was collected from the published literature, observational studies and assumptions. The model starts with contamination of the berries in the field, and proceeds through transportation to processing facility, washing, sanitizing, freezing, frozen transport to cargo ship, transport view of cargo ship, transport to distribution center, frozen storage at the distribution center, transport to the catering facility, food service preparation and consumption, dose response, and predicted illnesses. A total of 21 scenarios were chosen to evaluate the impact of model parameters on the number of illness associated with NoV contamination of berries. Scenarios evaluated include the initial level of NoV in surface water, the effect of seasonality on the prevalence of NoV in surface water, the strength of the pesticide used, the volume of water used to dilute the pesticide, temperature during transportation to processing facility, washing and sanitizing conditions at processing facility and preparation (heat-treatment) of berries prior to consumption. Scenarios were compared via the Factor Sensitivity technique where the logarithm of the ratio of mean illnesses was used to compare different assumptions. The input that had the greatest effect on increasing in the number of illnesses was a high NoV concentration in the water (8 log Genome Copies/L) when compared to the baseline scenario with resulting mean illnesses of 7,964 illnesses and ~2 illnesses, respectively. This assumption about the concentration of virus in the pesticide makeup water was the only variable capable of producing an outbreak similar to that observed in Germany in 2012. Heat-treatment of the berries, use of a pesticide with strong antiviral effect, and assumption about the virus concentration in the pesticide make-up water had the largest impact on decreasing illnesses.Peer reviewe
"Exploring Our Sexualities" - Noted Author and Activist Robyn Ochs to Present Workshop and Interactive Presentation at U of M Crookston on Wednesday, April 22, 2009
No full textTollefson, Elizabeth. (2009). "Exploring Our Sexualities" - Noted Author and Activist Robyn Ochs to Present Workshop and Interactive Presentation at U of M Crookston on Wednesday, April 22, 2009. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/222053
A case study of the design, implementation, and formative evaluation of a team development program for a women's swimming and diving team in a NCAA division I university setting
No full textThis dissertation reflects a case study of the process of the design, implementation and formative evaluation of a team development program conducted with a swimming and diving team consisting of twenty-three women at a NCAA Division I university during the 2008-2009 academic year. The dissertation was undertaken to contribute to the knowledge base about how team development programs can be designed and implemented in athletic settings. As a foundation for the dissertation, the participant observer role was used in conjunction with Maher's (2000) Program Planning and Evaluation (PP&E) Framework and Maher's (2004) Student-Athlete Pyramid of Development. Relying on these approaches as procedural and technical guidance, a framework of knowledge, skills and abilities was formulated and then put into an evaluable programmatic form to assist the student-athletes on the team with interpersonal communication, within the team context. This dissertation explores how the PP&E Framework can be coupled with some of the levels of the Student-Athlete Pyramid of Development along with knowledge about team development from business, military, and sport to assist an athletic team in learning to communicate constructively. Formative evaluation data is provided from participating team members and the coaching staff about the actual and potential value of this kind of program. Finally, conclusions and recommendations are offered for the possible design and implementation of similar team development programs in athletic, business, and other contexts.Psy.DIncludes bibliographical references (p. 119-126)by Robyn L. OdegaardIncludes abstrac
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Woman as Object
No full textThis paper discusses the creation process of thirteen works by the author addressing women's issues using mannequins of actual women as a metaphor. Robyn Beirman Jamison discusses interviewing and photographing the women, creating the works, and the imagery of objectification of women by society
Musical score, "Haste Love," for voice and piano. Words by Minnie Gilmore, music by Alfred G. Robyn. Balmer and Weber Music House Company, c. 1892
No full textPatrick Gilmore's daughter, Minnie L. Gilmore, was an author in her own right. Her published works include "Songs from the Wings," "Pipes from the Prairieland," "A Son of Esau," and "The Woman Who Stood Between." One of her verses, from "Songs from the Wings," is entitled "To my father--Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore": "Though he is dead, I still may do/ Him honor, by a life akin/ To that pure life my childhood knew,/ His fatherheart within./ And for the true musician's place,/ You claimed a throne beside the priest;/ Since both, you said, redeemed the base,/ And blessed both great and least." In this song, her verse was set to music by Alfred George Robyn (1860-1935) a composer of light opera and founder of the Marion English Opera Company in New York. Balmer and Weber Music House Company, [c.] 1892
Combining Scholarship, Teaching, and Learning: A Qualitative Study
No full textAbstract
Date Presented 3/31/2017
This session will reveal results of student participation in the Centralized Service Learning Model (CSLM), a course design framework that facilitates creative and active learning opportunities in the community through service. Results support the effectiveness of the CSLM as a viable teaching model to influence student learning.
Primary Author and Speaker: Lauren Milton
Additional Authors and Speakers: Robyn Otty</jats:p
Promoting reasoning, problem-solving and argumentation during small group discussions
No full textCooperative learning is widely accepted as a pedagogical practice that can be employed in classrooms to promote students engagement and learning. When children cooperate, they learn to attend to what others have to say, provide and receive assistance, affirm and disconfirm conceptions, and, in so doing, they develop mutual understandings of the topic at hand. From a Vygotskian perspective, the group context enables members to engage in dialogic exchanges and think about issues in ways they may have never previously considered. In so doing, information and ideas are exchanged, transformed and appropriated so they become new ways of thinking or knowledge building. Moreover, when children engage in reciprocal interactions with each other, they learn to use language differently to explain experiences and realities and, in so doing, they find new functions for language in expressing their thoughts and feelings. In fact, talk is so important that it now recognised as more than a means of sharing thoughts; it is also a social mode of thinking and a tool for the joint construction of knowledge and new learning. However, although it is well acknowledged that students benefit from interacting with others, it is only recently that research has begun to examine the role that teachers play in promoting student dialogue in the classroom. This is a concern because there is no doubt that teachers play a key role in inducting children into ways of thinking and learning by making explicit how to express ideas, seek help, contest opposing positions, and reason cogently. In short, teachers play a key role in helping students to acquire the linguistic tools needed to promote thinking, problem-solving, and reasoning. This chapter reports on two studies undertaken by the author that illustrate how teachers' discourse affects students' discourse, problem-solving and reasoning (Study 1) and how teachers can challenge students' cognitive and metacognitive thinking to promote reasoned argumentation and learning (Study 2). The studies highlight the importance of systematically constructing experiences in classrooms to teach these skills to students
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