Adrian Barnett

• Queensland University of Technology

Background With the high burden of Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), (previously known as Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease - NAFLD) in the community, current models of care that require specialist review for disease risk stratification overwhelm hospital clinic capacity and create inefficiencies in care. The LOCal A...

Objective Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is estimated to affect a third of Australian adults, and its prevalence is predicted to rise, increasing the burden on the healthcare system. The LOCal Assessment and Triage Evaluation of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (LOCATE-NAFLD) trialled a community-based fibrosis assessment service using...

Background A dramatic decline in mental health of people worldwide in the early COVID-19 pandemic years has not recovered. In rural and remote Australia, access to appropriate and timely mental health services has been identified as a major barrier to people seeking help for mental ill-health. From 2020 to 2021 a care navigation model, Navicare, wa...

The research community's fixation on journal prestige is harming research quality, as some researchers focus on where to publish instead of what. We examined researchers' publication preferences using a discrete choice experiment in a cross-sectional survey of international health and medical researchers. We asked researchers to consider two hypoth...

Background With the high burden of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) in the community, current models of care that require specialist review for disease risk stratification overwhelm hospital clinic capacity and create inefficiencies in care. The LOCal Assessment and Triage Evaluation of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (LOCATE-NAFLD) rand...

Background and Aims Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is estimated to affect a third of Australian adults, and its prevalence is predicted to rise, increasing the burden on the healthcare system. LOCATE-NAFLD trialled a community-based fibrosis assessment service using Fibroscan to reduce the time to diagnosis of high-risk NAFLD and improve...

Background Improving access to healthcare for ethnic minorities is a public health priority in many countries, yet little is known about how to incorporate information on race, ethnicity, and related social determinants of health into large international studies. Most studies of differences in treatments and outcomes of COVID-19 associated with rac...

Background Improving access to healthcare for ethnic minorities is a public health priority in many countries, yet little is known about how to incorporate information on race, ethnicity, and related social determinants of health into large international studies. Most studies of differences in treatments and outcomes of COVID-19 associated with rac...

Background Chronic diseases are a significant health concern in Australia. Understanding community preferences for health screening services is vital for enhancing service delivery and patient satisfaction. We conducted a study to determine community preferences for health screening services for chronic diseases in Australia using a discrete choice...

Background The increasing global prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) has led to a growing demand for stroke prevention strategies, resulting in higher healthcare costs. High-quality economic evaluations of stroke prevention strategies can play a crucial role in maximising efficient allocation of resources. In this systematic review, we assessed...

Background In Australia, the overall prevalence of liver disease is increasing. Maximising uptake of community screening programmes by understanding patient preferences is integral to developing consumer-centred care models for liver disease. Discrete choice experiments (DCEs) are widely used to elicit preferences for various healthcare services. A...

Background With the predicted rise in the burden of ischemic stroke associated with atrial fibrillation (AF), implementing cost-effective interventions for stroke prevention has become increasingly important. Economic evaluations are key to making informed healthcare decisions in this context. However, the poor methodological quality of economic ev...

Background In Australia, the overall prevalence of liver disease is increasing. Maximising uptake of community screening programmes by understanding patient preferences is integral to developing consumer-centred care models for liver disease. Discrete choice experiments (DCEs) are widely used to elicit preferences for various healthcare services. A...

Background: Consumer perspectives are a cornerstone of value-based healthcare. Screening and diagnosis of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) were among many of the rapid changes to health care recommended during the COVID-19 pandemic. The changes provided a unique opportunity to add information about women's perspectives on the debate on GDM scre...

Objectives: To compare two sedation strategies used in patients with COVID-19 supported with ECMO. Methods: Retrospective, observational substudy of the COVID-19 Critical Care Consortium database including COVID-19 patients supported with ECMO, from March 2020 to September 2021. Among these, we identified two cohorts. The awake cohort included pat...

Background Increasing numbers of older adults with complex health deficits presenting to emergency departments has prompted the development of innovative models of care. One such model designed to reduce poor outcomes associated with acute healthcare, is the Geriatric Emergency Department Intervention. This intervention is a nurse-led, physician-ch...

Purpose This study describes the reporting of the preference-based health-related quality-of-life (HRQOL) instrument, the EQ-5D, and proposes strategies to improve reporting and reduce research waste. The EQ-5D is a validated instrument widely used for health economic evaluation and is useful for informing health policy. Methods As part of a syste...

Importance Hospital-associated complications of older people (HAC-OPs) include delirium, hospital-associated disability, incontinence, pressure injuries, and falls. These complications may be preventable by age-friendly principles of care, including early mobility, good nutrition and hydration, and meaningful cognitive engagement; however, implemen...

Background: In a disease that has only existed for 18 months, it is difficult to be fully informed of the long-term sequelae of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Evidence is growing that most organ systems can be affected by the virus, causing severe disabilities in survivors. The extent of the aftermath will d...

Objective COVID-19 has been identified as a risk factor for severe cerebrovascular complications, albeit mostly in small patient populations, limited to specific regions, and including all severities of disease. Utilising the largest database of critically-ill COVID-19 patients, we investigated risk factors for stroke in intensive care unit (ICU) C...

Background Kidney graft failure risk prediction models assist evidence-based medical decision-making in clinical practice. Our objective was to develop and validate statistical and machine learning predictive models to predict death-censored graft failure following deceased donor kidney transplant, using time-to-event (survival) data in a large nat...

Background Economic-evaluations using decision analytic models such as Markov-models (MM), and discrete-event-simulations (DES) are high value adds in allocating resources. The choice of modelling method is critical because an inappropriate model yields results that could lead to flawed decision making. The aim of this study was to compare cost-eff...

Background Kidney graft failure risk prediction models assist evidence-based medical decision-making in clinical practice. Our objective was to develop and validate statistical and machine learning predictive models to predict death-censored graft failure following deceased donor kidney transplant, using time-to-event (survival) data in a large nat...

Abstract Background There is strong evidence that women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) who receive a minimum of three appointments with a dietitian may require medication less often. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of a dietitian-led model of care on clinical outcomes and to understand the utility of the integrated Promot...

Background Ventilator associated pneumonia occurs commonly and nebulized antibiotics are being used for its treatment. Although adequate pulmonary biodistribution is important for antibiotic effect, there is a lack of data for both intravenous (i.v.) or nebulized antibiotic administration during mechanical ventilation. Objective To describe the co...

Background: Matching survival of a donor kidney with that of the recipient (longevity matching), is used in some kidney allocation systems to maximize graft-life years. It is not part of the allocation algorithm for Australia. Given the growing evidence of survival benefit due to longevity matching based allocation algorithms, development of a sim...

Objectives: The study had two main aims. First, we assessed the cost-effectiveness of transplanting deceased donor kidneys of differing quality levels based on the Kidney Donor Profile Index (KDPI). Second, we assessed the cost-effectiveness of remaining on the waiting list until a high-quality kidney becomes available compared to transplanting a l...

By definition, in-hospital patient data are restricted to the time between hospital admission and discharge (alive or dead). For hospitalised cases of COVID-19, a number of events during hospitalization are of interest regarding the influence of risk factors on the likelihood of experiencing these events. The same is true for predicting times from...

Objective Methods that include the time-varying nature of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) avoid biases when estimating increased risk of death and excess length of stay. We determined the excess mortality risk and length of stay associated with HAIs among inpatients in Singapore using a multistate model that accommodates the timing of key e...

This study will work with clinical teams in three acute hospitals to trial a feedback loop approach to promoting appropriate care and treatment for elderly patients at the end-of-life. The primary objectives are 1) to determine the impact and resource use and costs of a tailored clinical team feedback loop intervention on patient outcomes related t...

Background Matching survival of a donor kidney with that of the recipient (longevity matching), is use in some kidney allocation systems to maximize graft-life years. It is not part of the allocation algorithm for Australia. Given the growing evidence of survival benefit due to longevity matching based allocation algorithms, development of a simila...

Background Matching survival of a donor kidney with that of the recipient (longevity matching), is used in some kidney allocation systems to maximize graft-life years. It is not part of the allocation algorithm for Australia. Given the growing evidence of survival benefit due to longevity matching based allocation algorithms, development of a simil...

Background Matching survival of a donor kidney with that of the recipient (longevity matching), is used in some kidney allocation systems to maximize graft-life years. It is not part of the allocation algorithm for Australia. Given the growing evidence of survival benefit due to longevity matching based allocation algorithms, development of a simil...

Objective: As the population of Australia ages, EDs will experience an increasing frequency of presentations of older adults from residential aged care facilities (RACFs). These presentations are often complex and time consuming in the chaotic and potentially hazardous ED environment. The Geriatric Emergency Department Intervention (GEDI) model wa...

Heatwaves have potential health and safety implications for many workers, and heatwaves are predicted to increase in frequency and intensity with climate change. There is currently a lack of comparative evidence for the effects of heatwaves on workers’ health and safety in different climates (sub-tropical and temperate). This study examined the rel...

Background: The thermal working environment can have direct and in-direct effects on health and safety. Ambient temperatures have been associated with an increased risk of occupational injuries but it is unknown how the relationship can vary by weather, location and climate. Objectives: To examine the relationship between ambient temperatures an...

Statistical methods for identifying harmful chemicals in a correlated mixture often assume linearity in exposure-response relationships. Non-monotonic relationships are increasingly recognised (e.g., for endocrine-disrupting chemicals); however, the impact of non-monotonicity on exposure selection has not been evaluated. In a simulation study, we a...

Background: Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) remain a significant patient safety issue, with point prevalence estimates being approximately 5% in high-income countries. In 2016 - 17, the Researching Effective Approaches to Cleaning in Hospitals (REACH) trial implemented an environmental cleaning bundle targeting communication, staff trainin...

Background: Universities closely watch international league tables because these tables influence governments, donors and students. Achieving a high ranking in a table, or an annual rise in ranking, allows universities to promote their achievements using an externally validated measure. However, league tables predominantly reward measures of resear...

Background: In 2014, updated screening and diagnostic criteria for gestational diabetes (GDM) were introduced across Australia. Many states including Queensland introduced clinical guidelines to include these changes and other recommendations for GDM management. While it is understood that GDM diagnosis has increased, it is unknown whether resourc...

Objectives This study aims to (i) describe the time to exercise commencement (sitting and upright activities) relative to ICU admission and relative to achievement of initial neurological, respiratory and cardiovascular stability; (ii) examine factors associated with whether sitting and upright activities occurred in ICU; and (iii) examine factors...

Multisite intervention studies have become increasingly common in infection control, for example, looking for a change in hospital infection rates after a regional policy change. The design of these studies can take various forms, from pre–post observational studies to randomized trials, in which sites are randomly assigned to the intervention or i...

Background: Nebulized antibiotics may be used to treat ventilator-associated pneumonia. In previous pharmacokinetic studies, lung interstitial space fluid concentrations have never been reported. The aim of the study was to compare intravenous and nebulized tobramycin concentrations in the lung interstitial space fluid, epithelial lining fluid, an...

Background: Universities closely watch international league tables because these tables influence governments, donors and students. Achieving a high ranking in a table, or an annual rise in ranking, allows universities to promote their achievements using an externally validated measure. However, league tables predominantly reward measures of resear...

Results that are statistically significant are more likely to be reported by authors and more likely to be accepted by journals. These common biases warp the published evidence and undermine the ability of research to improve health by giving an incomplete body of evidence. We aimed to show the effect of the bias towards statistical significance on...

We used a retrospective cohort study to measure the impact of caring for children on female Australian researchers. Our aim was to see whether caring for children was associated with reduced outputs and collaboration. Women were randomly selected for inclusion if they published a first author paper in one of three Australian journals during 2007 to...

Participants’ comments. (DOCX)

Flow diagram of participant recruitment. (PDF)

Participant information sheet and online survey. (PDF)

Additional tables and figures. (DOCX)

It is argued that loss and degradation of natural ecosystems reduce the opportunity to experience nature, and as a consequence, reduce concern for nature and support for nature conservation. This phenomenon is termed the ‘extinction of experience’. Research suggests a potential association between some nature experiences and conservation support. H...

Background The hospital environment is a reservoir for the transmission of microorganisms. The effect of improved cleaning on patient-centred outcomes remains unclear. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an environmental cleaning bundle to reduce health care-associated infections in hospitals. Methods The REACH study was a pragmatic, multice...

Background: Prenatal exposures to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) during critical developmental windows have been implicated in the etiologies of a wide array of adverse perinatal and pediatric outcomes. Epidemiological studies have concentrated on the health effects of individual chemicals, despite the understanding that EDCs act together v...

Background To evaluate a Geriatric Emergency Department Intervention (GEDI) model of service delivery for adults aged 70 years and older. Methods A pragmatic trial of the GEDI model using a pre-post design. GEDI is a nurse-led, physician-championed, Emergency Department (ED) intervention; developed to improve the care of frail older adults in the...

Background: Nebulised antibiotics are frequently used for the prevention or treatment of ventilator-associated pneumonia. Many factors may influence pulmonary drug concentrations with inaccurate dosing schedules potentially leading to therapeutic failure and/or the emergence of antibiotic resistance. We describe a research pathway for studying the...

Abstract Background Cerebral regional microcirculation is altered following severe head injury. In addition to tissue disruption, partial pressure of tissue oxygenation is impaired due to an increase in the oxygen tissue gradient. The heterogenic distribution of cerebral microcirculation is multifactorial, and acute anemia challenges further the de...

Background: The thermal environment can directly affect workers' occupational health and safety, and act as a contributing factor to injury or illness. However, the literature addressing risks posed by varying temperatures on work-related injuries and illnesses is limited. Objectives: To examine the occupational injury and illness risk profiles...

Epidemiological studies on the impact of outdoor temperature to human health have demonstrated the capability of humans to adapt to local climate. However, there is limited information on the association between indoor temperature and human health, despite people spending most of their time indoors. The problem stems from the lack of sufficient ind...

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have consistently identified a high incidence of silent brain infarction (SBI) after cardiac intervention. The frequent occurrence, objective measurement and clinical sequelae of SBI have seen interest in their detection for both research and clinical purposes. However, MRI is expensive, time-consuming, unsa...

OBJECTIVES To propose a new multicomponent measure of hospital‐associated complications of older people (HAC‐OP) and evaluate its validity in a large hospital sample. DESIGN Observational study using baseline (pre‐intervention) data from the Collaboration for Hospitalised Elders Reducing the Impact of Stays in Hospital cluster randomized controlle...

Background : Decisions about which applications to fund are generally based on the mean scores of a panel of peer reviewers. As well as the mean, a large disagreement between peer reviewers may also be worth considering, as it may indicate a high-risk application with a high return. Methods : We examined the peer reviewers' scores for 227 funded ap...

Implementation results of in-bed cycling including: Time to commence in-bed cycling from ICU admission (2.3 days), Successful implementation of planned sessions (90.8%), Barriers (patient fatigue primary barrier) and Facilitators (early in the day session commencement), Safety (0.7% minor adverse events), Session duration and distance cycled a...

Public hospital spending consumes a large share of government expenditure in many countries. The large cost variability observed between hospitals and also between patients in the same hospital has fueled the belief that consumption of a significant portion of this funding may result in no clinical benefit to patients, thus representing waste. Accu...

Further description of principal components analysis. (PDF)

Method to compare respective effects of categorical and continuous variables. (PDF)

Additional details for Table 1. (PDF)

Construction of confidence intervals. (PDF)

Further details on data pre-processing. (PDF)

Selection of the optimal lasso parameters. (PDF)

Documentation for running and installing the software. (DOC)

Test dataset in the txt. format. (TXT)

Computer code in R to compute the optimal sparse group lasso fit. (R)

Test dataset in Microsoft Excel. (XLS)

Computer code in R to compute the error-minimising λ. (R)

Australia has relatively diverse sources and low concentrations of ambient fine particulate matter (<2.5 µm, PM2.5). Few comparable regions are available to evaluate the utility of continental-scale land-use regression (LUR) models including global geophysical estimates of PM2.5, derived by relating satellite-observed aerosol optical depth to groun...

Purpose: Endotracheal suctioning (ES) of mechanically ventilated patients decreases end-expiratory lung volume (EELV). Manual hyperinflation (MHI) and ventilator hyperinflation (VHI) may restore EELV post-ES but it remains unknown which method is most effective. The primary aim was to compare the efficacy of MHI and VHI in restoring EELV post-ES....

Background: Clinical trials might be larger than needed because arbitrary levels of statistical confidence are sought in the results. Traditional sample size calculations ignore the marginal value of the information collected for decision making. The statistical hypothesis testing objective is misaligned with the goal of generating information nece...

Background : The scientific literature is growing in volume and reducing in readability. Poorly presented numbers decrease readability by either fatiguing the reader with too many decimal places, or confusing the reader by not using enough decimal places, and so making it difficult to comprehend differences between numbers. There are guidelines for...

Mortality in many parts of the world has a seasonal pattern, with a marked excess of deaths during winter. To date, however, there is very little published evidence on the nature of this wintertime excess in low- and middle-income countries. In this study, we aimed to quantify the extent of the death peak in winter and to assess effect modification...

Background: Clinical trials might be larger than needed because arbitrary high levels of statistical confidence are sought in the results. Traditional sample size calculations ignore the marginal value of the information collected for decision making. The statistical hypothesis testing objective is misaligned with the goal of generating information...

Background: The scientific literature is growing in volume and reducing in readability. Poorly presented numbers decrease readability by either fatiguing the reader with too many decimal places, or confusing the reader by not using enough decimal places, and so making it difficult to comprehend differences between numbers. There are guidelines for...

Background: Decisions about which applications to fund are generally based on the mean scores of a panel of peer reviewers. As well as the mean, a large disagreement between peer reviewers may also be worth considering, as it may indicate a high-risk application with a high return. Methods: We examined the peer reviewers' scores for 227 funded appl...

Background: Cardiovascular disease remains the primary cause of death among Australians, despite dramatic improvements in overall cardiovascular health since the 1980s. Treating cardiovascular disease continues to place a significant economic strain on the Australian health care system, with direct healthcare costs exceeding those of any other dise...

Data related to this review are available in an EndNote Library, containing all references retrieved using the search terms described. This library also contains subfolders used to categorise papers during the review process.