Dr Joanne Porter

Federation University · Department of Nursing

Objective Natural disasters can cause widespread death and extensive physical devastation, but also harmfully impact individual and community health following a disaster event. Nature-based recovery approach can positively influence the mental health of people and community’s post-natural disasters. In response to the Australian bushfire season of...

Aim This systematic review aims to describe and compare the characteristics of Hospital in the Home (HITH) models of care within Australia. Design A systematic review of peer‐reviewed Australian literature. Data Sources Seven databases were searched in January 2024, followed by citation searching. Articles were included if they were described the...

Cervical cancer screening programs in Australia have been developed to detect early precancerous changes in women with a cervix aged between 25 and 74. Yet, many barriers remain to the uptake of cervical screening. Barriers include a lack of culturally appropriate service provision, physical access, poor health literacy, emotional difficulties, soc...

Introduction: Undergraduate nursing students often work part-time or even full-time while studying at university completing their bachelor’s degrees. The aim of this study is to explain the meaning of the lived experiences of nursing students working as students in clinical field. Methods: A phenomenological study was conducted at the nursing and m...

To determine the barriers, benefits, and enablers of acute home-based care in Australia for older people (aged 65 and over). A systematic review for people aged 65 and over receiving acute home-based care in Australia was conducted using various databases (CINAHL, Medline, PsycINFO, SCOPUS, Web of Science, PubMed, Informit) and citation searching i...

Background and Aims More than 70% of current smokers in Australia have a definite plan to stop smoking and around half of them try to quit every year. Latrobe Community Health Service (LCHS) was commissioned by Gippsland Primary Health Network to establish Latrobe Smoking Support Service (LSSS) to break down barriers to accessing services and incre...

Preceptorship is considered an essential component in undergraduate nursing student's clinical placement, especially those in speciality units such as mental health. During the preceptorship relationship students are granted the opportunity to work alongside experienced nurses in the ward observing their interactions with patients and other profess...

Importance Physical activity during menopause can be effective in reducing the physiological changes associated with reproductive aging that increase risks for noncommunicable diseases, yet many women do not meet the recommendations for physical activity. Objective This study aimed to synthesize factors influencing physical activity for women acro...

Issue addressed: Suicide is the leading cause of death for Australians aged 15-49 (Department of Health and Aged Care Suicide in Australia, https://www.health.gov.au/health-topics/mental-health-and-suicide-prevention/suicide-in-australia, 2021). With the loss of one community member impacting the individual's family, friends, and wider community....

Issue addressed: The COVID-19 pandemic led to the closure of many physical activity programs, with many online programs being created in place to maintain physical activity engagement. This study explored the outcomes of an online physical program on its participants. Method: A validated survey was used to explore Virtual Streetgames (VSG) parti...

Background: To improve preventative health screening in regional Victoria, Australia, a collaborative student-led health prevention strategy was initiated. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of four health check clinics using a free 'pop-up' format within community settings. Methods: A mixed methods, explanatory sequential design wa...

Background: Patient handover in the emergency department (ED) is a 2-way communication process between the paramedics and in-hospital emergency personnel, which can result in miscommunication and delivery challenges. This study aimed to explore the lived experience of paramedics on patient handover to the ED. Methods: Over a period of 5 months, an...

Fourteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with patients and family members in regional Victoria, Australia to understand their experiences with bad news delivery and the hospital environment. It was found that bad news needs to be delivered in a quiet, calm and emotionally safe environment within a supportive therapeutic relationship.

Objectives: The current study aimed to explore regional nurses' perspectives of how bad news is delivered and the physical, natural, social, and symbolic environments where these conversations occur. Background: In regional hospitals within Victoria, Australia, palliative and end-of-life patients are cared for in acute wards that are often busy,...

Introduction: The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 180,000 health care workers have died in the fight against COVID-19. Emergency nurses have experienced relentless pressure in maintaining the health and well-being of their patients, often to their detriment. Methods: This research aimed to gain an understanding of lived ex...

Purpose: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People with a disability continue to experience barriers to service engagement such as mistrust of government services, lack of culturally appropriate support, marginalisation and disempowerment. This meta-synthesis reviews current literature regarding these experiences to explain why services are unde...

Men’s sheds are a community-based organisation that allows a space for a community of men to interact and engage with one another with hands-on activities. As such, men’s sheds form an appropriate setting to deliver health and wellbeing initiatives. This review aims to understand the role of Australian men’s sheds with respect to the health and wel...

Physical inactivity continues to be a global issue with many adolescents and adults failing to meet the recommendations for daily exercise. Efforts to reduce physical inactivity in adults include the incorporation of strategies such as workplace physical activity programs, especially for sedentary workers. In this systematic literature review we ex...

Background: Patient education is a professional obligation for all nurses. Public health messaging in emergency departments during disasters can help prevent further risk or illness for affected communities. In this study, Australian emergency nurse Key Informants share their perceptions and experiences of preventative messaging provided in their...

Objectives: Receiving bad news about one's health can be devastating, yet little is known about how the therapeutic nature of the environment where bad news is delivered affects the experience. The current study aimed to explore how patients and their families were affected by the language and the built, natural, social, and symbolic environments...

Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate the compliance of mental health clinicians in applying the Zero Suicide (ZS) approach to their clinical practice in a rural and regional health community setting. Methods: A retrospective clinical audit of six mental health teams was undertaken at a single site. A clinical audit tool was developed and...

Background COVID-19 saw the global reduction of many physical activity programs. To maintain engagement, many programs adjusted their delivery to online formats. Purpose To explore the impact that a youth targeted virtual community exercise program had on its participants during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Seven participants of Virtual Streetg...

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of frontline nurses caring for patients during the first 6 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Design: The JBI manual for evidence synthesis and the PRISMA guidelines for reporting. Data sources: CINAHL Complete, MEDLINE, PsycINFO (EBSCO) and Scopus (Elsevier). Review methods: The JBI Mi...

Background: Preceptorship in nursing has been a valued concept in nursing. Speciality area such as mental health nursing has a massive gap in research study. To develop sturdy mental health nursing workforce, it is necessary to conduct more studies. Aim: This literature review aims to explore preceptor's experience in precepting undergraduate nu...

Background The growing frequency of disasters increases health system demands, increasing the need for emergency departments to provide public health messaging to prevent illness and reduce risk. This study aims to explore emergency nurse practice and attitudes in providing public health messages from the emergency department during disasters in Au...

This review explored the impact of physical literacy programs designed to engage two- to five-year-old preschool children. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) was used. Six EBSCO host databases were searched for the period 2011 to April 2021 using the search terms “physical literacy,” “early childhood,” a...

Introduction: COVID-19 has not only affected the physical health of people but it has also had a major impact on their mental health. Objective: To investigate the nursing, midwifery, and operating room students' mental health and intention to leave during COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the nursing and...

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has placed huge strain on hospital staff around the world. The aim of the current longitudinal study was to investigate the resilience, stress and burnout of hospital staff located at a large, regional hospital in Victoria, Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic over time via cross-sectional surveys. The surveys...

A scoping review was conducted to identify how peer-education models are being used in sexuality and respectful relationship education for people with a disability. The search was conducted in August 2021 using the Joanna Briggs framework to scope and map the literature and research activity. Using strict criteria, 7 online databases, grey literatu...

Objectives The impact of disasters on individual and community health can be extensive. As such, there exists the need to establish recovery measures that provides support psychologically and with additional mental health services and resilience building for affected people and their communities. Nature-led recovery is one such approach that has th...

The need for continued research into suicide prevention strategies is undeniable, with high global statistics demonstrating the urgency of this public health issue. In Australia, approximately 3000 people end their lives each year, with those living in rural and regional areas identified as having a higher risk of dying by suicide. Due to decreased...

Anatomy and Physiology (A&P) courses in undergraduate nursing programs are often considered challenging for students. Typically, a wide variety of teaching strategies, including dissection, experiments, illustrations and photographs are used to engage students. This study aimed to explore and describe the learning experiences of an open creative as...

Background One of the roles that nurses have acquired in recent years is the role of prescribing. This study aimed to investigate the knowledge and attitudes of critical care nurses, physicians and patients about nurse prescribing. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study with the participation of 152 nurses, 53 physicians and 75 patients was c...

Suicide continues to impact rural and regional families and communities across Australia and has become a key focus of healthcare, research, and government policy in recent years. The challenge for healthcare organizations is to translate policy visions and research for clinicians to effectively embed in day to day practice when supporting people w...

Background: Across various parts of the world there is an increasing trend in adolescent and young adult physical inactivity, which has been linked to a multitude of illnesses throughout the lifespan. To further understand the link between physical inactivity and illness, it is important to determine the effect that physical activity has various c...

Introduction Palliative support services (generalist or specialist) can provide much-needed assistance to carers who are providing palliative and end-of-life care in their homes, but access to such services in regional and rural areas of Australia is poorly understood. Objectives This study aimed to explore the role and lived experience of primary...

Objective To identify the extent, range, and nature of the evidence on public health education provided by emergency nurses. Methods A scoping review, using the methodological guidance of Joanna Briggs Institute, was conducted to scope and map the literature and research activity. Using predetermined criteria, databases, grey literature, and refer...

Objective Disclosing the truth when breaking bad news continues to be difficult for health professionals, yet it is essential for patients when making informed decisions about their treatment and end-of-life care. This literature review aimed to explore and examine how health professionals, patients, and families experience truth disclosure during...

Aim To review the latest qualitative literature on how the physical hospital environment affects palliative patients and their families. Background People with a life-limiting illness may receive palliative care to improve their quality of life in hospital and may have multiple admissions as their illness progresses. Yet, despite a preference for...

Aim The number of countries where nurses are allowed to prescribe has increased over the past two decades. Nursing students’ self-efficacy has the main impact on their clinical and cognitive skills. The aim of this study is to determine nursing students’ attitudes and preparedness for nurse prescribing and its relationship with their perceived self...

The blended online digital (BOLD) approach to teaching is popular within many universities. Despite this popularity, our understanding of the experiences of students making the transition to online learning is limited, specifically an examination of those elements associated with success. The aim of this study is to explore the experiences of stude...

Mental health and suicide prevention are national health priorities in Australia, with research currently focussed towards the ZERO Suicide (ZS) initiative. The aim of this review was to evaluate the impact of suicide prevention programmes, in particular the ZS prevention initiative. A systematic review using the PRISMA guidelines was conducted usi...

This study explores a weekly community‐based exercise program (CBEP) for ageing adults in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. This program aims to improve the health and well‐being of ageing adults and was evaluated using an exploratory qualitative study design. Four focus group discussions and two individual interviews were conducted before a thematic...

Introduction Caring for someone at home requiring palliative care is an ominous task. Unless the current support systems are better utilised and improved to meet the needs of those carers, the demand for acute hospital admissions will increase as the Australian population ages. The aim of this review was to examine the needs of unpaid carers who we...

Blended online and digital learning includes a variety of activities that combine engaging classroom-based education with online learning. The aim of this study is to evaluate undergraduate students' perceptions of a blended online and digital curriculum for anatomy and physiology in the nursing degree program. A quantitative methodology was used w...

Background: The blended online digital (BOLD) approach to teaching is popular within many universities. However, much of the research conducted in this area focusses on the student perspective. Aim The aim of this study is to explore the experiences and perspectives of academics involved in the development and implementation of an inaugural BOLD B...

Background Patient education requires modification as it is either nonexistent or implemented irregularly or inadequately. Study’s purpose To examine the learning needs of patients with coronary heart disease from the perspective of the patients, their relatives, and health care providers. Methodology The cross-sectional, comparative study conduc...

Background: In the case of life threatening conditions such as respiratory or cardiac arrest, or the clinical deterioration of the patient, a Code Blue activation may be instigated. A Code Blue activation involves a team of advanced trained clinicians attending the emergency needs of the patient. Aim: The aim of the study was to explore the numb...

Introduction: Family presence during resuscitation (FPDR), remains inconsistently implemented by emergency personnel. The benefits for family members is well documented, providing opportunities for family to say goodbye, facilitates closure and enables family to provide emotional support to the patient. The aim of this study was to explore the exp...

Little is known about why nurses escalate a Medical Emergency Team (MET) response based on ‘worried’ criteria or what clinical findings define a ‘worried’ MET call. Limited clarity exists in nursing literature regarding the clinical definition of ‘worried’ in medical emergencies. Commonly ‘worried’ terminology is associated with nursing intuition a...

In Australia, the emerging use of technology in higher education has brought about significant change in the delivery of undergraduate nursing programs. Universities are now tasked with delivering a blend of online and face-to-face education, while students face new and sometimes challenging online learning environments with little technical suppor...

Aim: To explore the experiences of nurses and doctors on the implementation of family presence during resuscitation (FPDR) in Victorian emergency departments. Methods: An interpretative qualitative study design was utilized which incorporated the open ended responses on a state wide Victorian survey of emergency department nurses and doctors. A...

Nursing management of physical deterioration of patients within acute mental health settings is observed, recorded, and actively managed with the use of standardized Adult Deterioration Detection System (ADDS) charts. Patient deterioration may require the urgent assistance of a hospital rapid response or Medical Emergency Team. A five‐and‐a‐half‐ye...

Aims: To explore the lived experience of resuscitation team members involved in notifying family members when a patient dies following a resuscitation event in an Iranian cultural context. Background: Death notification to the family is indeed a difficult and an important issue for resuscitation team members. The way health professionals deliver...

Background: Family-witnessed resuscitation remains controversial among clinicians from implementation to practice and there are a number of countries, such as Iran, where that is considered a low priority. Objective: To explore the lived experience of resuscitation team members with the presence of the patient's family during resuscitation. Des...

Aims To evaluate the impact of Acute Deterioration Detection System (ADDS) charts introduced to a regional healthcare service. Background To assist health professionals in identifying essential elements for recognizing patient clinical deterioration, a national initiative introduced track and trigger observation charts, to hospitals in Australia....

Introduction: Family Presence During Resuscitation (FPDR), although not a new concept, remains inconsistently implemented by emergency personnel. Many larger metropolitan emergency departments (ED) have instigated a care coordinator role, however these personnel are often from a non-nursing background and have therefore limited knowledge about the...

Background: Teamwork may assist with increased levels of efficiency and safety of patient care in the emergency department (ED), with emergency nurses playing an indispensable role in this process. Method: A descriptive, exploratory approach was used, drawing on principles from phenomenology and symbolic interactionism. Convenience, purposive sa...

Background and aims Family Presence during Resuscitation is considered an important issue, however remains controversial among clinicians implementation to practice. The aim of this study was to explore the lived experiences of resuscitation team members with the presence of patient's family during resuscitation in the cultural context of Iran. Me...

Purpose: To illuminate the meaning of the lived experiences of resuscitation team members with the presence of the patient's family during resuscitation in the cultural context of Iran. Design: An interpretative phenomenology was used to discover the lived experiences of the nurses and physicians of Tabriz hospitals, Iran, with family presence d...

Background The increasing demands on the emergency department (ED) can result in lengthy waits for non-urgent category four and five presentations. As a result, some patients are given definitive simple treatments in the triage area and/or are given advice regarding self-care. Alternatively, patients may be provided with information and directions...

Aim: To test the resuscitation non-technical Team Emergency Assessment Measure (TEAM) for feasibility, validity and reliability, in two Australian Emergency Departments (ED). Background: Non-technical (teamwork) skills have been identified as inadequate and as such have a significant impact on patient safety. Valid and reliable teamwork assessme...

Medical Records Reviews (MRR) are commonly used in research and quality activities in health care, however, there is a paucity of literature offering a step by step guide to devising a reliable, user-friendly tool. This instructional paper focuses on the stages used to design and implement successful MRR using examples from two reviews in Australia...

This study explores preregistration nursing students' views of a Web-based simulation program: FIRST ACTWeb (Feedback Incorporating Review and Simulation Techniques to Act on Clinical Trends-Web). The multimedia program incorporating three videoed scenarios portrayed by a standardized patient (human actor) aims to improve students' recognition and...

[Final report] available at: http://www.olt.gov.au/resource-managing-patient-deterioration

To undertake a review of the quantitative research literature, to determine emergency staff and public attitudes, to support the implementation and practice of family presence during resuscitation in the emergency department. FPDR although endorsed by numerous resuscitation councils, cardiac, trauma and emergency associations, continues to be topic...

Objective: To measure the impact of the Feedback Incorporating Review and Simulation Techniques to Act on Clinical Trends (FIRST2ACT) simulation program on nursing observations and practice relevant to patient deterioration in a rural Australian hospital. Design: Interrupted time series analysis. Setting: A rural Australian hospital. Participants:...

To describe a funded proposal for the development of an on-line evidence based educational program for the management of deteriorating patients. There are international concerns regarding the management of deteriorating patients with issues around the ‘failure to rescue’. The primary response to these issues has been the development of medical emer...

Appendix 4. Process for development of Situation Awareness (SA) questions.

Appendix 1. Participant demographic form.

Appendix 2. Objective Structured Clinical Examinations.

Appendix 3. Team Emergency Assessment Measure (TEAM).

Objective To assess the ability of rural Australian nurse teams to manage deteriorating patients. Methods This quasi-experimental design used pre- and post-intervention assessments and observation to evaluate nurses' simulated clinical performance. Registered nurses (n=44) from two hospital wards completed a formative knowledge assessment and three...

The study aim was to examine how Registered Nurses identify and respond to deteriorating patients during in-hospital simulation exercises. Mixed methods study using simulated actors. A rural hospital in Victoria, Australia. Thirty-four Registered Nurses each completed two simulation exercises. Data were obtained from the following sources: (a) Obje...

To examine, in a simulated environment, rural nurses' ability to assess and manage patient deterioration using measures of knowledge, situation awareness and skill performance. Nurses' ability to manage deterioration and 'failure to rescue' are of significant concern with questions over knowledge and clinical skills. Simulated emergencies may help...

This paper follows previous publications on generic qualitative approaches, qualitative designs and action research in emergency care by this group of authors. Contemporary views on mixed methods approaches are considered, with a particular focus on the design choice and the amalgamation of qualitative and quantitative data emphasising the timing o...