Kerith Duncanson

The University of Newcastle, Australia · Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI) Centre for Research Excellence Digestive Health

BACKGROUND Data on individual level food and nutrient intakes is fundamental to informing development of nutrition policy and programs. However, in low- and lower-middle-income countries (LLMICs), proxy measures of individual intake (e.g. household consumption and expenditure surveys, food balance sheets) are often used, with limited implementation...

Objective: Genetic and environmental factors influence pathogenesis and rising incidence of paediatric inflammatory bowel disease (PIBD). The aim was to meta-analyse evidence of diet and environmental factors in PIBD. Methods: A systematic search was conducted to identify diet and environmental factors with comparable risk outcome measures and h...

Aims To identify barriers and enablers that influence engagement in and acceptability of diabetes prevention programmes for people with pre‐diabetes. The results will provide insights for developing strategies and recommendations to improve design and delivery of diabetes prevention programmes with enhanced engagement and acceptability for people w...

Interactions between diet and gastrointestinal microbiota influence health status and outcomes. Evaluating these relationships requires accurate quantification of dietary variables relevant to microbial metabolism, however current dietary assessment methods focus on dietary components relevant to human digestion only. The aim of this study was to s...

Hospital placement is essential training for medical interns, involving shift work and high-pressure environments. This can increase physiological and psychological stress, which may be mediated by metabolites of microbial digestion(1). Nutrients of interest include those accessible to microbial digestion and associated with altered signalling with...

Background Optimal maternal nutrition is associated with better pregnancy and infant outcomes. Culinary nutrition programmes have potential to improve diet quality during pregnancy. Therefore, this research aimed to understand the experiences of cooking and the wants and needs of pregnant women regarding a cooking and food skills programme in the U...

Introduction The need for public research funding to be more accountable and demonstrate impact beyond typical academic outputs is increasing. This is particularly challenging and the science behind this form of research is in its infancy when applied to collaborative research funding such as that provided by the Australian National Health and Medi...

Background Many diets promoted specifically for multiple sclerosis have been suggested to improve disease activity. Dairy and gluten are two components for which the recommendations vary between these diets. Existing research into the association between these dietary components and disease activity has been conflicting. Objective To explore the r...

Background and Aims Diet plays an integral role in the modulation of the intestinal environment, with the potential to be modified for management of individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). It has been hypothesised that poor “Western-style” dietary patterns select for a microbiota that drives IBD inflammation and that through dietary inte...

Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a highly prevalent disorder. Upper endoscopy is normal, and according to the Rome IV criteria, there is no established pathology. Data accumulated over the last 15 years has challenged the notion FD is free of relevant pathology, and in particular, increased duodenal eosinophils have been observed. Intestinal eosinophil...

Research into the complexities of addictive eating behaviours continues to develop, as a deeper understanding of this construct beyond self-report diagnostic tools emerges. In this study, we undertook structured interviews with 40 participants engaged in a personality-based management program for addictive eating, to gain insight into what situatio...

Introduction An association between functional dyspepsia (FD) and wheat-containing foods has been reported in observational studies, however, an adaptive response has not been demonstrated. We examined whether antigens present in wheat could provoke a response from FD duodenal lymphocytes. Methods Lamina propria mononuclear cells (LPMCs) were isol...

Issue addressed: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples' holistic concepts of wellbeing are inadequately represented in the health promotion discourse. The aim of this article was to explore what sustains an Aboriginal wellbeing program, to inform critical reflection and reorientation to empower Aboriginal wellbeing approaches in health pro...

Background: Allied health professionals, nurses and doctors within the New South Wales (NSW) public health system provide trusted health information to a large proportion of families across the state. This means they are well positioned to opportunistically assess and discuss child weight status with families. Prior to 2016, weight status was not...

Introduction: The irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the best recognized disorder of gut brain interactions (DGBI). However, it is controversial if the Rome IV criteria iteration for IBS diagnosis is fit for purpose. Areas covered: This review critically evaluates Rome IV criteria for diagnosis of IBS and addresses clinical considerations in IBS...

Background: Diabetes prevention programs are intended to reduce progression to type 2 diabetes, but are underutilised. This study aimed to explore people with prediabetes' knowledge and attitudes about prediabetes, and their perceptions about engagement in preventive programs in a rural setting. The findings will inform strategies and recommendati...

Advancing dietary assessment in human gut microbiome research: review and gap analysis Kerith Duncanson, University of Newcastle kerith.duncanson@newcastle.edu.au Georgina M Williams, University of Newcastle georgina.williams@newcastle.edu.au Emily C Hoedt, University of Newcastle emily.hoedt@newcastle.edu.au Background: The gut microbiota is i...

Background and aims: The role of the microbiota in diverticulosis and diverticular disease is underexplored. This systematic review aimed to assess all literature pertaining to the microbiota and metabolome associations in asymptomatic diverticulosis, symptomatic uncomplicated diverticular disease (SUDD), and diverticulitis pathophysiology. Metho...

Objectives Research capacity building programmes usually only examine short-term outcomes, following up participants after 1 or 2 years. Capacity building in health research requires a long-term view to understand the influence and impact of capacity building endeavours. This study examined long-term outcomes for individuals regarding the maintenan...

Background: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) provide clinicians and consumers a platform to inform and improve healthcare planning and management. Aboriginal people experience disproportionately high rates of chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes. Treatment and management require holistic approaches that draw on culturally relevant...

Introduction: This position statement on medical nutrition therapy (MNT) in the management of overweight or obesity in children and adolescents was prepared by an expert committee convened by the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO) and developed in collaboration with the European Federation of the Associations of Dietitians (EFAD)...

Purpose Effective use of data across public health organisations (PHOs) is essential for the provision of health services. While health technology and data use in clinical practice have been investigated, interactions with data in non-clinical practice have been largely neglected. The purpose of this paper is to consider what constitutes data, and...

Objective: The objective of this study was to explore data and Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal researchers' experiences and reflexivity in co-designing research about a rural Aboriginal well-being program to inform practice and policy. Setting: Gumbaynggirr, Birpai, Kamilaroi and Awabakal countries located in regional and rural New South Wales, Au...

Purpose: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) management is complex and challenging, and therefore, requires a multidisciplinary approach. Whilst pharmacists may play a key role as the first point of contact for patients with initial symptoms or disease relapse, there is scant literature on pharmacists’ knowledge in IBD management. We conducted a surve...

Aims: The Nutrition Dashboard is an interactive nutrition technology platform that displays food provision and intake data used to categorise the nutrition risk of hospitalised individuals. This study aimed to investigate the Nutrition Dashboard's ability to identify malnutrition compared to a validated malnutrition screening tool. Methods: A re...

Background Parents frequently seek parental advice online and on social media; thus, these channels should be better utilized in child health interventions. The Parents in Child Nutrition Informing Community (PICNIC) program aims to facilitate peer-to-peer sharing of evidence-based child feeding information and support parents within their social n...

Culinary education programs are generally designed to improve participants’ food and cooking skills, with or without consideration to influencing diet quality or health. No published methods exist to guide food and cooking skills’ content priorities within culinary education programs that target improved diet quality and health. To address this gap...

Background: Despite economic growth, Cambodia continues to have high rates of malnutrition, anaemia and nutrition-related deficiencies. Government policies promote nutrition strategies, however dietary intake data is limited. A detailed synthesis of existing intake data is needed to inform nutrition policy and practice change. This review aimed to...

Background and Aims To explore the link between duodenal eosinophils and mast cells in patients with functional dyspepsia (FD). Methods MEDLINE(PubMed) and Embase electronic databases were searched until June 2021 for case-control studies reporting duodenal eosinophils and mast cells in FD. Pooled standard mean difference (SMD), Odds Ratio (OR) an...

Background Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and indeterminate colitis are inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) that adversely affect health care needs and quality of life of people with IBD. The aim of this study was to explore the needs and perceptions of people with IBD in a primary care setting. Methods This sequential explanatory mixed method...

This study investigated the implementation model and research methods of a peer education program for new parents focused on infant feeding and nutrition. Two hundred and sixty-nine parents with an infant aged birth to two years old were invited to become co-researchers in a Participatory Action Research (PAR) study over three years. Data included...

Background: Providing health care to rural populations is a major issue in Australia. Disease burdenand health risk factorsincrease with remoteness, but the access to appropriate service decrease. The introduction of Rural Clinical Schools, rural locations for internship and residency, and decentralisation of the Australian General Practitioner Tra...

Nutrition during pregnancy has lifelong impacts on the health of mother and child. However, this life stage presents unique challenges to healthy cooking and eating. Cooking interventions show promising results, but often lack theoretical basis and rigorous evaluation. The objective of this formative, qualitative study was to explore motivators, st...

Background This scoping review aims to describe the body of nutrition intervention and dietary assessment research undertaken with Khmer populations in Cambodia, to summarize the nutrition knowledge base and highlight priority areas for future research. Methodology Five databases and grey literature were searched, following the PRISMA-ScR guidelin...

Early life, including the establishment of the intestinal microbiome, represents a critical window of growth and development. Postnatal factors affecting the microbiome, including mode of delivery, feeding type, and antibiotic exposure have been widely investigated, but questions remain regarding the influence of exposures in utero on infant gut mi...

Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a common disorder of gut-brain interaction, characterised by upper gastrointestinal symptom profiles that differentiate FD from the irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), although the two conditions often co-exist. Despite food and eating being implicated in FD symptom induction, evidence-based guidance for dietetic management...

Background: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) provide patients with a platform to report on healthcare services and interventions, including the management of diabetes and other chronic diseases. Given the major disparity in incidence and prevalence of diabetes between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people, it is crucial that PROMs meet the...

Purpose Previous literature has applied system-focused structures to understand the success of First Nations Peoples’ nutrition and exercise group programmes. Existing system-focused measures have included biomedical outcomes, access and service utilization. By broadening the focus of programme success beyond the system, we can evaluate programmes...

Purpose: Written feedback on research-related writing is an important educational component of novice researcher development. Limited evidence exists to inform effective written feedback, particularly in relation to research reports by novice researchers. The aim of this narrative literature review was to explore supervisor and novice researcher pe...

Background The impact of obesity interventions on dietary intake in children and adolescents with overweight or obesity is unclear. This systematic review aimed to investigate the impact of the dietary component of weight management interventions on the change in diet in children and adolescents with overweight or obesity. Methods Eligible randomi...

Background and aims: Chronic disease, particularly inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), requires a multifaceted approach to managing patients, but it is apparent that primary care pharmacists are being underutilized. To demonstrate the benefits of pharmacist interventions in primary care, a systematic review was conducted of interventions in asthma an...

This article will aim to demonstrate how we applied a collaborative dialogical research approach to understand perspectives of an Aboriginal wellbeing program by extending Habermas’ Theory of Communicative Action to respect Australian Aboriginal ways of knowing, being and doing. This process aims to disrupt the colonizing discourse by bridging the...

Purpose of review: Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a chronic functional gastrointestinal disorder characterised by upper gastrointestinal symptoms. Here, we aimed to examine the evidence for immune responses to food in FD and overlap with food hypersensitivity conditions. Recent findings: A feature of FD in a subset of patients is an increase in mu...

Domestic cooking education programs are typically designed to improve an individual’s food and cooking skills, although not necessarily diet quality. Currently, there are no comprehensive models to guide the planning, implementation and evaluation of domestic cooking education programs that focus on improving diet and health. Our aim was to address...

Introduction: Functional dyspepsia (FD), characterised by symptoms of epigastric pain or early satiety and post prandial distress, has been associated with duodenal eosinophilia, raising the possibility that it is driven by an environmental allergen. Non-coeliac gluten or wheat sensitivity (NCG/WS) has also been associated with both dyspeptic sympt...

One in five Australian pre-schoolers are overweight or obese, meaning the first years of life are vital for obesity primary prevention. Parent child feeding practices impact on children’s dietary intake, which in turn impacts on their weight status. Parents’ child feeding beliefs are heavily influenced by parenting peers. The aim of this cohort stu...

Food ingestion is heavily implicated in inducing symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and functional dyspepsia (FD), which affect over one-third of adults in developed countries. The primary aim of this paper was to assess the alignment of dietary assessment and symptom-reporting capture periods in diet-related studies on IBS or FD in adults....

Aim: To determine the effect of bulking and osmotic laxation regimens on reducing rectal gas in patients receiving external beam radiation therapy for prostate cancer. Methods: A single blinded randomized controlled trial was conducted. Participants assigned to the intervention group (IG) were instructed to consume a bulking laxative and probiotic...

The increase in packaged food and beverage portion sizes has been identified as a potential factor implicated in the rise of the prevalence of obesity. In this context, the objective of this systematic scoping review was to investigate how healthy adults perceive and interpret serving size information on food packages and how this influences produc...

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the effect of the Rural Research Capacity Building Program on self-reported research experience of rural health workers. Design: A repeat cross-sectional study design was used to assess self-reported research experience at the commencement and completion of a novice researcher development p...

Purpose of Review This review summarises the issues related to the measurement and interpretation of dietary intake in individuals with overweight and obesity, as well as identifies future research priorities. Recent Findings Some aspects of the assessment of dietary intake have improved through the application of technology-based methods and the...

Mutual respect for ways of knowing, doing and learning is essential for research that explores Aboriginal wellbeing programs. The ‘Spring into Shape’ wellbeing program which includes weekly group exercise and cooking sessions, has a long history of engagement with community members. For the past 15 years the program has been facilitated through Gal...

Shared plate eating is a defining feature of the way food is consumed in some countries and cultures. Food may be portioned to another serving vessel or directly consumed into the mouth from a centralised dish rather than served individually onto a discrete plate for each person. Shared plate eating is common in some low-and lower-middle income cou...

Background: The ‘Spring into Shape’ (SIS) lifestyle program has engaged Aboriginal people from Gumbaynggirr Country on the Mid North Coast of NSW over the last 14 years, through group activities aimed at improving chronic disease risk factors. Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal researchers are collaborating to explore why the program is valued by part...

Review question/objective: To update an existing systematic review series of randomized controlled trials (RCT) that include a dietary intervention for the management of overweight or obesity in children or adolescents.Specifically, the review questions are: In randomized controlled trials of interventions which include a dietary intervention for...

Guidance for food consumption and portion control plays an important role in the global management of overweight and obesity. Carefully conceptualised serving size labelling can contribute to this guidance. However, little is known about the relationship between the information that is provided regarding serving sizes on food packages and levels of...

Introduction: Increased publication of clinician-led health research is important for improving patient care and health outcomes. The aim of this retrospective cohort study conducted in rural Australia was to determine the impact of a writing for publication (WFP) program delivered by teleconference on the publication rates and skill acquisition o...

Aim: Grandparents are assuming increased child-caregiving responsibilities, which potentially influences the dietary intake of grandchildren. The aim of this systematic review is to determine the influence of grandparental care on the dietary intake, food-related behaviours, food choices and weight status of their preschool and school-aged grandch...

This scoping review investigated how consumers perceive and interpret serving size information on food packages. A search of seven databases (2010 to September 2017) was followed by title and abstract screening, with relevant articles assessed for eligibility in full-text. Fourteen studies met inclusion criteria, with relevant data extracted by one...

Background: Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a debilitating functional gastrointestinal disorder characterised by early satiety, post-prandial fullness or epigastric pain related to meals, which affects up to 20% of western populations. A high dietary fat intake has been linked to FD and duodenal eosinophilia has been noted in FD. We hypothesised that...

The aim of this study was to describe the experiences of parents as peer educators disseminating nutrition and child feeding information. Parents of infants aged from birth to three years were trained as peer educators in a face-to-face workshop, and then shared evidence-based child feeding and nutrition information via Facebook, email, and printed...

Background: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is a form of diagnostic ultrasonography, which has a defined role as a clinical adjunct in patient assessment and management. If it is to continue to develop as a core clinical skill, junior medical practitioners and trainees may benefit from dedicated ultrasound education and familiarisation early in t...