Rob Stanton

• BHMSc (Hons) PhD
• Associate Professor at Central Queensland University

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is transforming various sectors, including healthcare, offering both promising opportunities and notable risks. The infancy and rapid development of GenAI raises questions regarding its effective, safe, and ethical use by health professionals, including clinical exercise physiologists. This narrative revie...

People living with psychosis live up to 20 years less compared to the general population. Cardiometabolic ill-health and barriers to health-related behaviour are significant contributors. This is a cross-sectional descriptive study of cardiometabolic health and health behaviours of consumers attending a public community mental health service in an...

Background Neck-of-femur (NOF) fractures are common, complex injuries. Paramedics frequently respond to suspected NOF fractures; however, the unique challenges associated with NOF fractures make it critical that prehospital care provided by paramedics is patient-centred and evidence-based. Aims This study aimed to identify and appraise Australian...

Young adults are increasingly joining shiftwork professions, exposing them to elevated health risks. To mitigate these risks, tailored, evidence-based resources on health areas most affected by shiftwork - sleep, nutrition, and physical activity – are essential. To ensure such resources are tailored and engaging, lived experience must be embedded i...

Shiftwork – employment outside traditional waking hours – impacts sleep, contributing to circadian disruption and increased risk for numerous poor health outcomes. Young adults are increasingly engaging in shiftwork, therefore requiring tailored, evidence-based sleep resources early in their careers to mitigate sleep and health risks. Despite this...

Introduction The increasing prevalence of shiftwork among young adults poses significant health risks, primarily due to its disruptive effects on sleep, nutrition and physical activity. Addressing these risks necessitates the development of tailored, evidence‐based resources to support these key health behaviours. Participatory research approaches,...

Emergency service personnel experience high levels of psychological distress, with increasing evidence of associations with shame and trauma. Additionally, adolescence is a critical time in social and cognitive development, in which shame plays an important role. In Australia, adolescent volunteer surf lifesavers (SLS) are particularly vulnerable d...

Background: People experiencing mental illness receive physical healthcare from nurses in a variety of settings including acute inpatient, secure extended care, forensic, and community services. While nurse-led clinical practice addressing sub-optimal consumer physical health is salient, a detailed understanding and description of the contribution...

Background The physical health comorbidities and premature mortality experienced by people with mental illness has led to an increase in exercise services embedded as part of standard care in hospital-based mental health services. Despite the increase in access to exercise services for people experiencing mental illness, there is currently a lack o...

Early mortality experienced by people living with mental health issues (hereon termed consumers) is largely preventable. Healthcare professionals perceive healthcare system inadequacies such as diagnostic overshadowing, stigma and fragmentation of physical and mental healthcare services can be resolved through effective integration approaches. Serv...

Mental health carers are crucial in improving the physical health outcomes of people diagnosed with a mental illness (hereafter referred to as consumers). The long-term and multifaceted mental and physical health support carers provide to consumers can contribute to caregiver burden. Consequently, carers advocate for coordinated and integrated phys...

Purpose – The mental and physical health of those residing in Australian rural and remote communities is poorer compared to major cities. Physical health comorbidities contribute to almost 80% of premature mortality for people living with mental illness. Leisure time physical activity (LTPA) is a well-established intervention to improve physical an...

The number of Australians subject to coercive interventions in community mental health services continues to increase. This is in the context of a growing awareness of the harms from coercion, increasing concerns about potential breaches of human rights and an ongoing uncertainty regarding the clinical benefits of community treatment orders, the pr...

Coercion is a defining feature of public mental health services in Australia. Much of the research and recent policy directives aiming to reduce coercive interventions have been focused on inpatient mental health settings, particularly regarding restrictive practices such as seclusion and restraint. Implementation of the Safewards Model of Care is...

People with mental illness have a higher prevalence of co-occurring physical health conditions and poor health behaviors, leading a mortality gap of up to 16 years, compared with the general population. Nurses working in mental health settings play an important role in addressing factors influencing sub-optimal physical health. Therefore, this scop...

Background Surf lifesavers and lifeguards have provided essential education, preventative, and rescue services to the Australian community for over 110 years. In this first responder role, surf lifesavers and lifeguards are inadvertently exposed to high risk and trauma related experiences, which may negatively impact mental well-being. To date howe...

Background: Schizophrenia is associated with high rates of global, social and occupational functional impairments. While prior meta-analyses have extensively examined the impact of exercise on physical and mental health, the impact on functioning in schizophrenia have yet to be fully established. This review aimed to update the evidence base regar...

Background Exercise during pregnancy is associated with various health benefits for both mother and child. Despite these benefits, most pregnant women do not meet physical activity recommendations. A known barrier to engaging in exercise during pregnancy is a lack of knowledge about appropriate and safe exercise. In our current era of social media,...

Introduction: Poor mental health is an under-recognised burden in rural locations. This is evident in suicide rates that are 40% higher in rural communities than in urban ones, despite a similar prevalence of mental disorders. The level of readiness and engagement of rural communities to adapt or even acknowledge poor mental health can impact effe...

Globally physical inactivity is a leading, independent, and significant risk factor for disease and mortality. Exercise scientists and clinical exercise physiologists have a key role in supporting client participation in physical activity. However, with the rates of physical activity continuing to be low, we argue for a paradigm shift in the way pr...

Objective To investigate the effects of multidirectional elastic tape on pain and function in individuals with lateral elbow tendinopathy. Study Design Randomised crossover trial. Setting Biomechanics laboratory. Subjects 27 participants (11 females, mean (SD) age: 48.6 (11.9) years) with clinically diagnosed lateral elbow tendinopathy of at lea...

Objective: People with mental illness experience a significantly increased mortality rate, partly attributable to high rates of premature metabolic disease. Exercise is increasingly recognized as an evidence-based component of treatment for improving both physical and mental illness. Ensuring health care staff have the necessary competence to supp...

People diagnosed with mental illness (hereon referred to as consumers) experience a disproportionately lower life expectancy of up 30 years compared to the general population. Systemic issues such as diagnostic overshadowing and stigma from healthcare professionals have inhibited the development of positive therapeutic partnerships that enable cons...

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a worsening of mental health and health behaviors. While physical activity is positively associated mental health, there is limited understanding of how mental health and physical activity evolve throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to examine changes in depression, anxiety and stress and ph...

Background Lateral elbow tendinopathy is associated with changes to forearm muscle activity and wrist posture during gripping. Multidirectional elastic tape is thought to exert a deloading effect on underlying musculotendinous structures, which could potentially alter muscle activity or wrist posture. Methods This single-blinded randomised crossov...

Background Depression is associated with physical inactivity, low cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), and poor physical health compared with the general population. Various protocols are employed to determine CRF studies of people experiencing depression, but standardized methods are absent from the literature. Thus, the aim of the present review is t...

A literature review exploring the ethical challenges experienced by nurses in community mental health settings when required to deliver coercive interventions.

Purpose Physical activity is an important component of treatment for people living with mental illness, and exercise practitioners are well placed to deliver these interventions. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lock-down regulations, exercise professionals have rapidly adapted to the online delivery of services to continue care...

Background Foot orthoses (FOs) are used to manage foot pathologies such as plantar fasciopathy. 3D printed custom-made FOs are increasingly being manufactured. Although these 3D-printed FOs look like traditionally heat-moulded FOs, there are few studies comparing FOs made using these two different manufacturing processes. Research question How eff...

This study investigates differences in physical activity between weekdays and weekend days, and its associations with sociodemographic and anthropometric characteristics in the U.S population using the NHANES 2011–2014 data. Physical activity was measured using ActiGraph GT3X+. Raw acceleration data were converted to Monitor-Independent Movement Su...

Background Surf lifesavers and lifeguards have provided essential education, preventative, and rescue services to the Australian community for over 110 years. In this first responder role, surf lifesavers and lifeguards are inadvertently exposed to high risk and trauma related experiences, which may negatively impact mental well-being. To date howe...

Consumers of mental health services experience poor physical health compared to the general population, leading to long‐term physical illness and premature death. Current research and policy activity prioritizes the physical health of consumers yet few of these recommendations have translated to practice. This implementation gap may be influenced b...

Background COVID-19 has resulted in substantial global upheaval. Resilience is important in protecting wellbeing, however few studies have investigated changes in resilience over time, and associations between resilience with depression, anxiety, stress, and physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Online surveys were conducted to c...

Background: Pain-free grip strength is an important outcome measure in lateral elbow tendinopathy (LET); yet, the reliability and minimum detectable change (MDC) in functional positions are unknown. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the between- and within-session pain-free grip strength reliability and MDC in LET. Methods: Twen...

Background: Custom-made foot orthoses (FOs) play an integral part in managing foot disorders. Traditional FO fabrication is time-consuming and labor intensive. Three-dimensional (3D) printed FOs save time and cost compared with the traditional manufacturing process. To date, the differences in dimensions and comfort perception of these orthoses ha...

Background Exercise interventions are increasingly incorporated in the management of severe mental illness; however, best practice screening and outcome monitoring for this unique population are yet to be established. This review aims to explore assessment measures reported in publications of exercise interventions in severe mental illness. Method...

Purpose Australian paramedics regularly encounter patients experiencing mental illness. However, some paramedics hold negative attitudes towards the use of emergency services in providing care for these patients. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to examine the mental health literacy (MHL) of Australian paramedic students, and the training...

Introduction Australian paramedics are frequently exposed to traumatic incidents as part of their role, and subsequently are at increased risk of mental health issues and negative impacts on psychological wellbeing. Evidence suggests student and early career paramedics are also at risk of trauma exposure during clinical placements. Increased levels...

Purpose This paper aims to present the current state of evidence regarding the mental health literacy of paramedics and student paramedics and whether mental health literacy affects the care that paramedics provide to their patients with mental illness. Design/methodology/approach Embase, PubMed, Medline and Google Scholar were searched for recent...

Objective: This study investigated the association between COVID-19 prevention knowledge and concern and practising preventive behaviour in Australian adults. Methods: Using an online survey, knowledge of Australian COVID-19 guidelines, concerns about pandemic impact, the practice of preventive behaviours, and sociodemographic variables (i.e. age,...

Neck of femur (NOF) fractures present a significant challenge for healthcare systems and are associated with major complications and high mortality. Hospital clinical pathways aim to improve care and optimise outcomes for individuals sustaining NOF fractures; however, these pathways exclude the pre-hospital management of suspected NOF fractures. Th...

Introduction Emergency service workers (e.g. police, fire, ambulance officers) are regularly exposed to occupational stressors and potentially traumatic events, resulting in an increased risk of poor mental and physical health. For example, emergency service workers are twice as likely to experience suicidal thoughts compared to the general populat...

Sedentary behaviour research is rapidly growing. Scoping reviews are important to inform policy and practice.The aim of this scoping a review was to map the available evidence from systematic reviews and meta-analyses of sedentary behaviour research on adults (≥18 years), within the phases of the behavioural epidemiology framework, and to identify...

In Australia, exercise practitioners (i.e., clinical professionals specializing in exercise assessment and delivery) are increasingly recognized as core mental health team members. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, exercise practitioners, like other mental health professions, have had to adapt methods of clinical service delivery to ensure soc...

This study investigates changes in willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19 and the effect of the extended restrictions in metropolitan Victoria on this change. Longitudinal and repeated cross-sectional data were collected from online surveys distributed in April, between July and August, and December 2020. Australian adults who were ≥18 years old...

Aim: Nursing students experience high levels of stress, anxiety and depression. This study examined associations between health behaviors and stress, anxiety and depression in Australian nursing students. Design: this was a cross-sectional study. Methods: Participants completed an online survey providing demographic information and responses t...

First responders often face traumatic and emotionally‐taxing incidents in their role. Understanding their mental health and coping capacity is important for wellbeing and continued service delivery. Surf lifesavers and lifeguards are an under researched yet a vital part of the first responder workforce. The recent Senate Report on first responders...

Controversy around the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines may lead to low vaccination rates. Survey data were collected in April and August 2020 from a total of 2343 Australian adults. A quarter (n = 575, 24%) completed both surveys. A generalized linear mixed model analysis was conducted to determine whether willingness to vaccinate changed...

Objectives: To investigate associations between acute workload and in-game performance in basketball. Materials and Methods: Eight semi-professional, male basketball players were monitored during all training sessions (N = 28) and games (N = 18) across the season. External workload was determined using absolute (arbitrary units[AU]) and relative (...

Purpose: To investigate associations between sleep and competitive performance in basketball. Methods: Seven semi-professional, male players were monitored across the in-season. On nights prior to competition, sleep duration and quality were assessed using actigraphs and sleep diaries. The data were accumulated over one (night 1), two (nights 1-2 c...

The purpose of this study was to determine whether contextual factors including game location, game outcome, and score-line margin influence subsequent nightly sleep duration and quality in basketball players. Seven semi-professional, male basketball players were monitored across one competitive season using self-reported sleep diaries and activity...

Background Burnout and compassion fatigue (CF) are common among mental health practitioners. Accredited Exercise Physiologists (AEPs) provide clinical services to individuals experiencing mental illness, increasing their likelihood of experiencing burnout and CF. Aims To examine the prevalence of burnout and CF among AEPs working with people exper...

Purpose: To examine the impact of workload volume during training sessions and games on subsequent sleep duration and sleep quality in basketball players. Methods: Seven semi-professional, male basketball players were monitored across pre- and in-season phases to determine training session and game workloads, sleep duration, and sleep quality. Trai...

Purpose Physical activity is increasingly recognised as critical to improving physical and mental health (MH). Understanding the education and training requirements of exercise professionals will support better integration of these emerging MH professionals within the multidisciplinary MH team. The purpose of this study was to determine the exposur...

Older adults' participation in resistance training is low. Recent research suggests social aspects are important determinants of exercise engagement. In this study, 13 older women (50 years and older) were interviewed to examine their experiences of powerlifting training. Data were thematically analyzed revealing two main themes: Challenging Belief...

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has enforced dramatic changes to daily living including economic and health impacts. Evidence for the impact of these changes on our physical and mental health and health behaviors is limited. We examined the associations between psychological distress and changes in selected health behaviors since the onset of COVI...

Sleep is essential in the preparation for, and the recovery from, training and competition. Despite being important for all individuals, young athletes are considered an at-risk group for reduced sleep duration and quality. The purpose of this review is to synthesise current literature relating to sleep duration and quality in young (14–25 years) a...

Background: Depression and anxiety are more likely to co-occur than to occur in isolation. Research supports the use of exercise in the treatment of depression or anxiety, but comorbidity may complicate how people are impacted by treatment. Methods: A systematic review (PROSPERO # 42018111114) was conducted to investigate whether and how the eviden...

Background Lateral elbow tendinopathy (LET) is a common musculoskeletal condition that can be treated with therapeutic tape. However, little is known of taping practices for LET in a clinical setting. Objectives To examine Australian healthcare practitioners’ taping techniques, clinical reasoning, and information sources regarding therapeutic tape...

The purpose of this was to study compare peak external workload intensities in basketball using accelerometer-derived moving averages between different sample durations (0.5–5 minutes), session types (training vs. game-play), and playing roles (starting vs. bench players). Five starting and 3 bench players were monitored over a 15-week competitive...

Objective: The aim of this study was to understand the knowledge, beliefs, barriers, and behaviors of mental health professionals about physical activity and exercise for people with mental illness. Methods: The Portuguese version of The Exercise in Mental Illness Questionnaire was used to assess knowledge, beliefs, barriers, and behaviors about e...

Bromilow, L, Stanton, R, and Humphries, B. A structured e-investigation into the prevalence and acceptance of smartphone applications by exercise professionals. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2020-The primary purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence and acceptance of smartphone applications by exercise professionals when interacting...

Objective: To assess temporal trends in service provision by Accredited Exercise Physiologists based on remoteness classification using Australian Bureau of Statistics remoteness classifications of Major Cities, Inner Regional, Outer Regional, Remote and Very Remote. Design and participants: Cross-sectional analysis of publicly available Medicar...

Purpose: To quantify and compare external and internal game workloads according to contextual factors (game outcome, game location, and score-line). Methods: Starting semiprofessional, male basketball players were monitored during 19 games. External (PlayerLoad™ and inertial movement analysis variables) and internal (summated-heart-rate-zones an...

Match activity demands of basketball players have been well reported but little exists in terms of quantifying the demands encountered by referees during match-play. Potential differences between referees and players may identify different fitness capacities and subsequent need for different training regimes. Purpose: The aims of this brief report...

Background Integrating exercise professionals into mental health settings is a key strategy in addressing the physical health inequalities of people living with mental illness. Workforce culture surrounding physical health may impact the utilisation of exercise professionals across inpatient settings. Aims To evaluate clinician perspectives regard...

Background: Exercise is nowadays considered as an evidence-based treatment modality in people with mental illness. Nurses and occupational therapists working in low-resourced mental health settings are well-placed to provide exercise advice for people with mental illness. Objectives: We examined the current exercise prescription practices employ...

Objective: To systematically identify, appraise, and examine evidence regarding the effects of therapeutic tape on pain and function in individuals with lateral epicondylalgia (LE). Methods: Five electronic databases were systematically searched up to March 2018. Full-text, peer-reviewed, English-language studies were included if they had an LE...

The association between psychotic illness and poor physical health is now clearly articulated in the literature. By contrast the impact of depression and/or anxiety on physical health is considerably less understood, despite depression being the leading cause of disability worldwide and is associated with significantly higher prevalence of physical...

Objectives: To assess the validity of the Polar Team Pro sensor for measuring speed and distance indoors during continuous locomotive and change-of-direction tasks at low, medium, and high intensities. Design: Descriptive validation study. Methods: 26 recreationally-active participants (age: 32.2 ± 11.0 yr; stature: 173.3 ± 9.9 cm; body mass: 74.2...

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of a six-week strength and power training program, on striking impact power in amateur male combat athletes. A convenience sample of 16 amateur male combat athletes with at least two years combat training experience were assigned to either a strength and power training program (SPT, n = 10)...

The purpose of this study was to examine player monitoring approaches used by basketball practitioners with a specific focus on the use of microsensors. An online survey was disseminated to basketball practitioners via international basketball-related organisations and social media channels. Multiple response, Likert-scale level of agreement, and o...

The substantial physical health disadvantage experienced by people diagnosed with mental illness is now identified in a growing body of research evidence. The recent promulgation of improved physical health care as a goal of contemporary Australian Mental Health Policy should provide impetus for initiatives and strategies to address this inequity....

Background This study aimed to investigate the validity of the Active Australia Survey across different subgroups and its responsiveness to change, as few previous studies have examined this. Methods The Active Australia Survey was validated against the ActiGraph as an objective measure of physical activity. Participants (n = 465) wore the ActiGra...

Purpose: To 1) quantify and compare internal and external workloads in regular and overtime games, and 2) examine changes in relative workloads during overtime compared to other periods in overtime games in male basketball players. Methods: Starting players for a semi-professional, male basketball team were monitored during two overtime games and t...

Low rates of physical activity, in addition to other poor physical health behaviors, contribute to lower quality of life and increased rates of premature mortality for people living with mental illness. Physical activity reduces this mortality gap while simultaneously improving mood, cognitive function, and symptomology for a variety of psychiatric...

Background: Twitter is increasingly used as a medium to communicate scholarly content and facilitate expedited knowledge translation. Academic conferences typically use event-specific hashtags to promote conferences and move conference-related conversations to the public domain. Like other health disciplines, exercise physiology and exercise scienc...

Individualized approaches to derive intensity zones are yet to be examined using microsensor metrics in basketball. The purpose of this study was to quantify and compare the time spent in different PlayerLoad intensity zones using individualized and fixed approaches during basketball training. Thirteen semiprofessional, male basketball players were...

Objective: Regular exercise has substantial benefits for mental health. The way people feel during exercise impacts motivation. This study investigated whether experiencing depression, anxiety or comorbid depression and anxiety symptoms impacted feeling state responses throughout a charity cycling ride. Design: To achieve this aim, we conducted an...

Background: Adequate training loads promote favorable physical and physiological adaptations, reduce the likelihood of illness and injury, and, therefore, increase the possibility of success during competition. Objectives: Our objective was to systematically examine the association between training load and performance outcomes in team sports. Meth...

Community awareness of mental illness is crucial for helping people access mental health support. The association between ability to recognise mental health disorders and lived experience is not well examined in Australian populations. Australian adults (n = 1265) provided responses to a vignette depicting a person with depression and self-reported...

1 Background Exercise is a well‐established treatment for depression, and its use in clinical care is supported by consumers and clinicians. However, whether public health messages regarding the benefits of exercise for depression have translated to public knowledge remains unknown. This study aims to examine the community's mental health literacy,...

Background: Physical activity (PA) significantly improves physical health and clinical symptoms across mental disorders. Accredited Exercise Physiologists (AEPs) are trained to lead PA interventions for people with mental illness, but referrals to AEPs are low. Aims: To determine the knowledge and attitudes of delegates attending the 2017 Royal Aus...

Interprofessional care and consumer-oriented services are embodied in modern healthcare policy and practice. The views, needs, and values of consumers are essential to ensuring translation of policy to practice. This is particularly pertinent for people diagnosed with mental illness who experience a higher risk of physical health problems and prema...

Background: Over 690,000 Australians experience psychosis annually, significantly impacting cardiometabolic illness and healthcare costs. Current models of care are fragmented and a critical implementation gap exists regarding the delivery of coordinated physical healthcare for Australians with psychosis. Objectives: To describe a trial implemen...