Griffith Research Online

This dataset provides the first annotated, openly available MRI-based imaging dataset for investigations of tongue musculature, including multi-contrast and multi-site MRI data from non-disease participants. The present dataset includes 47 participants collated from three studies: BeLong (four participants; T2-weighted images), EATT4MND (19 participants; T2-weighted images), and BMC (24 participants; T1-weighted images). We provide manually corrected segmentations of five key tongue muscles: the superior longitudinal, combined transverse/vertical, genioglossus, and inferior longitudinal muscles. Other phenotypic measures, including age, sex, weight, height, and tongue muscle volume, are also available for use. This dataset will benefit researchers across domains interested in the structure and function of the tongue in health and disease. For instance, researchers can use this data to train new machine learning models for tongue segmentation, which can be leveraged for segmentation and tracking of different tongue muscles engaged in speech formation in health and disease. Altogether, this dataset provides the means to the scientific community for investigation of the intricate tongue musculature and its role in physiological processes and speech production.

Home modification funding schemes require that home modifications demonstrate value for money; yet there is currently a lack of clarity on definitions and metrics for determining value. This paper reports on the second phase of a study exploring how concepts of value and value for money are defined and operationalised in Australian home modification practice. While the first phase considered the perspectives of occupational therapists, this paper explores the perspectives of the people who undertake home modifications. Constructivist grounded theory data analysis revealed a continuum of values that individuals prioritised in the home modification outcomes, and various factors that enabled or hindered the home modification process. The resulting Survive-Strive-Thrive framework is a synthesis of these values and factors. The findings have implications for policy and practice, and the framework can be used as a tool to support best practice in person-centred home modification.

Aim To describe the cumulative incidence and characteristics of hospital-acquired pressure injury in acute palliative patients.

Design Secondary data analysis of hospital-acquired pressure injuries during 2019–2022.

Methods The setting was a palliative care unit at a tertiary hospital in Queensland, Australia, including adult (≥ 18 years) acute-phase palliative inpatients. Retrospective data from four databases were used to identify and analyse hospital-acquired pressure injury cases from 2019 to 2022. Clinical characteristics of patients with and without hospital-acquired pressure injury were compared.

Results The incidence of hospital-acquired pressure injury in acute palliative care patients was 3.9% over the 4 years. These patients were predominantly male, with an average age of 74 years, with 66 of 78 cases developing in the deteriorating palliative care phase. Using the Waterlow Score, 51.3% of patients were assessed as at very high risk of pressure injury. Ninety-five hospital-acquired pressure injuries were reported in 78 patients; 16.8% were medical device-related, 40% were Stage 1 injuries, and the most common injury sites were the sacrum, heels and genitals. Patients with hospital-acquired pressure injury had significantly higher (worse) scores on both the palliative care Resource Utilisation Group-Activities of Daily Living and Problem Severity Scores. Regression analysis identified a high Problem Severity Score on admission as a significant predictor for hospital-acquired pressure injury development.

Conclusion The incidence of hospital-acquired pressure injury in acute palliative patients is lower than in previous studies. However, many injuries occurred in those in the deteriorating phase, with higher scores for severity of symptoms. These findings suggest that acute palliative patients do require nursing care for pressure injury prevention, as well as for symptom management and activities-of-daily-living. Overall, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of pressure injury incidence and characteristics for acute palliative care patients. Future research should focus on population-specific pressure injury risk assessment to explore risk factors in greater detail.

Implications for the Profession and/or Patient Care Current pressure injury risk assessment tools, like the Waterlow Score, may not provide the comprehensive evaluation needed for the acute palliative care cohort. To better address the unique needs of this cohort, it may be necessary to refine existing tools or develop new instruments that integrate palliative-specific assessments, such as the Resource Utilisation Group-Activities-of-Daily-Living (RUG-ADL) and Problem (symptom) Severity Score (PSS). These adaptations could help improve pressure injury prevention care planning and enhance outcomes for patients in this setting.

Impact This study separated acute palliative care patients from those at end-of-life and found a 3.9% cumulative incidence of pressure injuries. There were no significant differences in age, gender, or cancer diagnosis between patients with and without injuries. Patients without injuries were more likely to be in the deteriorating phase, while those with injuries had higher (worse) RUG-ADL scores. Regression analysis showed that each one-point increase in the PSS (symptom severity) made patients 1.2 times more likely to develop a pressure injury. The findings suggest that combining a validated risk assessment tool with the RUG-ADL and PSS tools could provide a more accurate risk assessment for hospitalised acute palliative care patients.

Reporting Method STROBE reporting guideline.

Patient or Public Contribution No patient or public contribution.

Aim To report the findings of the first 12 months of a national survey of midwifery students’ evaluation of midwifery practice experiences in Australia. Background Accreditation standards for midwifery programs globally and in Australia, require evidence of monitoring and evaluation of student midwifery practice experiences. In 2022 the National Placement Evaluation Centre was commissioned to measure and enhance the quality of nursing and midwifery practice experiences. Design Survey Methods A national survey of midwifery students who completed midwifery practice experience in Australia between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024. Results Midwifery practice experiences (n=871) were evaluated; most were rostered placements in a maternity unit. Overall, the quality of the clinical learning environment and of learning support were rated highly and 87% of students were very satisfied with their midwifery practice experiences. Older students and indigenous students rated their midwifery practice experiences lower than younger, non-indigenous students. Higher quality PET-(Midwifery) scores were associated with antenatal placement (p 0.004). Students who were aged 30 to 39 (p<0.001) and conducted their placement between 15-21 days (p=0.010) or 29 days and longer (p=0.029), rated lower than those completing their placement with 1-7 days. Conclusions This national study provides benchmark data and valuable insights into the midwifery student practice experiences across Australia. Future research should continue to monitor and ameliorate the nuanced dynamics of participant and placement characteristics, ensuring that all students, regardless of age or background, have access to high-quality, supportive midwifery practice experiences that prepare them for the demands of contemporary midwifery.

Industrial and public interest in hydrogen technologies has risen strongly recently, as hydrogen is the ideal means for medium to long term energy storage, transport and usage in combination with renewable and green energy supply. In a future energy system, the production, storage and usage of green hydrogen is a key technology. Hydrogen is and will in future be even more used for industrial production processes as a reduction agent or for the production of synthetic hydrocarbons, especially in the chemical industry and in refineries. Under certain conditions material based systems for hydrogen storage and compression offer advantages over the classical systems based on gaseous or liquid hydrogen. This includes in particular lower maintenance costs, higher reliability and safety. Hydrogen storage is possible at pressures and temperatures much closer to ambient conditions. Hydrogen compression is possible without any moving parts and only by using waste heat. In this paper, we summarize the newest developments of hydrogen carriers for storage and compression and in addition, give an overview of the different research activities in this field.