July 29, 2025 • 42 mins
Queensland Health is one of the largest employers in the state with some 130,000 full-time employees, geographically dispersed with 16 hospitals and health services across the country.
The Office of Research and Innovation (ORI) hosts the ‘Queensland Health Research Excellence Showcase’ to celebrate how translating research into practice is advancing medical research, workforce development and healthcare.
The Showcase’s theme - Fast, Fearless and Future – is a unique opportunity for Queensland Health employees to promote their translation-ready research.
MTPConnect partnered with ORI to deliver a research poster and pitch session for the Showcase – attracting more than 40 entries from across Queensland.
In this episode, we head to Brisbane for the Showcase event to meet some of Queensland Health’s research champions working on major healthcare challenges in mental health, kidney disease, hand therapy, pain education and diabetes-related ulcer care, to find out more about their posters – Dr Mike Trott (University of Queensland), Emma Taylor (STARS Hospital), Hannah Kennedy (Gold Coast Health), Ifeoluwapo Tokun (Townsville Hospital and Health Service) and Margie Conley (Metro South Hospital and Health Service).
And Tammy Sovenyhazi Acting Executive Director, Queensland Health’s Office of Research and Innovation, explains what the Showcase is all about!
NB. Findings from Dr Trott’s research were recently published internationally in a world first in The Lancet Psychiatry journal https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(25)00129-4/abstract
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Natalie Vella (00:01):
This is the MTP Connect podcast, connecting you
with the people behind thelife-saving innovations driving
Australia's growing lifesciences sector from bench to
bedside for better health andwell-being.
Mtp Connect acknowledges thetraditional owners of country
that this podcast is recorded onand recognises that Aboriginal
(00:23):
and Torres Strait Islanderpeoples are Australia's first
storytellers and the holders offirst science knowledge.
Caroline Duell (00:34):
Hello and welcome to the podcast.
I'm Caroline Duell.
We're taking you up to Brisbanefor the Queensland Health
Research Excellence Showcase,shining a light on some of
Queensland Health'stranslation-ready research
champions.
Hosted by the Office ofResearch and Innovation, this
year's theme was Fast, fearlessand Future.
(00:55):
The showcase celebrates howtranslating research into
practice is advancing medicalresearch, workforce development
and healthcare is advancingmedical research, workforce
development and healthcare.
Mtp Connect partnered with theOffice of Research and
Innovation to deliver a researchpitch and poster session for
the showcase, and there weremore than 40 entries from across
Queensland.
(01:16):
Let's find out more.
Tammy Sovenyhazi (01:22):
I'm .
I'm the Acting ExecutiveDirector in the Office of
Research and Innovation, whichis in the Clinical Planning and
Service Strategy Division ofQueensland Health.
So Queensland Health is one ofthe largest employers in
Queensland.
We employ roughly around100,000 staff, but really what
that translates into is about130,000 full-time equivalents
(01:42):
across the state.
We're probably one of the mostgeographically dispersed
populations across the countryand what that means is that we
have 16 hospital and healthservices that all of those staff
do work in, and we have thatvery, very geographically
dispersed population where weserve all of those people as far
out as Camerwill, mount Isaarea, all the way up into the
(02:03):
Torres Strait and down as far asthe northern New South Wales
border, and we do actually offerservices to some northern New
South Wales population as well.
Caroline Duell (02:12):
So that's a huge workforce and a huge program of
healthcare services.
Tell us about the ResearchExcellence Showcase that you've
been putting on today here inBrisbane.
What's that all about?
Tammy Sovenyhazi (02:26):
So the showcase itself was an
opportunity for our clinicianresearchers to come together for
a couple of reasons.
So one example was for theposter pitching exercise so they
can tell us about the researchthat they've been doing in their
fields in the various placesacross Queensland.
We received something around 43pictures from all across
(02:46):
Queensland actually, so it wasreally really lovely to see so
many.
Last year, when we held theshowcase, we received 20 poster
pictures, so we've more thandoubled that from last year and
really what that explains whatthat shows us is that there is
so much research out in thefield every single day and what
it's translating for theclinician research is what
they're seeing on the, on thecoalface, on the front line of
(03:08):
service delivery, and they'relooking at the problems that
they're seeing every other day,taking research, doing the
research, so they're trying tosolve the problems you know that
they're seeing in theirpatients every day.
What they're bringing to ushere is so they can get research
grants, so they can continuedoing that research and and
that's what we've done todaytaking those pictures, having a
(03:29):
look at the research and thenoffering up those grants.
Today we've announced $1.6million in research grants as a
part of the showcase, witharound 450 people here today
joining us.
Caroline Duell (03:39):
That's just fantastic news, and I know that
you've had a theme today forthis type of translation-ready
research.
So we're talking about researchthat's easily scalable, that
can be applied around not justsort of locally, but perhaps
more broadly, even acrossAustralia and beyond.
Talk to us about this theme.
Tammy Sovenyhazi (04:01):
So the theme was Fast, Fearless and Future.
Really, it's about translatingfrom accelerating the pathways
out into practice, fromdiscovery to impact.
Fearless is about being bold.
So thinking about extendingbeyond what we do and what we've
always done, thinking about thehard things, translating that
into what do we need to dodifferently, what can we do
differently, thinking fiercelyabout that.
(04:23):
And then future is thinkingabout beyond the cutting edge.
We want to be you know we wantto, and we are a world-class,
you know leader in health care.
But going beyond those breaches, you know.
Caroline Duell (04:33):
Thinking about the future and what can we do
differently now so we continueto deliver health care into the
future what a great day foreveryone involved and it's been
really interesting meeting a lotof the different groups that
have been presenting today andthe team, so congratulations,
thank you.
Tammy Sovenyhazi (04:50):
it's been wonderful to have so many people
here with us today from the farreaches of Queensland.
You know, we've had speakerscome from Townsville jumping on
the red eye in the morning soshe could join us and present on
her particular research.
We've had internationalspeakers today joining us giving
some fascinating speeches, yeah, so it's been wonderful having
so many people come together.
It just shows us the diversityand the breadth and the
(05:14):
intelligence and the smarts thatwe have with our clinician
researchers that we have inQueensland Health.
We are so very fortunate thatwe have them leading the way in
terms of, you know, fixing theproblems that we have and the
challenges that face ourconsumers, and it's really
heartening to know that they'rethinking every single day about
how it is that we can face thosechallenges and what we can do
to help gain equitable accessfor our consumers, no matter
(05:36):
where they live.
We have clinical trials that wehave all of the time.
We're leading the AustralianTeletrials Program here in
Queensland and that's all aboutgetting access to, you know, to
trials and access to equitablecare for our patients in
Queensland.
Caroline Duell (05:50):
Well, it's been great to talk to you, Tammy.
Thank you very much for comingon the MTP Connect podcast.
Tammy Sovenyhazi (05:54):
Thank you so much for having me.
It's been great.
Dr Mike Trott (06:00):
My name is Mike Trott and I'm a statistician.
I work for Metro SouthAddiction and Mental Health
Services.
Caroline Duell (06:06):
And you're here today at the showcase in
Queensland to talk abouttreating people with
schizophrenia to help them loseweight while they're on
treatment.
Can you tell us a little bitabout your research poster?
Dr Mike Trott (06:20):
So our clinical trial was for people who had
schizophrenia on clozapine,which is a very potent but
pretty nasty antipsychoticmedication, who are also obese.
We tested them on semaglutidewhich you may recognize Ozempic
or Wegovy, for 36 weeks and wemonitored them and see whether
(06:51):
they lost weight and actually,more importantly, whether it
affected their medications.
What we found was, yeah, theylost weight.
They lost almost 14% of theirbody weight, which about 15
kilos, or two bowling balls or acase of 12 bottles of wine, is
about the same as that's howmuch they lost.
But no changes were found intheir medication levels.
So not only was it effective,it's clearly safe for this
population, and that was the bigunknown which we've hopefully
confirmed.
Caroline Duell (07:12):
So the idea of people suffering from
schizophrenia and gaining weightbecause of the antipsychotic
medication that they're on hasobviously been a very big
problem for people, because itresults in things like
cardiovascular disease.
What is the impact of thisobesity on this group of people?
Dr Mike Trott (07:29):
The long and short of it is is it kills these
guys and girls early.
The people with schizophreniatend to die 15 to 20 years
younger than the generalpopulation.
So the bottom line is is theside effects of some of these
antipsychotic medicationsactually kill the population
sooner?
And the whole reason whythey're on these toxic drugs
(07:52):
essentially is because theyreally do help with their
psychosis.
Caroline Duell (07:56):
So today you're here presenting your poster and
you've brought with you abackpack.
Can you tell me a little bitabout that?
Dr Mike Trott (08:03):
Yes.
So last night I was awake atabout 3 am and thought, oh, I've
got some weights in the garage.
These people lost 15 kilos.
Yes, I can say it's like twobowling balls.
Yes, I can say it's like a caseof wine.
But what if I could actuallyhave people lift it up and find
out actually how much weightthat is?
Luckily I have a sturdybackpack at home, so I decided
(08:25):
to pack it up this morning andbring it in and I was asking
people to lift it up.
I was giving it to some peoplewho didn't want to lift it, just
so that people cancontextualize how much weight
these people lost, and it wasconsiderable.
Caroline Duell (08:39):
So this is a first in Australia clinical
trial.
Dr Mike Trott (08:42):
It's the world's first in this population.
So, yes, it is a first inAustralia clinical trial.
It's the world's first in thispopulation.
So, yes, it is the first inAustralia, but it's also the
first globally to look at thisdrug in this population.
And, yeah, we got over the linefirst.
Caroline Duell (08:56):
So what's next for you with this particular
piece of research?
Dr Mike Trott (09:03):
There's a few different projects that we're
working on to make it go forward.
The first one is that we'vejust published the guidelines
for prescribing in schizophrenia, of which is included a
suggestion of prescribing thisdrug.
So that's the first one andthat's going to, and that it's
basically a flow chart that ison the desks of psychiatrists
now it's actually up on walls ofpsychiatry offices.
The second one is there are acouple of other teams doing
(09:25):
essentially the same studyinternationally with the same
population, and we are allworking together, we're all
friends and we're sharing thedata so that we can combine the
results and essentially createmore robust findings, which will
then give us a strong case topresent to the likes of TGA and
PBS to make this drug availablefor people on this medication.
Caroline Duell (09:47):
Because in the past the interactions with the
antipsychotic medication havebeen quite extensive.
So the key part of your trialhas been around looking at
whether there are any otheradditional safety issues Is that
correct?
Dr Mike Trott (10:01):
Yeah, exactly.
So essentially, the way thatthese drugs interacted with
antipsychotic medications isunknown.
All of the big trials thatpharmaceutical companies do to
then bring the drug to marketare all done in the general
population, so they explicitlyexclude people in our case with
schizophrenia, but also withother severe mental illnesses as
well.
So the honest answer is we justdidn't know whether there was
(10:23):
any interactions.
So that's what we looked at andgladly there weren't.
Caroline Duell (10:29):
So where have you been doing this trial,
particularly just all overQueensland?
Dr Mike Trott (10:32):
Southeast Queensland, mainly so.
We recruited from six sitesacross Southeast Queensland.
Caroline Duell (10:38):
And what do patients think about this
particular outcome?
Dr Mike Trott (10:42):
Well, firstly, the patients on placebo weren't
that happy that they're onplacebo, because actually the
drug worked so well in peoplewho weren't on placebo.
But aside from that, the mainthing that we found was that
people were more likely to stayon their antipsychotic
medications because they weren'tgaining weight, so their
quality of life was slightly up.
But, more importantly, theywere more likely to adhere to
(11:04):
their medications and thereforenot relapse, and that really is
the key.
That's why we're here.
Caroline Duell (11:09):
So what are the next steps for you, Mike.
Dr Mike Trott (11:11):
Well, we're delighted to say that we've just
had this published in theLancet Psychiatry, one of the
world's leading psychiatryjournals, and what this is going
to lead to is the ability forpsychiatrists to prescribe
really effective antipsychoticmedications like clozapine
without worrying so much aboutthe side effects, and also,
(11:32):
hopefully, meaning they don'thave to prescribe this drug
off-label and that it will be anapproved medication.
Caroline Duell (11:38):
Wonderful.
Well, thanks for coming on thepodcast.
Dr Mike Trott (11:40):
Thanks for having me.
Emma Taylor (11:45):
So my name is Emma Taylor and I'm a hand therapist
at STARS Hospital in Brisbane.
I'm an accredited handtherapist, so it's a specialist
area that you go into and I havemy qualifications in
occupational therapy andphysiotherapy.
Caroline Duell (12:00):
Tell us what sort of poster you've presented
today, what sort of researchyou're working on?
Emma Taylor (12:05):
So it's all about carpal tunnel syndrome.
So carpal tunnel syndrome iswhere a nerve gets compressed
through your wrist and causes alot of problems like tingling,
numbness and burning pain, andit's actually as common as one
in 10 worldwide and we do over195,000 carpal tunnel release
surgeries in Australia each year.
(12:27):
So it's very, very common.
My research is all aboutlooking at how we normally
manage people after the surgeryand we normally get them into
hospital and do one-on-onesessions and what we've done
with this research is developeda new model of care that just
looks at seeing people in agroup for the first appointment,
and that's really aboutefficiency.
(12:48):
I was seeing lots of people,one after the other, because
they'd done multiple carpaltunnel release surgeries, and
that's where the researchstemmed from, where we started
seeing people in groups to makeit more efficient, and from
there the model of care wasdeveloped where we are not only
(13:09):
looking at doing that groupappointment, but we're doing an
app-based home program withvideo guided exercises, which
people loved, and then atelehealth follow-up.
So, again, people are nothaving to come to hospital, but
they're still receiving reallygood healthcare.
Caroline Duell (13:24):
So what you've done is try and have a big
impact with less one-to-oneinterventions.
Would that be right?
Emma Taylor (13:30):
Yeah, that's right , and it's all about meeting the
surgery demands so that we cansee everyone.
It's about increasing theservice efficiency, but also
increasing patient access and,of course, reducing healthcare
costs as well.
Caroline Duell (13:45):
And, of course, reducing healthcare costs as
well.
So how has the app at homerehab going?
How has that sort of beenreceived by patients?
Emma Taylor (13:52):
People love it, so they love both components.
So the app-based home programis a very easy-to-use app and,
as I mentioned, all theexercises are video guided,
whereas we normally give peoplehandouts with just pictures that
are static pictures and a bithard to follow sometimes, and
then people can carry aroundthese exercises on their phone.
(14:15):
They can do it anywhere.
So they've really loved it andalso found the tech part of it
very easy, where people thathaven't been feeling confident
have very easily been able touse the app.
Telehealth is very wellingrained in health now where we
use it really since COVID, andagain, patients love that that
(14:37):
they don't have to come intohospital and we really can
achieve a lot over video, a lotmore than what we ever realised.
So again, a lot over video, alot more than what we ever
realised.
So again, they're getting thattreatment but not having to
drive into hospital to take timeoff work or pay for parking or
public transport.
Caroline Duell (14:54):
Perhaps you can just give us the highlights of
why this trial is so important.
Emma Taylor (15:00):
I think the model of care was really well accepted
by patients, so they liked eachcomponent.
They liked the groupappointment because they had
that peer sharing and support,so they were able to listen to
other people talk about theirexperiences.
They were able to support eachother during the group, and so a
lot of patients commented onthat.
(15:21):
They really liked the appbecause it was easy to use
videos within it.
Then again telehealth andtelehealth.
A lot of patients are used tousing telehealth now because we
use them at the GP and othersort of appointments.
So again, they liked the easeand the convenience of that.
The other big thing is theimpact that it has in terms of
(15:44):
service efficiency, and when wetalk about that, you know cost
always comes into it, and whatwe found is that TEG, this new
model of care, was $42 less perparticipant in terms of cost
versus abnormal patients comingone-to-one, face-to-face, and so
over a year that's up to $8million in cost savings.
(16:06):
So it's not just about thatdollar value of looking like it
is on the page.
It's about the fact that $8million can then be used in
healthcare in other areas sothat we make health more
efficient and accessible toeveryone, and the patients are
still happy.
Yeah, exactly, it's easier,it's convenient, it's enjoyable.
Caroline Duell (16:25):
And obviously it's going to help people living
in regional areas as well.
Emma Taylor (16:29):
That's right.
Yeah, and we are looking at.
This was a pilot andfeasibility randomised control
trial.
We're looking at doing amulti-centre trial which will
include those rural and regionalareas and again really tailor
to them where they've got totravel long distances to come to
therapy.
Caroline Duell (16:48):
Do you think this will work for other
healthcare problems like carpaltunnel syndrome?
Emma Taylor (16:53):
So we do have common elective hand surgeries
that we do.
So there's other things liketrigger finger release, removal
of wrist ganglions and othercommon elective surgeries, and
so again, those high demands ofsurgeries.
We could apply this model justto be able to meet all that
demand but also make it a loteasier for patients.
Caroline Duell (17:17):
So where at the moment are you running this
program?
Emma Taylor (17:21):
So at the moment we're just doing it at Starrs
Hospital.
It was a single centre studybut, as I mentioned, we're in
the preliminary stages ofplanning a multi-centre trial
and we've already had some ofthe Queensland sites really
interested, particularlyhospitals where they do a lot of
these elective surgeries andthey do high volumes of the
(17:41):
carpal tunnel release surgeries.
Caroline Duell (17:43):
Well, thanks for talking to the podcast.
It's been really interesting.
Thank you for having me.
Hannah Kennedy (17:51):
My name's Hannah Kennedy.
I'm a clinician researcher witha background in occupational
therapy at Gold Coast Health.
I work at the Gold CoastPersistent Pain Centre and our
research that we've been doingis using a virtual reality pain
education platform to helppeople with chronic pain.
Tell us about the research thatyou've presented today.
What I've presented today isthe findings from two studies
(18:13):
that we're running at the moment.
The first was a randomizedcontrol trial at Gold Coast
Health using a virtual realitypain education program.
The intervention is a sixsession program where a patient
wears a virtual reality headsetand does education modules and
rehabilitation games, and thewhole purpose of it is to
provide immersive experientiallearning about the pain system
(18:36):
and how we can retrain the painsystem through rehabilitation
and movement and other painmanagement strategies.
We ran it as a trial at GoldCoast Health with really great
feedback from the participants,some really lovely outcomes, and
now we're currently piloting itacross Queensland Health.
We're running it at sixdifferent pain management
(18:57):
services from Townsville,sunshine Coast, metro North,
metro South, the Children'sHospital and Gold Coast at the
moment.
Caroline Duell (19:05):
What do you think makes a difference here
for people that are sufferingfrom chronic pain using a
headset, a VR headset?
Why is this so effective?
Hannah Kennedy (19:15):
So we know from the evidence that having people
understand the mechanismsbehind persistent pain has been
a critical factor in theirrecovery and rehabilitation.
But delivering pain, education,the science and complex
concepts can actually be reallytricky.
So the use of vi provides thisreally immersive way of learning
(19:35):
complex concepts in a reallyengaging way.
So our participants have beenfinding that after they do their
education modules they have agood understanding of some of
the reasons behind their ongoingpain, and then their
willingness to engage in themultidisciplinary rehab
approaches really has increased.
So it's still we see somelovely outcomes from goals that
(19:58):
people want to get back to doingin terms of being able to do
things around their home, go onholidays, participate with their
family, move easier.
All of these really lovelyoutcomes we're seeing as a
result of the program.
Caroline Duell (20:11):
So what sort of rehab activities will people be
doing as part of their sort ofvirtual reality rehab program?
Hannah Kennedy (20:18):
They're quite fun.
I think that's been one of theother main feedbacks from
participants is that they're areally fun way of moving.
One is when they've got the VRheadset on and they have a laser
and they're connectingdifferent coloured dots in space
, which really encourages a wideamount of movement through the
head, neck and shoulder areas.
Another game is sorting itemsinto different baskets and each
(20:40):
time it gets lower and lower tothe ground.
So people are moving at agreater range.
But when they're in the VRheadset might not be realizing
how easily they're moving andhow smooth their movements are,
which becomes a really powerfulfeedback loop to then see how
much they can do.
And people are then translatingwhat they're doing in the VR
(21:01):
sessions into daily life andother ways of, you know,
vacuuming or driving andshoulder checking.
So they're bridging that gapfrom what they've done in the
clinic to then their day-to-daylife.
Caroline Duell (21:12):
What sort of feedback have you had from the
patients involved?
Hannah Kennedy (21:15):
It's been really positive.
People have said how can we getthis to more people?
How could I get this into myworkplace?
What about in the aged careindustry?
So even the people themselveswith pain are seeing a wide
range of opportunities for it.
Some of our main themes fromour qualitative study was that
it was really fun, they enjoyedit, they learnt things and
(21:36):
they've been able to rememberthis information at the
six-month follow-up mark, whichI think is something powerful.
Around this use of VR in theeducation space too.
Caroline Duell (21:46):
And what about their pain level?
How has it helped manage theirpain symptoms?
It's helped people.
Hannah Kennedy (21:53):
I suppose, understand and have a different
approach and awareness of theirpain.
It can take some of the fearaway of what their pain is
feeling when they'reunderstanding some of the
mechanisms behind our protectivesystem and our pain and the
neuroplastic system as well.
So they're shifting theirunderstanding of what their pain
(22:13):
means and then giving themconfidence to do those things
that they want to desperately beable to get back to doing with
support and guidance.
Caroline Duell (22:22):
So they're doing these types of activities under
the guidance of a medicalprofessional?
Yeah, so we've been using itwith allied health and nursing
clinicians at the Persistent.
Hannah Kennedy (22:28):
So they're doing these types of activities
under the guidance of a medicalprofessional?
Yeah, so we've been using itwith allied health and nursing
clinicians at the persistentpain management services across
Queensland and do you think it'sgot applications for remote
areas?
Absolutely.
Both the clinicians and theservices, as well as the
participants, have been saying.
This has great applicability toregional and remote areas.
So looking at options such ashow we could get the VR headsets
(22:50):
out to people's home and thenstill have that clinician
support through a telehealthmodel.
Caroline Duell (22:55):
And who are you working with on the VR, the
virtual reality headset, sort ofmedtech?
Hannah Kennedy (23:00):
Yes, so it's an Australian company called
Reality Health who developed thesoftware, and they worked with
the leading team of pain scienceexperts.
Professor Lorimer Mosley helpeddevelop the content, and so
we've been working with them todeliver this program.
Caroline Duell (23:15):
So what are the next steps for you and your team
in trying to, I suppose, expandthis model?
Hannah Kennedy (23:20):
Right now we're piloting the implementation
across the six pain managementservices, so this has involved
clinician training, research,governance, getting participants
and evaluating that, and we'reevaluating that from an
implementation space.
But what we would love to haveis this treatment offered as
long-term care for people comingto pain management services and
(23:41):
then look at areas such asregional and rural health.
But there's a great need forinnovation in chronic pain.
There are so many areas of painthat we think this could be
applicable to as well, soobviously, this is a bit of a
team approach that you're takingwith this program.
Caroline Duell (23:57):
Tell us who's involved.
Hannah Kennedy (23:58):
Yeah, couldn't make this happen without our
team, so really thankful to boththe hospital and health
services that are involved inthe study, as well as Griffith
University, who've beensupporting us with this study.
Caroline Duell (24:08):
Wow, that sounds really exciting.
Thanks for sharing yourresearch innovations with us
today.
Hannah Kennedy (24:13):
The showcase.
Thank you for the opportunity.
Ifeoluwapo Tokun (24:19):
My name is Ife .
I'm a podiatrist and aclinician researcher at
Townsville Hospital and HealthService.
Caroline Duell (24:26):
So you've come all the way to Brisbane today to
present your research.
Tell us all about it.
Ifeoluwapo Tokun (24:31):
Well, so within podiatry, within a
hospital setting, podiatristswork with diabetes-related foot
ulcers and one of the keycomponents to healing especially
a weight-bearingdiabetes-related foot ulcer is
offloading.
Previously, the gold standard ofoffloading was exclusively what
we call a total contact cast ora knee-high cast.
(24:51):
Recently, the guidelines havechanged to state that gold
standard is now just a knee-highirremovable device.
So this is quite an ambiguousterm and this is quite helpful
because it allows us to beflexible with how we create a
knee-high irremovable device,particularly in regional areas,
(25:11):
because the traditional totalcontact cost is very resource
and skill intensive, which isfine in a very large tertiary
center.
But when you work outregionally, whether it be
Northwest or in a Torres StraitCape, clinicians are already
strapped of time.
So if you have a interventionthat's very time and skill
(25:31):
intensive, it's not going to bedone, which means that people in
regional and remote areas won'thave access to the care.
So what we've done is found aless skill and less time
intensive alternative, which wecall the instant total contact
cast, and we're trying toimplement that in Townsville and
now we're hoping, with thesuccess of the implementation,
(25:53):
we are hoping to expand to theother rural sites in Townsville
and then eventually to spreadthe love.
Caroline Duell (26:00):
So, talking about this, love, this concept
that you've created.
The idea is that anyone with afoot ulcer, the sooner they get
the cast on, the more chancethey have of the wound healing.
Is that correct?
So this is all based on reallytrying to manage the ulcer in
the fastest possible way.
Ifeoluwapo Tokun (26:18):
So diabetes-related ulcers have a
very high burden of disease, andparticularly with plantar
ulcers.
Essentially, the longer youhave a plantar ulcer, the more
chance you have of an infection,and oftentimes infections lead
to superficial infections, atleast lead to what we call
osteomyelitis, which is a boneinfection, and unfortunately the
definitive management of a boneinfection is an amputation.
(26:40):
So we know that the quicker wecan heal an ulcer and the
quicker we use gold standardcare, the better healing rates
we will get.
And the gold standard standardof healing at Planta also is a
knee-high removal device.
So the more that regionalpatients have access to it, the
better chance they have accessto gold standard care, therefore
(27:03):
better healing rates, whichwe're trying to do.
Caroline Duell (27:06):
So your innovation.
I've seen some photos of it.
Do you want to explain it?
So?
Ifeoluwapo Tokun (27:11):
the traditional total contact cast
is, like I said, very time andskill intensive, so much so that
even podiatrists typicallydon't create it.
We typically leave it to aplaster technician, which is all
fine when, again, you're in atertiary center, but if you're
in, let's say, mount Isa, theymay not have a plaster
technician, then that devicecan't be made.
So then we really looked backand said may not have a plastic
(27:32):
technician, then that devicecan't be made.
So then we really looked backand said okay, how do we get
this intervention to beimplemented everywhere?
So we looked at what theguideline stated.
So the guideline stated thatgold standard only had to be
knee high and irremovable.
So knee high, because thehigher, the bigger and heavier,
unfortunately, a device is, themore pressure it can offload.
And irremovable for adherence.
(27:53):
Oftentimes we find that in humannature, when you give someone a
device that they can take off,they usually take it off.
We still want patients to takeit off in an emergency, but
oftentimes what you find is yougive a patient a removable
device, they'll wear it inclinic and as soon as they leave
the door they take it off andthen when they come back to
clinic they put it back on.
So with this device, when weput the door, they take it off,
(28:15):
and then when they come back toclinic, they put it back on.
So with this device, when weput it on, you can take it off
in an emergency, but you can'tput it back on.
And so if the patient takes itoff, then we can then have the
discussion about okay, why areyou taking it off?
So on and so forth.
So our innovation is getting areadily available moon boot
which is knee knee high andmaking it irremovable.
So we do that by gettingsynthetic wool and wrapping it
around the moon boot and thenusing plaster cast and wrapping
(28:38):
it around the wall.
We did that because initially,when we were creating the device
, we found that if the plasterstuck straight on the boot, when
we remove the plaster, itdestroyed the boot.
So we wanted to.
Again, for managing costs, wewanted to be able to use the
boot.
For when we remove the plaster,it destroyed the boot.
So we wanted to.
Again, for managing costs, wewanted to be able to use the
boot for as long as possible.
So that wall, essentially, isjust a barrier between the boot
(29:00):
material and the plaster.
So when we saw it off or cut itoff with large scissors.
We only cut off the wall andthe plaster, maintaining the
boot, which means that the bootcan be reused over and over
again.
Caroline Duell (29:12):
So you're looking at a number of sort of
cost savings, better treatmentfor the patient as well in terms
of adherence.
So there's a whole lot ofbenefits to this innovation that
you've created.
Ifeoluwapo Tokun (29:23):
Yes.
So you can look at it from manyperspectives.
From, I guess, the health payerperspective.
You will get its cost saving interms of, you know, devices
that are less costly for theservice, because obviously, you
know, finances isn't is a thing,but also, the best
implementation is one that canbe readily used.
(29:44):
A complex implementation onlybenefits the creator.
At the end of the day, you haveto ask yourself what is the
purpose of this.
You know this research and thepurpose of the research is to
improve outcomes.
So if we have a device that isvery, very complex, although
that benefits me and makes mefeel good, it doesn't benefit
the people on the ground.
So we want to make sure thatwithin any clinic space, you
(30:06):
know, these items that we'veused are readily available,
which means that we lowered thebarrier to implementation, which
is what we really want to do islower the barrier to gold
standard care so that, whetheryou're in toowoomba or manizer
or dumaji, that as a podiatristin that clinic, you have access
to this.
(30:26):
And even now we're evenincorporating allied health
assistants, because we know that, for example, there's a
shortage of podiatrists andwe're trying to incorporate
allied health assistants andtelehealth to be able to train
the allied health assistants upto be able to create the device
in the absence of a podiatrist.
So it's about being innovativeand it's about you know.
(30:49):
Try to find ways to make thingsmore effective and more
efficient and ensure peopleeverywhere can still have access
, because that is our main focusis access to care.
Caroline Duell (31:00):
So this is Townsville and beyond, we hope.
Ifeoluwapo Tokun (31:02):
Yeah, currently it's just in Kirwan
Health Campus and the mainhospital, tuh.
We're hoping, with a CERTAgrant we are trying to expand it
to towns within the Townsvillecatchment, like Charters Towers,
ingham and Ayr, but reallywe're just hoping to expand it
more and make it more accessibleto every service.
(31:24):
It's not something that we wantto keep in Townsville,
something that we want otherservices to innovate, and I'm
sure there are smarter peopleout there than me and I'm sure
that the more this gets around,other people will find even more
efficient and effective ways tomake air removal offloading and
obviously beyond Queensland aswell into other remote areas in
(31:45):
Australia.
Yeah, I mean again, we don'twant any barriers to this.
So obviously I presented ithere, and there is the Diabetes
Foot Conference in October andyou find that the more you talk
about things, the more the wordgets around and you want other
people to see what I'm doing andessentially say well, what is
(32:06):
he doing that I can't do?
And then they can take theirspin around the spin of it Again
.
The guidelines just state thatgold standard offloading is
knee-high and irremovable.
If another service in anotherstate wants to make it their own
way with whatever tools theyhave, that is fine, as long as
they satisfy those tworequirements.
(32:26):
And that's really my take-homemessage fantastic.
Caroline Duell (32:30):
Well, all the best with sort of spreading the
word and getting this innovationimplemented, hopefully across
Queensland and beyond.
Ifeoluwapo Tokun (32:38):
Yeah, thank you very much.
Margie Conley (32:43):
I'm Margie.
I'm a clinical dietitian andresearcher at the Princess
Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane,Australia, and I work with all
things kidney nutrition.
Caroline Duell (32:54):
So tell us about the research that you've
presented today here at theQueensland Research Showcase.
Margie Conley (32:59):
Yeah.
So as a dietician I'm reallyone of the biggest things that
people come to talk to me aboutis what can they eat or what can
they do to help their kidneyhealth?
Is what can they eat or whatcan they do to help their kidney
health?
People with kidney disease is alifelong condition.
There is no cure, so the aimsaround treatment are slowing
(33:23):
down progression, as, once yourkidneys stop working, we do need
some kidney replacement therapy, so a kidney transplant or
dialysis, which is quite acostly and time-consuming
treatment for people wherethey're attached to a machine
for many hours a week just tolive.
Caroline Duell (33:45):
What sort of led you to put together your
research program?
Margie Conley (33:49):
I suppose many years ago there was a big study
in the UK at the time, a reallyworld-first study that showed a
diet using meal replacementscould put diabetes into
remission, could help peoplelose enough weight to not need
any medication to treat theirdiabetes anymore.
(34:10):
So we're inspired by this tosee whether we could replicate
that diet in people with kidneydisease and could it help delay
the need for dialysis or, youknow, make some big in gains in
their kidney health.
Caroline Duell (34:25):
And so tell us about the research program that
you undertook.
Margie Conley (34:29):
Yeah, so basically, we started from the
very beginning.
So these types of diets lowenergy diets using products like
a meal replacement, like aweight loss shake haven't always
been as popular as people mightthink.
There's a perception thatpeople might not be able to
(34:49):
stick to them or like them notbe able to stick to them or like
them, and in people with kidneydisease, they haven't always
been used, as we've been a bitworried about whether they're
safe for people with kidneydisease.
So our study started right atthe beginning by simply asking
people, you know, getting themto trial these particular diets
(35:11):
using meal replacements andmonitoring them over a short
term, looking at the safety andasking them to basically take us
on their journey of what it waslike to follow them.
And so what were the outcomesof the study?
Yeah, so, this little pilotstudy where we got 10 people to
follow this diet and we we callit a low energy diet because
(35:35):
it's a set amount of energy orcalories a day and, like I said,
it can normally be done withthese meal replacements.
But, being a dietician, I wasalso keen to say well, actually,
does it have to be a mealreplacement?
Could it be a healthy, balancedmeal that we could buy from the
supermarket or that we caninvolve a delivered meal company
.
So we partnered with industryto test some products already
(36:01):
out there, one being mealreplacements and one being
pre-prepared delivered mealsstraight to their house.
So they followed this specialdiet two weeks with the meal
replacements, two weeks with thelow energy meals, and we
tracked their weight loss.
We took blood tests weekly.
(36:21):
We asked them to write downhonestly, just for us, whether
they could stick to it or not,with this idea in theory that it
might work if in practice,because of the nature of their
condition and disease and theirlife, that it wouldn't fit into
what they were trying to do.
So that was really important toget that preliminary data.
Caroline Duell (36:43):
And what were the results?
Margie Conley (36:44):
So from that we then took that work and what
they told us was that theyactually liked both options.
So they loved the mealreplacements for the ease, the
convenience, not having to thinkabout it, but they missed the
inclusion of real food.
They wanted to chew food.
Understandably, with the mealreplacements you could get four
opportunities to eat a day,versus two with the meal
(37:07):
replacements.
So they told us they'd like aflexible, patient-focused
approach with a combination ofboth.
So from that work we launchedour larger study of 50 people
testing the low-energy dietusing a combination of meal
replacements and food itemsavailable at the supermarket,
(37:29):
with the inclusion of some fruitand vegetables, and looked at
then the effect of that diet onweight loss, kidney function and
a range of other health markersthat mattered to people, like
strength and fitness.
Caroline Duell (37:46):
And were the group successful in losing
weight or better managing theirweight?
Margie Conley (37:50):
Yes.
So we had some really pleasingweight loss results in terms we
had most participants just underhalf lost over 10 kilos in just
three months and what we werereally pleased to see was they
were able to keep that weightoff after we transitioned them
off this intensive diet.
So they maintained their weightat six months.
(38:11):
But what we really loved seeingwas the stories that people
told us.
So, yes, they were happy to see10 kilos on the scales, but
they told us because of thisweight loss they had less pain,
better sleep, more movement.
So that translated into reallyimportant health outcomes like
being able to get more work.
(38:32):
So one gentleman was a cleaner.
He had to sit down every 10 or15 minutes but now that he's
lost the weight, improved hishealth.
He lost 17 kilos.
Now he's doubled the amount ofwork that he could do.
So he's feeling much betterwithin himself because there's
less financial strain.
(38:53):
He's fitter, healthier andhappier.
People told us that they'd losta lot of their hobbies.
Living with both kidney diseaseand excess weight it's a huge
burden to live with both thosechronic diseases.
People miss things like camping, caravanning, fishing.
So people spoke about losingthe weight and being able to go
(39:16):
back to those activities playingwith their grandchildren on the
floor, because they weren'table to do that, because they
didn't have the function to beable to get back up off the
floor.
So we're seeing some reallyimportant, you know, patient
real-life health outcomes,rather than just numbers on
scales, which us researchers dolove.
(39:38):
But you know we wanted to seethese other important health
outcomes as well.
Caroline Duell (39:44):
So how do you hope to translate this research
beyond your clinic to otherplaces in Queensland and
Australia?
Margie Conley (39:52):
Yeah, so actually one of our participants
actually spoke about how thephone call changed his life, how
I actually rang him one day andyou know, prior to me giving
him a call inviting him toparticipate in this study, he'd
gone to his local GP and saidlook, can I use these meal
replacements to try and loseweight?
(40:14):
I've come to a point where Iwant to improve my health.
And his GP actually looked athim and said I'm sorry, we don't
know whether they're safe forpeople in kidney disease.
So he said he rememberedfeeling quite deflated and
thinking you know, I want totake some steps forward but I'm
hitting barriers.
So you know, we want to see,now that we know this diet is
(40:36):
safe, that it can be effectivefor people, we want the next
people that are going to theirGP, to their dietician, to their
specialist, to say the answerto be yes.
Actually we know that thesediets can be safe.
We know that people like themif we make these little tweaks
with meal replacements and mealsand we can be flexible and you
(41:01):
know, they can have goodoutcomes for people.
So more education is a start toQueensland health and private
sectors where people may go andsee a health professional.
Not within Queensland Healthand education.
There's a lot of dietitians andother health professionals that
aren't as upskilled as theycould be in the area with these
(41:25):
types of products, as there is alittle bit more risk with these
intensive diets than othernutrition interventions.
So that's the first point.
Let's get the message out thereand let's see if we can get
education and toolkits about howto roll these diets out safely
for those that want to stick tothem.
We understand this might not bean approach for everyone, but
(41:47):
for those like this particularparticipant that thought this is
the option for him, he wasn'table to go ahead and do it.
Caroline Duell (41:55):
That sounds really life-changing for people
and I hope that you can spreadthe word with your research
beyond Queensland and keepmaking a difference.
Margie Conley (42:04):
Yes, we hope so too, so thank you for your time.
Caroline Duell (42:08):
That was Margie Conley from the Metro South
Hospital and Health Service inWoolloongabba talking about her
research innovation.
We're delighted to feature someof the translation-ready
research champions behind theposters presented at the
Queensland Health ResearchExcellence Showcase held in
Brisbane in May.
You've been listening to theMTP Connect podcast.
(42:31):
This podcast is produced on thelands of the Wurundjeri people
here in Narm, melbourne.
Thanks for listening to theshow.
If you love what you heard,share our podcast and follow us
for more Until next time.
This is the MTP Connect podcast, connecting you
with the people behind thelife-saving innovations driving
Australia's growing lifesciences sector from bench to
bedside for better health andwell-being.
Mtp Connect acknowledges thetraditional owners of country
that this podcast is recorded onand recognises that Aboriginal
(00:23):
and Torres Strait Islanderpeoples are Australia's first
storytellers and the holders offirst science knowledge.
Caroline Duell (00:34):
Hello and welcome to the podcast.
I'm Caroline Duell.
We're taking you up to Brisbanefor the Queensland Health
Research Excellence Showcase,shining a light on some of
Queensland Health'stranslation-ready research
champions.
Hosted by the Office ofResearch and Innovation, this
year's theme was Fast, fearlessand Future.
(00:55):
The showcase celebrates howtranslating research into
practice is advancing medicalresearch, workforce development
and healthcare is advancingmedical research, workforce
development and healthcare.
Mtp Connect partnered with theOffice of Research and
Innovation to deliver a researchpitch and poster session for
the showcase, and there weremore than 40 entries from across
Queensland.
(01:16):
Let's find out more.
Tammy Sovenyhazi (01:22):
I'm .
I'm the Acting ExecutiveDirector in the Office of
Research and Innovation, whichis in the Clinical Planning and
Service Strategy Division ofQueensland Health.
So Queensland Health is one ofthe largest employers in
Queensland.
We employ roughly around100,000 staff, but really what
that translates into is about130,000 full-time equivalents
(01:42):
across the state.
We're probably one of the mostgeographically dispersed
populations across the countryand what that means is that we
have 16 hospital and healthservices that all of those staff
do work in, and we have thatvery, very geographically
dispersed population where weserve all of those people as far
out as Camerwill, mount Isaarea, all the way up into the
(02:03):
Torres Strait and down as far asthe northern New South Wales
border, and we do actually offerservices to some northern New
South Wales population as well.
Caroline Duell (02:12):
So that's a huge workforce and a huge program of
healthcare services.
Tell us about the ResearchExcellence Showcase that you've
been putting on today here inBrisbane.
What's that all about?
Tammy Sovenyhazi (02:26):
So the showcase itself was an
opportunity for our clinicianresearchers to come together for
a couple of reasons.
So one example was for theposter pitching exercise so they
can tell us about the researchthat they've been doing in their
fields in the various placesacross Queensland.
We received something around 43pictures from all across
(02:46):
Queensland actually, so it wasreally really lovely to see so
many.
Last year, when we held theshowcase, we received 20 poster
pictures, so we've more thandoubled that from last year and
really what that explains whatthat shows us is that there is
so much research out in thefield every single day and what
it's translating for theclinician research is what
they're seeing on the, on thecoalface, on the front line of
(03:08):
service delivery, and they'relooking at the problems that
they're seeing every other day,taking research, doing the
research, so they're trying tosolve the problems you know that
they're seeing in theirpatients every day.
What they're bringing to ushere is so they can get research
grants, so they can continuedoing that research and and
that's what we've done todaytaking those pictures, having a
(03:29):
look at the research and thenoffering up those grants.
Today we've announced $1.6million in research grants as a
part of the showcase, witharound 450 people here today
joining us.
Caroline Duell (03:39):
That's just fantastic news, and I know that
you've had a theme today forthis type of translation-ready
research.
So we're talking about researchthat's easily scalable, that
can be applied around not justsort of locally, but perhaps
more broadly, even acrossAustralia and beyond.
Talk to us about this theme.
Tammy Sovenyhazi (04:01):
So the theme was Fast, Fearless and Future.
Really, it's about translatingfrom accelerating the pathways
out into practice, fromdiscovery to impact.
Fearless is about being bold.
So thinking about extendingbeyond what we do and what we've
always done, thinking about thehard things, translating that
into what do we need to dodifferently, what can we do
differently, thinking fiercelyabout that.
(04:23):
And then future is thinkingabout beyond the cutting edge.
We want to be you know we wantto, and we are a world-class,
you know leader in health care.
But going beyond those breaches, you know.
Caroline Duell (04:33):
Thinking about the future and what can we do
differently now so we continueto deliver health care into the
future what a great day foreveryone involved and it's been
really interesting meeting a lotof the different groups that
have been presenting today andthe team, so congratulations,
thank you.
Tammy Sovenyhazi (04:50):
it's been wonderful to have so many people
here with us today from the farreaches of Queensland.
You know, we've had speakerscome from Townsville jumping on
the red eye in the morning soshe could join us and present on
her particular research.
We've had internationalspeakers today joining us giving
some fascinating speeches, yeah, so it's been wonderful having
so many people come together.
It just shows us the diversityand the breadth and the
(05:14):
intelligence and the smarts thatwe have with our clinician
researchers that we have inQueensland Health.
We are so very fortunate thatwe have them leading the way in
terms of, you know, fixing theproblems that we have and the
challenges that face ourconsumers, and it's really
heartening to know that they'rethinking every single day about
how it is that we can face thosechallenges and what we can do
to help gain equitable accessfor our consumers, no matter
(05:36):
where they live.
We have clinical trials that wehave all of the time.
We're leading the AustralianTeletrials Program here in
Queensland and that's all aboutgetting access to, you know, to
trials and access to equitablecare for our patients in
Queensland.
Caroline Duell (05:50):
Well, it's been great to talk to you, Tammy.
Thank you very much for comingon the MTP Connect podcast.
Tammy Sovenyhazi (05:54):
Thank you so much for having me.
It's been great.
Dr Mike Trott (06:00):
My name is Mike Trott and I'm a statistician.
I work for Metro SouthAddiction and Mental Health
Services.
Caroline Duell (06:06):
And you're here today at the showcase in
Queensland to talk abouttreating people with
schizophrenia to help them loseweight while they're on
treatment.
Can you tell us a little bitabout your research poster?
Dr Mike Trott (06:20):
So our clinical trial was for people who had
schizophrenia on clozapine,which is a very potent but
pretty nasty antipsychoticmedication, who are also obese.
We tested them on semaglutidewhich you may recognize Ozempic
or Wegovy, for 36 weeks and wemonitored them and see whether
(06:51):
they lost weight and actually,more importantly, whether it
affected their medications.
What we found was, yeah, theylost weight.
They lost almost 14% of theirbody weight, which about 15
kilos, or two bowling balls or acase of 12 bottles of wine, is
about the same as that's howmuch they lost.
But no changes were found intheir medication levels.
So not only was it effective,it's clearly safe for this
population, and that was the bigunknown which we've hopefully
confirmed.
Caroline Duell (07:12):
So the idea of people suffering from
schizophrenia and gaining weightbecause of the antipsychotic
medication that they're on hasobviously been a very big
problem for people, because itresults in things like
cardiovascular disease.
What is the impact of thisobesity on this group of people?
Dr Mike Trott (07:29):
The long and short of it is is it kills these
guys and girls early.
The people with schizophreniatend to die 15 to 20 years
younger than the generalpopulation.
So the bottom line is is theside effects of some of these
antipsychotic medicationsactually kill the population
sooner?
And the whole reason whythey're on these toxic drugs
(07:52):
essentially is because theyreally do help with their
psychosis.
Caroline Duell (07:56):
So today you're here presenting your poster and
you've brought with you abackpack.
Can you tell me a little bitabout that?
Dr Mike Trott (08:03):
Yes.
So last night I was awake atabout 3 am and thought, oh, I've
got some weights in the garage.
These people lost 15 kilos.
Yes, I can say it's like twobowling balls.
Yes, I can say it's like a caseof wine.
But what if I could actuallyhave people lift it up and find
out actually how much weightthat is?
Luckily I have a sturdybackpack at home, so I decided
(08:25):
to pack it up this morning andbring it in and I was asking
people to lift it up.
I was giving it to some peoplewho didn't want to lift it, just
so that people cancontextualize how much weight
these people lost, and it wasconsiderable.
Caroline Duell (08:39):
So this is a first in Australia clinical
trial.
Dr Mike Trott (08:42):
It's the world's first in this population.
So, yes, it is a first inAustralia clinical trial.
It's the world's first in thispopulation.
So, yes, it is the first inAustralia, but it's also the
first globally to look at thisdrug in this population.
And, yeah, we got over the linefirst.
Caroline Duell (08:56):
So what's next for you with this particular
piece of research?
Dr Mike Trott (09:03):
There's a few different projects that we're
working on to make it go forward.
The first one is that we'vejust published the guidelines
for prescribing in schizophrenia, of which is included a
suggestion of prescribing thisdrug.
So that's the first one andthat's going to, and that it's
basically a flow chart that ison the desks of psychiatrists
now it's actually up on walls ofpsychiatry offices.
The second one is there are acouple of other teams doing
(09:25):
essentially the same studyinternationally with the same
population, and we are allworking together, we're all
friends and we're sharing thedata so that we can combine the
results and essentially createmore robust findings, which will
then give us a strong case topresent to the likes of TGA and
PBS to make this drug availablefor people on this medication.
Caroline Duell (09:47):
Because in the past the interactions with the
antipsychotic medication havebeen quite extensive.
So the key part of your trialhas been around looking at
whether there are any otheradditional safety issues Is that
correct?
Dr Mike Trott (10:01):
Yeah, exactly.
So essentially, the way thatthese drugs interacted with
antipsychotic medications isunknown.
All of the big trials thatpharmaceutical companies do to
then bring the drug to marketare all done in the general
population, so they explicitlyexclude people in our case with
schizophrenia, but also withother severe mental illnesses as
well.
So the honest answer is we justdidn't know whether there was
(10:23):
any interactions.
So that's what we looked at andgladly there weren't.
Caroline Duell (10:29):
So where have you been doing this trial,
particularly just all overQueensland?
Dr Mike Trott (10:32):
Southeast Queensland, mainly so.
We recruited from six sitesacross Southeast Queensland.
Caroline Duell (10:38):
And what do patients think about this
particular outcome?
Dr Mike Trott (10:42):
Well, firstly, the patients on placebo weren't
that happy that they're onplacebo, because actually the
drug worked so well in peoplewho weren't on placebo.
But aside from that, the mainthing that we found was that
people were more likely to stayon their antipsychotic
medications because they weren'tgaining weight, so their
quality of life was slightly up.
But, more importantly, theywere more likely to adhere to
(11:04):
their medications and thereforenot relapse, and that really is
the key.
That's why we're here.
Caroline Duell (11:09):
So what are the next steps for you, Mike.
Dr Mike Trott (11:11):
Well, we're delighted to say that we've just
had this published in theLancet Psychiatry, one of the
world's leading psychiatryjournals, and what this is going
to lead to is the ability forpsychiatrists to prescribe
really effective antipsychoticmedications like clozapine
without worrying so much aboutthe side effects, and also,
(11:32):
hopefully, meaning they don'thave to prescribe this drug
off-label and that it will be anapproved medication.
Caroline Duell (11:38):
Wonderful.
Well, thanks for coming on thepodcast.
Dr Mike Trott (11:40):
Thanks for having me.
Emma Taylor (11:45):
So my name is Emma Taylor and I'm a hand therapist
at STARS Hospital in Brisbane.
I'm an accredited handtherapist, so it's a specialist
area that you go into and I havemy qualifications in
occupational therapy andphysiotherapy.
Caroline Duell (12:00):
Tell us what sort of poster you've presented
today, what sort of researchyou're working on?
Emma Taylor (12:05):
So it's all about carpal tunnel syndrome.
So carpal tunnel syndrome iswhere a nerve gets compressed
through your wrist and causes alot of problems like tingling,
numbness and burning pain, andit's actually as common as one
in 10 worldwide and we do over195,000 carpal tunnel release
surgeries in Australia each year.
(12:27):
So it's very, very common.
My research is all aboutlooking at how we normally
manage people after the surgeryand we normally get them into
hospital and do one-on-onesessions and what we've done
with this research is developeda new model of care that just
looks at seeing people in agroup for the first appointment,
and that's really aboutefficiency.
(12:48):
I was seeing lots of people,one after the other, because
they'd done multiple carpaltunnel release surgeries, and
that's where the researchstemmed from, where we started
seeing people in groups to makeit more efficient, and from
there the model of care wasdeveloped where we are not only
(13:09):
looking at doing that groupappointment, but we're doing an
app-based home program withvideo guided exercises, which
people loved, and then atelehealth follow-up.
So, again, people are nothaving to come to hospital, but
they're still receiving reallygood healthcare.
Caroline Duell (13:24):
So what you've done is try and have a big
impact with less one-to-oneinterventions.
Would that be right?
Emma Taylor (13:30):
Yeah, that's right , and it's all about meeting the
surgery demands so that we cansee everyone.
It's about increasing theservice efficiency, but also
increasing patient access and,of course, reducing healthcare
costs as well.
Caroline Duell (13:45):
And, of course, reducing healthcare costs as
well.
So how has the app at homerehab going?
How has that sort of beenreceived by patients?
Emma Taylor (13:52):
People love it, so they love both components.
So the app-based home programis a very easy-to-use app and,
as I mentioned, all theexercises are video guided,
whereas we normally give peoplehandouts with just pictures that
are static pictures and a bithard to follow sometimes, and
then people can carry aroundthese exercises on their phone.
(14:15):
They can do it anywhere.
So they've really loved it andalso found the tech part of it
very easy, where people thathaven't been feeling confident
have very easily been able touse the app.
Telehealth is very wellingrained in health now where we
use it really since COVID, andagain, patients love that that
(14:37):
they don't have to come intohospital and we really can
achieve a lot over video, a lotmore than what we ever realised.
So again, a lot over video, alot more than what we ever
realised.
So again, they're getting thattreatment but not having to
drive into hospital to take timeoff work or pay for parking or
public transport.
Caroline Duell (14:54):
Perhaps you can just give us the highlights of
why this trial is so important.
Emma Taylor (15:00):
I think the model of care was really well accepted
by patients, so they liked eachcomponent.
They liked the groupappointment because they had
that peer sharing and support,so they were able to listen to
other people talk about theirexperiences.
They were able to support eachother during the group, and so a
lot of patients commented onthat.
(15:21):
They really liked the appbecause it was easy to use
videos within it.
Then again telehealth andtelehealth.
A lot of patients are used tousing telehealth now because we
use them at the GP and othersort of appointments.
So again, they liked the easeand the convenience of that.
The other big thing is theimpact that it has in terms of
(15:44):
service efficiency, and when wetalk about that, you know cost
always comes into it, and whatwe found is that TEG, this new
model of care, was $42 less perparticipant in terms of cost
versus abnormal patients comingone-to-one, face-to-face, and so
over a year that's up to $8million in cost savings.
(16:06):
So it's not just about thatdollar value of looking like it
is on the page.
It's about the fact that $8million can then be used in
healthcare in other areas sothat we make health more
efficient and accessible toeveryone, and the patients are
still happy.
Yeah, exactly, it's easier,it's convenient, it's enjoyable.
Caroline Duell (16:25):
And obviously it's going to help people living
in regional areas as well.
Emma Taylor (16:29):
That's right.
Yeah, and we are looking at.
This was a pilot andfeasibility randomised control
trial.
We're looking at doing amulti-centre trial which will
include those rural and regionalareas and again really tailor
to them where they've got totravel long distances to come to
therapy.
Caroline Duell (16:48):
Do you think this will work for other
healthcare problems like carpaltunnel syndrome?
Emma Taylor (16:53):
So we do have common elective hand surgeries
that we do.
So there's other things liketrigger finger release, removal
of wrist ganglions and othercommon elective surgeries, and
so again, those high demands ofsurgeries.
We could apply this model justto be able to meet all that
demand but also make it a loteasier for patients.
Caroline Duell (17:17):
So where at the moment are you running this
program?
Emma Taylor (17:21):
So at the moment we're just doing it at Starrs
Hospital.
It was a single centre studybut, as I mentioned, we're in
the preliminary stages ofplanning a multi-centre trial
and we've already had some ofthe Queensland sites really
interested, particularlyhospitals where they do a lot of
these elective surgeries andthey do high volumes of the
(17:41):
carpal tunnel release surgeries.
Caroline Duell (17:43):
Well, thanks for talking to the podcast.
It's been really interesting.
Thank you for having me.
Hannah Kennedy (17:51):
My name's Hannah Kennedy.
I'm a clinician researcher witha background in occupational
therapy at Gold Coast Health.
I work at the Gold CoastPersistent Pain Centre and our
research that we've been doingis using a virtual reality pain
education platform to helppeople with chronic pain.
Tell us about the research thatyou've presented today.
What I've presented today isthe findings from two studies
(18:13):
that we're running at the moment.
The first was a randomizedcontrol trial at Gold Coast
Health using a virtual realitypain education program.
The intervention is a sixsession program where a patient
wears a virtual reality headsetand does education modules and
rehabilitation games, and thewhole purpose of it is to
provide immersive experientiallearning about the pain system
(18:36):
and how we can retrain the painsystem through rehabilitation
and movement and other painmanagement strategies.
We ran it as a trial at GoldCoast Health with really great
feedback from the participants,some really lovely outcomes, and
now we're currently piloting itacross Queensland Health.
We're running it at sixdifferent pain management
(18:57):
services from Townsville,sunshine Coast, metro North,
metro South, the Children'sHospital and Gold Coast at the
moment.
Caroline Duell (19:05):
What do you think makes a difference here
for people that are sufferingfrom chronic pain using a
headset, a VR headset?
Why is this so effective?
Hannah Kennedy (19:15):
So we know from the evidence that having people
understand the mechanismsbehind persistent pain has been
a critical factor in theirrecovery and rehabilitation.
But delivering pain, education,the science and complex
concepts can actually be reallytricky.
So the use of vi provides thisreally immersive way of learning
(19:35):
complex concepts in a reallyengaging way.
So our participants have beenfinding that after they do their
education modules they have agood understanding of some of
the reasons behind their ongoingpain, and then their
willingness to engage in themultidisciplinary rehab
approaches really has increased.
So it's still we see somelovely outcomes from goals that
(19:58):
people want to get back to doingin terms of being able to do
things around their home, go onholidays, participate with their
family, move easier.
All of these really lovelyoutcomes we're seeing as a
result of the program.
Caroline Duell (20:11):
So what sort of rehab activities will people be
doing as part of their sort ofvirtual reality rehab program?
Hannah Kennedy (20:18):
They're quite fun.
I think that's been one of theother main feedbacks from
participants is that they're areally fun way of moving.
One is when they've got the VRheadset on and they have a laser
and they're connectingdifferent coloured dots in space
, which really encourages a wideamount of movement through the
head, neck and shoulder areas.
Another game is sorting itemsinto different baskets and each
(20:40):
time it gets lower and lower tothe ground.
So people are moving at agreater range.
But when they're in the VRheadset might not be realizing
how easily they're moving andhow smooth their movements are,
which becomes a really powerfulfeedback loop to then see how
much they can do.
And people are then translatingwhat they're doing in the VR
(21:01):
sessions into daily life andother ways of, you know,
vacuuming or driving andshoulder checking.
So they're bridging that gapfrom what they've done in the
clinic to then their day-to-daylife.
Caroline Duell (21:12):
What sort of feedback have you had from the
patients involved?
Hannah Kennedy (21:15):
It's been really positive.
People have said how can we getthis to more people?
How could I get this into myworkplace?
What about in the aged careindustry?
So even the people themselveswith pain are seeing a wide
range of opportunities for it.
Some of our main themes fromour qualitative study was that
it was really fun, they enjoyedit, they learnt things and
(21:36):
they've been able to rememberthis information at the
six-month follow-up mark, whichI think is something powerful.
Around this use of VR in theeducation space too.
Caroline Duell (21:46):
And what about their pain level?
How has it helped manage theirpain symptoms?
It's helped people.
Hannah Kennedy (21:53):
I suppose, understand and have a different
approach and awareness of theirpain.
It can take some of the fearaway of what their pain is
feeling when they'reunderstanding some of the
mechanisms behind our protectivesystem and our pain and the
neuroplastic system as well.
So they're shifting theirunderstanding of what their pain
(22:13):
means and then giving themconfidence to do those things
that they want to desperately beable to get back to doing with
support and guidance.
Caroline Duell (22:22):
So they're doing these types of activities under
the guidance of a medicalprofessional?
Yeah, so we've been using itwith allied health and nursing
clinicians at the Persistent.
Hannah Kennedy (22:28):
So they're doing these types of activities
under the guidance of a medicalprofessional?
Yeah, so we've been using itwith allied health and nursing
clinicians at the persistentpain management services across
Queensland and do you think it'sgot applications for remote
areas?
Absolutely.
Both the clinicians and theservices, as well as the
participants, have been saying.
This has great applicability toregional and remote areas.
So looking at options such ashow we could get the VR headsets
(22:50):
out to people's home and thenstill have that clinician
support through a telehealthmodel.
Caroline Duell (22:55):
And who are you working with on the VR, the
virtual reality headset, sort ofmedtech?
Hannah Kennedy (23:00):
Yes, so it's an Australian company called
Reality Health who developed thesoftware, and they worked with
the leading team of pain scienceexperts.
Professor Lorimer Mosley helpeddevelop the content, and so
we've been working with them todeliver this program.
Caroline Duell (23:15):
So what are the next steps for you and your team
in trying to, I suppose, expandthis model?
Hannah Kennedy (23:20):
Right now we're piloting the implementation
across the six pain managementservices, so this has involved
clinician training, research,governance, getting participants
and evaluating that, and we'reevaluating that from an
implementation space.
But what we would love to haveis this treatment offered as
long-term care for people comingto pain management services and
(23:41):
then look at areas such asregional and rural health.
But there's a great need forinnovation in chronic pain.
There are so many areas of painthat we think this could be
applicable to as well, soobviously, this is a bit of a
team approach that you're takingwith this program.
Caroline Duell (23:57):
Tell us who's involved.
Hannah Kennedy (23:58):
Yeah, couldn't make this happen without our
team, so really thankful to boththe hospital and health
services that are involved inthe study, as well as Griffith
University, who've beensupporting us with this study.
Caroline Duell (24:08):
Wow, that sounds really exciting.
Thanks for sharing yourresearch innovations with us
today.
Hannah Kennedy (24:13):
The showcase.
Thank you for the opportunity.
Ifeoluwapo Tokun (24:19):
My name is Ife .
I'm a podiatrist and aclinician researcher at
Townsville Hospital and HealthService.
Caroline Duell (24:26):
So you've come all the way to Brisbane today to
present your research.
Tell us all about it.
Ifeoluwapo Tokun (24:31):
Well, so within podiatry, within a
hospital setting, podiatristswork with diabetes-related foot
ulcers and one of the keycomponents to healing especially
a weight-bearingdiabetes-related foot ulcer is
offloading.
Previously, the gold standard ofoffloading was exclusively what
we call a total contact cast ora knee-high cast.
(24:51):
Recently, the guidelines havechanged to state that gold
standard is now just a knee-highirremovable device.
So this is quite an ambiguousterm and this is quite helpful
because it allows us to beflexible with how we create a
knee-high irremovable device,particularly in regional areas,
(25:11):
because the traditional totalcontact cost is very resource
and skill intensive, which isfine in a very large tertiary
center.
But when you work outregionally, whether it be
Northwest or in a Torres StraitCape, clinicians are already
strapped of time.
So if you have a interventionthat's very time and skill
(25:31):
intensive, it's not going to bedone, which means that people in
regional and remote areas won'thave access to the care.
So what we've done is found aless skill and less time
intensive alternative, which wecall the instant total contact
cast, and we're trying toimplement that in Townsville and
now we're hoping, with thesuccess of the implementation,
(25:53):
we are hoping to expand to theother rural sites in Townsville
and then eventually to spreadthe love.
Caroline Duell (26:00):
So, talking about this, love, this concept
that you've created.
The idea is that anyone with afoot ulcer, the sooner they get
the cast on, the more chancethey have of the wound healing.
Is that correct?
So this is all based on reallytrying to manage the ulcer in
the fastest possible way.
Ifeoluwapo Tokun (26:18):
So diabetes-related ulcers have a
very high burden of disease, andparticularly with plantar
ulcers.
Essentially, the longer youhave a plantar ulcer, the more
chance you have of an infection,and oftentimes infections lead
to superficial infections, atleast lead to what we call
osteomyelitis, which is a boneinfection, and unfortunately the
definitive management of a boneinfection is an amputation.
(26:40):
So we know that the quicker wecan heal an ulcer and the
quicker we use gold standardcare, the better healing rates
we will get.
And the gold standard standardof healing at Planta also is a
knee-high removal device.
So the more that regionalpatients have access to it, the
better chance they have accessto gold standard care, therefore
(27:03):
better healing rates, whichwe're trying to do.
Caroline Duell (27:06):
So your innovation.
I've seen some photos of it.
Do you want to explain it?
So?
Ifeoluwapo Tokun (27:11):
the traditional total contact cast
is, like I said, very time andskill intensive, so much so that
even podiatrists typicallydon't create it.
We typically leave it to aplaster technician, which is all
fine when, again, you're in atertiary center, but if you're
in, let's say, mount Isa, theymay not have a plaster
technician, then that devicecan't be made.
So then we really looked backand said may not have a plastic
(27:32):
technician, then that devicecan't be made.
So then we really looked backand said okay, how do we get
this intervention to beimplemented everywhere?
So we looked at what theguideline stated.
So the guideline stated thatgold standard only had to be
knee high and irremovable.
So knee high, because thehigher, the bigger and heavier,
unfortunately, a device is, themore pressure it can offload.
And irremovable for adherence.
(27:53):
Oftentimes we find that in humannature, when you give someone a
device that they can take off,they usually take it off.
We still want patients to takeit off in an emergency, but
oftentimes what you find is yougive a patient a removable
device, they'll wear it inclinic and as soon as they leave
the door they take it off andthen when they come back to
clinic they put it back on.
So with this device, when weput the door, they take it off,
(28:15):
and then when they come back toclinic, they put it back on.
So with this device, when weput it on, you can take it off
in an emergency, but you can'tput it back on.
And so if the patient takes itoff, then we can then have the
discussion about okay, why areyou taking it off?
So on and so forth.
So our innovation is getting areadily available moon boot
which is knee knee high andmaking it irremovable.
So we do that by gettingsynthetic wool and wrapping it
around the moon boot and thenusing plaster cast and wrapping
(28:38):
it around the wall.
We did that because initially,when we were creating the device
, we found that if the plasterstuck straight on the boot, when
we remove the plaster, itdestroyed the boot.
So we wanted to.
Again, for managing costs, wewanted to be able to use the
boot.
For when we remove the plaster,it destroyed the boot.
So we wanted to.
Again, for managing costs, wewanted to be able to use the
boot for as long as possible.
So that wall, essentially, isjust a barrier between the boot
(29:00):
material and the plaster.
So when we saw it off or cut itoff with large scissors.
We only cut off the wall andthe plaster, maintaining the
boot, which means that the bootcan be reused over and over
again.
Caroline Duell (29:12):
So you're looking at a number of sort of
cost savings, better treatmentfor the patient as well in terms
of adherence.
So there's a whole lot ofbenefits to this innovation that
you've created.
Ifeoluwapo Tokun (29:23):
Yes.
So you can look at it from manyperspectives.
From, I guess, the health payerperspective.
You will get its cost saving interms of, you know, devices
that are less costly for theservice, because obviously, you
know, finances isn't is a thing,but also, the best
implementation is one that canbe readily used.
(29:44):
A complex implementation onlybenefits the creator.
At the end of the day, you haveto ask yourself what is the
purpose of this.
You know this research and thepurpose of the research is to
improve outcomes.
So if we have a device that isvery, very complex, although
that benefits me and makes mefeel good, it doesn't benefit
the people on the ground.
So we want to make sure thatwithin any clinic space, you
(30:06):
know, these items that we'veused are readily available,
which means that we lowered thebarrier to implementation, which
is what we really want to do islower the barrier to gold
standard care so that, whetheryou're in toowoomba or manizer
or dumaji, that as a podiatristin that clinic, you have access
to this.
(30:26):
And even now we're evenincorporating allied health
assistants, because we know that, for example, there's a
shortage of podiatrists andwe're trying to incorporate
allied health assistants andtelehealth to be able to train
the allied health assistants upto be able to create the device
in the absence of a podiatrist.
So it's about being innovativeand it's about you know.
(30:49):
Try to find ways to make thingsmore effective and more
efficient and ensure peopleeverywhere can still have access
, because that is our main focusis access to care.
Caroline Duell (31:00):
So this is Townsville and beyond, we hope.
Ifeoluwapo Tokun (31:02):
Yeah, currently it's just in Kirwan
Health Campus and the mainhospital, tuh.
We're hoping, with a CERTAgrant we are trying to expand it
to towns within the Townsvillecatchment, like Charters Towers,
ingham and Ayr, but reallywe're just hoping to expand it
more and make it more accessibleto every service.
(31:24):
It's not something that we wantto keep in Townsville,
something that we want otherservices to innovate, and I'm
sure there are smarter peopleout there than me and I'm sure
that the more this gets around,other people will find even more
efficient and effective ways tomake air removal offloading and
obviously beyond Queensland aswell into other remote areas in
(31:45):
Australia.
Yeah, I mean again, we don'twant any barriers to this.
So obviously I presented ithere, and there is the Diabetes
Foot Conference in October andyou find that the more you talk
about things, the more the wordgets around and you want other
people to see what I'm doing andessentially say well, what is
(32:06):
he doing that I can't do?
And then they can take theirspin around the spin of it Again
.
The guidelines just state thatgold standard offloading is
knee-high and irremovable.
If another service in anotherstate wants to make it their own
way with whatever tools theyhave, that is fine, as long as
they satisfy those tworequirements.
(32:26):
And that's really my take-homemessage fantastic.
Caroline Duell (32:30):
Well, all the best with sort of spreading the
word and getting this innovationimplemented, hopefully across
Queensland and beyond.
Ifeoluwapo Tokun (32:38):
Yeah, thank you very much.
Margie Conley (32:43):
I'm Margie.
I'm a clinical dietitian andresearcher at the Princess
Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane,Australia, and I work with all
things kidney nutrition.
Caroline Duell (32:54):
So tell us about the research that you've
presented today here at theQueensland Research Showcase.
Margie Conley (32:59):
Yeah.
So as a dietician I'm reallyone of the biggest things that
people come to talk to me aboutis what can they eat or what can
they do to help their kidneyhealth?
Is what can they eat or whatcan they do to help their kidney
health?
People with kidney disease is alifelong condition.
There is no cure, so the aimsaround treatment are slowing
(33:23):
down progression, as, once yourkidneys stop working, we do need
some kidney replacement therapy, so a kidney transplant or
dialysis, which is quite acostly and time-consuming
treatment for people wherethey're attached to a machine
for many hours a week just tolive.
Caroline Duell (33:45):
What sort of led you to put together your
research program?
Margie Conley (33:49):
I suppose many years ago there was a big study
in the UK at the time, a reallyworld-first study that showed a
diet using meal replacementscould put diabetes into
remission, could help peoplelose enough weight to not need
any medication to treat theirdiabetes anymore.
(34:10):
So we're inspired by this tosee whether we could replicate
that diet in people with kidneydisease and could it help delay
the need for dialysis or, youknow, make some big in gains in
their kidney health.
Caroline Duell (34:25):
And so tell us about the research program that
you undertook.
Margie Conley (34:29):
Yeah, so basically, we started from the
very beginning.
So these types of diets lowenergy diets using products like
a meal replacement, like aweight loss shake haven't always
been as popular as people mightthink.
There's a perception thatpeople might not be able to
(34:49):
stick to them or like them notbe able to stick to them or like
them, and in people with kidneydisease, they haven't always
been used, as we've been a bitworried about whether they're
safe for people with kidneydisease.
So our study started right atthe beginning by simply asking
people, you know, getting themto trial these particular diets
(35:11):
using meal replacements andmonitoring them over a short
term, looking at the safety andasking them to basically take us
on their journey of what it waslike to follow them.
And so what were the outcomesof the study?
Yeah, so, this little pilotstudy where we got 10 people to
follow this diet and we we callit a low energy diet because
(35:35):
it's a set amount of energy orcalories a day and, like I said,
it can normally be done withthese meal replacements.
But, being a dietician, I wasalso keen to say well, actually,
does it have to be a mealreplacement?
Could it be a healthy, balancedmeal that we could buy from the
supermarket or that we caninvolve a delivered meal company
.
So we partnered with industryto test some products already
(36:01):
out there, one being mealreplacements and one being
pre-prepared delivered mealsstraight to their house.
So they followed this specialdiet two weeks with the meal
replacements, two weeks with thelow energy meals, and we
tracked their weight loss.
We took blood tests weekly.
(36:21):
We asked them to write downhonestly, just for us, whether
they could stick to it or not,with this idea in theory that it
might work if in practice,because of the nature of their
condition and disease and theirlife, that it wouldn't fit into
what they were trying to do.
So that was really important toget that preliminary data.
Caroline Duell (36:43):
And what were the results?
Margie Conley (36:44):
So from that we then took that work and what
they told us was that theyactually liked both options.
So they loved the mealreplacements for the ease, the
convenience, not having to thinkabout it, but they missed the
inclusion of real food.
They wanted to chew food.
Understandably, with the mealreplacements you could get four
opportunities to eat a day,versus two with the meal
(37:07):
replacements.
So they told us they'd like aflexible, patient-focused
approach with a combination ofboth.
So from that work we launchedour larger study of 50 people
testing the low-energy dietusing a combination of meal
replacements and food itemsavailable at the supermarket,
(37:29):
with the inclusion of some fruitand vegetables, and looked at
then the effect of that diet onweight loss, kidney function and
a range of other health markersthat mattered to people, like
strength and fitness.
Caroline Duell (37:46):
And were the group successful in losing
weight or better managing theirweight?
Margie Conley (37:50):
Yes.
So we had some really pleasingweight loss results in terms we
had most participants just underhalf lost over 10 kilos in just
three months and what we werereally pleased to see was they
were able to keep that weightoff after we transitioned them
off this intensive diet.
So they maintained their weightat six months.
(38:11):
But what we really loved seeingwas the stories that people
told us.
So, yes, they were happy to see10 kilos on the scales, but
they told us because of thisweight loss they had less pain,
better sleep, more movement.
So that translated into reallyimportant health outcomes like
being able to get more work.
(38:32):
So one gentleman was a cleaner.
He had to sit down every 10 or15 minutes but now that he's
lost the weight, improved hishealth.
He lost 17 kilos.
Now he's doubled the amount ofwork that he could do.
So he's feeling much betterwithin himself because there's
less financial strain.
(38:53):
He's fitter, healthier andhappier.
People told us that they'd losta lot of their hobbies.
Living with both kidney diseaseand excess weight it's a huge
burden to live with both thosechronic diseases.
People miss things like camping, caravanning, fishing.
So people spoke about losingthe weight and being able to go
(39:16):
back to those activities playingwith their grandchildren on the
floor, because they weren'table to do that, because they
didn't have the function to beable to get back up off the
floor.
So we're seeing some reallyimportant, you know, patient
real-life health outcomes,rather than just numbers on
scales, which us researchers dolove.
(39:38):
But you know we wanted to seethese other important health
outcomes as well.
Caroline Duell (39:44):
So how do you hope to translate this research
beyond your clinic to otherplaces in Queensland and
Australia?
Margie Conley (39:52):
Yeah, so actually one of our participants
actually spoke about how thephone call changed his life, how
I actually rang him one day andyou know, prior to me giving
him a call inviting him toparticipate in this study, he'd
gone to his local GP and saidlook, can I use these meal
replacements to try and loseweight?
(40:14):
I've come to a point where Iwant to improve my health.
And his GP actually looked athim and said I'm sorry, we don't
know whether they're safe forpeople in kidney disease.
So he said he rememberedfeeling quite deflated and
thinking you know, I want totake some steps forward but I'm
hitting barriers.
So you know, we want to see,now that we know this diet is
(40:36):
safe, that it can be effectivefor people, we want the next
people that are going to theirGP, to their dietician, to their
specialist, to say the answerto be yes.
Actually we know that thesediets can be safe.
We know that people like themif we make these little tweaks
with meal replacements and mealsand we can be flexible and you
(41:01):
know, they can have goodoutcomes for people.
So more education is a start toQueensland health and private
sectors where people may go andsee a health professional.
Not within Queensland Healthand education.
There's a lot of dietitians andother health professionals that
aren't as upskilled as theycould be in the area with these
(41:25):
types of products, as there is alittle bit more risk with these
intensive diets than othernutrition interventions.
So that's the first point.
Let's get the message out thereand let's see if we can get
education and toolkits about howto roll these diets out safely
for those that want to stick tothem.
We understand this might not bean approach for everyone, but
(41:47):
for those like this particularparticipant that thought this is
the option for him, he wasn'table to go ahead and do it.
Caroline Duell (41:55):
That sounds really life-changing for people
and I hope that you can spreadthe word with your research
beyond Queensland and keepmaking a difference.
Margie Conley (42:04):
Yes, we hope so too, so thank you for your time.
Caroline Duell (42:08):
That was Margie Conley from the Metro South
Hospital and Health Service inWoolloongabba talking about her
research innovation.
We're delighted to feature someof the translation-ready
research champions behind theposters presented at the
Queensland Health ResearchExcellence Showcase held in
Brisbane in May.
You've been listening to theMTP Connect podcast.
(42:31):
This podcast is produced on thelands of the Wurundjeri people
here in Narm, melbourne.
Thanks for listening to theshow.
If you love what you heard,share our podcast and follow us
for more Until next time.
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