METHODS: Eight healthy volunteers (5 men and 3 women, aged 24-44 y, with normal BMI) were served 50 g carbohydrate portions of two varieties of honey or the reference food (glucose, tested 3 times), on separate occasions. Capillary blood glucose was measured fasting and at 15, 30, 45, 60, 90 and 120 min after the start of the test meals. The GI was calculated by expressing each subject's incremental area under the blood glucose curve (AUC) after honey as a percentage of his or her mean AUC after glucose.
RESULTS: The results showed that the mean AUC of the Malaysian and Australian honeys, 174+/-19 and 158+/-16 mmolxmin/l, respectively, did not differ from each other but were significantly less than that after glucose, 259+/-15 mmolxmin/l (P<0.001). The mean GI of Malaysian wild honey, 65+/-7, did not differ from that of Australian honey, 59+/-5, but both were significantly less than the GI of glucose, 100 (P<0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that both Malaysian wild honey (GI=65+/-7) and Australian honey (GI=59+/-5) are intermediate GI foods.
Method: The nature of patient-pharmacist counseling interactions was explored with seven patients (one focus group), and 10 practicing pharmacists (two focus groups, three semi-structured interviews). The themes identified informed the development of an online survey that was advertised online to patients and pharmacists across Australia.
Results: A total of 95 patients and 208 pharmacists completed the survey. Overall, more than half of patients (77/95) were satisfied with the care provided by their pharmacist, but only a third (71/205) of pharmacists were satisfied with the care they provided to patients. The majority of patients (67/94) reported that pharmacists provided good information about medications. This aligned with pharmacists' responses, as most reported focusing on medication side effects (118/188) and instructions for taking pain medication (93/183) during patient interactions. However, when asked about empathy and rapport from pharmacists, only half to two-thirds (48-61/95) of patients expressed positive views. Overall, half of the patients (39/75) wanted a caring, empathetic, respectful, and private conversation with the pharmacist, and nearly half (40/89) perceived the pharmacist's role as providing (new) information on alternative pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies, including general advice on pain management.
Conclusion: There was a disparity in the nature of the interaction and information that patients wanted from pharmacists, compared to what was provided by pharmacists. Training and education may help pharmacists to better engage in patient-centered care when interacting with people living with persistent pain, thereby improving health outcomes for these patients.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire (content- and face-validated) survey was undertaken, classroom style, amongst final-year nursing students from selected Malaysian (n = 122, Response rate=97.6%) and Australian (n = 299, Response rate=54.7%) institutions. Quantitative data were analysed via Statistical Package for Social Science software (Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests, p ≤ 0.01).
RESULTS: Significantly more Malaysian nursing students, compared to those in Australia, reported having encountered patients with OH issues (98.4% vs. 82.9%), namely halitosis (87.7% vs. 62.2%), oral ulcers (63.1% vs. 41.1%), oral/dental trauma (36.9% vs. 21.1%) and caries in children (28.7% vs. 7.7%). Less than half of Malaysian and Australian nursing students reported that they received adequate OH training (48.4% vs. 36.6%, p ≤ 0.01), especially in detecting oral cancer (18.0.0% vs. 22.6%, p ≤ 0.01) and preventing oral diseases (46.7% vs. 41.7%, p ≤ 0.01). Students in both countries demonstrated positive attitudes and believed in their role in OH care. Most students agreed that they should receive training in OH, especially in smoking cessation and providing OH care for patients with special needs. They also opined that a standardized evidence-based oral hygiene protocol is needed.
CONCLUSION: Support for education and practice in this area of patient care suggested positive implications for further development of nurses' roles in OH promotion and management.
METHODOLOGY: An audio-recorded, semi-structured qualitative phone interview was conducted with the heads of 42 nursing schools across Australia (n = 35) and Malaysia (n = 7) during the 2015 academic year. Qualitative data were analysed via thematic analysis. Quantitative data, wherever appropriate, were measured for frequencies.
RESULTS: The response rate was 34.2% (n = 12) and 71.4% (n = 5) for the Australian and Malaysian subjects, respectively. Findings revealed that although all the nursing schools measured provided didactic and clinical training in oral health, curriculum content, expected learning outcomes, amount of clinical exposure and assessment approach lacked consistency. Most nursing educators across both countries perceived an overloaded curriculum as a barrier to providing oral health education. Whilst educators demonstrated their support for training in this area of care, they expressed the need for an established national guideline that highlights the educational requirement for future nurses in oral health maintenance and their scope of practice.
CONCLUSION: This study provides valuable information for further developing oral health education for nurses, to improve their competency and ultimately the health of the communities that they will serve.