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A/Prof Claire Wakefield is awarded $2.2 million CCNSW Program Grant

20/12/2015

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We are pleased to announce that Program Leader of the Behavioural Sciences Unit (BSU), A/Prof Claire Wakefield, is the recent recipient of a $2.2 million Cancer Council of New South Wales (CCNSW) Program Grant, supported by the Estate of the late Harry McPaul, with additional support of $440,000 from the University of New South Wales. 

​A/Prof Wakefield accepted the award presented by the family of the late Harry McPaul (pictured below, with A/Prof Wakefield), at the CCNSW Research Evening in November 2015.

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We would like to give sincere thanks to the wonderful McPaul family, whose significant bequest will contribute immensely to our cancer research. In commemoration of this generous donation, a plaque was erected in the Daffodil Garden (Eden Gardens), to honour the late Harry McPaul (below). 
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​A/Prof Wakefield gave a poignant acceptance speech in which she detailed the research that the program grant will assist in achieving over the next five years. Foremost, A/Prof Wakefield specified that the grant will contribute to six paediatric and family-based intervention studies, aiming to relieve the physical and mental health late-effects that are a considerable burden to child and adult survivors of cancer, and their families.

Furthermore, the grant will enable the BSU to continue our work breaking down barriers to research implementation. This will be achieved by supporting our research through the crucial stages of development (T1), through to evaluation as randomised control trials (T2) and finally to implementation in the community (T3), with benefit to real-life patients and families. Each project is designed to engage rural, and culturally and linguistically diverse, families, by promoting accessibility, either online or by telephone, and being available in the language of each participants’ choice. Additionally, we will be conducting an economic audit of these studies, to assess the costs associated with running the programs in the long term, to ensure they continue to benefit consumers into the future.

Of our six research interventions, studies Compass and Re-connect are currently at the T1 development stage. Compass aims to support the needs of bereaved parents by developing educational resources and a nationwide peer support network for bereaved families. Re-connect will explore the social experiences of children who have survived a brain tumour, including difficulties with friendships and reaching social milestones. It will also, for the first time, explore the nexus of these difficulties and trial a new intervention to improve social skills in children who may require assistance.

At the T2 evaluation stage, we currently have two interventions, Re-engage and Reboot, targeting the health behaviours of childhood cancer survivors. Re-engage, a nurse-led online intervention, is specifically designed for adult survivors of childhood cancer who have disengaged with their health care and will aim to bridge the gap to accessible health care in this population. Reboot is a healthy lifestyle intervention, aiming to increase physical activity and healthy eating in children and adolescent cancer survivors to decrease their risk for metabolic disease later in life.

Finally at the T3 implementation stage are the BSU’s cornerstone online psycho-social interventions: Cascade and Recapture Life. Recapture Life is an intervention designed for adolescents and young adults during their cancer journey, aiming to improve quality of life and reduce the incidence of anxiety and depression. Cascade is an intervention developed to assist parents navigating the challenging return to “normal” after the cancer experience. Excitingly, these two programs are about to commence randomised patient preference trials in the real world!

To keep up to date with these studies, you can visit our research studies tab in the panel at the top of the page, and simply select a study from the dropdown box.


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The Behavioural Sciences Unit is Proudly Supported by the Kids with Cancer Foundation.
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Twilight at Eden Gardens: A/Prof Claire Wakefield presents at CCNSW event

11/12/2015

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In late November our Program Leader, A/Prof Claire Wakefield, was invited to give a talk at a Cancer Council NSW (CCNSW) event. The event was held at Eden Gardens in Macquarie Park, a tranquil garden and community hub which houses stunning garden havens such as the Daffodil Garden, opened by Eden Gardens and CCNSW in 2013. The Daffodil Garden is home to a memorial Wall of Honour, where plaques are displayed in recognition of families’ generous donations.
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T​he evening began with an introductory talk from CCNSW’s CEO, Jim L’Estrange (pictured left). Jim spoke passionately about the research that the CCNSW carries out, thanked important benefactors and all attendees for their presence during the evening. Following on from his talk, Jim introduced a family who had been directly affected by cancer. This family gave a powerful firsthand account of their battle with childhood ALL, reminding all attendees of why research is so vital in the fight against childhood cancer. 
Next up was Claire (pictured right), who presented an inspiring talk about the current landscape of childhood cancer. In her talk, Claire highlighted the need for further research on the psycho-social implications of childhood cancer on the developing child, family members and importantly those she called the “ultimate survivors” – those who have lost a child to cancer. Claire also introduced some of the important areas of research currently being explored by our team at the Behavioural Sciences Unit, as well as outlining our research plans for 2016 and into the future.
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PictureAcapella choir 'Soulfood' performing in the amphitheatre
​Following the talks, the crowd was treated to the sounds of the talented Sydney-based acapella choir - Soulfood, who filled the intimate space of the garden amphitheatre with music.

​Ultimately the evening was a great success… even when interrupted by the local wildlife!





The Behavioural Sciences Unit is Proudly Supported by the Kids with Cancer Foundation.
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BSU PhD students present at the Sydney Psychology Post Graduate Conference (25/11/2015)

9/12/2015

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While the year is rapidly coming to a close, there was enough time for three of the BSU’s PhD students to present at the Sydney Psychology Post Graduate Conference. Held at the University of Sydney, the conference brought together students undertaking PhDs in the area of psychology from all stages of study, through 1st year to completion.  This year, Ms Lauren Touyz, Mr Alistair Lum and Ms Eden Robertson represented the BSU.

Lauren presented her work on the weight gain of children during treatment for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). Lauren conducted a retrospective audit of medical records and found many children experience weight gain during treatment that, in some cases, is maintained even 7 years after treatment completion. She discussed her plans to develop a healthy eating intervention, called Reboot, to help children establish and maintain good eating habits during and beyond treatment. She is currently preparing a manuscript for publication with her supervisors Jennifer Cohen, A/Prof Claire Wakefield, and Prof Richard Cohn.
 
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Next up was Alistair who’s PhD is investigating the effects of serious illnesses on school outcomes, and how to best promote positive school engagement in the context of a child’s illness (EduSwell). Alistair presented the results of his recently completed study of German school children with physical and mental illness, that he conducted while on internship in Ulm, in the laboratory of Prof Lutz Goldbeck. He found German students with mental illness were less engaged with school compared to students with physical illness and healthy students. Alistair is now conducting this research in an Australian sample. Alistair is supervised by A/Prof Claire Wakefield, Ms Barb Donnan, and Prof Glenn Marshall.

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 Eden finished the session by presenting her proposed PhD research plan. Eden is investigating how best to support parents of children diagnosed with cancer make decisions about whether to enrol their child in a clinical trial. Her study aims to design and evaluate a decision aid for parents that are considering enrolment in early-phase clinical trials. The decision aid will be developed in consultation with parents, patients and health professions. Eden will be starting her PhD in 2016 and is supervised by Dr Joanna Fardell, A/Prof Claire Wakefield, and Prof Richard Cohn.
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The Behavioural Sciences Unit is Proudly Supported by the Kids with Cancer Foundation.
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