The strongest barriers to face mask use included beliefs that there was a mask shortage and that the needs of others were greater than their own. DISCUSSION Highlighting the efficacy of and dispelling myths about the relative efficacy of mask types and socialising people to the purpose of mass masking will contribute to community protective actions of mask wearing in the New Zealand response to COVID-19.Low back pain (LBP) is the leading contributor to years lived with disability, and imposes an enormous burden on individuals and on health-care systems. General practitioners and physiotherapists are generally the front-line health professionals dealing with patients with LBP, and have a key role in minimising its effect. Here we review six key issues associated with LBP including its effects, diagnosis and management in primary care, and highlight the importance of the biopsychosocial model and matched care for patients with LBP.COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of public, universal and equal access health-care, and reminded us that challenges are always incumbent for health-care systems. Because accessible and universal health-care systems will be critical into the future, it will be crucial to earmark adequate resources, fostering the financing of sectors that for many years have been neglected such as primary care and public health, and investments in new models of care and in health-related workforce.From 1 December 2017, the National Cervical Screening Program was renewed in Australia, with updated national cervical screening guidelines released. This study was performed to determine clinicians' familiarity with the updated guidelines and explore their views and attitudes towards the renewed program. Clinicians providing cervical screening in New South Wales, Australia, were invited to complete an online survey in 2018. Of the 241 clinicians who responded, 91.5% supported the change to 5-yearly human papillomavirus screening from the age of 25 years. However, nearly 13% indicated they did not know where to access the renewed guidelines and 37% had never or rarely accessed them. Open-ended responses highlighted clinicians' concerns about missed cancers and missed opportunities for health checks. Those raising these concerns accessed the guidelines less frequently. The findings highlight important areas for additional education and support for clinicians in translating guidelines into practice to ensure successful delivery of the renewed program.Objective In Australia, 2.7 million surgical procedures were performed in the year 2016-17. This number is ever increasing and requires effective management of operating theatre (OT) time. Preoperative prediction of theatre time is one of the main constituents of OT scheduling, and anecdotal evidence suggests that surgeons grossly underestimate predicted surgical time. The aim of this study is to assess surgeons' accuracy at predicting OT times across different specialties and effective theatre scheduling. Methods A database was created with de-identified patient information from a 3-month period (late 2016). selleckchem The collected data included variables such as the predicted time, actual surgery time, and type of procedure (i.e. Emergency or Elective). These data were used to make quantifiable comparisons. Results Data were categorised into a 'Theatre list' and 'Scopes list'. This was further compared as 'Actual-Predicted' time, which ranged from an average underestimation of each procedure by 19min (Ear Nose and Thn calculations for scheduling theatre lists. This will facilitate more accurate predictions of OT time and ensure that theatre lists are not over or underutilised. Moreover, surgeons will be encouraged to make OT time predictions with serious consideration, after understanding its effect on theatre scheduling and associated costs. Hence, the aim is to try to make an estimation of OT time, which is closer to the actual time required.Measurement of intraocular pressure (IOP) is a standard procedure in ophthalmic research in animals, specifically in glaucomaresearch, and the control of IOP is essential during certain veterinary ophthalmic surgeries. We evaluated the effect of isoflurane on IOP in the clinically healthy laboratory rabbits and tested a way to minimize the alteration of IOP duringisoflurane anesthesia. After measurement of the baseline IOP in each eye of 9 awake New Zealand white rabbits, animals were anesthetized by using either (1) isoflurane without premedication, (2) a combination of ketamine and xylazine, or (3)isoflurane inhalation after an injection of ketamine-xylazine premedication. Isoflurane led to a sustained increase in IOP ofapproximately 12 mm Hg. In contrast, ketamine and xylazine decreased IOP by nearly 5 mm Hg (all values compared withbaseline measurements in awake, unrestrained animals). The observed decrease in IOP after ketamine-xylazine anesthesiais consistent with anesthetic effects generally seen during anesthesia in other studies. The increased IOP after isofluraneanesthesia in rabbits in this study was an unexpected result that appears to be specific to this combination of anesthetic andanimal species. Premedication with ketamine-xylazine diminished the effect of isoflurane inhalation on IOP. These resultsshould be considered in the design of ophthalmic research studies using rabbits and in intraocular surgery where IOP stabilityis desired.Although nesting material is beneficial to the welfare of laboratory mice, provision of appropriate amounts may impairvisualization of the mice. In anticipation of our academic research institution transitioning to providing 6 grams of nesting material to all mice, we conducted a 2-step prospective epidemiologic study to 1) evaluate whether 0, 2, or 6 grams of nesting material alters the ability to identify sick or dead mice, and 2) evaluate the number and severity of health concerns identified in the presence of 6 grams of crinkle paper nesting material at cage-side health check as compared with cage change. Animal Treatment Reports (ATRs) and death incidences were collected across a variety of research and breeding uses. This information was used to determine if nesting material prevented prompt identification of mice in need of veterinary attention. The clinical health condition category (CHCC) was determined based on the severity of the animal's health condition on initial veterinary exam. Additional assessment determined if the identification of the animal's condition was a success (early-stage or mild illness when first identified) or a failure (late-stage or endstage illness when first identified).