Donna Hughes-Barton

Dr. Donna Hughes-Barton

orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

7Years (2020-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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10 February 2022 in Patient Education and Counseling
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
SKShannen R. van der Kruk
Shannen R. van der Kruk
RZRob Zielinski
Rob Zielinski
HMHamish MacDougall
Hamish MacDougall
DHDonna Hughes-Barton
Donna Hughes-Barton
KGKate Gunn
Kate Gunn

1 August 2021 in Journal of Rural Studies
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
KGKate M. Gunn
Kate M. Gunn
ABAlison Barrett
Alison Barrett
DHDonna Hughes-Barton
Donna Hughes-Barton
DTDeborah Turnbull
Deborah Turnbull
CSCamille E. Short
Camille E. Short
JDJames Dollman
James Dollman


8 February 2022 in JMIR Mental Health
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
GSGemma Skaczkowski
Gemma Skaczkowski
SKShannen van der Kruk
Shannen van der Kruk
SLSophie Loxton
Sophie Loxton
DHDonna Hughes-Barton
Donna Hughes-Barton
CHCate Howell
Cate Howell
KGKate Gunn
Kate Gunn
Background: A large number of Australians experience mental health challenges at some point in their lives. However, in many parts of Australia, the wait times to see general practitioners and mental health professionals can be lengthy. With increasing internet use across Australia, web-based interventions may help increase access to timely mental health care. As a result, this is an area of increasing research interest, and the number of publicly available web-based interventions is growing. However, it can be confusing for clinicians and consumers to know the resources that are evidence-based and best meet their needs. Objective: This study aims to scope out the range of web-based mental health interventions that address depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, or general mental well-being and are freely available to Australian adults, along with their impact, acceptability, therapeutic approach, and key features. Methods: The PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR [PRISMA extension for Scoping Reviews]) guided the review process. Keywords for the search were depression, anxiety, suicide, and well-being. The search was conducted using Google as well as the key intervention databases Beacon, Head to Health, and e-Mental Health in Practice. Interventions were deemed eligible if they targeted depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, or general mental well-being (eg, resilience) in adults; and were web-based, written in English, interactive, free, and publicly available. They also had to be guided by an evidence-based therapeutic approach. Results: Overall, 52 eligible programs were identified, of which 9 (17%) addressed depression, 15 (29%) addressed anxiety, 13 (25%) addressed general mental well-being, and 13 (25%) addressed multiple issues. Only 4% (2/52) addressed distress in the form of suicidal ideation. The most common therapeutic approach was cognitive behavioral therapy. Half of the programs guided users through exercises in a set sequence, and most programs enabled users to log in and complete the activities on their own without professional support. Just over half of the programs had been evaluated for their effectiveness in reducing symptoms, and 11% (6/52) were being evaluated at the time of writing. Program evaluation scores ranged from 44% to 100%, with a total average score of 85%. Conclusions: There are numerous web-based programs for depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and general well-being, which are freely and publicly available in Australia. However, identified gaps include a lack of available web-based interventions for culturally and linguistically diverse populations and programs that use newer therapeutic approaches such as acceptance and commitment therapy and dialectical behavior therapy. Despite most programs included in this review being of good quality, clinicians and consumers should pay careful attention when selecting which program to recommend and use, as variations in the levels of acceptability and impact of publicly available programs do exist.

24 December 2024 in Journal of Agromedicine
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
DHDonna Hughes-Barton
Donna Hughes-Barton
GSGemma Skaczkowski
Gemma Skaczkowski
HSHannah Starick
Hannah Starick
KGKate Gunn
Kate Gunn
Farmers have higher risk of suicide than the general working population but are less likely to seek help from mainstream mental health services. Farmer-focused sources of support such as farmer helplines may be a viable alternative, and several currently operate internationally. However, it is unclear whether these specialized helplines collectively tend to be used and are acceptable or effective in reducing farmers' distress. This review aimed to fill this important knowledge gap. The PRISMA 2020 guidelines, in consultation with the extension for scoping reviews, guided the review process. The search included 13 academic databases and grey literature via Google. The database search yielded 1,337 initial results and a Google search strategy resulted in 620 links to investigate. Data extraction was sought from 28 papers and 332 online links. We identified 35 unique helplines operating across Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, India, and Austria. Farmers do use helplines when experiencing stress; however, we found little empirical evidence of the acceptability or effectiveness of helplines. Anecdotal evidence suggested farmers are more likely to trust telephone support services operated by people who understand the farming way of life. Research in this area is scant but promising. Farmers and farming communities will use farmer helplines in times of elevated stress. However, there is a pressing need for more rigorous evaluation studies to determine their effectiveness in this at-risk group. Further, when designing farmer helplines, careful consideration should be given to the extent to which those answering calls understand farming.

17 May 2021 in Cureus
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
AGAndrew Gaya
Andrew Gaya
PCPhilip Camilleri
Philip Camilleri
ANAdam Nash
Adam Nash
DHDonna Hughes-Barton
Donna Hughes-Barton
JGJames Good
James Good
The first MRIdian® MR linear accelerator (MR-Linac; ViewRay, Oakwood Village, Ohio) in the United Kingdom went live in December 2019 following a record installation time. Stereotactic MRI-guided Adaptive Radiotherapy (SMART) has since been implemented and has advantages of excellent soft tissue definition of both target and organs at risk (OARs), real-time target and OAR visualisation on cine-MRI, daily recontouring of target and critical OARs with live online plan adaptation/re-optimisation, and automatic respiratory-gated treatment delivery. We present a multi-disciplinary narrative and technical description of how this innovative technique was implemented for hepatobiliary (HPB) cancers. In particular, we explain how a collaborative approach and desire to push the boundaries and improve outcomes enabled 50 patients to be treated in the first five months, many with technically challenging tumours not always deliverable on other platforms. Physics, dosimetry, radiographer, and clinician perspectives on implementing SMART are presented. MRIdian® single fraction lung stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) will shortly be implemented along with innovative research in conjunction with our academic partners.