Research topic on cabbage is winning grad’s recipe for success

When it came to a topic for her Honours thesis, Tiffany How chose to explore the effectiveness of cabbage leaf application on the improvement of health outcomes in postnatal mothers with breast engorgement.

“Breast engorgement is a common condition that afflicts post-natal mothers,” said Tiffany, “and so I was curious if natural remedies such as applying chilled cabbage leaves to the breast could alleviate swelling and reduce pain for mothers who were already stressed by motherhood.”

Women’s perinatal health is a concern close to Tiffany’s heart as she aspires to work in obstetrics and gynaecology nursing. It is also personal to her as her sister, who was pregnant at the time she was deciding on her thesis topic, had heard about the natural therapy in an antenatal talk by a well-known lactation consultant, who recommended it as a treatment for breast engorgement. “I wanted to find out if the treatment was effective as it could potentially help my sister post-delivery,” Tiffany said.

Her systematic review found a few primary studies with varying results, but unfortunately, the data was inconclusive. “Research on natural therapies to treat breast engorgement show potential, but evidence is sparse and my study recommended that hospitals and clinics could conduct more rigorous research in this area,” she said.

Her work earned her a Nursing Research Medal from the school, given to the student with the best Honours thesis.

“Choosing a review topic that was linked to her life experiences and was of great interest to her served her well.”

Tiffany said she is grateful for the help of her thesis supervisors Dr Siti Zubaidah and Associate Professor He Honggu. She attributed the modules on nursing research and evidence-based healthcare for increasing her knowledge and strengthening her skills in healthcare research.

“Tiffany analysed the evidence on the use of cabbage leaves to treat engorgement from various perspectives and through the lens of breastfeeding mothers. This set her thesis apart and earned her the Nursing Research Medal,” said Dr Zubaidah.

Associate Professor He said Tiffany’s project was well-conducted and deserving of the Medal. “The first systematic review and meta-analysis was reported in a very succinct and straightforward way, with review findings indicating more rigorous methodology is needed to evaluate cabbage leaf application. Choosing a review topic that was linked to her life experiences and was of great interest to her served her well,” said Associate Professor He.

Tiffany hopes to publish her thesis and is currently working on the manuscript. “My goal is to continue to raise awareness of perinatal health issues that affect women in our communities,” she said.

Why did you choose to study Nursing?

How was the last year for you?

My CCP (Consolidated Clinical Practice) was very unpredictable, as schedules and plans kept changing depending on announcements on measures by the government to control the virus spread. My TTP (Transition to Practice) was also a pretty confusing time as protocols and workflows had to be established, and we had a fear of resuming clinicals when the nation had just entered a circuit breaker. But the experience turned out to be wonderful as the hospitals were pretty prepared and the clinical posting was just like any other posting, only that we had to wear a mask and were not allowed to handle patients with or suspected to have COVID-19.

What’s the best piece of advice you’d give to someone applying to Nursing?