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: Objectives: This research aimed to gain insights into the reporting of family violence (FV) and to explore any changes in FV reporting associated with a FV primary prevention initiative in Geraldton, Western Australia. Methods: An in‐depth analysis of articles published by the Geraldton Guardian in 2019 examined the nature of FV reporting. Analysis was based on deductive coding from existing literature and inductive identification of new themes. A comparative analysis examined articles from the Geraldton Guardian and Albany Advertiser over the same three‐month period in 2015, 2017 and 2019 to analyse trends in FV reporting. Results: Of 135 articles analysed, there was alignment with five previously reported themes and two new themes were identified: FV as a public health issue; and community responses to reduce FV. Episodic framing was overwhelmingly associated with court reporting. There was more reporting of efforts at primary prevention of FV over time in both newspapers. Conclusions: Local media can contribute to the promotion of community and public health issues related to FV. Efforts are needed to improve court reporting to situate FV in a broader context. Implications for public health: Concerted efforts to educate the public and journalists can support FV being recognised as a public health issue., Family violence (FV) is a gendered and serious public health issue in Australia.[sup.1-3] The pattern of violence also differs between genders, with women's most recent incident of physical assault most [...]

Introduction Objective Design Findings Discussion Conclusions Disparities in the health of Indigenous people and in the health of rural populations are well described. University Departments of Rural Health (UDRHs) in Australia are federally funded under a program to address ongoing challenges with health workforce distribution for rural and remote areas. They have a significant role in research in regional, rural and remote areas, including research related to Indigenous health. However, a comprehensive analysis of their contributions to original Indigenous health related to Indigenous health is lacking.This study examines the contributions of UDRHs to Indigenous issues through analysis of publications of UDRHs focused on Indigenous health during the period 2010–2021.This paper examines a database of UDRH Indigenous‐related publications from 2010 to 2021.A total of 493 publications to which UDRHs contributed were analysed, including 354 original research articles. Health services research was the most common category, followed by epidemiology and papers exploring Indigenous culture and health. While health services research substantially increased over the period, the numbers of original research papers specifically focused on Indigenous workforce issues, whether related to Indigenous people, students or existing workforce was relatively small.This broad overview shows the nature and trends in Indigenous health research by UDRHs and makes evident a substantial contribution to Indigenous health research, reflecting their commitment to improving the health and well‐being of Indigenous communities.The analysis can help direct future efforts, and future analyses should delve deeper into the impact of this research and further engage Indigenous researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2011, all first year students in a health sciences faculty at a university in Western Australia complete a compulsory (half) Unit titled Indigenous Cultures and Health. The Unit introduces students to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, diversity, cultural protocols, social structures, patterns of communication, contemporary policies and their implications for health professionals. It also invites students to reflect on the own social and cultural backgrounds and consider factors that shape their worldviews. The broader intent of the Unit is for students to commence the journey towards "Indigenous cultural competency". This paper focuses upon findings from 12 weeks (24 hours) of classroom observations conducted in July-October 2012 with midwifery students enrolled in this Unit. It also explores data from comprehensive pre-and post-Unit questionnaires, together with findings from student and staff interviews. Observations, survey and interview data form part of a larger, mixed method study investigating culturally secure practice in midwifery education and ultimately service provision for Aboriginal women. Findings draw attention to strategies employed by teaching staff and students to create a safe learning environment, emotional responses and indicators of receptivity and resistance by students to Aboriginal content, the development of sophisticated critical thinking, and the uneasy, unnamed tension that hovered in the classroom and remained unresolved throughout the semester.

Summary: University departments of rural health are Commonwealth‐funded to improve recruitment and retention of the rural allied health and nursing (including midwifery) workforce, primarily through student placements.We examined publications by university departments of rural health that were focused on allied health and nursing students undertaking placements in rural Australia, to understand the characteristics, main findings and implications of the research conducted.Interprofessional learning was a key feature of placements and placement education, although other activities such as community engagement added to placement experiences.Factors such as quality supervision and being involved in the community contributed to a positive placement experience and increased rural practice intention. Tracking studies showed a relationship between rural placements, rural practice intention and rural practice.Rural placements occurred across a variety of settings and in locations consistent with the policy framework. Embedding university departments of rural health in rural communities enabled staff to build relationships and increase placement capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This scoping review assessed the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of general practitioners (GPs) regarding dietary advice for weight management. A systematic search of PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, and MEDLINE was conducted for any qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods studies published in the past five years that informed GPs' dietary advice for weight control. Thirteen studies were included in the analysis after screening 881 papers. These studies tended to focus mostly on GPs' practices rather than their knowledge and attitudes. The most frequently mentioned dietary advice was to reduce calorie intake; however, 32 different types of dietary advice were identified in the literature, including approaches such as intermittent fasting and a ketogenic diet that are not recommended in current guidelines. GPs showed varying levels of knowledge and attitudes regarding the best dietary advice for patients. Further research is needed to better understand GP perspectives, with efforts to assist GPs in providing tailored advice based on the latest evidence to improve patient outcomes required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Family and domestic violence, encompassing diverse behaviours including physical, sexual, emotional and financial abuse, is endemic worldwide and has multiple adverse health and social consequences. Principal drivers include traditional gender values that disempower women. Changing these is a key prevention strategy. In Australia, high-quality national surveys provide data on public perspectives concerning family and domestic violence but may not capture community-level diversity. As part of a project for primary prevention family and domestic violence in outer regional Australia, our aims were to develop and administer a questionnaire-based survey suitable for the local community encompassing knowledge about, attitudes towards, and personal experiences of family and domestic violence, to describe and to investigate the theoretical (factor) structure and local socio-demographic predictors of responses, and to determine the extent to which the survey findings are locally distinctive. Methods: The online community survey for local residents (≥15 years), comprised items on respondents' sociodemographic characteristics plus questions abridged from pre-existing national instruments on knowledge about, attitudes towards, and personal experiences of family and domestic violence. Responses were rake-weighted to correct census-ascertained sample imbalance and investigated using exploratory factor analysis, with sociodemographic predictors determined using multiple linear regression and dominance analysis. Results: Among 914 respondents, males (27.0%), those from age-group extremes, and less-educated persons were underrepresented. Familiarity with diverse family and domestic violence behaviours was high among all subgroups. Poorer knowledge of the FDV behaviour continuum and attitudes supporting traditional gender roles and FDV were disproportionately evident among males, older respondents and those with lower education levels. Both the factor structure of extracted composite measures reflecting community perspectives and sociodemographic predictors of responses generally aligned with patterns evident in national data. Conclusions: Local reinforcement of existing nationwide findings on community understanding of and attitudes towards family and domestic violence provides salience for targeted interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HIV-related stigma continues to persist in several African countries including Uganda. This study quantified the burden of stigma and examined factors associated with stigma among 476 people living with HIV (PLHTV) in Gulu, northern Uganda. Data were collected between February and May 2009 using the HIV/AIDS Stigma Instrument-PLWA. Females more than males, respondents aged above 30 years, and those who had been on antiretroviral therapy for a longer time experienced higher levels of stigma. Verbal abuse and negative self-perception were more common forms of stigma. The association between antiretroviral therapy and stigma suggested that organizational aspects of antiretroviral delivery may lead to stigmatization of PLHIV. Interventions such as counseling of PLHIV, education of health workers and the community would lead to reductions in negative self-perception and verbal abuse and in turn improve the quality of life for PLHIV in northern Uganda.