Search

Abstract.Background:Suicide rates are higher in rural and remote areas of Australia compared with major cities. Aim:To evaluate the impact of a brief, community-based suicide prevention educational intervention on the attitudes and confidence of rural South Australian health and human service professionals. Method:Participants attended a 1-day suicide prevention education program, and completed a survey at four time points: baseline (T1), immediately pretraining (T2), immediately posttraining (T3), and 4-month follow-up (T4). Main outcome measures were self-reported attitudes and confidence when working with people vulnerable to suicide. Results:A total of 248 people attended the training, with 213 participants completing the survey at T1, 236 at T2, 215 at T3, and 172 at T4. There were significant improvements in 11 of the 14 attitude items between T2 and T3 (immediate change), and between T1 and T4 (maintained change). Further, there were significant improvements in all four confidence items between T2 and T3, and T1 and T4. Limitations:Despite the repeated-measures design, findings are limited by the lack of a control group. Conclusion:Findings extend the international evidence by indicating the value of brief suicide prevention education for improving health and human service professionals' attitudes and confidence in rural Australia.

Due to the nature of their jobs, frontline aged care workers may be a population at risk of poor health and lifestyle habits. Support of their well‐being through the workplace is likely to be complex. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a need‐supportive program for changing physical activity and psychological well‐being via the motivational processes of behavioural regulations and perceived need satisfaction. Frontline aged care workers (n= 25) participated in a single cohort, pre–post pilot trial. The program included a Motivational Interviewing style appointment, education on goal setting and self‐management, the use of affect, exertion and self‐pacing for regulating physical activity intensity and practical support activities. Outcomes (7‐day accelerometery, 6‐min walk, K10 and AQoL‐8D), and motivational processes (BREQ‐3 and PNSE) were measured at baseline, 3 and 9 months, and analysed using linear mixed models for repeated measures. There were significant increases in perceived autonomy at 3 months (Δ .43 ± SE: .20; p= .03) and 6‐min walk distance at 9 months (Δ 29.11 m ± SE: 13.75; p= .04), which appeared to be driven by the relative autonomy index (behavioural regulations in exercise questionnaire [BREQ‐3]). Amotivation increased at 3 months (Δ .23 ± SE:.12; p= .05); which may have been due to low scores at baseline. No other changes were demonstrated at any timepoint. Participants demonstrated positive changes in motivational processes and physical function, however, due to the low levels of participation in the program, the program had a negligible impact at the organisational level. Future researchers and aged care organisations should aim to address factors impacting participation in well‐being initiatives.

Australian women are less likely to participate in recommended levels of weekly physical activity compared with men. Physical activity participation rates decrease with geographical remoteness. Research suggests that a lack of social support mechanisms within the home environment may act as a barrier for rural women to engage in physical activity, along with discomfort experienced within exercise environments. The purpose of this study was to explore the social conditions that facilitate or inhibit physical activity participation amongst women from two rural South Australian communities. A qualitative descriptive approach underpinned by a phenomenological methodological orientation was applied. Participants were recruited using a purposive sampling strategy before semi‐structured interviews (N = 16) were conducted and prepared for thematic analysis. Four inter‐related themes were identified: support from others, time, expectations and available opportunities. Further contextual analysis revealed interwoven notions of physical activity spaces, time and social context within the themes. Multiple types of regulators interact to shape the motivational pattern of an individual. The themes identified align with self‐determination, transactional and structuration theory, suggesting a need to consider human behaviour both pragmatically and conceptually. Results provide insight into social barriers and facilitators for physical activity participation and concomitantly provide the initial development of a framework for local strategic planning of health‐promoting activities, and individual reflection to increase physical activity participation amongst rural women.

Suicide rates in rural Australia are almost twice as high as those in urban areas. In rural communities, football clubs are often the ‘hub’ of the community and are being explored as an avenue to deliver mental health and well‐being promotion. The aim of this study was to explore barriers and enablers for programs promoting mental health and well‐being through rural Australian football clubs. This qualitative descriptive study included 12 individuals of 10 rural clubs affiliated with the South Australian National Football League. Recruitment occurred via emails to club secretaries/presidents. Semi‐structured telephone interviews explored mental health and well‐being issues experienced in clubs, previous involvement with mental well‐being programs and potential barriers/enablers for future programs. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. Thematic analysis identified three themes encompassing barriers and enablers: (1) more than a football club, (2) attitudes towards mental health and (3) what is needed to implement a program. The third theme had subthemes of resources, importance of timing, mental health initiatives and components of a program. Key barriers included difficulty getting people involved due to individual attitudes towards mental health, and not having the finances/resources to implement a program. Major enablers included the important role the football club serves in the community, the inclusion of speakers with credibility and making the program engaging. This study identifies key factors which may impact on community engagement and program effectiveness for mental health and well‐being programs delivered via rural football clubs.

Objective: To identify subgroups of Australian adults likely to receive physical activity advice from their general practitioner and to evaluate the content of the advice provided. Methods: Participants (n=1,799), recruited from the Australian Health and Social Science panel, completed an online survey. Signal Detection Analysis was used to identify subgroups that were more/less likely to have received physical activity recommendations. Results: Overall, 18% of participants received a physical activity recommendation from their general practitioner in the past 12 months and eight unique subgroups were identified. The subgroup with the highest proportion (54%) of participants reporting that they received a physical activity recommendation was those with poor physical and mental health‐related quality of life and an average daily sitting time of <11 hours. Other subgroups with high proportions of individuals receiving recommendations were characterised by higher weight and/or the presence of co‐morbidities. The most commonly prescribed physical activity type was aerobic activity. Few participants received specific physical activity advice. Conclusions: General practitioners are incorporating physical activity promotion into their practice, but primarily as a disease management tool and with limited specificity. Implications: Strategies to assist Australian general practitioners to effectively promote physical activity are needed.

To identify subgroups of Australian adults likely to receive physical activity advice from their general practitioner and to evaluate the content of the advice provided.

The eat well be activeCommunity Programs (ewba) aimed to prevent obesity among children aged 0–18 years in two Australian communities from 2006 to 2010. ewbawas a multi-strategy intervention in children’s settings. The evaluation was quasi-experimental, including a before and after survey with intervention (INT) and non-randomised comparison (COMP) communities. Outcome measures included BMI-zscore (zBMI) and overweight/obesity prevalence in children aged 4–5 years; and zBMI, waist circumference (WC) z-score and overweight/obesity prevalence in children aged10–12 years. After 3 years, among the 4–5 years old, mean zBMI was significantly lower in both INT (−0.20, p< 0.05) and COMP (−0.15, p< 0.05), however, changes were not significantly different between INT and COMP. There was a larger reduction in overweight/obesity prevalence in INT (−6.3 %) compared to COMP (−3.7 %) (p< 0.05, χ2test). In the 10–12 years old, mean zBMI did not change significantly in INT or COMP. There was a significant reduction in WC z-score in INT (−0.17, p< 0.05) but not in COMP (−0.10, p= NS), although not significantly different between INT and COMP (p= 0.092). These findings suggest that the ewbacommunity intervention had a moderate impact, showing modest improvements in weight status at 3-year follow-up.

Objective:The socio‐ecological milieu of children's physical activity is changing, perhaps causing perturbations within the causal ‘web’ that explains physical activity behaviours. It is unclear if the relative importance of parental role modelling is changing. Accordingly, this study examined associations of child‐perceived parent physical activity and children's sport participation in 1985 and 2004.

The socio‐ecological milieu of children's physical activity is changing, perhaps causing perturbations within the causal ‘web’ that explains physical activity behaviours. It is unclear if the relative importance of parental role modelling is changing. Accordingly, this study examined associations of child‐perceived parent physical activity and children's sport participation in 1985 and 2004.

Objective:This study aimed to explore sleep duration in young Australians on different types of days across weight classes. Methods:Use of time and anthropometric data were collected on 8,866 nights from 3,884 9–18 year old Australians. The association between sleep duration and weight status was examined using factorial ANOVA for four day types: S‐S (to bed and waking on school days); S‐NS (to bed on school day and waking on non‐school day); NS‐NS (to bed and waking on non‐school days); NS‐S (to bed on non‐school day and waking on school day). Results:Sleep duration varied with weight status when all day types were considered together (p=0.0012). Obese adolescents slept less than normal and underweight adolescents. However, the relationship varied for different day types; with the strongest relationship for NS‐S days (on which obese children slept 65 min less than very underweight children, p<0.0001). Conclusions:The association between weight status and sleep duration showed consistent gradients across weight categories, but only for certain day types. Implications:These patterns cast light on the direction of causation in the obesity‐sleep duration relationship. Findings suggest that short sleep duration contributes to obesity, or that a third unidentified factor has an impact on both.

This study aimed to explore sleep duration in young Australians on different types of days across weight classes.

Objective:To describe trends in health attitudes and self‐perceptions among school‐age South Australians between 1985 and 2004. Methods:The questionnaire from the 1985 Australian Schools Health and Fitness Survey was administered during 2004 in those South Australian schools that participated in the 1985 survey. Using chi square, responses were compared for 10–15 year‐olds (1985, n=398; 2004, n=467) on attitudes to: visiting the doctor and dentist, smoking, sleep, diet, exercise, stress, having friends, and knowledge about fitness and health. Additionally, self‐perceptions of health and fitness were compared. Results:Among boys and girls between 1985 and 2004, there were significant declines in the perceived importance of regularly visiting the dentist and doctor, but improved attitudes to being a non‐smoker. Among boys, the perceived importance of sleep and diet declined between surveys. A smaller percentage of boys and girls in the latter survey perceived their current health status as ‘good’. In the lower SES sample, the percentage of girls rating healthy diet as ‘very important’ was lower in 2004. Conclusions:There have been general declines in perceived importance of many health‐related behaviours among South Australian youth between 1985–2004. In contrast, the perceived importance of not smoking was higher in 2004 than 1985. Implications:The relative success of anti‐smoking campaigns targeting youth suggests that health education must be accompanied by broader environmental support in order to effect positive behavioural change.

To describe trends in health attitudes and self‐perceptions among school‐age South Australians between 1985 and 2004.

Objective:To compare rates of change in South Australian children's body composition between 1997 and 2002 in subsamples based on location of residence and socio‐economic status.

Objective:To compare rates of change in South Australian children's body composition between 1997 and 2002 in subsamples based on location of residence and socio‐economic status. Methods:Year 6 children from randomly selected South Australian schools in 1997 (32 schools, n=1,423) and 2002 (29 schools, n=992) were compared on: body mass index (BMI), sum of triceps and abdominal skinfolds (skinfold sum) and waist girth. Samples were partitioned into urban (population >20,000) and rural (<10,000) subsamples, and low, medium and high SES ANCOVA, controlling for boys' decimal age and girls' predicted menarcheal age, was conducted for the whole sample, and where interactions were significant, separately in socio‐demographic strata. Results:Between surveys, there were significant increases in boys' waist girth (p=0.004) and skinfold sum (p=0.007), and girls' BMI (p=0.0005) and skinfold sum (p<0.0001). There were significant interactions of survey year and socio‐demographic variables among girls only. While there were no significant changes in anthropometric variables among rural and high SES girls, urban girls increased in skinfold sum (p<0.0001), waist girth (p=0.033) and BMI (p=0.0007). Low (p<0.0001) and medium (p=0.001) SES girls' skinfold sum increased between surveys. Conclusions:Secular trends in Australian children's body fatness are continuing. Further, the rates of change in girls are affected by the socio‐demographic milieu. Implications:The development of targeted interventions to combat child obesity will depend on a clearer understanding of how environmental influences on weight status are distributed across the socio‐demographic landscape.