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Objective: This study aimed to investigate COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, acceptance, and unmet informational needs in a cancer population during the first phase of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination rollout in Australia. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a large tertiary hospital in Queensland, Australia, between 10 May and 31 July 2021. The survey assessed health beliefs, experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and informational needs. Results: COVID-19 was perceived to be a significant threat to both physical and mental health. While 57.9% (n = 110) of respondents believed the COVID-19 vaccines were safe and 64.2% (n = 122) believed they were effective, more than half (52.6%; n = 100) agreed that they worried about vaccine side effects. Most respondents (84.2%; n = 160) planned to receive the COVID-19 vaccine; however, feelings of hesitancy remained. There was a statistically significant association between those aged under 60 years (P = 0.003), those with previous vaccine hesitancy (P = 0.000), those who felt they had not received adequate information (P = 0.000) and vaccine hesitancy. Requested information pertained to interactions with cancer treatments, those with a history of blood clotting and information for those undergoing bone marrow transplantation. Conclusions: There is a need for tailored COVID-19 vaccine communication that is responsive to the concerns of people with cancer. This will be beneficial during current and future vaccination rollouts. What is known about topic? People with cancer are a COVID-19 vaccine priority group, as they are at increased risk of morbidity and mortality from this disease. There is currently a dearth of information regarding COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, acceptance, or informational needs for this population. What does this paper add? This paper has shown that although vaccine refusal rates were low in this population, feelings of hesitancy remained. Women, those in younger age categories, those with previous vaccine hesitancy and those who felt they had not received adequate information had stronger vaccine hesitancy and higher refusal rates. What are the implications for practitioners? There is a need for tailored information and open communication regarding COVID-19 vaccines and people with cancer. There is an opportunity to build upon established relationships of trust between cancer patients and their clinicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The utilisation of telehealth among culturally and linguistically diverse communities in Australia remains unexplored. We aimed to describe telehealth (telephone and videoconference) utilisation within a major health service and identify sociodemographic factors that may contribute to limited telehealth access. Methods. A cross-sectional study was performed using service activity data from four metropolitan hospitals in Queensland, Australia. Outpatient department data (January to December 2021) were examined. These data included patients (N = 153 427) of all ages who had an outpatient appointment within 10 speciality services (i.e. Hepatology, Gastroenterology, Immunology and Psychology) that were the most frequent videoconference users. This study measured telehealth utilisation across the four tertiary hospitals and its association with sociodemographic factors. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis were used. Multivariate regression models were adjusted by sex, socioeconomic level and language use. Results. Overall, 39% of appointments were delivered through telehealth, with 65% of all reported telehealth services involving a telephone consultation. People who required interpreter services were 66% less likely to use telehealth services (OR adjusted 0.33, 95% CI 0.31–0.36, P < 0.05) than English-speaking people. Among those using telehealth, people requiring interpreter services were 13% less likely to use videoconference than phone (OR adjusted 0.87, 95% CI 0.77–0.98, P < 0.005). Conclusion. There is a gap in Australian telehealth service use for people with culturally diverse backgrounds and limited English proficiency. This study highlights a critical need to determine how people from culturally diverse backgrounds would like to engage with digital care options such as telehealth and the necessary support to enable this. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many GPs undertake postpartum care for women and their infants. GP follow-up enables early identification and management of problems, education and support for parenting, and reconnection with general practice following the birth. However, there is little information about GPs' understanding of their role in postpartum care and how it is undertaken. This cross-sectional survey of GPs in Southern Queensland, conducted between February and July 2013, describes the involvement of GPs in postpartum care. GPs were posted a 52-item questionnaire adapted from a previous Victorian GP study and were telephoned 2 weeks later. GPs completed the survey on paper or online. The response rate was 17.4% (163 GPs). Approximately 39% were uncertain whether women were happy with the GP-provided postpartum care. GPs' recommendations for the timing of postpartum reviews were inconsistent within and across birthing sectors and consultations took longer than anticipated. Developing guidelines around the timing and appropriate length of postpartum consultations could assist GPs in providing appropriate care for mothers and infants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Australia, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds often face inequitable health outcomes and access to health care. An important, but under-researched, population is people of Latin American descent. A cross-sectional study obtained clinical data on Latin American Spanish-speaking patients from Brisbane's south-west. Extracted data included demographic characteristics, risk factors, chronic disease and service use. A total of 382 people (60.5% female, 39.5% male), mainly from El Salvador and Chile and predominantly older people (70% over 50 years), were identified. Compared with the general Australian population, the proportion of people with dyslipidaemia, diabetes, arthritis and musculoskeletal, mental health disorders and being obese or overweight was high. There was also a higher use of the 20–40 min general medicine consultation than in the general population. The proportion of patients receiving health promotion and chronic disease management activities was higher than in other reports. However, there were gaps in the provision of these services. The study shows an ageing population group with significant risk factors and an important burden of chronic disease and comorbidity. Addressing inequalities in health for culturally and linguistically diverse populations demands improvements in healthcare delivery and targeted actions based on a solid understanding of their complex health needs and their health, social and cultural circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governments invest heavily in health promotion strategies to improve physical health behaviours. However, the dietary and physical activity practices of many Australians fail to meet minimum levels for health, leading to the unacceptably high prevalence of chronic and complex illness. Health literacy is known to impact on health behaviour, and to be related to health knowledge; however, no studies have specifically examined knowledge of physical health behaviours in an Australian context. We assessed knowledge of physical health behaviours in 1244 adults in Queensland, Australia. Almost two-thirds of respondents had a 'Good' knowledge of physical health behaviour. People with 'Good' knowledge of physical health behaviours were more likely to be female, educated beyond secondary school, be employed and have an annual household income of >$52000 (P<0.05). People with 'Low' knowledge of physical health behaviours were significantly more likely to report insufficient intake of vegetables and have at least one chronic illness (P<0.05). Binary logistic regression shows low daily intake of vegetables to have the strongest association with low knowledge of physical health behaviours. Given the association between health knowledge and health literacy, assessment of the knowledge of physical health behaviours may provide considerable insight into the effectiveness of future health promotion interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored current physiotherapy practice trends for management of children who are overweight or obese. The professional needs of physiotherapists working with this population were also assessed, including the perceived need for physiotherapy clinical guidelines for prevention and management of children with obesity. Across-sectional survey design was used, with questionnaires purposefully distributed through 13 key physiotherapy services throughout Australia. Snowball sampling resulted in completed questionnaires from 64 physiotherapists who provided services to children. Half (n = 33,52%)of respondents provided services specifically to overweight or obese children. Of those providing services, one-quarter had prior training specific to working with this population. Most used multi-disciplinary models (n = 16, 76%) and provided under 5 h of obesity-related services each week (n = 29, 88%). Half (n = 16, 49%) used body mass index as an outcome measure but more (n = 25, 76%) used bodyweight. Only 14 (42%) assessed motor skills. The majority of respondents (n = 57, 89%) indicated a need for physiotherapy guidelines to best manage overweight and obese children. Professional development priorities included: 'Educating children and families', 'Assessment methods' and 'Exercise prescription' for overweight and obese children. This data provides workforce intelligence to guide future professional training and inform development of clinical guidelines for physiotherapists in prevention and management of children with obesity and related chronic disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]