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Background: While drink driving continues to be significantly more common among male drivers, there is evidence from many countries that shows a growing trend of women engaging in this risky behaviour. The aims of the current study were threefold: (i) determine to what extent a sample of women drivers reported engaging in drink driving behaviour by expanding the construct into a range of definitions, (ii) determine if there were significant differences in self-reported engagement in drink driving behaviours in accordance with hazardous drinking behaviour, and (iii) identify which situational or personal factors would increase women drivers’ likelihood to engage in drink driving through presenting a range of scenarios. Method: Data were collected using an on-line, purpose-designed survey and promoted to reach women aged 17 years and older, living in Queensland, Australia. In addition to questions relating to demographic characteristics, participants completed items relating to engagement in seven drink driving related behaviours in the previous 12-month period, hazardous drinking as measured by the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, and likelihood of driving when unsure if over the legal limit for licence type across a range of scenarios manipulating different situational factors. A total of 644 valid responses were received in the two-week period the study was advertised. Results: The results demonstrate women’s self-reported engagement in drink driving behaviour ranged from 12.6% (driving when they believed they were over the legal limit) to over 50.0% (driving when unsure if over the legal limit the morning after drinking alcohol) and was significantly more likely among those who reported hazardous levels of alcohol use. Circumstances in which women reported they would drive when unsure if over the legal BAC limit were when they were a few blocks from home, if they subjectively felt they were not too intoxicated, or if they needed their car to get somewhere the next morning. Conclusion: Examining drink driving behaviour by way of responses to nuanced definitions provided valuable insight into self-reported engagement in the behaviour and highlights the usefulness of multi-measure dependent variables in order to illuminate a more accurate acknowledgement into both the type (and extent) of drink driving behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: While there is a significant focus on the health and well-being of women during pregnancy, labour and birth, much less emphasis is placed on the care of postpartum women and their infants in primary care following the birth. Some studies have investigated the role of GPs in postpartum care, and others examined facilitators and barriers to mothers accessing care. However there is little information available to investigate the effect of practice related factors on access to care of mothers and infants at this time.Methods: A 20-item questionnaire for completion by the practice managers was mailed to 497 general practices in Southern Queensland, Australia between February and July 2013. Questionnaire items included practice demographics, practice procedures and personnel including appointment scheduling, billing, practice nurse function and qualifications and a free-text option for comments. Descriptive statistics are presented as numbers and percentages. Chi Squared test compared practice location with methods of identification of postpartum women, practice size with other Queensland data and ANOVA compared practice size with the number of postpartum appointments. Logistic regression was used to predict variables that were related to booked appointment times. Free text responses were grouped in common themes.Results: The response rate was 27.4 %. At 67.2 % of the practices, mothers had to self-identify as needing a postpartum consultation and most consultations were allocated 15 minutes or less. Only 20 % of practices accepted the government insurance payment (bulk-billing) for all maternal and infant services, with more practices bulk-billing children only. Out-of-pocket expenses ranged from $10-$60. Nearly 80 % of practice nurses saw postpartum mothers or infants 'nearly always' or 'sometimes'. Approximately 30 % had midwifery or child health training. There were higher odds of longer booked appointment times for solo practitioner practices (unadj OR 3.30 95%CI 1.03-10.57), but no other variables predicted booked appointment timesConclusions: This study identified a number of practice related factors that, if addressed, could positively impact on postpartum care. These include ensuring ongoing practice relationships to assist with booking appropriate consultation times and guaranteeing that there are no financial impediments to women accessing care. Some factors can easily be adapted within practices. Others would require changes of policy at a local or national level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epidemiological studies investigating the association between dietary intake and oesophageal cancer have mostly focused on nutrients and food groups instead of dietary patterns. We conducted a population-based case–control study, which included 365 oesophageal adenocarcinoma (OAC), 426 oesophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma (OGJAC) and 303 oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cases, with frequency matched on age, sex and geographical location to 1580 controls. Data on demographic, lifestyle and dietary factors were collected using self-administered questionnaires. We used principal component analysis to derive three dietary patterns: ‘meat and fat’, ‘pasta and pizza’ and ‘fruit and vegetable’, and unconditional logistic regression models to estimate risks of OAC, OGJAC and OSCC associated with quartiles (Q) of dietary pattern scores. A high score on the meat-and-fat pattern was associated with increased risk of all three cancers: multivariable-adjusted OR 2·12 (95 % CI 1·30, 3·46) for OAC; 1·88 (95 % CI 1·21, 2·94) for OGJAC; 2·84 (95 % CI 1·67, 4·83) for OSCC (P-trend < 0·01 for all three cancers). A high score on the pasta-and-pizza pattern was inversely associated with OSCC risk (OR 0·58, 95 % CI 0·36, 0·96, P for trend = 0·009); and a high score on the fruit-and-vegetable pattern was associated with a borderline significant decreased risk of OGJAC (OR for Q4 v. Q1 0·66, 95 % CI 0·42, 1·04, P = 0·07) and significantly decreased risk of OSCC (OR 0·41, 95 % CI 0·24, 0·70, P for trend = 0·002). High-fat dairy foods appeared to play a dominant role in the association between the meat-and-fat pattern and risk of OAC and OGJAC. Further investigation in prospective studies is needed to confirm these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background Reducing disparities in cancer outcomes is a major priority for cancer-control agencies. The authors examine the relationships between geographic remoteness, area disadvantage and risk of advanced breast cancer among women. Methods Multilevel models were used to assess the area and individual-level contributions to the risk of advanced breast cancer among women aged 30-79 years diagnosed as having breast cancer in Queensland, Australia between 1997 and 2006 (n=18 658). Results Women who resided in the most socioeconomically disadvantaged areas were significantly more likely (OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.37) than residents of the most advantaged areas to be diagnosed as having advanced breast cancer after adjustment for individual-level factors. When geographic remoteness and area-disadvantage (and all the individual-level factors) were simultaneously adjusted, the rates of advanced breast cancer were significantly higher for women residing in Outer Regional areas (OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.24) and those who lived in the most disadvantaged areas (OR 1.16, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.32). There was no statistically significant interaction between geographic remoteness and area disadvantage. Conclusions A woman's risk of being diagnosed as having advanced breast cancer depends on where she lives, separate from the individual characteristics of the woman herself. Both the rurality and socio-economic characteristics of the geographical area in which women lived were important. The socio-economic factors contributing to advanced breast cancer, existing in both urban and rural environments, need to be investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]