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Objective Chronic wounds, debilitating and costly to manage, are more common in older people. Prevention is possible through improving skin health. We developed, implemented and evaluated an innovative health promotion program to improve skin health of older adults. Methods A one-hour, peer education program was co-created and delivered to culturally diverse community-dwelling older people. A mixed-methods evaluation approach comprised objective measures of skin health and barrier function at commencement and six weeks posteducation, and focus groups posteducation. Results Seventy-three participants participated in the study (mean age 74.38 ± 11.80 years). Hydration significantly improved at follow-up for English speaking participants ( t(27) = −2.90, P = 0.007). The majority of participants reported the education to be informative and useful in supporting behaviour changes. Conclusion The peer education program improved skin hydration in older English speaking individuals. Peer education may effectively deliver health promotion information in some groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To compare the acute effects of uninterrupted sitting with sitting interrupted by brief bouts of light-intensity walking on self-reported fatigue, cognition, neuroendocrine biomarkers and cardiometabolic risk markers in overweight/obese adults. Design: Randomised two-condition crossover trial. Setting: Laboratory study conducted in Melbourne, Australia. Participants: 19 overweight/obese adults (45-75 years). Interventions: After an initial 2 h period seated, participants consumed a meal-replacement beverage and completed (on 2 days separated by a 6-day washout period) each condition over the next 5 h: uninterrupted sitting (sedentary condition) or sitting with 3 min bouts of light-intensity walking every 30 min (active condition). Primary outcome measures: Self-reported fatigue, executive function and episodic memory at 0 h, 4 h and 7 h. Secondary outcome measures: Neuroendocrine biomarkers and cardiometabolic risk markers (blood collections at 0 h, 4 h and 7 h, blood pressure and heart rate measured hourly and interstitial glucose measured using a continuous glucose monitoring system). Results: During the active condition, fatigue levels were lower at 4 h (-13.32 (95% CI -23.48 to -3.16)) and at 7 h (-10.73 (95% CI -20.89 to -0.58)) compared to the sedentary condition. Heart rate was higher at 4 h (4.47 (95% CI 8.37 to 0.58)) and at 7 h (4.32 (95% CI 8.21 to 0.42)) during the active condition compared to the sedentary condition. There were no significant differences between conditions by time for other variables. In the sedentary condition, changes in fatigue scores over time correlated with a decrease in heart rate and plasma dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) and an increase in plasma dihydroxyphenylglycol (DHPG). Conclusions: Interrupting prolonged sitting with lightintensity walking breaks may be an effective fatigue countermeasure acutely. Fatigue levels corresponded with the heart rate and neuroendocrine biomarker changes in uninterrupted sitting in this pilot study. Further research is needed to identify potential implications, particularly for the occupational health context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the trends in tobacco product development since the passage of the plain packaging legislation in the lower house of Australian Parliament on November 20, 2011. The trends include the reminders to smokers on the product quality, the more use of brand names, extensions, and variants, and the strong focus on value for money. Other trends discussed include the introduction of new types of cigarette and removal of unpopular brands and package sizes.