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Objective To compare alcohol-related intervention and general interactional skills performance of medical students from a traditional (Sydney) and a non-traditional (Newcastle) medical school, before and after participation in an alcohol education programme about brief intervention. Design In two controlled trials, students received either a didactic alcohol education programme or didactic input plus skills-based training. Prior to and after training, all students completed videotaped interviews with simulated patients. Setting The Faculties of Medicine at the University of Newcastle and the University of Sydney, Australia. Subjects Fifth-year medical students (n=154). Results Both alcohol-related intervention and general interactional skills scores of the Newcastle students were significantly higher than those of the Sydney students at pre-test but not after training. Although alcohol-related interactional skills scores improved after training at both universities, they did not reach a satisfactory level. The educational approach used had no effect on post-test scores at either university. Conclusions Significant baseline differences in interactional skills scores favouring non-traditional over traditional students were no longer evident after both groups had been involved in an alcohol education programme. Further research is required to develop more effective alcohol intervention training methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem: Given the influence of diet on infant and maternal health outcomes, adequate knowledge about nutrition during pregnancy is critical., Aims: To examine among women receiving antenatal care the proportion who: (1) believe information about diet should be provided as part of routine antenatal care; (2) recall receiving advice about diet as part of care including: (a) when information was provided, (b) the healthcare provider who gave information, and (c) the format in which it was provided; and (3) attitudes towards information received., Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with women attending a public antenatal clinic in New South Wales, Australia. Women were eligible to participate if they were: pregnant or had given birth in the previous 10 weeks; ≥18 years; and had at least one prior antenatal appointment for their current pregnancy., Findings: A total of 223 women (64% consent rate) participated. While the majority (86%) believed healthcare providers should be giving dietary information to pregnant women, only 63% recalled receiving information during their current pregnancy. Most often it was given by a midwife (76%). Information was initially provided in the first (52%) or second (38%) trimester, in both written and verbal form (60%). Approximately one third of participants felt overwhelmed or confused by which foods should be avoided during pregnancy., Conclusions: A third of women did not recall receiving advice about diet as part of routine antenatal care. There is a need to develop a pathway to provide women with reliable, comprehensive advice about diet early in pregnancy., (Copyright © 2018 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Issues Addressed: The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) was introduced in Australia in 2006, offering free immunochemical Faecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT) to persons aged 50, 55 or 65. The study aimed to examine the prevalence of self-reported screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) using the FOBT and factors associated with not having an FOBT., Methods: A cross-sectional study of Australian general practice patients aged 50 and over with no personal history of CRC completed a health risk survey while waiting for scheduled appointments between November 2010 and November 2011., Results: A total of 5671 patients from 12 practices were approached to participate. Of the 4707 eligible patients (adults attending for care who understood English and were capable of providing informed consent), 4062 (86%) consented to participate, with 2269 eligible to complete the FOBT items. Approximately half (52%) of participants reported ever having an FOBT. More than one-third (39.7%) of the sample reported having an FOBT in the prior three years. Those who recalled receiving a mailed kit as part of the NBCSP were five times more likely to report being screened. Those less likely to report screening were aged 50-59 years, were female and had been diagnosed with a form of cancer other than CRC., Conclusions: There is justification for the extension of the NBCSP to ensure a majority of the age-appropriate population is screened for CRC. SO WHAT?: Further work is needed to identify whether high rates of screening are achievable using the mailed-kit approach, and how to increase participation by females, those aged 50-69 years and those diagnosed with other cancers.

To assess support for 12 potential smoking cessation strategies among pregnant Australian Indigenous women and their antenatal care providers. Cross-sectional surveys of staff and women in antenatal services providing care for Indigenous women in the Northern Territory and New South Wales, Australia. Respondents were asked to indicate the extent to which each of a list of possible strategies would be helpful in supporting pregnant Indigenous women to quit smoking. Current smokers (n = 121) were less positive about the potential effectiveness of most of the 12 strategies than the providers (n = 127). For example, family support was considered helpful by 64 % of smokers and 91 % of providers; between 56 and 62 % of smokers considered advice and support from midwives, doctors or Aboriginal Health Workers likely to be helpful, compared to 85-90 % of providers. Rewards for quitting were considered helpful by 63 % of smokers and 56 % of providers, with smokers rating them more highly and providers rating them lower, than most other strategies. Quitline was least popular for both. This study is the first to explore views of pregnant Australian Indigenous women and their antenatal care providers on strategies to support smoking cessation. It has identified strategies which are acceptable to both providers and Indigenous women, and therefore have potential for implementation in routine care. Further research to explore their feasibility in real world settings, uptake by pregnant women and actual impact on smoking outcomes is urgently needed given the high prevalence of smoking among pregnant Indigenous women.

Introduction: There is growing international interest in the use of financial incentives in smoking cessation, yet little research on public opinion of the scheme. This paper reports on the acceptability of incentives for reducing smoking in pregnant women and the perceived size of incentive that would encourage smoking cessation during pregnancy., Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on a convenience sample of 213 women attending the antenatal clinic of a large public hospital in Australia. Participants completed a questionnaire on their views on the use of incentives with responses measured on a 5-point Likert scale., Results: The majority of participants (60%) did not agree that paying pregnant smokers to quit is a good idea. Opinions regarding the likely effectiveness were mixed with 30% of respondents in agreement and 22% undecided. Most (62%) were not willing to pay smokers any amount to quit. Smokers were more likely to have more favorable views about incentives than nonsmokers (p < .0001) and considered payments of between $100 and >$1,000 acceptable as reward for quitting smoking., Conclusions: Acceptability for the use of financial incentives in reducing antenatal smoking is low among pregnant women. Future research should explore views of a wider audience and continue to gather stronger evidence of the efficacy of rewards for reducing smoking in pregnancy.

Adolescent smoking prevalence is usually assessed via self-complete questionnaires. However, concern has been expressed about the validity of such self-report. One approach to increase validity involves the threat of biological validation, known as the bogus pipeline method (BPL).This study aimed to assess the effects of BPL, using an expired air carbon monoxide monitor, and of questionnaire anonymity on student smoking self-report data. High school students (n=801) were randomly allocated to one of four conditions: anonymous questionnaire+BPL, named questionnaire+BPL, anonymous questionnaire without BPL and named questionnaire without BPL. Overall, 37% of students agreed that questionnaires were a good way to obtain honest answers. In a logistic regression analysis, students in the BPL condition had significantly higher odds of reporting weekly smoking (OR=1.83 95% CI 1.27-2.65) and monthly smoking (OR=1.66 95% CI 1.21-2.28) but not of lifetime smoking compared with non-BPL students. Students in the named questionnaire condition had a significantly higher odds of reporting lifetime smoking (OR=1.49 95% CI 1.08-2.04) compared with anonymous students. Studies assessing current smoking patterns in adolescents should consider incorporating a BPL method.