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Objective: Breast cancer is the most common fatal cancer among Australian women. This study aimed to provide an accurate national picture of women's understanding of breast cancer incidence, fatality and risk. Method: A telephone survey explored the knowledge and perceptions of a sample of 2,935 Australian women in relation to breast cancer incidence, fatality, risk factors, risk perception and level of concern. Results: Australian women were well aware of breast cancer in general terms, however, there were major aspects of incidence and risk which were poorly understood. Only 5% of women nominated age as a risk factor, and only one-third were able to make an approximately correct estimate of the incidence of breast cancer in Australia. Conclusions and Implications: Recommendations for future information campaigns include targeting understanding of lifetime risk of developing breast cancer, age as a risk factor, survival from breast cancer and the need to separately address the perceptions of older versus younger women.

Objectives. A randomized trial evaluated the impact of smoking cessation interventions on point prevalence and consecutive quit rates at an Australian public prenatal clinic. Methods. Self-reports and urine cotinine tests confirmed patients' smoking status at the midpoint and end of pregnancy and 6 weeks postpartum. Results. At all points. validated abstinence rates were significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group. The rate of failed biochemical validation was significantly higher in the control group than in the experimental group. Conclusions. Prenatal clinic staff can significantly increase quit rates by using cognitive-behavioral strategies. Brief advice appears to be ineffective. (Am J Public Health. 1997;87: 1201-1204)

Keywords: elderly people, home environmental hazards, injuries Introduction In both the United States and Australia, injury ranks sixth as a cause of death and morbidity in older people [1, 2]. [...]

Midwives' self-reports of smoking status of pregnant women are inaccurate, as they either misclassify or fail to identify a significant proportion of smokers. Midwife-identified nonsmokers who can be reclassified as smokers with research questionnaire and urinalysis methods, are 7.4% using the conservative estimate, 15.2% using the worst-case estimate, and 8.8% using the medium estimate. Findings suggest the need to improve the measures used to classify individuals.

A study of 833 employees at worksite shows that although there is no relation between high levels of alcohol intake and work injuries, problem drinking made the subjects injury-prone. Personal lifestyle also influenced work injuries while subjects with more than two injuries suffered from job dissatisfaction and stress. There is a need to resolve the psychological and social problems of the employees to aid in their rehabilitation.

The reliability and stability of the Mortimer-Filkins Test was determined. Results showed that as an instrument for measuring problem drinking, the Mortimer-Filkins Test has a high test-retest and internal consistency reliability. The instrument assesses problem drinking as a stable characteristic across time. The Mortimer-Filkins Test is utilized to measure the extent of alcohol impairment and also to detect problvalidity, reliability and validity.

Primary care offers considerable potential for the detection and subsequent intervention of alcohol-related problems. However, few doctors can presently pinpoint such problems. This is indicated in Short Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test and the CAGE tests conducted on 371 alcoholic patients who were examined by primary care doctors. Only a minority (7%) of the patients were diagnosed by doctors as having any level of alcohol-related problems.

Print materials are common tools for public health education in New South Wales, but their effectiveness is rarely evaluated. A survey of sample materials showed the most cost-effective means to develop such materials were not commonly used, and their effectiveness was unreported. Health educators and administrators will need to note these results.

Priorities for antenatal care are discussed in relation to a survey of public antenatal clinics in Australia. Activities ranked as essential or desirable by nursing directors and by medical directors are detailed, with reference to recommendations of the National Health and Medical Research Council.