Topics
Health services administration
Social acceptability and desirability of smoking in a national sample of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Objectives: To describe social normative beliefs about smoking in a national sample of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and to assess the relationship of these beliefs with quitting. Design, setting and participants: The Talking About The Smokes project used a quota sampling design to recruit participants from communities served by 34 Aboriginal community-controlled health services and one community in the Torres Strait. We surveyed 1392 daily smokers, 251 non-daily smokers, 311 ex-smokers and 568 never-smokers from April 2012 to October 2013. Main outcome measures: Eight normative beliefs about smoking; wanting and attempting to quit. Results: Compared with daily smokers in the general Australian population, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander daily smokers were less likely to report that mainstream society disapproves of smoking (78.5% v 62%). Among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander daily smokers, 40% agreed that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community leaders where they live disapprove of smoking, 70% said there are increasingly fewer places they feel comfortable smoking, and most (90%) believed non-smokers set a good example to children. Support for the government to do more to tackle the harm caused by smoking was much higher than in the general Australian population (80% v 47.2%). These five normative beliefs were all associated with wanting to quit. Non-smokers reported low levels of pressure to take up smoking. Conclusion: Tobacco control strategies that involve the leadership and participation of local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community leaders, particularly strategies that emphasise protection of others, may be an important means of reinforcing beliefs that smoking is socially unacceptable, thus boosting motivation to quit.
Anna K Nicholson GDipPH, BPhty(Hons) · Ron Borland PhD · Anke E van der Sterren MPH, MA, BA · Pele T Bennet BHSc · Matthew Stevens PhD, BSc(Hons) · David P Thomas MB BS, PhD, FAFPHM
General practitioner management of notifiable diseases is central to communicable disease control
GPs have an important role in communicable disease control
Catherine R Bateman-Steel MB ChB, BSc, MSc · Aditya Vyas MB BS, MPH · Leena Gupta MB BS, MPH, FAFPHM
Recall of anti-tobacco advertising and information, warning labels and news stories in a national sample of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander smokers
Objectives: To describe recall of anti-tobacco advertising (mainstream and targeted), pack warning labels, and news stories among a national sample of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander smokers, and to assess the association of these messages with attitudes that support quitting, including wanting to quit. Design, setting and participants: A quota sampling design was used to recruit participants from communities served by 34 Aboriginal community-controlled health services and one community in the Torres Strait. We surveyed 1643 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander smokers from April 2012 to October 2013. Main outcome measures: Frequency of recall of advertising and information, warning labels and news stories; recall of targeted and local advertising; attitudes about smoking and wanting to quit. Results: More smokers recalled often noticing warning labels in the past month (65%) than recalled advertising and information (45%) or news stories (24%) in the past 6 months. When prompted, most (82%) recalled seeing a television advertisement. Just under half (48%) recalled advertising that featured an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person or artwork (targeted advertising), and 16% recalled targeted advertising from their community (local advertising). Frequent recall of warning labels, news stories and advertising was associated with worry about health and wanting to quit, but only frequent advertising recall was associated with believing that society disapproves of smoking. The magnitude of association with relevant attitudes and wanting to quit increased for targeted and local advertising. Conclusions: Strategies to tackle Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander smoking should sustain high levels of exposure to anti-tobacco advertising, news stories and warning labels. More targeted and local information may be particularly effective to influence relevant beliefs and subsequently increase quitting.
Anna K Nicholson GDipPH, BPhty(Hons) · Ron Borland PhD · Jasmine Sarin BHSci(IndigHlth) · Sharon Wallace AdvDipHSci · Anke E van der Sterren MPH, MA, BA · Matthew Stevens PhD, BSc(Hons) · David P Thomas MB BS, PhD, FAFPHM
The services provided to young people through the headspace centres across Australia
headspace centres are providing direct and indirect access to mental health care for young people
Debra J Rickwood BA(Hons),PhD, FAPS · Nic R Telford BSocSc, MSocSc · Kelly R Mazzer PhD · Alexandra G Parker BA(Hons), MPsychol(Clin), PhD · Chris J Tanti BSW · Patrick D McGorry PhD, FRCP, FRANZCP
Changes in psychological distress and psychosocial functioning in young people visiting headspace centres for mental health problems
The first major review of outcomes for young people using mental health services at headspace centres
Debra J Rickwood BA(Hons), PhD, FAPS · Kelly R Mazzer PhD · Nic R Telford MSocSc, BSocSc · Alexandra G Parker PhD, MPsychol(Clin), BA(Hons) · Chris J Tanti BSW · Patrick D McGorry PhD, FRCP, FRANZCP
A maple leaf among the gum trees
Longer training isn’t necessarily better training
John B Best AO, MD BS, PhD, DSc(Hon)
Enabling the success of academic health science centres in Australia: where is the leadership?
Loss of clinical academic leadership will be to the detriment of patient care in Australia
Stephen Allison MB BS, FRANZCP · Tarun Bastiampillai MB BS, BMedSci, FRANZCP · Bernhard T Baune MD, PhD, FRANZCP
Can Australia's clinical practice guidelines be trusted?
Remote Primary Health Care Manuals are developed with users in mind
Sandeep Reddy MB BS, MSc, MMgmt · Sally E Herring BA(Hons), DPsych(Clin)
Closing the dental divide
Can the government afford to supply dental care to the whole Australian population?
Leonard A Crocombe BDSc,PhD, MBA
Closing the dental divide
In reply: There are solutions that don’t rely on integrating dental health into Medicare
Lesley M Russell BSc(Hons), BA, PhD
Strengthening primary health care: achieving health gains in a remote region of Australia
Partnership between community-controlled and government organisations leads to improved health service access for remote-living Aboriginal people
Carole Reeve FRACGP, FACRRM, FAFPHM · John Humphreys BA, DipEd, PhD · John Wakerman HonDSc, FAFPHM, FACRRM · Maureen Carter · Vicki Carroll BSc(Hons) · David Reeve DrPH
The use of financial incentives in Australian general practice
The administrative burden of claiming incentives is large and not always worth the effort
Milica Kecmanovic PhD · Jane P Hall PhD
Asthma control in Australia: a cross-sectional web-based survey in a nationally representative population
Almost half of Australian asthmatics have poor symptom control
Helen K Reddel MB BS, PhD, FRACP · Susan M Sawyer MB BS, MD, FRACP · Peter W Everett BSc(Hons) · Paul V Flood MSc · Matthew J Peters MD, FRACP
Cataract surgical blitzes: an Australian anachronism
Surgical blitzes may achieve short-term gains, but they inhibit the development of sustainable local services
Hugh R Taylor AC, MD, FRANZCO · Tim R M Henderson MB ChB, FRCOphth, FRANZCO · Richard T Le Mesurier MA, FRCS, FRCOphth
Copayments and the evidence-base paradox
In reply: The findings of the Canadian experiment cannot be extrapolated to the Australian copayment debate
Michael Keane BM BS, FANZCA
Hospitals should be exemplars of healthy workplaces
Hospitals must become healthy workplaces in every sense and extend their role to focus on health and wellness, not just illness
Lesley M Russell BSc(Hons), BA, PhD · Matthew H R Anstey MB BS, MPH, FCICM · Susan Wells MB ChB, MPH, PhD
Priorities for professionalism: what do surgeons think?
The current emphasis is on individual skills rather than responding to community needs
David J Hillis · Michael W Gorton AM, FRACS(Hon), FANZCA(Hon) · Bruce H Barraclough AO, FRACS, FACS · David Beckett PhD, FACEL, FPESA
The whole 9 years
Ian Olver considers his time at Cancer Council Australia and suggests embracing cancer treatment, prevention and research provides a comprehensive cancer control experience
Ian N Olver MB BS, MD, PhD
The politician: a public health problem?
A triad of risk factors jeopardises the health of the nation
John B Best AO, MD BS, PhD, DSc(Hon)
Big problems in search of small gains
Hormone therapy, personalised care and tools for assessing dementia
Steve McDonald · Tari Turner
Where are general practitioners when disaster strikes?
GPs, inevitably involved in disasters, should be appropriately engaged in response and recovery systems
Penelope L Burns BMed, MPHTM · Peter J Aitken MB BS, FACEM, EMDM · Beverley Raphael MB BS, MD, FRANZCP
Getting the levers right: a way forward for rural medicine
Placement in rural general practices is a key part of medical student training
David Garne MB ChB, DCH, MIPH(Hons) · Ian G Wilson FRACGP, MAssessEval, PhD
Firearms, mental illness, dementia and the clinican
In reply: Doctors will use their clinical judgement to identify patients whose access to firearms poses a risk
Anne P F Wand MB BS, MPsych, FRANZCP · Carmelle Peisah MB BS(Hons), MD, FRANZCP
First use of creatine hydrochloride in premanifest Huntington disease
A potentially important option for patients with Huntington disease that warrants further study
Chris Tuckfield MB BS(Hons), MPhil
The old African queen lending a hand to improve health in Malawi
A doctor who founded a nation’s medical system and the many lives of his ship
Donald A Howarth BSc(Hons), MB BS, FACRRM
