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13 days and counting : A mutual support model for young, homeless women in crisis

- Green, Rosemary, Mason, Robyn, Ollerenshaw, Alison

  • Authors: Green, Rosemary , Mason, Robyn , Ollerenshaw, Alison
  • Date: 2004
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Youth Studies Australia Vol. 23, no. 2 (2004), p. 46-50
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  • Description: An innovative program in rural Victoria matches young homeless women with older homeless women and provides them with a range of support services.The result is more stability in the accommodation setting, mutual benefit and satisfaction for clients, and impressive rates of permanent housing outcomes.
  • Description: C1
  • Description: 2003000964

OHS professionals: Technicians or strategic advisors?

- Pryor, Pam, Sawyer, Neroli

  • Authors: Pryor, Pam , Sawyer, Neroli
  • Date: 2010
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal of Health, Safety and Environment Vol. 26, no. 1 (2010), p. 7-20
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  • Description: This article arose from a concern that OHS professionals are not strategically influential with senior managers, and that this lack of influence may be limiting workplace health and safety improvements and, in turn, hindering the progress of the national OHS improvement strategy. The article analyses data from an Australian survey into the communication patterns and activities of OHS professionals in an attempt to clarify whether their activities are likely to have a strategic influence on senior managers. While there may be a number of interpretations of the data, the results indicate that the focus of the activities of OHS professionals is mainly task-oriented. Less often, the focus of their activities is operational (such as developing the OHS management system), while a few of their activities may be considered as strategic. The Australian survey was part of a broader international study and a comparison of the results with those from other countries revealed that the limited focus on strategic activities is not unique to Australia.

OHS professionals : Are personal and professional characteristics linked to strategic influence?

- Pryor, Pam

  • Authors: Pryor, Pam
  • Date: 2010
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal of Health, Safety and Environment Vol. 26, no. 1 (2010), p. 21-23
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  • Description: Analysis of the data collected from a survey into what OHS professionals do in practice indicated that they are not strategically influential with senior managers and that this lack of influence may be limiting workplace health and safety improvements. This article revisits the survey data to investigate the potential links between the personal (gender) and professional (education and experience) characteristics of OHS professionals, the industry and the size and geographical location of the organisation in which they work, and their involvement in strategic activities. The analysis indicates that the profile of OHS professionals who are strategically influential includes the following: they are male; they have worked in OHS for six to 10 years; and they are employed by large organisations, particularly in the mining and construction industries. The data regarding the role of education were contradictory to expectations and other reports. While this analysis has provided a profile of OHS professionals in Australia, it has added little to our understanding of the interactions and dynamics of factors that might impact on the strategic influence of OHS professionals.

Towards evidence-informed sports safety policy for New South Wales, Australia : Assessing the readiness of the sector

- Poulos, Roslyn, Donaldson, Alex, Finch, Caroline

Puberty, health and sexual education in Australian regional primary schools : Year 5 and 6 teacher perceptions

- Duffy, Bernadette, Fotinatos, Nina, Smith, Amanda, Burke, Jenene

  • Authors: Duffy, Bernadette , Fotinatos, Nina , Smith, Amanda , Burke, Jenene
  • Date: 2013
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Sex Education Vol. 13, no. 2 (2013), p. 186-203
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  • Description: The research reported in this paper investigates why teachers in regional primary schools in the Ballarat region of Victoria, Australia, are choosing to outsource the teaching of sexuality education. A survey was conducted of 29 Year 5 and Year 6 teachers from local primary schools. The teachers provided information about: their confidence in delivering sexuality-related topics; their perceptions of the relevance of given sexuality topics to their students; the teachers' own professional development preferences; and what they saw as their personal limitations in teaching sexuality education. Teachers tended to report low confidence in teaching topics that are considered 'sensitive', such as menstruation, wet dreams and sexual intercourse. Furthermore, they indicated a need for professional development in teaching sexuality education. The greatest hurdle identified lies in identifying how to motivate, engage and support teachers to take a professional interest in teaching sexuality education. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.
  • Description: 2003009651

Observations of caregiver supervision of children at beaches : Identification of factors associated with high supervision

- Petrass, Lauren, Blitvich, Jennifer, Finch, Caroline

  • Authors: Petrass, Lauren , Blitvich, Jennifer , Finch, Caroline
  • Date: 2011
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Injury Prevention Vol. 17, no. 4 (2011), p. 244-249
  • Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/565900
  • Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/565904
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  • Description: Objective: To identify independent factors associated with caregiver supervision levels at beaches. Methods: Children (aged 1-14 years) engaged in beach play and their caregivers were observed at Australian beaches during September-April, 2008/09. Caregiver, child, and environmental factor data were collected and recorded on a validated observation instrument. The main outcome of interest was a continuous measure of supervision. After adjusting for potential clustering by beach/state, multivariable linear regression was used to identify independent factors associated with caregiver supervision. Results: Four independent predictors of supervision and one interaction effect (child age by the caregiver and child position on beach) were identified. Caregivers who were supervising from a different position to where the child was playing were less likely to provide high supervision, as were older caregivers (>35 years) compared to younger caregivers (≤34 years). Compared to children playing alone, children playing with one, or two or more others were less likely to receive high supervision, and children aged 1-4 years were likely to receive higher supervision than older children. Conclusion: This study provides new knowledge about underlying factors associated with the level of caregiver supervision in beach settings. Future studies should continue to explore independent predictors of supervision so that effective programmes, which focus on caregiver supervision, can be targeted to address poor supervision practices.

Increasing incidence of hospitalisation for sport-related concussion in Victoria, Australia

- Finch, Caroline, Clapperton, Angela, McCrory, Paul

  • Authors: Finch, Caroline , Clapperton, Angela , McCrory, Paul
  • Date: 2013
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Medical Journal of Australia Vol. 198, no. 8 (2013), p. 427-430
  • Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/565900
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  • Description: Objective: To describe trends in hospitalisation for sport-related concussion. Design, setting and patients: Analysis of routinely collected hospital admissions data from all Victorian hospitals (public and private) over the 2002-03 to 2010-11 financial years for patients aged ≥15 years with a diagnosis of concussion and an ICD-10-AM external cause activity code indicating sport. Main outcome measures: Number and cost of hospitalisations; rate of hospitalisation per 100000 participants overall and for specific sports; and percentage change in frequency and hospitalisation rate per 100000 participants over 9 years. Results: There were 4745 hospitalisations of people aged ≥15 years for sport-related concussion, with a total hospital treatment cost of $17944799. The frequency of hospitalisation increased by 60.5% (95% CI, 41.7%-77.3%) over the 9 years, but could only partially be explained by increases in sports participation, as the rate per 100000 participants also increased significantly, by 38.9% (95% CI, 17.5%-61.7%). After adjustment for participation, rates were highest for motor sports, equestrian activities, Australian football, rugby and roller sports. The greatest significant increases in rates were seen in roller sports, rugby, soccer and cycling. Conclusions: The frequency and participation-adjusted rate of hospitalisation for sport-related concussion, both overall and across several sports, increased significantly over the 9 years. These findings, along with high levels of public concern, make prevention of head injury in sport a population health priority in Australia.
  • Description: 2003011025

Registered nurses as members of interprofessional primary health care teams in remote or isolated areas of Queensland : Collaboration, communication and partnerships in practice

- Mills, Jane, Francis, Karen

  • Authors: Mills, Jane , Francis, Karen
  • Date: 2010
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal of Interprofessional Care Vol. 24, no. 5 (2010), p. 587-596
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  • Description: Nurses represent the largest occupational group of health care professionals in Australia. The ratio of nurses to population is relatively consistent, unlike other health care professional groups (including medical doctors and allied health staff) whose numbers decline as population density and distance from metropolitan areas increases. Nurses working in areas where other health care professionals are limited or absent have expanded scopes of practice with their work being more generalist than specialist. The role of nurses in remote and isolated areas of Queensland, Australia was the focus of a commissioned multi-case research project. Findings reported in this paper relate to the position of registered nurses as part of an interprofessional team. These findings indicated that, in some instances, local health care teams were limited to a single nurse and Indigenous health care worker/s, while in others the teams were more diverse. In all cases collegial support was available either locally or via telecommunication technology. Understanding the role of each team member, having useful strategies to enhance communication and work collaboratively were identified as essential criteria for "good practice".

An exploratory trial implementing a community-based child oral health promotion intervention for Australian families from refugee and migrant backgrounds : A protocol paper for Teeth Tales

- Gibbs, Lisa, Waters, Elizabeth, De Silva, Andrea, Riggs, Elisha, Moore, Laurence, Armit, Christine, Johnson, Britt, Morris, Michal, Calache, Hanny, Gussy, Mark, Young, Dana, Tadic, Maryanne, Christian, Bradley, Gondal, Iqbal, Watt, Richard, Pradel, Veronika, Truong, Mandy, Gold, Lisa

  • Authors: Gibbs, Lisa , Waters, Elizabeth , De Silva, Andrea , Riggs, Elisha , Moore, Laurence , Armit, Christine , Johnson, Britt , Morris, Michal , Calache, Hanny , Gussy, Mark , Young, Dana , Tadic, Maryanne , Christian, Bradley , Gondal, Iqbal , Watt, Richard , Pradel, Veronika , Truong, Mandy , Gold, Lisa
  • Date: 2014
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: BMJ Open Vol. 4, no. 3 (2014), p. 1-14
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  • Description: Introduction: Inequalities are evident in early childhood caries rates with the socially disadvantaged experiencing greater burden of disease. This study builds on formative qualitative research, conducted in the Moreland/Hume local government areas of Melbourne, Victoria 2006-2009, in response to community concerns for oral health of children from refugee and migrant backgrounds. Development of the community-based intervention described here extends the partnership approach to cogeneration of contemporary evidence with continued and meaningful involvement of investigators, community, cultural and government partners. This trial aims to establish a model for child oral health promotion for culturally diverse communities in Australia. Methods and analysis: This is an exploratory trial implementing a community-based child oral health promotion intervention for Australian families from refugee and migrant backgrounds. Families from an Iraqi, Lebanese or Pakistani background with children aged 1-4 years, residing in metropolitan Melbourne, were invited to participate in the trial by peer educators from their respective communities using snowball and purposive sampling techniques. Target sample size was 600. Moreland, a culturally diverse, inner-urban metropolitan area of Melbourne, was chosen as the intervention site. The intervention comprised peer educator led community oral health education sessions and reorienting of dental health and family services through cultural Competency Organisational Review (CORe). Ethics and dissemination: Ethics approval for this trial was granted by the University of Melbourne Human Research Ethics Committee and the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development Research Committee. Study progress and output will be disseminated via periodic newsletters, peer-reviewed research papers, reports, community seminars and at National and International conferences. Trial registration number: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12611000532909).

Health justice partnerships: Initial insights into the delivery of an integrated health and legal service for youth in regional Victoria

- Ollerenshaw, Alison, Camilleri, Margaret

  • Authors: Ollerenshaw, Alison , Camilleri, Margaret
  • Date: 2017
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Rural and Remote Health Vol. 17, no. 2 (2017), p. 1-6
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  • Description: Introduction: This article presents interim findings from research examining the implementation of a health justice partnership (HJP) focusing on the legal and health needs of regional young people. HJPs provide an innovative service model offering an integrated health and legal service for the community. HJPs are a relatively new service model for Australia, yet the program is well suited to meet the needs of particular population cohorts, including young people and those in regional locations experiencing complex legal issues. Methods: Funded by the Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner, an HJP in partnership with three organisations was established in a large regional area in Victoria, Australia. Research is being conducted alongside the program to examine its impact on young people, and the implications on practice for staff in the partner organisations. Results: Findings provide preliminary support for the HJP model with a number of young people - from predominantly disadvantaged backgrounds and with varying legal issues - having been referred to the program in the first 6 months. Referrals were received from both partner agencies and external agencies. Initial client and staff survey responses indicate that the legal problem of the young people was affecting how they feel. Conclusions: While these findings provide preliminary support for the HJP further research will offer longer term insights about HJPs within the Australian context, particularly rural and regional settings. © A Ollerenshaw, M Camilleri, 2017.

Lived experiences and insights into the advantages important to rural recruitment and retention of general practitioners

- Terry, Daniel, Nguyen, Hoang, Schmitz, David, Baker, Ed

  • Authors: Terry, Daniel , Nguyen, Hoang , Schmitz, David , Baker, Ed
  • Date: 2018
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Rural and remote health Vol. 18, no. 3 (2018), p. 1-16
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  • Description: INTRODUCTION: Despite existing studies in this field, community factors behind recruiting and retaining rural general practitioners (GPs) are not fully understood. To address this issue, the Community Apgar Questionnaire (CAQ) was developed to extend the understanding of communities' assets and capabilities that impact GP recruitment and retention. However, more in-depth insights are vital to develop a comprehensive approach. METHODS: This mixed methods study was administered using face-to-face structured interviews with a total of 40 health service representatives. All interviews lasted 35-40 minutes and were audio-taped. Qualitative data were generated from the extended responses to the structured questions of the CAQ and later transcribed. Thematic analysis was conducted in relation to explanations, elaborations, and relevant strategic approaches to improving workforce retention. RESULTS: The qualitative findings illuminated the most important advantages of recruiting and retaining GPs were linked to medical support, hospital and community support, and economic factors, while the challenges were related to geographic factors. The underlying reasons for and nature of those advantages and challenges reinforce that health professionals' decisions to stay or leave are complex and multifactorial. CONCLUSION: The originality of the study rests on the administration of the CAQ accompanied by the opportunity for participants to provide extended responses, which gives critical insights into the complexities of rural recruitment and retention. As such, the results confirm the need for a flexible multifaceted response to improving rural GP workforce and informs decision-making in terms of addressing workforce issues within the scope of available resources and capacity.

Health service planning and sustainable development: considering what, where and how care is delivered through a pro-environmental lens

- Desmond, Sharon

  • Authors: Desmond, Sharon
  • Date: 2018
  • Type: Text , Journal article , Review
  • Relation: Australian Health Review Vol. 42, no. 2 (2018), p. 140-145
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  • Description: The aim of the present paper was to review the opportunities currently available to health service planners to advance sustainable development in their future-facing roles within health service organisation. Critical challenges and enablers to facilitate health services planners in adopting a pro-environmental lens are discussed. What is known about the topic? Despite its harmful effect on the environment, health has been slower than other industries to embrace the sustainable development agenda. The attitudes and knowledge base of health service planners with regard to environmental sustainability has not been widely studied. For health service planners, embracing pro-environmental considerations in sustainable model of care development is a powerful opportunity to review care paradigms and prepare for the implementation of meaningful, improved health and system efficiency. What does this paper add? This paper advances the case for health service planners to embrace a pro-environmental stance and guides health service leaders in the preparation and implementation of sustainable and improved health and system efficiency. What are the implications for practitioners? Health service planers are in an ideal position to champion the sustainable development agenda as they explore what care is delivered, how care is delivered and where care is delivered. External policy, health service leadership and carbon literacy are advanced as critical contextual factors to facilitate the key role that health service planners can play in building sustainable healthcare organisations.

Exploring young Australian adults’ asthma management to develop an educational video

- Coombs, Nicole, Allen, Louise, Cooper, Simon J., Cant, Robyn, Beauchamp, Alison, Laszcyk, Jacki, Giannis, Anita, Hopmans, Ruben, Bullock, Shane, Waller, Susan, McKenna, Lisa, Peck, Blake

  • Authors: Coombs, Nicole , Allen, Louise , Cooper, Simon J. , Cant, Robyn , Beauchamp, Alison , Laszcyk, Jacki , Giannis, Anita , Hopmans, Ruben , Bullock, Shane , Waller, Susan , McKenna, Lisa , Peck, Blake
  • Date: 2018
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Health Education Journal Vol. 77, no. 2 (2018), p. 179-189
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  • Description: Objective: This study explored young university students’ (aged 18–24 years) health literacy, asthma experiences and help-seeking behaviours to inform the development of a web-based asthma education intervention relevant to this age group. Design: Exploratory mixed-methods design incorporateing a health literacy survey and interviews, plus the development of a web-based educational video. Setting: Participants were students at two universities in the state of Victoria, Australia. Method: In total, 20 asthma sufferers were interviewed by trained pairs of university students. Interpretative phenomenology underpinned the narrative analysis and enabled the description of the participants’ lived experience. A branching e-simulation video was developed. Results: A number of key themes were identified: ‘Life with asthma’, including ‘A life of vigilance’ regarding asthma triggers, lifestyle limitations and heightened sensitivities; ‘Asthma management – call Mum’, a lack of knowledge and support systems with substantial maternal reliance; ‘Health literacy: family and Dr Google’, denoting low health literacy levels with passive reluctant involvement in personal health management; and ‘Information gathering – one size doesn’t fit all’ – in the form of the need for immediate gratification and resource variety. Based on interviewees’ words and terminology, we designed an interactive branching educational video for YouTube portraying a young person (an actor) during an asthma flare-up. Conclusion: Young adults lacked insight into their condition and even after moving away from home, relied on Google searches and/or parents’ advice. To enhance health-seeking behaviours, interactive programmes with smartphone access may be valuable. Our open access programme Help Trent Vent provides an educational resource for young people with asthma and for health education teams, to reinforce asthma knowledge. © 2017, © The Author(s) 2017.

The contribution of sport participation to overall health enhancing physical activity levels in Australia : A population-based study

- Eime, Rochelle, Harvey, Jack, Charity, Melanie, Casey, Meghan, van Uffelen, Jannique, Payne, Warren

  • Authors: Eime, Rochelle , Harvey, Jack , Charity, Melanie , Casey, Meghan , van Uffelen, Jannique , Payne, Warren
  • Date: 2015
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: BMC Public Health Vol. 15, no. 1 (2015), p. 1-12
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  • Description: Background: The contribution of sport to overall health-enhancing leisure-time physical activity (HELPA) in adults is not well understood. The aim was to examine this in a national sample of Australians aged 15+ years, and to extend this examination to other ostensibly sport-associated activities. Methods: The 2010 Exercise, Recreation and Sport Survey (ERASS) was conducted by telephone interview in four quarterly waves. Data from this survey were analysed to categorise leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) as HELPA or non-HELPA, and to categorise HELPA activities and sessions of HELPA activity by setting and frequency. The contribution of sport to HELPA was estimated, both directly through activities and settings classified as sport per se, and indirectly through other fitness activities ostensibly related to preparation for sport and enhancement of sport performance. Results: Of 21,602 respondents, 82 % reported some LTPA in the 12 months prior to the survey. In aggregate, respondents reported 37,020 activity types in the previous 12 months, of which 94 % were HELPA. Of HELPA activities, 71 % were non-organised, 11 % were organised but not sport club-based, and 18 % were sport club-based. Of all sport activities, 52 % were HELPA. Of sport HELPA, 33 % was sport club-based and 78 % was undertaken ≥12 times/year. Sport club members were significantly more likely to have participated in running, but significantly less likely to have participated in walking or aerobics/fitness training, than non-club members. Conclusions: Club sport participation contributes considerably to LTPA at health enhancing levels. Health promotion policies, and more specifically physical activity policies, should emphasize the role of sport in enhancing health. Sport policy should recognise the health-promoting role of community-based sport in addition to the current predominant focus on elite pathways. © 2015 Eime et al.

Teeth Tales : A community-based child oral health promotion trial with migrant families in Australia

- Gibbs, Lisa, Waters, Elizabeth, Christian, Bradley, Gold, Lisa, Young, Dana, De Silva, Andrea, Calache, Hanny, Gussy, Mark, Watt, Richard, Riggs, Elisha, Tadic, Maryanne, Hall, Martin, Gondal, Iqbal, Pradel, Veronika, Moore, Laurence

  • Authors: Gibbs, Lisa , Waters, Elizabeth , Christian, Bradley , Gold, Lisa , Young, Dana , De Silva, Andrea , Calache, Hanny , Gussy, Mark , Watt, Richard , Riggs, Elisha , Tadic, Maryanne , Hall, Martin , Gondal, Iqbal , Pradel, Veronika , Moore, Laurence
  • Date: 2015
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: BMJ Open Vol. 5, no. 6 (2015), p. 1-13
  • Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/LP100100223
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  • Description: Objectives: The Teeth Tales trial aimed to establish a model for child oral health promotion for culturally diverse communities in Australia. Design: An exploratory trial implementing a communitybased child oral health promotion intervention for Australian families from migrant backgrounds. Mixed method, longitudinal evaluation. Setting: The intervention was based in Moreland, a culturally diverse locality in Melbourne, Australia. Participants: Families with 1-4-year-old children, self-identified as being from Iraqi, Lebanese or Pakistani backgrounds residing in Melbourne. Participants residing close to the intervention site were allocated to intervention. Intervention: The intervention was conducted over 5 months and comprised community oral health education sessions led by peer educators and follow-up health messages. Outcome measures: This paper reports on the intervention impacts, process evaluation and descriptive analysis of health, knowledge and behavioural changes 18 months after baseline data collection. Results: Significant differences in the Debris Index (OR=0.44 (0.22 to 0.88)) and the Modified Gingival Index (OR=0.34 (0.19 to 0.61)) indicated increased tooth brushing and/or improved toothbrushing technique in the intervention group. An increased proportion of intervention parents, compared to those in the comparison group reported that they had been shown how to brush their child's teeth (OR=2.65 (1.49 to 4.69)). Process evaluation results highlighted the problems with recruitment and retention of the study sample (275 complete case families). The child dental screening encouraged involvement in the study, as did linking attendance with other community/cultural activities. Conclusions: The Teeth Tales intervention was promising in terms of improving oral hygiene and parent knowledge of tooth brushing technique. Adaptations to delivery of the intervention are required to increase uptake and likely impact. A future cluster randomised controlled trial would provide strongest evidence of effectiveness if appropriate to the community, cultural and economic context.

Community assets and capabilities to recruit and retain GPs : the community apgar questionnaire in rural Victoria

- Terry, Daniel, Baker, Ed, Schmitz, David

  • Authors: Terry, Daniel , Baker, Ed , Schmitz, David
  • Date: 2016
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Rural and Remote Health Vol. 16, no. 4 (2016), p.
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  • Description: Introduction: Rural communities continue to experience significant challenges recruiting and retaining physicians. The Community Apgar Questionnaire (CAQ) was developed in Idaho in the USA to comprehensively assess the characteristics associated with successful recruitment and retention of rural physicians. The CAQ has been utilised and validated across the USA; however, its value in rural Australia has not been examined. The objective of this study was to use the CAQ in rural Australia to examine its utility and develop a greater understanding of the community factors that impact general practitioner (GP) recruitment and retention. Method: The project conducted structured face-to-face interviews with hospital chief executive officers (CEOs) and directors of clinical services (DCSs) from 14 of the 21 (76%) health services that agreed to participate in rural north-eastern Victoria, Australia. The interviews were undertaken to complete the CAQ, which contains 50 questions centred on factors that influence physician recruitment and retention. Once completed, CAQs were scored by assigning quantitative values to a community's strengths and challenges including the level of importance placed on each factor. As such, the most important factors in physician recruitment, whether they are advantages or challenges for that community, were then weighed for their relative importance. Scores were then combined to create a CAQ score. To ensure reliability and validity of the results, three additional CAQs were purposefully administered to key general practices within the region. Results: The 14 rural communities exhibited cumulative CAQ scores ranging from a high of 387 to a low score of 61. This suggests the tool was sensitive enough to differentiate between communities that were high and low performers in terms of physician recruitment. The groups of factors that had the greatest impact on recruitment and retention were ranked highest to lowest and included medical support, hospital/community support, economic, scope of practice and geographic factors. Overall, the highest individual factors to impact recruitment and retention were perception of quality, hospital leadership, nursing workforce and transfer arrangements. Conversely, the lowest factors and challenges to recruitment and retention were family related, specifically spousal satisfaction and access to schools. Conclusions: Hume, in rural Victoria, was the first international site to implement the CAQ to differentially diagnose a community's relative strengths and challenges in recruiting and retaining GPs, while supporting health facilities to prioritise achievable goals to improve long-term retention strategies. It provided each community with a tailored gap analysis, while confidentially sharing best practices of other health facilities. Within Hume, open communication and trust between GPs and health facility leadership and nursing staff ensures that GPs can feel valued and supported. Possible solutions for GP recruitment and retention must consider the social, employment and educational opportunities that are available for spouses and children. Participation in the program was useful as it helped health facilities ascertain how they were performing while highlighting areas for improvement. © James Cook University 2016.

Divergent Barmah forest virus from Papua New Guinea

- Caly, Leon, Horwood, Paul, Dhanasekaran, VijaykrishnaLynch, Stacey, Greenhill, Andrew, Pomat, William, Rai, Glennis, Kisa, Debbie, Bande, Grace, Druce, Julian, Abdad, Mohammad

A narrative review of pharmacotherapy treatment for opioid addiction and application in a community-based model in Victoria, Australia

- Vishwanath, Tejaswini, Cash, Penelope, Penney, Wendy, Cant, Robyn

  • Authors: Vishwanath, Tejaswini , Cash, Penelope , Penney, Wendy , Cant, Robyn
  • Date: 2020
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction Vol. 18, no. 1 (2020), p. 66-76
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  • Description: To review the literature regarding the value and consumer focus of research on opioid replacement therapy (ORT) programs, relevant to the Australian rural context and community pharmacy. We conducted a narrative review of literature published between 1995 and 2015, searching EBSCOhost, PubMed and Google Scholar. Three authors collaborated to screen and synthesise studies. Effectiveness, cost affordability, diversion and retention benefits were reported from pharmacological or prescribers’ or dispensers’ standpoint. Research was fragmented and evaluated contributions of these individual types of stakeholders with less discussion of consumers, or consumers’ everyday experiences of ORT. No studies took into account consumers’ psychosocial aspects or power discourses. We found ORT as a beneficial treatment for opioid dependence is well researched, although overall Australian program evaluation was lacking. A gap within ORT literature should be addressed by making consumer experiences central in designs for future research and for program evaluation. © 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Public perception of medical errors : experiences and risks shared in Australia

- Kim, Jeong-ah, Terry, Daniel, Jang, Sunny, Nguyen, Hoang, Gilbert, Julia, Cruickshank, Mary

  • Authors: Kim, Jeong-ah , Terry, Daniel , Jang, Sunny , Nguyen, Hoang , Gilbert, Julia , Cruickshank, Mary
  • Date: 2020
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Universal Journal of Public Health Vol. 8, no. 1 (2020), p. 35-41
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  • Description: Background: Research into patient safety has largely focused on healthcare organisations bureaucratic routines, with little research available regarding the impact of patient perceptions on clinical practice. Acknowledging and openly discussing patient perceptions of medical errors may result in improved quality of healthcare. The research study aimed to gain a better understanding of the public's perception of medical errors to drive a structured approach to improve healthcare outcomes. Methods: In this study, we examined the public experiences of medical errors using an anonymous on-line survey to collect empirical data from April to December 2018. A total of 407 responses were obtained with 303 participants meeting the criteria for inclusion in the study. Results: The majority (74.9%) of these participants identified that they had experienced a medical error during receiving healthcare in Australia and 73% of these confirmed that they were harmed as a result of these errors. Conclusion: Findings from this study indicate that many participants have experienced medical errors when accessing healthcare in Australia. These findings provide information and a deeper understanding of patient experiences and perceptions of healthcare service delivery which can be used by healthcare organisations to improve healthcare services and promote patient participation in their care. Copyright©2020 by authors, all rights reserved. Authors agree that this article remains permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License

Reliability of the tools used to examine psychological distress, fear of COVID-19 and coping amongst migrants and non-migrants in Australia

- Rahman, Muhammad Aziz, Salehin, Masudus, Islam, Sheikh Mohammed, Alif, Sheikh M., Cross, Wendy

  • Authors: Rahman, Muhammad Aziz , Salehin, Masudus , Islam, Sheikh Mohammed , Alif, Sheikh M. , Cross, Wendy
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: International Journal of Mental Health Nursing Vol. 30, no. 3 (2021), p. 747-758
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  • Description: Study tools examining psychological distress, fear of COVID-19 and coping amongst migrants and non-migrants in Australia are very limited. The aim of this research was to assess the psychometric properties and correlation of the English version of Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K-10), Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCSV-19S), and Brief Resilient Coping Scale (BRCS) tools during the COVID-19 pandemic situation in Australia. Data from a cross-sectional survey (n = 516) were utilized to examine reliability; 299 (57.9%) were migrants. High internal consistency, as evidenced by Cronbach’s alpha, was found for the K-10 (0.92), FCV-19S (0.87) and BRCS (0.66) tools. The corresponding values for migrants and non-migrants were (0.92, 0.87, 0.67) and (0.92, 0.86, 0.63), respectively. Item-total correlations ranged 0.57-0.78 for K-10, 0.62–0.69 for FCV-19S, and 0.39–0.50 for BRCS tools. EFA retained a single factor for each tool with adequate factor loadings. The scoring of K-10 was significantly predicted by the scoring of FCV-19S (r = 0.284, P < 0.001) and BRCS tool (r = 0.132, P < 0.01). Therefore, these tools can be used reliably amongst both migrant and non-migrant population in Australia. © 2021 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd. **Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the first 5 including Federation University Australia affiliate “Muhammad Aziz Rahman and Wendy Cross" is provided in this record**