Janine Chapman

Comparing implementation intention interventions in relation to young adults' intake of fruit and vegetables

This study tests whether the effectiveness of implementation intention-based interventions to increase fruit and vegetable intake in a young adult population can be enhanced using additional pre-intervention instructions and alternative formats; namely, an ‘if-then’ implementation intention versus a more general, ‘global’ plan that does not explicitly link a situational cue with a goal-directed response. Participants (N = 557) completed pre-test measures of planning, motivation and behaviour with respect to increasing their fruit and vegetable intake before being randomised to a 3 (intervention format: control vs. ‘if-then’ vs. ‘global’ implementation intentions) × 2 (pre-intervention instruction vs. no pre-intervention instruction) between-participants design. Results revealed a significant intervention format by time interaction, such that intake significantly increased by 0.50 portions in the if-then format condition compared with 0.31 in the global format and 0.01 in the control condition. These results suggest that ‘if-then’ manipulations are superior in promoting behaviour change in an applied setting. The use of pre-intervention instructions had no additional effect on behaviour, providing evidence for the efficacy of implementation intentions even when experimenter demand is reduced. Evidence is also presented to suggest that reported increases in intake are not related to demand characteristics.

Are sleep education programs successful? The case for improved and consistent research efforts

Sleep duration and quality are associated with a range of neuropsychological and psychosocial outcomes in children and adolescents but community awareness of this is low. A small body of literature on sleep education programs in children and adolescents delivered through school-based programs is attempting to address this. A review of the literature found only 8 studies and 4 pilot studies in abstract form. This paper presents these sleep education programs and evaluates their effectiveness. In general, findings suggest that when sleep knowledge was measured it was increased in most programs. However this did not necessarily equate to sleep behaviour change such as increased sleep duration or improved sleep hygiene. Reasons for this are discussed and may include motivation and readiness to change, salience to the individual, delivery, content, time allocation, or methodological underpinnings. This paper attempts to understand this and assess how best to improve future sleep education programs from a theoretical perspective. Specifically, it considers the theory of planned behaviour which may assist in ensuring maximum efficacy for the current and future development of sleep education programs.

Fatigue-proofing: A new approach to reducing fatigue-related risk using the principles of error management

In this review we introduce the idea of a novel group of strategies for further reducing fatigue-related risk in the workplace. In contrast to the risk-reduction achieved by reducing the likelihood an individual will be working while fatigued (e.g., by restricting hours of work), fatigue-proofing strategies are adaptive and protective risk-reduction behaviours that improve the resilience of a system of work. That is, they increase the likelihood that a fatigue-related error will be detected and not translate into accident or injury, thus reducing vulnerability to fatigue-related error. The first part of the review outlines the theoretical underpinnings of this approach and gives a series of ethnographically derived examples of informal fatigue-proofing strategies used in a variety of industries. A preliminary conceptual and methodological framework for the systematic identification, development and evaluation of fatigue-proofing strategies is then presented for integration into the wider organisational safety system. The review clearly identifies fatigue-proofing as a potentially valuable strategy to significantly lower fatigue-related risk independent of changes to working hours. This is of particular relevance to organisations where fatigue is difficult to manage using reductions in working hours due to operational circumstances, or the paradoxical consequences for overall safety associated with reduced working hours.

Evidence that boosters augment the long-term impact of implementation intentions on fruit and vegetable intake.

The present study tests the efficacy of a single implementation intention to increase intake over a 6-month period, and investigates whether deploying a second implementation intention at 3 months can sustain the long-term impact, compared with passive and active control groups. Participants (N = 650) completed single-item and FFQ measures of behaviour and motivation at baseline before being randomised to one of six conditions in a between-persons design. Intention to treat analysis revealed that for the single-item measure: (1) a single implementation intention is an effective means of initiating fruit and vegetable increase over a 3-month period, but this effect is not sustained over 6 months; (2) administering a second implementation intention at 3 months was successful in increasing intake over 6 months, and acted as a booster on the initial impact; and (3) neither the passive nor active control condition had any impact on behaviour. However, no effects of the manipulations on fruit and vegetable intake were found when behaviour was assessed by the FFQ measure. Secondary analyses showed that reported increases in intake were not related to demand characteristics. The findings are discussed in relation to their conceptual and practical value.

Work‐family and work‐life pressures in Australia: advancing gender equality in “good times”?

Purpose – This paper aims to explore recent changes in Australias work‐family policies and programs and their implications for gender (in)equality.Design/methodology/approach – The authors critically assess a suite of new work/family‐related policies, including the introduction of a government‐funded national paid parental leave scheme, a limited right to request flexible working conditions, and the extension of state and federal anti‐discrimination legal protections for workers with family responsibilities.Findings – The analysis suggests a lack of coherence and integration between various work/family related policies and the need for a wider range of reforms, particularly in relation to domestic work and care. It is found that the gendered use of flexibility rights, like the new right to request, do not necessarily improve gender equality and may work to entrench it in the face of strong gendered workplace and societal norms and practices around work and care. As a consequence women workers and mothers...

Work-life balance and family friendly policies

This paper presents Australian and international research on work-life interaction. We review the work-life policies and practices that are likely...

Effectiveness of physical activity and dietary interventions in South Asian populations: a systematic review

BACKGROUND Physical activity and dietary change interventions can prevent or delay a range of chronic disease. Little is known in primary care about their effectiveness in South Asian populations, who are often at higher risk of developing such diseases. AIM To assess evidence for effectiveness of primary care based physical activity and dietary interventions in South Asian populations, and identify methods to inform future intervention development. DESIGN Systematic review. METHOD Intervention studies conducted in developed countries that reported data for South Asian adults were sought by searching electronic databases, trial registries, and conference proceedings. Following wider screening of titles and abstracts, 119 full articles were reviewed. RESULT Of the 119 articles, four studies met the inclusion criteria and evaluated community-based interventions with South Asian individuals. Methodological quality was poor overall. Interventions appeared generally effective in promoting a decrease in weight, with some positive changes in blood pressure and biochemical outcomes, such as cholesterol. There was limited evidence for effects on behaviour. Theoretical frameworks were not identified and evidence on attitudinal or knowledge-based outcomes was sparse. The inclusion of individual feedback and community workers in communities of deprivation appeared important to the acceptability of the interventions. Information distinguishable for South Asian individuals within intervention studies of general populations was lacking. CONCLUSION Physical activity and dietary interventions with South Asian populations show modest promise but, given the paucity of controlled evaluations or use of objective measures, outcomes are difficult to interpret. Potential insights may be missed if experience concerning South Asian groups within studies is not reported. Further development of culturally appropriate interventions that are theoretically informed and assessed in experimental designs are required.

Investigating the formal countermeasures and informal strategies used to mitigate SPAD risk in train driving

Various countermeasures are used to mitigate signal passed at danger (SPAD) events on railways, yet they continue. While risk factors that destabilise cognitive processes have been identified, less has been published on the relationship between these factors and the informal strategies that drivers themselves adopt to reduce individual SPAD risk. This study aimed to address this gap and used a participative approach to collect and thematically analyse data from 28 drivers across eight rail organisations in Australia and New Zealand. The results showed not all formal countermeasures were considered effective, and identified several informal strategies. These aimed to reduce task disruption, service distortion and maintain connectedness to signals. While some evidenced redundancies in the task and cab, others did not reduce baseline risk. This paper explores the relationship between the established risks and identified strategies towards evaluating the utility of formal and informal mitigations. The research has application to the investigation of collision risk in all transport domains. Practitioner Summary: A participative approach was used to investigate SPAD mitigation techniques in train driving, and to explore risk-strategy relationship dynamics. Several informal strategies designed to reduce task disruption, service distortion and maintain signal connectedness were identified. While some evidenced redundancies in the task and cab, others did not reduce baseline risk.

Developing a research framework for complex multi–team coordination in emergency management

This conceptual paper addresses previous calls for the development of new theoretical frameworks to better account for the multi–agency emergency management coordination required in complex events. It uses, as a departure point, a teamwork model that includes four phases: situation assessment; plan formulation, plan execution and team learning. The thesis put forward here is that we need to move the focus of analysis beyond the team to one of multi–layered multiple team and multiple organisation systems. To further develop this research framework indicators from multi–organisational literature are added to those found in the individual and teamwork literature to develop a more comprehensive account of multi–team multi–organisational coordination. The paper identifies key anchor points for future use in data collection.

Insights for Exercise Adherence From a Minimal Planning Intervention to Increase Physical Activity

Objective. To test the impact of a minimal, online planning intervention on physical activity in Australian office workers. Method. Employees were randomized to an implementation intention intervention (n = 124) or health information control group (n = 130). Measures of physical activity, past behavior, and motivation were taken at baseline and 6 weeks. Results. Analysis revealed both groups increased weekly physical activity sessions (intervention M = 1.12, control M = 0.78) at follow-up, but no significant difference was found between groups. Because the sample consisted of experienced exercisers, secondary analyses investigated differential effects for those who had lapsed over the previous year (nonmaintainers) and those who had maintained their previous level of activity (maintainers). For nonmaintainers, both planning and information provision successfully changed behavior, but only planning significantly increased physical activity in maintainers over the study. Conclusion. Different minimal intervention approaches may be useful for preventing long-term relapse and assisting people to improve regular exercise routines. The practical and theoretical implications are discussed.