Jeffrey Wilks

Overseas visitor deaths in Australia: 1997-2000.

Reassuring visitors about their health and safety is particularly important for tourist destinations since the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. This study examined the deaths of 1513 overseas visitors to Australia over a four-year period, and found that most deaths (76%) were due to natural causes. Among the accidental deaths, the main causes were motor vehicle crashes and water-related incidents. The study findings support a widely held view that Australia is a safe destination for overseas visitors. It also provides a safety benchmark for other tourist destinations.

Student Drinking Patterns: Experience in an Australian Population

The drinking patterns of 232 undergraduate students at the University of Queensland were examined and comparisons made with other reports of alcohol consumption by tertiary youth. Several similarities in drinking patterns were revealed. Most students appear to be light-moderate drinkers, with males consuming alcohol more frequently and in greater quantities than females. Sex differences were also noted in beverage preference. The need to standardize measures and increase comparability between studies is discussed.

Tourists and beach safety in Queensland, Australia.

Surf Life Saving Queensland (SLSQ) is a leading authority on beach safety, providing patrol, education, and rescue services to both tourists and local residents along the coast of Queensland, Australia. SLSQ recognizes that tourists are a target group requiring special attention due to their unfamiliarity with ocean beaches and surfing activities, and in some cases having the additional challenge of poor swimming skills, language barriers, and disorientation in a foreign vacation environment. This article describes SLSQ initiatives to provide beach safety for tourists through a focus on service delivery and partnerships with the tourism industry and relevant government agencies. The positive involvement of SLSQ in tourism is a model for other coastal destinations, given that drowning is the second most frequent cause of injury death among international travelers.

Extending upon student drinking patterns in an Australian population

One hundred and twenty-two students from the University of Queensland were surveyed regarding their attitudes and behaviour toward alcohol. As an extension of earlier investigations at the same university the study provides some monitoring of drinking levels over 8 years. Results indicate that the quantity and frequency of male consumption continues to be greater than that of females. Sex differences were also evident in beverage preferences. An increase in the proportion of males drinking more than 40 grams of alcohol per day was noted. The implications of this finding are discussed within the broader context of comparisons across studies and with reference to National Health and Medical Research Council recommendations for alcohol consumption.

Effect of television advertising of alcohol on alcohol consumption and intentions to drive

The alcohol consumption of 120 male and female college students was measured as they viewed a 90-min videotape of popular prime-time television programmes. Independent measures were the sex of the student, their drinker classification (light or moderate-heavy) and the number of alcohol advertisements (0, 6, 12) shown during the screening of the television programmes. Dependent measures were the number of drinks consumed, and the intentions of students to drive a motor vehicle after viewing the videotaped programmes. As predicted, males consumed more alcohol than females, and moderate-heavy drinkers consumed more than light drinkers. Male and female students who viewed six alcohol advertisements consumed more alcohol than students shown no alcohol advertisements or 12 alcohol advertisements. Analysis of intentions to drive after viewing the programmes revealed that the number of drinks consumed was not a significant covariate of driving intentions. Rather light drinkers of both sexes were less likely to intend to drive than moderate-heavy drinkers. Males exposed to alcohol advertisements were less likely to intend to drive than males who did not view alcohol advertisements. Different levels of exposure to alcohol advertisements did not influence the driving intentions of college females.

Public Attitudes to and Awareness of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome in Young Adults.

Public attitude toward, and awareness of possible problems and risks associated with the consumption of alcohol during pregnancy were assessed in ninety-five males and ninety-seven females in the fourteen to thirty years age group. A survey questionnaire containing structured and open-ended measures was distributed among visitors to the University of Queensland. Whilst there was a high awareness of the problem, knowledge of the specific effects to the offspring, and of quantities and frequency of consumption of alcohol which would have teratogenic effects were erroneous. Both sexes overwhelmingly chose a medical practitioner to present information if a media campaign were introduced. Females preferred dispensation of information through popular magazines while males preferred the electronic media. The findings thus suggest that there is a need to educate young adults on the specific harmful effects of alcohol on a developing child and that medical practitioners can make significant contribution in this important area of education to prevent Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

Use of Queensland Hospital services by interstate and overseas visitors.

In response to concerns about the number of interstate and overseas visitors using Queensland hospital services, the present study examined a sample of 1,295 hospital records to determine the proportion of patients who were incorrectly identified as Queensland residents. Across six hospitals the overall detection rate was 4.6%. Rates varied between hospitals, with the highest detection recorded for Goondiwindi near the Queensland/New South Wales border; and the lowest for Prince Charles in Brisbane. There were also important variations across hospitals based on specific holiday periods. In particular, Goondiwindi and the Gold Coast had substantially higher detection rates for the Christmas holiday period (December-January) than for the mid-year period (June-August). These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for hospital services, especially lost revenue and increased patient load. Health information managers are identified as a key group for addressing some of the current problems in this area.

Alcohol-Related Attitudes and Stereotypes: Teenagers in Australia, Papua New Guinea and the United States.

Little is known of the drinking habits and attitudes to alcohol of young people in the developing nations. This research compared the alcohol-related attitudes and stereotypes of 677 Papua New Guinea high school youth to those held by 315 Australian and 166 American school students. While the overwhelming majority of Australian and American students had drunk alcohol, the majority of Papua New Guinean young people had not drunk alcoholic beverages. Papua New Guinean students gave higher ratings on reasons for drinking, and especially emphasized more than other students that alcohol was related to feelings of being important and friendships. These alcohol-related benefits were more salient to Papua New Guinean males than females. A measure of stereotypes revealed that Papua New Guinean students had more definite stereotypes about heavy drinkers than other students, while the strength of stereotypes was more similar across countries on impressions of non-drinkers. The personality traits attributed to drinkers and non-drinkers also differed across cultures. Finally, almost all Papua New Guinean male and female teenagers thought that women should not drink alcohol.

Cultural Perceptions of the Mentally Ill: Australian and Papua New Guinean High School Youth

One hundred and thirty-three (76 male, 57 female) Papua New Guinean (PNG) and 144 (93 male, 51 female) Australian high school students completed a series of structured and open-ended measures on attitudes to the mentally ill, especially opinions about the nature of mental illness, characteristics of the mentally ill, and treatment. Both groups of students suggested hereditary and environmental causes, with PNG students citing more often witchcraft and sorcery. Australian students generally presented more favourable attitudes to mental illness, in that they were more willing to work with or marry the mentally ill. PNG students, however, were more likely to highlight the disruptive, violent behaviour of the long long and possibly held a much narrower view of the types of persons labelled mentally ill.

Adolescent view on risky and illegal alcohol use.

A sample of 1154 adolescents from central Queensland indicated their agreement or disagreement with 28 reasons why young people drink alcohol in ways that are risky or illegal. As predicted, agreement varied across the three age groups sampled, with younger respondents being most likely to agree with drinking reasons. In contrast, very few sex differences emerged in the study. This suggests that young males and females share some common views about situations related to problematic alcohol consumption, and that age differences may be the more important factor in the development of alcohol education messages.