Laura McCosker

Feature article coverage of Australian out-of-home care: portrayals and policy reform.

This article examines the issues that are typically identified in feature articles written about out-of-home care and how those issues are constructed and portrayed. It also considers the potential impact of the coverage upon the policy debates and outcomes that were occurring at the time.

Chronic wounds in Australia: A systematic review of key epidemiological and clinical parameters

Chronic wounds are a significant problem in Australia. The health care‐related costs of chronic wounds in Australia are considerable, equivalent to more than AUD

Truckies and Facebook: Using social media for health promotion in a hard-to-reach group (Preprint)

3.5 billion, approximately 2% of national health care expenditure. Chronic wounds can also have a significant negative impact on the health‐related quality of life of affected individuals. Studies have demonstrated that evidence‐based care for chronic wounds improves clinical outcomes. Decision analytical modelling is important in confirming and applying these findings in the Australian context. Epidemiological and clinical data on chronic wounds are required to populate decision analytical models. Although epidemiological and clinical data on chronic wounds in Australia are available, these data have yet to be systematically summarised. To address these omissions and clarify the state of existing evidence, we conducted a systematic review of the literature on key epidemiological and clinical parameters of chronic wounds in Australia. A total of 90 studies were selected for inclusion. This paper presents a synthesis of the evidence on the prevalence and incidence of chronic wounds in Australia, as well as rates of infection, hospitalisation, amputation, healing, and recurrence.

Truckies and health promotion: using the ANGELO framework to understand the workplace’s role

Background Workers in the road transport industry, and particularly truck drivers, are at increased risk of chronic diseases. Innovative health promotion strategies involving technologies such as social media may engage this “hard-to-reach” group. There is a paucity of evidence for the efficacy of social media technologies for health promotion in the Australian transport industry. Objective This study analyzed qualitative data from interviews and focus group discussions to evaluate a social media health promotion intervention, the Truckin’ Healthy Facebook webpage, in selected Australian transport industry workplaces. Methods We engaged 5 workplace managers and 30 truck drivers from 6 transport industry organizations in developing workplace health promotion strategies, including a social media intervention, within a Participatory Action Research approach. Mixed methods, including a pre- and postintervention manager survey, truck driver survey, key informant semistructured interviews, truck driver focus groups, and focused observation, were used to evaluate the social media intervention. We asked questions about workplace managers’ and truck drivers’ opinions, engagement, and satisfaction with the intervention. This paper focuses on qualitative data. Results Of the workplace managers who reported implementing the social media intervention at their workplace, all (3/3, 100%) reported satisfaction with the intervention and expressed a keen interest in learning more about social media and how it may be used for workplace health promotion and other purposes. Truck drivers were poorly engaged with the intervention because (1) many believed they were the “wrong age” and lacked the necessary skills; (2) the cost of smartphone technology was prohibitive; (3) they confined their use of social media to nonwork-related purposes; and (4) many workplaces had “no Facebook” policies. Conclusions The use of social media as a health promotion intervention in transport industry workplaces has potential. Workplace interventions using social media can benefit from a Participatory Action Research approach. Involving managers and workers in the design of social media health promotion interventions and developing strategies to support and deliver the interventions helps to facilitate their success. The workers’ profile, including their age and familiarity with social media, and work, workplace, and family context is important to consider in this process. Much more research needs to be undertaken to better understand the effective use of social media to engage “hard-to-reach” groups.

A structured review of chronic care model components supporting transition between healthcare service delivery types for older people with multiple chronic diseases

Purpose Workplaces are challenging environments which place workers at the risk of obesity. This is particularly true for Australian road transport industry workplaces. The Analysis Grid for Environments Linked to Obesity (ANGELO) framework is a public health tool which can be used to conceptualise obesogenic environments. It suggests that workplaces have a variety of roles (in the physical, economic, political and sociocultural domains) in responding to obesity in transport industry workplaces. The purpose of this paper is to present the findings which explore this idea. Design/methodology/approach The project used a mixed-methods approach located within a participatory action research framework, to engage workplace managers and truck drivers in the implementation and evaluation of workplace health promotion strategies. The project involved six transport industry workplaces in Queensland, Australia. Findings This study found that transport industry workplaces perceive themselves to have an important role in addressing the physical, economic, political and sociocultural aspects of obesity, as per the ANGELO framework. However, transport industry employees – specifically, truck drivers – do not perceive workplaces to have a major role in health; rather, they consider health to be an area of personal responsibility. Practical implications Balancing the competing perceptions of truck drivers and workplace managers about the workplace’s role in health promotion is an important consideration for future health promotion activities in this hard-to-reach, at-risk population. Originality/value The use of the ANGELO framework allows the conceptualisation of obesity in a novel workplace context.

Reflection on the SIA Ltd professional project and the body of knowledge

Objective: Older people with chronic diseases often have complex and interacting needs and require treatment and care from a wide range of professionals and services concurrently. This structured review will identify the components of the chronic care model (CCM) required to support healthcare that transitions seamlessly between hospital and ambulatory settings for people over 65 years of age who have two or more chronic diseases. Method: A structured review was conducted by searching six electronic databases combining the terms ‘hospital’, ‘ambulatory’, ‘elderly’, ‘chronic disease’ and ‘integration/seamless’. Four articles meeting the inclusion criteria were included in the review. Study setting, objectives, design, population, intervention, CCM components, outcomes and results were extracted and a process of descriptive synthesis applied. Results and conclusion: All four studies reported only using a few components of the CCM – such as clinical information sharing, community linkages and supported self-management – to create an integrated health system. The implementation of these components in a health service seemed to improve the seamless transition between hospital and ambulatory settings, health outcomes and patient experiences. Further research is required to explore the effect of implementing all CCM components to support transition of care between hospital and ambulatory services.