Marguerite C. Sendall

Interventions to decrease skin cancer risk in outdoor workers: update to a 2007 systematic review

BackgroundOutdoor workers are at high risk of harmful ultraviolet radiation exposure and are identified as an at risk group for the development of skin cancer. This systematic evidence based review provides an update to a previous review published in 2007 about interventions for the prevention of skin cancer in outdoor workers.ResultsThis review includes interventions published between 2007-2012 and presents findings about sun protection behaviours and/or objective measures of skin cancer risk. Six papers met inclusion criteria and were included in the review. Large studies with extended follow-up times demonstrated the efficacy of educational and multi-component interventions to increase sun protection, with some higher use of personal protective equipment such as sunscreen. However, there is less evidence for the effectiveness of policy or specific intervention components.ConclusionsFurther research aimed at improving overall attitudes towards sun protection in outdoor workers is needed to provide an overarching framework.

What Encourages Sun Protection among Outdoor Workers from Four Industries

What Encourages Sun Protection among Outdoor Workers from Four Industries?: Monika JANDA, et al. School of Public Health and Social Work, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Australia—

Journalling and public health education: thinking about reflecting…

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to understand reflective journalling in a first year Public Health practice unit. Design/methodology/approach: This research uses pure phenomenography to interpret students descriptions of reflective journalling. Data was collected from thirty-two students enrolled in PUB215 Public Health Practice in the School of Public Health, Queensland University of Technology. Participants completed a brief open-ended questionnaire to evaluate the first assessment item in this unit, a Reflective Journal. Questionnaire responses were analysed through Dahlgren and Fallsberg’s (1991) seven phases of data analysis. Findings: The Reflective Journal required students to reflect on lecture content from five of seven guest speakers. Participants responses were categorised into four conceptions - 1) engagement in learning, 2) depth of knowledge, 3) understanding the process and 4) doing the task. Participants describe reflective journalling as a conduit to think critically about the content of the guest speakers presentations. Other participants think journalling is a vehicle to think deeply about their potential career pathways. Some define journalling as a pragmatic operation where practical issues are difficult to navigate. The Reflective Journal successfully a) engaged students learning, b) increased students depth of knowledge and c) deepened students understanding of the journalling process. Originality/value: This research gives an insight into how first year public health students understand reflective journalling, supports educators in reflective journalling assessments and confirms a Reflective Journal assessment can move student reflection towards higher order thinking about practice.

Primary Schools and the Delivery of Relationships and Sexuality Education: The Experience of Queensland Teachers.

Primary school provides an appropriate opportunity for children to commence comprehensive relationships and sexuality education (RSE), yet many primary school teachers avoid teaching this subject area. In the absence of teacher confidence and competence, schools have often relied on health promotion professionals, external agencies and/or one-off issue-related presentations rather than cohesive, systematic and meaningful health education. This study examines the implementation of a 10-lesson pilot RSE unit of work and an accompanying assessment task in two primary schools in South-East Queensland, Australia. Drawing predominantly from qualitative data, the research explores the experiences of primary school teachers as they engage with RSE curriculum resources and content delivery. The results show the provision of a high-quality RSE curriculum resource grounded in contemporary educational principles and practices enables teachers to feel more confident to deliver RSE and minimises potential barriers such as parental objections and fear of mishandling sensitive content.

School nurses and health education: The classroom experience

Objective: The aim of the study is to explore school nurses’ experience of health education. Design: A qualitative approach, phenomenology was used to answer the question. Method: Sixteen participants were recruited through purposeful and snowball sampling. Participants undertook an audio-recorded interview which was transcribed and analysed. Results: Five themes represent school nurses’ experience of health education. Within these five themes, three issues were identified by the participants as having a negative impact on their experience of health education. These were: (1) feeling unwanted by the school; (2) not supported by the school hierarchy; and (3) a lack of role definition. Conclusion: These three issues provide important insight into school nurses’ experience of health education and have implications for other school nurses and professionals in the school environment.

Alcohol-related violence presenting to the emergency department: Is 'glassing' the big issue?

The study aims to describe the characteristics of patients presenting to EDs within Queensland, Australia with injuries because of assault with a glass implement (‘glassing’) and to set this within the broader context of presentations because of alcohol‐related violence.

Nurses and Teachers: Partnerships for Green Health Promotion

BACKGROUND The term green health promotion is given to health promotion underpinned by the principles of ecological health and sustainability. Green health promotion is supported philosophically by global health promotion documents such as the 1986 Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion and the ecological public health movement. Green health promotion in schools means the practice, the principles of ecological health, and sustainability. METHODS A literature review revealed a paucity of publications about green health promotion in schools. Literature about nurses and health promotion in schools is generally found in nursing publications. Literature about ecological sustainability in schools is mostly found in teaching publications. RESULTS This article explores the nexus between nursing and health promotion, and teachers and ecological sustainability. Collaborative partnerships between health and education do not capitalize on programs such as Health Promoting Schools and the School Based Youth Health Nurse Program in Queensland, Australia. The authors consider how collaborative partnerships between health and education in schools can work toward green health promotion. CONCLUSION Nursings approach to health promotion and educations approach to ecological sustainability need to be aligned to enhance green health promotion in schools.

School based youth health nurses and a true health promotion approach: the Ottawa what?

Abstract Aim: The purpose of this research is to examine School Based Youth Health Nurses (SBYHN) experience of a true health promotion approach. Background: The School Based Youth Health Nurse Program is a state-wide school nursing initiative in Queensland, Australia. The programme employs more than 120 fulltime and fractional school nurses who provide health services in state high schools. The role incorporates two primary components: individual health consultations and health promotion strategies. Design/methods: This study is a retrospective inquiry generated from a larger qualitative research project about the experience of school based youth health nursing. The original methodology was phenomenography. In-depth interviews were conducted with 16 school nurses recruited through purposeful and snowball sampling. This study accesses a specific set of raw data about SBYHN experience of a true health promotion approach. The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion (1986) is used as a framework for deductive analysis. Results: The findings indicate school nurses have neither an adverse or affirmative conceptual experience of a true health promotion approach and an adverse operational experience of a true health promotion approach based on the action areas of the Ottawa Charter. Conclusions: The findings of this research are important because they challenge the notion that school nurses are the most appropriate health professionals to undertake a true health promotion approach. If school nurses are the most appropriate health professionals to do a true health promotion approach, there are implications for recruitment and training and qualifications. If school nurses are not, who are the most appropriate health professionals to do school health promotion? Implications for practice: These findings can be applied to other models of school nursing in Australia which emphasises a true health promotion approach because they relate specifically to school nurses’ experience of a true health promotion approach.

Vietnamese medical students and binge drinking: a qualitative study of perceptions, attitudes, beliefs and experience

Objectives To explore the perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, and experiences related to Vietnamese medical students’ binge drinking. Design A qualitative study comprising semi-structured focus groups/interviews with medical students and semi-structured interviews with key informants. Thematic analysis of data. Setting Participants were a convenience sample of usual volunteers from a medical university in Viet Nam. Participants 19 medical students from year 1 to 6 and 4 key informants agreed to participate in the study. Results The study found participants believe medical students drink less than other students and are not binge drinkers yet they experience and/or witness many binge drinking occasions among medical students. Participants consider alcohol use as culturally acceptable in Vietnamese society and a way for medical students to create and improve relationships with their friends, teachers, or work colleagues. Group affiliation and peer pressure to drink excessive alcohol are identified among medical students, especially male students. Conclusion The culture of drinking behaviour was explored among medical students in Viet Nam. This study reveals a dichotomy between the belief of not being binge drinkers and the experience of many binge drinking occasions among medical students. This tension suggests future research about binge drinking behaviour of Vietnamese medical students is required.

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

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.