Melanie Davern

Islamic religiosity, subjective well-being, and health

The aim of this paper is to explore the relationship between Islamic religiosity and satisfaction with a diverse range of life and health domains, in a sample of 2909 participants (1446 males, 1463 females) from Algeria. Factor analysis of the Islamic Religiosity Scale (IRS) indicates that it measures Religiosity as a multidimensional construct with two useful factors: Religious Practice and Religious Altruism. Religiosity at some level is ubiquitous through this sample, and it has a strong positive relationship with Subjective Well-Being (SWB). Moreover, this relationship is relatively unaffected by health deficiencies, even though such deficiencies generally have a negative influence on SWB scores. These findings are discussed in terms of the social context of Algeria.

Measuring the quality of life of children with cerebral palsy: comparing the conceptual differences and psychometric properties of three instruments

Aim  To compare the conceptual differences, internal consistency, and validity of the Cerebral Palsy Quality of Life Questionnaire for Children (CP QOL‐Child), the Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ), and a European generic health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) questionnaire (10‐domain version; KIDSCREEN‐10) for children with cerebral palsy (CP).

Planning Healthy, Liveable and Sustainable Cities: How Can Indicators Inform Policy?

Creating ‘liveable’ communities that are healthy and sustainable is an aspiration of policymakers in Australia and overseas. Indicators are being used at the national, state and local level to compare the liveability of cities and regions. Yet, there are challenges in the adoption of such indicators. Planning scholars see a challenge in creating indicators that measure something publicly valued, while public health researchers are concerned about scant systemic research on relationships between policies, the built environment, and health and well-being. This article provides an overview of liveability indicators used to date in Australia and internationally. It then outlines the results of consultations with Melbourne-based academics and decision-makers, on how to increase their utility and support the creation of healthy, liveable and sustainable cities.

Description and psychometric properties of the CP QOL-Teen: A quality of life questionnaire for adolescents with cerebral palsy

To assess the measurement properties of a new QOL instrument, the Cerebral Palsy Quality of Life Questionnaire-Teen (CP QOL-Teen), in adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP) aged 13-18 years, examining domain structure, reliability, validity and adolescent-caregiver concordance. Based on age, 695 eligible families were invited to participate by mail. Questionnaires were returned by 112 primary caregivers (71.8% of questionnaires sent). 87 adolescents aged 12-18 years also completed the questionnaires. CP QOL-Teen, generic QOL instruments (KIDSCREEN, Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory), functioning (Gross Motor Function Classification System) and a condition-specific instrument (PedsQL-CP) were used. Principal components analysis produced seven scales: wellbeing and participation; communication and physical health; school wellbeing; social wellbeing; access to services; family health; feelings about functioning. Cronbachs alphas for the derived scales ranged from 0.81 to 0.96 (primary caregiver report) and 0.78 to 0.95 (adolescent report). Test-retest reliability (4 weeks) ranged from 0.57 to 0.88 for adolescent self-report and 0.29 to 0.83 for primary caregiver report. Moderate correlations were observed with other generic and condition specific measures of QOL, indicating adequate construct validity. Moderate correlations were observed between adolescent self-report and primary caregiver proxy report. This study demonstrates acceptable psychometric properties of both the adolescent self-report and the primary caregiver proxy report versions of the CP QOL-Teen.

Subjective Wellbeing Homeostasis

This chapter explains the concept of subjective well-being homeostasis. It concerns the proposal that subjective well-being (SWB) is managed by a system of psychological devices which have evolved for this purpose. The chapter begins by presenting some of the psychometric characteristics of SWB and introduces homeostasis as a theoretical construct that can account for these characteristics. This is followed by a discussion of the relationship between SWB and depression. The chapter ends with recommendations for measurement scales.

Is life dissatisfaction the opposite of life satisfaction

The circumplex model of affect proposes that states of affect can be categorised according to the two dimensions of valence and arousal. According to this model, satisfaction and dissatisfaction are located on the pleasant and unpleasant ends of the valence axis as bipolar opposites. This study investigated the relationship between these two adjectives when assessed with unipolar or bipolar response formats. This suggests that a reciprocal relationship exists between life satisfaction and dissatisfaction when a unipolar response format is employed, but not when a bipolar response format was used. These results are discussed in relation to current affect theory and subject wellbeing research.

Results from Australia’s 2014 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth

BACKGROUND Like many other countries, Australia is facing an inactivity epidemic. The purpose of the Australian 2014 Physical Activity Report Card initiative was to assess the behaviors, settings, and sources of influences and strategies and investments associated with the physical activity levels of Australian children and youth. METHODS A Research Working Group (RWG) drawn from experts around Australia collaborated to determine key indicators, assess available datasets, and the metrics which should be used to inform grades for each indicator and factors to consider when weighting the data. The RWG then met to evaluate the synthesized data to assign a grade to each indicator. RESULTS Overall Physical Activity Levels were assigned a grade of D-. Other physical activity behaviors were also graded as less than average (D to D-), while Organized Sport and Physical Activity Participation was assigned a grade of B-. The nation performed better for settings and sources of influence and Government Strategies and Investments (A- to a C). Four incompletes were assigned due to a lack of representative quality data. CONCLUSIONS Evidence suggests that physical activity levels of Australian children remain very low, despite moderately supportive social, environmental and regulatory environments. There are clear gaps in the research which need to be filled and consistent data collection methods need to be put into place.

The contribution of organised sports to physical activity in Australia: results and directions from the Active Healthy Kids Australia 2014 report card on physical activity for children and young people

Youth participation in organised sport and physical activity is important for healthy development, growth and wellbeing. In 2014, Active Healthy Kids Australia released its inaugural Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Young People, which synthesised the best available national- and state-level data for children and young people (<18 years). This paper provides a more detailed examination of the evidence informing the grade for Organised Sport from the 2014 Report Card, compares Australias Organised Sport grade with other countries, identifies future directions for research and surveillance, and explores possible beneficial strategies. The Report Card highlighted that between 64% and 85% of Australians aged 5-17 years participate in organised sports, a rate higher than alternate forms of physical activity such as active transportation, active play and school based physical activity. This finding reflects Australias position as one of the global leaders for participating in organised sport. Future research and surveillance methodologies however, need to incorporate standardised metrics that aim to capture more detailed data regarding organised sport participation. Facilitating access for all children and preventing dropout from organised sports are important initiatives to improve current levels of sport participation. However, given that 80% of Australians aged 5-17 years are not sufficiently physically active to achieve the daily recommendation, participation in sport alone is not enough to ensure that children can accrue the health benefits associated with being physically active. As such, there is a pressing need to develop strategies that engage children in other forms of physical activity such as active transportation and active play.

Area-Level Disparities of Public Open Space: A Geographic Information Systems Analysis in Metropolitan Melbourne

This article examines differences in proximity to, and size of, four types of public open space for different levels of socio-economic disadvantage in metropolitan Melbourne. Since the provision of public open space in Melbourne is guided by the Victoria Planning Provisions (VPP), this article also demonstrates the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as a tool to compare the current distribution of public open space with policy. Measures of distance to, and size of, the closest public open space were derived using GIS and analysed according to area-level socio-economic disadvantage. A novel method of estimating public open space access points is introduced. Over one-third of dwellings in metropolitan Melbourne were located in areas that did not align with the VPP public open space proximity standard; however, we found no evidence of a socio-economic gradient in terms of compliance. There were statistically significant differences between disadvantaged and advantaged areas with respect to proximity to, and size of, public open space. However, while the differences were statistically significant the magnitudes of the differences were small. Future research needs to investigate how different measures (e.g. quality, size) can be included in planning regulations to support equitable provision of public open space.

Community Indicators in Action: Using Indicators as a Tool for Planning and Evaluating the Health and Wellbeing of a Community

Community indicators are summarized or aggregated statistics that include broad measures aimed at measuring the progress of a community but community indicator projects are often criticized for a lack of direct policy and planning actions. This chapter introduces Community Indicators Victoria, a community indicators project located within a southern state of Australia, and describes a successful collaboration with a local government authority in the development of a 4-year Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan. The chapter describes a practical case study example of how community indicators can be used to develop informed, engaged and integrated community planning.