Melissa Stoneham

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.

It's just everywhere! Children and parents discuss the marketing of sports wagering in Australia.

Objective: To investigate how children and adults recall the content and promotional channels for sports wagering marketing.

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—

An exploratory study identifying where local government public health decision makers source their evidence for policy

ISSUE ADDRESSED The Western Australian (WA) Public Health Bill will replace the antiquated Health Act 1911. One of the proposed clauses of the Bill requires all WA local governments to develop a Public Health Plan. The Bill states that Public Health Plans should be based on evidence from all levels, including national and statewide priorities, community needs, local statistical evidence, and stakeholder data. METHODS This exploratory study, which targeted 533 WA local government officers, aimed to identify the sources of evidence used to generate the list of public health risks to be included in local government Public Health Plans. RESULTS The top four sources identified for informing local policy were: observation of the consequences of the risks in the local community (24.5%), statewide evidence (17.6%), local evidence (17.6%) and coverage in local media (16.2%). CONCLUSIONS This study confirms that both hard and soft data are used to inform policy decisions at the local level. Therefore, the challenge that this study has highlighted is in the definition or constitution of evidence. SO WHAT? Evidence is critical to the process of sound policy development. This study highlights issues associated with what actually constitutes evidence in the policy development process at the local government level. With the exception of those who work in an extremely narrow field, it is difficult for local government officers, whose role includes policymaking, to read the vast amount of information that has been published in their area of expertise. For those who are committed to the notion of evidence-based policymaking, as advocated within the WA Public Health Bill, this presents a considerable challenge.

The illusion of choice: an exploratory study looking at the top 10 food companies in Australia and their brand connections

Objective: To identify the brands owned by each of the 10 top grossing food companies operating in Australia and visually represent them on an infographic.

Unhealthy sponsorship in sport: a case study of the AFL

Objective: To analyse the presence of unhealthy sponsorship on Australian Football League (AFL) club websites and player uniforms.

Monitoring injury reporting in selected Australian media: a potential advocacy strategy?

ISSUE ADDRESSED This review of injury articles describes how selected primary print media sources in Australia report injury events and explores how this may impact on public perception of the injury risk and the opportunities it may present to health professionals. METHODS Media articles specific to injury, compiled by the Public Health Advocacy Institute of Western Australia (PHAIWA) through their MediaWatch service during 2011, were collated and analysed. Articles were gathered from The West Australian, The Australian and The Sunday Times newspapers and ABC Online. Each article was categorised into injury topics and target groups, and preventive strategies were identified. RESULTS Of the 546 articles that contained injury as a key word, 424 articles were used for the present study. The majority of articles related to community-based injuries (65%) and the most frequent reported injury was violence and assault. The results also indicate that although there is regular media reporting on injury issues, only one-fifth of reports discuss possible preventive measures. CONCLUSIONS Selected Australian newspapers and the ABC Online are important and low-cost sources of injury-related information for the general public and can impact how the public perceives injury. It is important for public health professionals to embrace media advocacy strategies to assist in influencing and setting local public policy. So what? Public attitudes and understanding of issues are influenced by media coverage. Media monitoring is one tool to track what media sources are reporting about public health issues, the industry and stakeholders. Influencing the quantity and quality of media coverage is critical to advancing healthy public policy, particularly when advocating for prevention strategies to be reported and acted upon. Advocacy is an important health promotion strategy; it is therefore important for health professionals to understand media advocacy and position public health issues as societal issues with policy solutions.