Trevor Hazell

A school-based resilience intervention to decrease tobacco, alcohol and marijuana use in high school students

BackgroundDespite schools theoretically being an ideal setting for accessing adolescents and preventing initiation of substance use, there is limited evidence of effective interventions in this setting. Resilience theory provides one approach to achieving such an outcome through improving adolescent mental well-being and resilience. A study was undertaken to examine the potential effectiveness of such an intervention approach in improving adolescent resilience and protective factor scores; and reducing the prevalence of adolescent tobacco, alcohol and marijuana use in three high schools.MethodsA non-controlled before and after study was undertaken. Data regarding student resilience and protective factors, and measures of tobacco, alcohol and marijuana use were collected from grade 7 to 10 students at baseline (n = 1449) and one year following a three year intervention (n = 1205).ResultsSignificantly higher resilience and protective factors scores, and significantly lower prevalence of substance use were evident at follow up.ConclusionsThe results suggest that the intervention has the potential to increase resilience and protective factors, and to decrease the use of tobacco, alcohol and marijuana by adolescents. Further more rigorous research is required to confirm this potential.

Reach, Awareness and Uptake of Media Guidelines for Reporting Suicide and Mental Illness: An Australian Perspective

In recent years there has been international interest in media portrayal of suicide and mental illness and the impact that reporting may have on community understanding, attitudes and behaviour. Many countries have developed guidelines and resources for media reporting to encourage responsible and sensitive coverage. However, there has been little international evaluation of the extent to which journalists have embraced and followed media guidelines. In Australia, the Mindframe Media and Mental Health Project has implemented a national dissemination strategy that supports media professionals in their understanding and use of the guidelines. This has been achieved by face-to-face briefings, further resource development, promotional activities and work with peak bodies to implement changes in codes of practice. This paper examines the effectiveness of an active dissemination strategy, highlighting both quantitative and qualitative evaluation data that indicates substantial reach, awareness of, support for and uptake of these resources by media professionals in Australia.

Increasing the Practice of Health Promotion Initiatives by Licensed Premises

Licensees of all licensed premises in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, were offered free services to encourage adoption of health promotion initiatives relating to responsible service of alcohol, environmental tobacco smoke, healthy food choices, breast and cervical cancer prevention, and the prevention of HIV/AIDS. A total of 239 premises participated in the follow-up survey. Increases in prevalence ranged between 11% and 59% for alcohol-related initiatives. The prevalence of smoke-free areas and healthy food choices increased from 32% to 65% and 42% to 96%, respectively, and the provision of cancer prevention information increased from 3% to 59%. Licensed premises represent a particularly challenging sector for health promotion practitioners to work in. The results of this study suggest that the adoption of health promotion initiatives by licensed premises can be increased. A considerable opportunity therefore exists for health promotion practitioners to become more actively involved in facilitating the adoption of such initiatives in this setting.

A cluster randomised trial of a school-based resilience intervention to decrease tobacco, alcohol and illicit drug use in secondary school students: study protocol

BackgroundWhilst schools provide a potentially appropriate setting for preventing substance use among young people, systematic review evidence suggests that past interventions in this setting have demonstrated limited effectiveness in preventing tobacco, alcohol and other drug use. Interventions that adopt a mental wellbeing approach to prevent substance use offer considerable promise and resilience theory provides one method to impact on adolescent mental well-being. The aim of the proposed study is to examine the efficacy of a resilience intervention in decreasing the tobacco, alcohol and illicit drug use of adolescents.MethodsA cluster randomised controlled trial with schools as the unit of randomisation will be undertaken. Thirty two schools in disadvantaged areas will be allocated to either an intervention or a control group. A comprehensive resilience intervention will be implemented, inclusive of explicit program adoption strategies. Baseline surveys will be conducted with students in Grade 7 in both groups and again three years later when the student cohort is in Grade 10. The primary outcome measures will include self-reported tobacco, alcohol, marijuana and other illicit drug use. Comparisons will be made post-test between Grade 10 students in intervention and control schools to determine intervention effectiveness across all measures.DiscussionTo the authors’ knowledge this is the first randomised controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a comprehensive school-based resilience intervention, inclusive of explicit adoption strategies, in decreasing tobacco, alcohol and illicit drug use of adolescents attending disadvantaged secondary schools.Trial registrationACTRN12611000606987

The Challenges of Evaluating National Mental Health Promotion Programs in Schools: A Case Study Using the Evaluation of MindMatters

The national evaluation of school mental health promotion programs faces a number of challenges. They include working with different state educational systems, the tensions between outcomes of interest to health and education sectors, and balancing the interests of a number of stakeholders in design. This paper explores these challenges and offers pragmatic solutions to overcoming them.

Public housing, public health: health needs of public housing tenants

Objectives: To determine the health needs of public housing tenants, measured in terms of self‐reported health status, health risk factors and expressed need for health risk reduction intervention.

Prevalence and acceptability of public health initiatives in licensed premises

OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence and acceptability of public health initiatives in licensed premises.

A review of factors associated with mental health in siblings of children with chronic illness

This article reviews the literature on modifiable factors associated with mental health in siblings of children with chronic illness. Three clinical databases were searched. A total of 17 studies met the inclusion criteria. Several key themes emerged from the review. Better sibling mental health was associated with camp attendance, perceived parent/peer support, illness education and enhancing control through cognitive coping strategies and routine. Parental and sibling psychoeducation interventions and social support may enhance children’s mental health when their sibling has a chronic illness.

The Response Ability Project: Integrating the Reporting of Suicide and Mental Illness into Journalism Curricula

The Response Ability Project is a collaboration between mental health professionals and journalism educators in Australia. It seeks to influence the pre-professional education of journalists so that graduates of university courses will be aware of, and are able to respond appropriately to, issues relating to suicide and mental illness. Importantly, the project situates this learning in the context of the core skills of journalism such as news writing, research, and interviewing. Multi-media resources were developed from pilot resources in 2001 and disseminated to Australian universities. This essay explores key achievements of the project, proposing a place for these issues in journalism curricula internationally.

Teacher-mediated interventions to support child mental health following a disaster: a systematic review

Objectives: This review sought to identify, describe and assess the effectiveness of teacher-mediated interventions that aim to support child and adolescent recovery after a natural or man-made disaster. We also aimed to assess intervention applicability to rural and remote Australian school settings. Method: A systematic search of the academic literature was undertaken utilising six electronic databases (EBSCO, Medline, PsycINFO, Embase, ERIC and CINAHL) using terms that relate to: teacher-mediated and school-based interventions; children and adolescents; mental health and wellbeing; natural disasters and man-made disasters. This was supplemented by a grey literature search. Results: A total of 20 articles reporting on 18 separate interventions were identified. Nine separate interventions had been evaluated using methodologically adequate research designs, with findings suggesting at least short-term improvement in student wellbeing outcomes and academic performance. Conclusions: Although none of the identified studies reported on Australian-based interventions, international interventions could be adapted to the Australian rural and remote context using existing psychosocial programs and resources available online to Australian schools. Future research should investigate the acceptability, feasibility and effectiveness of implementing interventions modelled on the identified studies in Australian schools settings.