Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Ethics And Health Technology Assessment: Handmaiden And/Or Critic?, Annette J. Braunack-Mayer

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objectives: This study examines the content and role of ethical analysis in health technology assessment (HTA) and horizon scanning publications. It proposes that ethical analysis in HTA is of at least two different types: an ethics of HTA and an ethics in HTA. Methods: I examine the critical differences between these approaches through the examples of the analysis of genetic screening for breast cancer and home blood glucose testing in diabetes. I then argue that, although both approaches subscribe to similar views concerning HTA and ethics, they use different theoretical and methodological traditions to interpret and explain them. Results and …

Missing In Action: Research On Occupational Health And Safety Management In Organizations, Michael Zanko

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The enormous problem of workplace injuries and deaths continues to beset countries. Reflexive OHS regulation often places primary responsibility on employers’ management of OHS in organizations. This paper seeks to ascertain how OHS management at the organizational level has been treated in the research literature. A review of leading journals (13 in management, 6 in HRM) from 1994 to 2005 showed OHS management to be largely missing as the subject or field of study. Naturally, the OHS literature was more fruitful: 5 main categories were identified. However, there was little in the way nuanced explanation of OHS management at the …

Use Of Homework By Mental Health Case Managers In The Rehabilitation Of Persistent And Recurring Psychiatric Disability, Peter Kelly, Frank P. Deane, Nikolaos Kazantzis, Trevor P. Crowe, Lindsay G. Oades

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background: Homework refers to between-session activities that are tied to therapeutic goals. Homework has been suggested as being an important clinical adjunct to case management practices, however, to date, research has not examined case managers’ use of homework. Aims: To identify the degree that case managers use homework within their clinical practice and explore the way it is administered with people diagnosed with a persistent and recurring psychiatric illness. Method: A survey was completed by 122 case managers (63% of those approached) comprising nurses, psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists and welfare/support workers. Results: Ninety-three percent of case managers implement homework, …

Recommendations For Short Questions To Assess Food Consumption In Children For The Nsw Health Surveys, Victoria M. Flood, Karen Webb, Anna Rangan

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Monitoring key food habits of children is important for planning and improving health services in New South Wales. The NSW Health Department conducts the NSW Health survey program using Computer Assisted Telephone Interviews (CATI). This survey includes questions for monitoring food habits of children aged 0-16 years. In this report, we recommend survey questions to be used in the NSW Health survey for this purpose, which meet a range of criteria for good survey questions about nutrition and food habits.

Young People's Help-Seeking For Mental Health Problems., Debra Rickwood, Frank P. Deane, Coralie J. Wilson, Joseph V. Ciarrochi

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This paper summarises an ambitious research agenda aiming to uncover the factors that affect help-seeking among young people for mental health problems. The research set out to consider why young people, and particularly young males, do not seek help when they are in psychological distress or suicidal; how professional services be made more accessible and attractive to young people; the factors that inhibit and facilitate help-seeking; and how community gatekeepers can support young people to access services to help with personal and emotional problems. A range of studies was undertaken in New South Wales, Queensland and the ACT, using both …

Responsibility For Occupational Health And Safety Outcomes In The Labour Hire Industry: A Tripartite Arrangement?, Alex Spillett, Michael Zanko, Andrew J. Sense

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Labour hire workers are one category of a group more generally labelled contingent, temporary, precarious or casual workers. Research shows they are generally at increased risk of occupational injury and illness compared to permanent employees. It is proposed that one of the causal factors is the unique tripartite employment relationship used to engage labour hire. The dynamics and behaviours in this triangular relationship are discussed with reference to the legal and organisational uncertainty that it frequently presents. A model is proposed that suggests the occupational health and safety interdependence between the three parties. The potential occupational health and safety outcomes …

Rationalism's Irrationality - An Example From Australian Mental Health Policy, Ciorstan J. Smark

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This article reflects on the way in which accounting-related thinking influenced one particular historical event: the process of deinstitutionalisation from mental hospitals in New South Wales. The article suggests that accounting (via economic rationalism and other allied philosophical lenses ) led to the under funding of the deinstitutionalisation process to the detriment of society as a whole. Some of the societal difficulties inherent in using such rationalist calculus (biased towards quantified, monetary, accounting entity assumptions) as a means of evaluating social policies are then considered.

Functional Foods And Ingredients: Opportunities For Health And Profit, Linda C. Tapsell

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The National Centre of Excellence in Functional Foods (NCEFF) is developing well with strategic research projects underway. This report outlines progress to date.

Some International Benchmarks For Evaluating Australian Health And Medical Research, Samuel Garrett-Jones, Brian Wixted, Tim Turpin

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Recent experience in Australia has seen the requirement by the federal Department of Finance and Administration to conduct output pricing reviews of government agencies including research organisations. Health and medical research, while generally regarded as an important ‘public good’, is now pressed by the same demands as other research fields to account for public investments in terms of value of outcomes and value for investment. This paper reports on current trends towards international benchmarking of health and medical research performance. Comparative data from overseas show unique aspects of the Australian health and medical research funding system. The paper suggests possible …

What Is The Role Of Theory In Health Behavior Change Interventions?, Simone A. French, Anthony Worsley

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Editorial

Beta-2 Glycoprotein1: Function In Health And Disease, Spyridon Miyakis, Bill Giannakopoulos, S A. Krilis

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Beta-2 glycoprotein I (β2GPI) is the principal target of autoantibodies in the antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). It is abundant in human plasma and shares high homology between different mammalian species. Although the exact physiological function of β2GPI has not been fully elucidated, several interactions have been described with other proteins and with negatively charged surfaces, such as anionic phospholipids, dextran and heparin. β2GPI is involved in the coagulation pathway, exerting both procoagulant and anticoagulant activities. Plasma from β2GPI-deficient mice exhibits impaired thrombin generation in vitro. Recently, it has been demonstrated that β2GPI binds factor (F) XI in vitro at concentrations lower …

Science For Life: An Evaluation Of New Zealand's Health Research Investment System Based On International Benchmarks, Samuel Garrett-Jones, Tim Turpin, Brian Wixted

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

During the past decade there have been major developments in the way that research investments have been monitored and evaluated. While there are differences in the ways governments fund research around the world, and a diversity of approaches to evaluation, there are a number of common themes that can be observed in national experiences. As the importance of evaluation increases, the gap between current practice and best practice becomes more significant, and the need for comparative study and methods development grows. Current international ‘better-practice’ approaches to research evaluation and performance indicators reflect two important considerations. First, they make a clear …

Food And Nutritional Supplements. Their Role In Health And Disease, Anne-Therese Mcmahon

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Book review of: Food and nutritional supplements. Their role in health and disease J K Ransley, J K Donnelly and NW Read (eds) Springer-Verlag Berlin, 2001. ISBN 3-540-41737-0 197pp c. A$120

The Nature And Prevalence Of Psychological Problems In New Zealand Primary Healthcare: A Report On Mental Health And General Practice Investigation ( Magpie), John Bushnell, Deborah Mcleod, A D. Dowell, C Salmond, S Ramage, S Collings, P Ellis, Marjan Kljakovic, L Mcbain

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Aims This paper describes the methods used in a study of the prevalence and types of common mental disorders among patients attending New Zealand general practices, and reports some key findings from the first phase of the study. The study also aimed to determine the degree of associated disability and other factors influencing recognition, management, course and outcome of these disorders, and subsequent papers will address these issues. Methods General practitioners (GPs) were selected randomly. In the first phase of the study, all adult attenders at each practice on selected days were administered a short questionnaire, the General Health Questionnaire …

Health Promotions And Lifestyle Shoalhaven, South Coast Nsw, Joanne Buckskin

Faculty of Arts - Papers (Archive)

Health Promotion and the development of resources was the inspiration for this community based Shoalhaven Story Telling Project. It was envisaged that the resources produced from this project would be used in Health Promotion and reconciliation activities throughout the Illawarra.

New Zealanders' Attitudes To Milk: Implications For Public Health, Carol A. Wham, Anthony Worsley

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective: To identify consumer attitudes and beliefs about (liquid) milk that may be barriers to consumption.

Design: Two random-quota telephone surveys conducted in Auckland one year apart. Respondents were questioned about their usual milk intake and their attitudes to milk. The questionnaire included attitude items that reflected the main themes of consumer interest in milk.

Setting: New Zealand.

Subjects: Seven hundred and thirteen respondents in the baseline survey and a separate sample of 719 respondents in the follow-up survey.

Results: At least one-third of the respondents consumed less than a glass (250ml) of milk a day. Non-consumption was highest in …

Undergraduate Public Health Education: A Workforce Perspective, Susan Houghton, Annette J. Braunack-Mayer, Janet E. Hiller

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective: To describe the career paths of students who majored in public health at the undergraduate level and to assess the skills and knowledge these g raduates believed were most useful to them in the public health workforce. Method: A telephone survey was conducted of all graduates from Adelaide University's Bachelor of Health Sciences degree from 1992-99 who had majored in public health (124 graduates). Results: The response rate to the graduate survey was 71 %. Using the definition of public health functions from the National Delphi Study on Public Health Functions to delineate the public health workforce, 59% …

Health Claims Policy, Heather Yeatman

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract presented at The 2nd Omega Workshop, 30 September 2002, Adelaide, Australia.

Can Motivational Signs Prompt Increases In Incidental Physical Activity In An Australian Health-Care Facility?, A L. Marshall, A E. Bauman, C Patch, J Wilson, J Chen

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This study aimed to evaluate whether a stairpromoting signed intervention could increase the use of the stairs over the elevator in a health-care facility. A time-series design was conducted over 12 weeks. Data were collected before, during and after displaying a signed intervention during weeks 4–5 and 8–9. Evaluation included anonymous counts recorded by an objective unobtrusive motion-sensing device of people entering the elevator or the stairs. Self-report data on stair use by hospital staff were also collected. Stair use significantly increased after the first intervention phase (P 0.02), but after the intervention was removed stair use decreased back towards …

John's $12 Tonic: Press Coverage Of The Government's Selling Of A Private Health Insurance Rebate, Stacy M. Carter, Simon Chapman

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective: To document representations of the 1998 introduction of a 30% rebate on private health insurance in the three most-read daily Sydney newspapers. Methods: Thematic frame analysis of 131 newspaper articles. Results: The rebate was opposed through two frames: that it was ineffective and unfair, and that it was politically motivated. Four supportive frames were more complex: the rebate was justified by claims that public health care was collapsing, that responsible citizens should pay for their own health care, and that individuals would benefit financially. There was also a focus on the political battle in the Senate. The newspaper with …

Psychological Problems In New Zealand Primary Health Care: A Report On The Pilot Phase Of The Mental Health And General Practice Investigation (Magpie), John Bushnell, Deborah Mcleod, A D. Dowell, C Salmond, S Ramage, S Collings, University Of Otago, Marjan Kljakovic, L Mcbain

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Aim. To carry out a pilot study in two regions in order to investigate prevalence of psychological problems in primary care in New Zealand. Method. General Practitioners (GPs) within two geographic regions were randomly selected. All adult attenders at their practice on selected days were administered a short questionnaire, the GHQ-12, which assesses the presence of psychological symptoms. The GP recorded the reasons for each consultation, and was interviewed at the end of each day about selected patients, to determine their opinion about the type of psychological problems experienced. Results. Three-quarters of selected GPs (76%) agreed to participate. 96% of …

Nutrition, Health And Old Age: The Case Of Urban South African Elderly, Karen E. Charlton

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

The southern African region (Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Mozambique and Zimbabwe) has the continent's highest percentage of older inhabitants; 6.2% of the population in 1997 was estimated to be 60 years or older. Within southern Africa, South Africa has the highest proportion of older population. The 1996 census data estimate that 2.8 million South Africans are aged 60 years and older, which constitutes 7% of the total population. This percentage is projected to increase to almost 11% of the population over the next 20 years. (Mostert W, Hofmeyr B, Oosthuizen K Demographic projections for South Africa. Pretoria: Human …