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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences
Do Australian Primary School Environments Affect Children's Playground Physical Activity Levels?, Anne-Maree Parrish, Donald Iverson, Kenneth Russell, Heather Yeatman
Do Australian Primary School Environments Affect Children's Playground Physical Activity Levels?, Anne-Maree Parrish, Donald Iverson, Kenneth Russell, Heather Yeatman
Don C. Iverson
No abstract provided.
Is Sleep Duration Associated With Obesity In Older Australian Adults?, Christopher A. Magee, Peter Caputi, Don C. Iverson
Is Sleep Duration Associated With Obesity In Older Australian Adults?, Christopher A. Magee, Peter Caputi, Don C. Iverson
Don C. Iverson
Objectives: To investigate the relationship between sleep duration and obesity in older Australian adults. Method: Self-reported health data were collected through the 45 and Up Study. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to test the relationship between sleep duration and body mass index, controlling for a range of demographic and health-related variables. Results: The sample included 45,325 Australian adults aged 55 to 95 years. The regression models demonstrated that short and long sleep were associated with obesity in 55- to 64-year-olds but not in those aged 65 years and above. Discussion: The present results suggest that the relationships between sleep …
Occupational Factors And Sick Leave In Australian Employees, Christopher Magee, Natalie Stefanic, Peter Caputi, Don Iverson
Occupational Factors And Sick Leave In Australian Employees, Christopher Magee, Natalie Stefanic, Peter Caputi, Don Iverson
Don C. Iverson
Objectives: To investigate occupational factors associated with sick leave over a 4-year period in Australian employees. Methods: Longitudinal data (self-report) from 2861 Australian full-time employees (69.4% male) were used. Occupational factors and relevant covariates were assessed at baseline with sick leave assessed yearly over a 4-year period. The data were analyzed using multinomial logistic regression models. Results: Job strain and longer commuting time were associated with long sick leave, whereas long work hours were inversely associated with long sick leave. Conclusions: These results provide further evidence that certain aspects of work are associated with sick leave, whereas other work aspects …
An Investigation Of The Dimensionality Of The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index In Australian Adults, Christopher Magee, Peter Caputi, Donald Iverson, Xu-Feng Huang
An Investigation Of The Dimensionality Of The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index In Australian Adults, Christopher Magee, Peter Caputi, Donald Iverson, Xu-Feng Huang
Don C. Iverson
The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) is widely used to assess subjective sleep quality in clinical and non-clinical settings. Although the PSQI is routinely scored to provide a single sleep quality factor, two recent studies suggest that multiple factor scoring methods could be more appropriate. As a consequence, the present study investigated for the dimensionality and factor structure of the PSQI in 364 Australian adults aged 18 to 59 years. The results demonstrate that two factor and three factor scoring models were favored statistically over the single factor model. These results add to recent findings and suggest that scoring the …
Sleep Duration And Obesity In Middle-Aged Australian Adults, Christopher A. Magee, Donald C. Iverson, Peter Caputi
Sleep Duration And Obesity In Middle-Aged Australian Adults, Christopher A. Magee, Donald C. Iverson, Peter Caputi
Don C. Iverson
The present study examined the association between sleep duration and obesity in 40,834 middle-aged Australian adults. Multinomial logistic regression was used to test the relationship between sleep duration and obesity while controlling for important demographic and health covariates; separate models were tested for males and females. Short sleep (i.e., <7 h a night) was found to be independently associated with obesity in males and females. To our knowledge, this is the first study to report an association between short sleep and obesity in Australian adults. Although more research is required, interventions targeting short sleep could aid obesity treatment and prevention.
Do Australian Adolescent Female Fake Tan (Sunless Tan) Users Practice Better Sun-Protection Behaviors Than Non-Users?, Melinda Williams, Sandra Jones, Peter Caputi, Donald Iverson
Do Australian Adolescent Female Fake Tan (Sunless Tan) Users Practice Better Sun-Protection Behaviors Than Non-Users?, Melinda Williams, Sandra Jones, Peter Caputi, Donald Iverson
Don C. Iverson
Objective: To determine differences in sun-protection behaviours, and incidence of sunburn, between Australian adolescent female fake tan users and non-users. Design: Cross sectional survey. Method: 398 adolescent females aged 12 to 18 years participated in a survey at public venues, schools, and online. The main outcome measures were self-reported fake tan usage in the past 12 months, frequency of sunburns and habitual sun-protection behaviours. Setting: Surveys were completed in New South Wales, Australia. Results: The prevalence of self-reported use of fake tanning products in the past 12 months among Australian adolescent females was 34.5%. Female fake tan users were significantly …
Australian Women's Awareness Of Breast Cancer Symptoms And Responses To Potential Symptoms, Sandra Jones, Parri Gregory, Caroline Nehill, Lance Barrie, Karen Luxford, A. Nelson, Helen Zorbas, Donald Iverson
Australian Women's Awareness Of Breast Cancer Symptoms And Responses To Potential Symptoms, Sandra Jones, Parri Gregory, Caroline Nehill, Lance Barrie, Karen Luxford, A. Nelson, Helen Zorbas, Donald Iverson
Don C. Iverson
Poor awareness of breast cancer symptoms has been associated with patient delay in seeking help; thus reduced survival, more aggressive treatment, and fewer treatment choices. The aim of this study was to develop a representative picture of Australian women’s knowledge of symptoms, experienced potential symptoms, and behavioral responses. A general population sample of approximately 3,000 women aged 30–69 completed a telephone survey; results were compared to previous surveys conducted in 1996 and 2003. The most commonly cited potential symptom of breast cancer was a lump in the breast, identified by 86% of respondents (an increase from 75% in 2003). Other …
Disease Awareness Advertisements In Australian Magazines: An Analysis Of Content And Compliance, Danika Hall, Sandra C. Jones, Donald C. Iverson
Disease Awareness Advertisements In Australian Magazines: An Analysis Of Content And Compliance, Danika Hall, Sandra C. Jones, Donald C. Iverson
Don C. Iverson
In Australia, Direct to Consumer Advertising (DTCA) of prescription medicine is prohibited; however pharmaceutical companies can communicate directly with consumers via Disease Awareness Advertising (DAA). DAA can contain information about a disease including treatment information, but cannot mention the name of a particular product or brand. DAA is currently regulated by the industry body Medicines Australia (MA). In the current study, content analysis methodology was used to determine the extent and nature of DAA in popular Australian women’s magazines which were monitored for 12 months. Findings relating to the use of visual appeals in the imagery and rational appeals in …
'Just Don't Eat Chicken': The Challenge Of Engaging Australian Adults In Appropriate Preventive Behaviours For Bird Flu, Sandra Jones, Donald Iverson, Louise Waters
'Just Don't Eat Chicken': The Challenge Of Engaging Australian Adults In Appropriate Preventive Behaviours For Bird Flu, Sandra Jones, Donald Iverson, Louise Waters
Don C. Iverson
Leading medical experts have cautioned about the risk of inappropriate behavioural responses as a result of fear of avian influenza (bird flu) even before a pandemic emerges, and have emphasised the need for appropriate risk communication strategies. There is a paucity of in-depth qualitative research into the general public's understanding of, and reactions to, such potential health crises. Four focus groups were conducted in April 2006 and a further eight focus groups in July 2006, to examine people's knowledge, beliefs and behaviours in relation to avian influenza, with the primary aim being to inform the development of future communication strategies. …
Australian Adolescents' Compliance With Sun Protection Behaviours During Summer: The Importance Of The School Context, Melinda Williams, Sandra C. Jones, Peter Caputi, Donald Iverson
Australian Adolescents' Compliance With Sun Protection Behaviours During Summer: The Importance Of The School Context, Melinda Williams, Sandra C. Jones, Peter Caputi, Donald Iverson
Don C. Iverson
Adolescents exhibit significantly lower sun protection behaviours than adults in Australia. While many studies have assessed the sun protection behaviours of adolescents during summer, few studies have explored the differences in sun protection behaviours of adolescents across key contexts relevant to adolescents during summer—notably school time, weekends and school holidays. Greater understanding of differences in behaviours across these contexts provides more detailed explanations of the nature of adolescent ultraviolet exposure and thereby facilitates improved targeting of interventions for this segment whose behaviour is considered hard to change. In this study, we explore the differences in self-reported, habitual, sun protection behaviours …
Australian Women's Perceptions Of Breast Cancer Risk Factors And The Risk Of Developing Breast Cancer, Sandra C. Jones, Christopher A. Magee, Lance R. Barrie, Donald C. Iverson, Parri Gregory, Emma L. Hanks, Anne E. Nelson, Caroline L. Nehill, Helen M. Zorbas
Australian Women's Perceptions Of Breast Cancer Risk Factors And The Risk Of Developing Breast Cancer, Sandra C. Jones, Christopher A. Magee, Lance R. Barrie, Donald C. Iverson, Parri Gregory, Emma L. Hanks, Anne E. Nelson, Caroline L. Nehill, Helen M. Zorbas
Don C. Iverson
Background Numerous studies have shown that the majority of women overestimate both their own risk and the populations’ risk of developing breast cancer. A number of factors have been found to correlate with perceived risk. Methods This paper reports on a telephone survey of a nationally representative sample of approximately 3,000 Australian women aged 30 to 69 years, conducted in 2007, and compares the findings with those of a similar survey conducted in 2003. Results There was a clear tendency for respondents to overestimate the proportion of women who will develop breast cancer during their lifetime. Approximately half the respondents …
Content Analysis Of Disease Awareness Advertisements In Popular Australian Women's Magazines, Danika V. Hall, Sandra C. Jones, Donald C. Iverson
Content Analysis Of Disease Awareness Advertisements In Popular Australian Women's Magazines, Danika V. Hall, Sandra C. Jones, Donald C. Iverson
Don C. Iverson
Objective: To examine the nature of disease awareness advertising (DAA). Design: Therapeutic advertisements in six popular Australian women’s magazines were monitored between April 2006 and March 2007. A subset of advertisements was included in the study based on criteria derived from a definition of DAA. Unique advertisements were analysed by four independent coders. Main outcome measures: Types of advertisements and their sponsors, the types of disease information present, and the persuasive techniques utilised. Results: Of 711 advertisements identified, 60 met the inclusion criteria for DAA, and 30 of these were unique. Over one-third of the advertisements were classified as “unbranded …