Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

A Conceptual Model For Capacity Building In Australian Primary Health Care Research, Elizabeth Farmer, Kathryn M. Weston

Graduate School of Medicine - Papers (Archive)

Background: Many general practitioners and primary health care practitioners lack research and evaluation skills. In response, the Australian Government has funded important capacity building initiatives.

Aim: To propose a conceptual model to assist these initiatives.

Model: Four groups of research involvement are suggested: nonparticipants; participating (as part of a research team); managing/training (either leading research, or in formal training to do so); and academic (with, or leading toward, a doctorate). We outline six guiding principles for research capacity building: 1) a whole system approach, 2) accommodating diversity, 3) reducing barriers to participation, 4) enabling collaboration, 5) mentoring, and 6) networking. …

Serve Sizes Of Grain Based Foods In Australia, P. G. Williams, B. Gibson, N. Smith

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

A survey was conducted of the recommended serve sizes used on the labelling of 807 grain based foods sold in Sydney stores in 2000. These values were compared with the serve sizes used in a variety of food selection guides, including the Australian Guide to Health Eating (AGHE). In most food categories there was a great deal of variation in the serve sizes recommended, sometimes up to 20 fold. The most consistent recommendations were for sliced breads, with most manufacturers recommending two slices as a serve, and ready-to-eat breakfast cereals (one cup). The median values for cereal products were mostly …

Food Service Trends In New South Wales Hospitals, 1993-2001, R. Mibey, P. G. Williams

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

A survey of the food service departments in 93 hospitals throughout NSW Australia (covering 51% of hospital beds in the state) was conducted using a mailed questionnaire and the results compared with those from similar surveys conducted in 1986 and 1993. Over the past eight years there has been a significant increase in the proportion of hospitals using cook-chill food service production systems, from 18% in 1993 to 42% in 2001 (p<0.001). Hospitals with cook-chill systems had lower staff ratios than those with cook-fresh systems (8.3 vs 6.4 beds/full time equivalent staff; p<0.05), but there was no significant difference in the ratio of meals served per FTE. There was no difference between public and private hospitals in terms of ratios of beds or meals to food service staff. Managers using cook-chill systems reported significantly lower levels of satisfaction with the food service system compared to those using cook-fresh. Two aspects of the services have not changed since the last survey: approximately a quarter of food service departments are still managed by staff without formal qualifications and meal times remain the same, with more than 90% of hospitals serving the evening meal before 5.30pm and a median of 14.25 hours gap between the evening meal and breakfast.

Syllable Frequency Effects On Phonological Short-Term Memory Tasks, L. M. Nimmo, Steven Roodenrys

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Recent evidence suggests that phonological short-term memory (STM) tasks are influenced by both lexical and sublexical factors inherent in the selection and construction of the stimuli to be recalled. This study examined whether long-term memory (LTM) influences STM at a sublexical level by investigating whether the frequency with which one-syllable nonwords occur in polysyllabic words influences recall accuracy on two phonological STM tasks, nonword repetition and serial recall. The results showed that recall accuracy increases when the stimuli to be recalled consist of one-syllable nonwords that occur often in polysyllabic English words. This result is consistent with the notion that …

What Australians Eat For Breakfast: An Analysis Of Data From The 1995 National Nutrition Survey, P. G. Williams

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective To analyse data on the patterns of food consumption at breakfast reported in the 1995 National Nutrition Survey.

Design The Australian Bureau of Statistics was commissioned to undertake additional analysis of data on food intake collected using 24-hour recall interviews, a food frequency questionnaire and a food habits questionnaire.

Subjects Nationally representative sample of 13 858 Australians, from age 2 years, surveyed in the 1995 National Nutrition Survey.

Main outcome measures Percentage of people eating breakfast regularly, mean amount of food groups consumed at breakfast, the percentage of respondents consuming each food item, and the mean serve sizes.

Statistical …

Changing Staff Attitudes And Empathy For Working With People With Psychosis, H. J. Mcleod, F. P. Deane, B. Hogbin

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Seventy-seven mental health professionals completed a 3-day cognitive behavioural training course for managing hallucinations and delusions in schizophrenia. A questionnaire measuring attitudes and empathy towards working with people who have these symptoms was administered before and after the course. Significant increases in feelings of adequacy, legitimacy, employment related self-esteem, and expectations of work satisfaction were observed after the course and participants displayed high levels of motivation for working with this clinical population at both time points. In addition, the participants showed significant increases in perceived empathy for the experience of hallucinations and delusions. This was a predicted outcome as the …

Promotion Of Prescription Medicines: A Critical Review And Research Agenda, Janet Hoek, Philip Gendall, Judith Holdershaw, Sandra C. Jones, John Rossiter

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Direct to consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription medicines has generated considerable controversy in both New Zealand and the United States, the only two countries that currently permit promotion ofrestricted medicines. Arguments against DTCA include the effect this may have on doctor-patient relationships, its implications for drug costs, and the extent to which it fully informs potential patients. Conversely, proponents of DTCA claim that it increases knowledge of a variety of common medical conditions, thus fostering earlier diagnosis and better compliance with treatments. However, although arguments for and against DTCA have merit, neither side has supported its position with empirical evidence. …

Adolescent Barriers To Seeking Professional Psychololgical Help For Personal-Emotional And Suicidal Problems, Coralie J. Wilson, Debra Rickwood, Joseph V. Ciarrochi, Frank P. Deane

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

A number of cognitive and affective barriers reduce the likelihood that young people will seek professional psychological help for either personal-emotional or suicidal problems. This paeer describes a study that has examined tbe relationship between helpseeking barriers and intentions in a highschool sample. Six hundred and eight high school students completed a questionnaire measunring help-seeking intetions and barriers to professional mental health source. Barriers related to Iower intentions to seek professional psychological help for suicidal and non-suicidal problems. Findings are discussed in terms of barrier reduction. Strategies for prevention and early intervention are suggested.

The Nature Of Human Adaptation To Cold, Alun Rees, Clare Eglin, Nigel Taylor, Mark Hetherington, Igor Mekjavic, Michael Tipton

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Human adaptation to repeated short term exposure to cold appears to be characterised by a decreased shivering threshold and unchanged sweating threshold, producing a widening of the inter-threshold zone (1). As a consequence, deep body temperature may fall more rapidly in cold habituated individuals on exposure to cold. This 'hypothermic adaptation' (2) may contribute to a range of problems, from hypothermia in the elderly to insidious hypothermia in occupational groups such as divers.

Although a reduction in the metabolic response to cold is probably the most widely and frequently reported alteration with cold habituation in humans (3), the nature of …

Comparative Analysis Of The Its Rdna Sequence And Nutrient Compositions Of An Un-Named Ganoderma Species In Australia, Li-Xia Liu, Peter Howe, Chen-Wei Su, Fei Sun, Ren Zhang

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

An Australian species of Ganoderma genus (temporally named Ganoderma nt) mistaken for Garoderma lucidum, a well-known herbal medicine, was examined with internal transcribed spacer ribosomal DNA (ITS rDNA) sequence as an aid to the taxonomy. Variation between G. nt and G. lucidum in the ITS rDNA sequence was 2% - 4 %. Also nutrient value in this species was analyzed compared with G. lucidum. G. nt had similar contents to G. lucidum in polysaccharides and monosaccharides on dry mass base in fruit body. However, G. nt fruit body had higher soluble protein (14 mg/g dry mass) and fatty acids (5.6 …

Increased Post-Immersion Afterdrop Following B-Adrenergic Blockade, Annerieke Zeyl, Cassandra Haley, Pornkamon Thoicharoen, Laura Welschen, Nicole Sinnema, Nigel A. S Taylor, Arthur Jenkins

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

It is well established that, during the initial rewarming from mild hypothermia, core temperature continues to decrease before returning towards its pre-immersion state (I). This phenomenon is known as the afterdrop, and has been ascribed to circulatory changes at the periphery, as well as to continued core-to-periphery thermal conduction, both of which may account for continued central-body heat loss after removal from the cold (2,3,4). In a recent series of experiments, in which we studied interactions between cold-water immersion, B-adrenergic blockade, plasma leptin concentration, rewarming and skin blood flow control, we also investigated the afterdrop. Our observations have revealed that …

Is Experience With One Illicit Drug Associated With Perceptions Of The Believability Of Anti-Drug Messages?, Sandra C. Jones, John R. Rossiter

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Cannabis (marijuana) use is on the increase in many countries, particularly among teenagers. Information dissemination is likely to become the main vehicle for minimising the harms associated with cannabis use. Thus there is a clear need to develop informative and convincing communication strategies to target young (potential and incipient) cannabis users. Cognitive dissonance theory, as well as research with warning labels on other products, suggests that young people who currently use cannabis will find the information about cannabis and the infonnation about other drugs (with which they have no experience) less believable than will non-users. This study finds support for …

Breast Cancer Detection Messages In Australian Print Media Advertising - Are They Promoting Correct Information?, Sandra C. Jones, John R. Rossiter

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

With breast cancer now the leading cause of cancer deaths among women in the western world, correct information about detection and treatment is vitally important. The media are often accused of conveying inaccurate information in their editorial coverage of health issues, but few studies have examined the accuracy of information in media advertising. In this study of breast cancer detection ads in Australian magazines and newspapers, many instances of misleading information were found. As the print media have a major influence on women's health beliefs, these findings have serious implications for health communication policy regarding socially responsible advertising.

Is The Technology Acceptance Model A Valid Model Of User Satisfaction Of Information Technology In Environments Where Usage Is Mandatory?, Dave Mather, Peter Caputi, Rohan Jayasuriya

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The validity of the two models based on the extended Technology Acceptance Model (Venkatesh and Davies, 2000) in predicting user satisfaction of an incident reporting system in a mandated setting was tested using 84 employees from a large manufacturing company. The models differed in how the construct, subjective norm was represented. Although the results indicated that both models fitted the data, the anticipated relationship between subjective norms and user satisfaction was not supported. Furthermore, some of the antecedent factors did not predict perceived usefulness as anticipated.

Help-Seeking Patterns For Suicidal And Non-Suicidal Problems In Two High School Samples, Coralie J. Wilson, Joseph V. Ciarrochi, Debra Rickwood, Frank P. Deane

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Few distressed young people seek professional psychological help for either personal-emotional problems or suicidal ideation. This paper describes two studies that have examined help-seeking patterns in two contrasting high school populations. Two hundred and sixty four Il1awarra public high school students and 307 Queensland private high school students completed a questionnaire measuring intentions to seek help from a variety of fonnal and informal sources, in addition to no-one for personal-emotional and suicidal problems. Students in both samples indicated they would seek help from different sources of help for different problem types, but friends were rated as the most likely source …

Profiles Of Underreporting In Healthy Adults And Adults With Type Ii Diabetes Mellitus Participating In A Dietary Intervention Trial, Gina Martin, Linda C. Tapsell, Marijka Batterham

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract from The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society of Australia, 2002.

Relative Bias In Diet History Measurements: A Quality Control Technique For Dietary Intervention Trials, Gina S. Martin, Linda C. Tapsell, Marijka Batterham, Kenneth G. Russell

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective: Investigation of relative bias in diet history measurement during dietary intervention trials.

Design: Retrospective analysis of human dietary data from two randomised controlled trials examining modified fat diets in the prevention and treatment of type II diabetes mellitus.

Setting: Wollongong, Australia.

Subjects: Thirty-five overweight, otherwise healthy subjects in trial 1 and 56 subjects with diabetes in trial 2.

Interventions: Diet history interviews and three-day weighed food records administered at one-month intervals in trial 1 and three-month intervals in trial 2.

Results: In a cross-sectional bias analysis, graphs of the association between bias and mean dietary intake showed that bias …

Consistent Stereoscopic Information Increases The Perceived Speed Of Vection In Depth, Stephen A. Palmisano

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Previous research found that adding stereoscopic information to radially expanding optic flow decreased vection onsets and increased vection durations (Palmisano S, 1996 Perception & Psychophysics 58 1168-1176). In the current experiments, stereoscopic cues were also found to increase perceptions of egospeed and self-displacement during vection in depth - but only when these cues were consistent with monocularly-available information about self-motion. Stereoscopic information did not appear to be improving vection by increasing the perceived maximum extent of displays or by making displays appear more three-dimensional. Rather, it appeared that consistent patterns of stereoscopic optic flow provided extra, purely binocular information about …

Cardiac Membrane Fatty Acid Composition Modulates Myocardial Oxygen Consumption And Postischemic Recovery Of Contractile Function, Salvatore Pepe, Peter L. Mclennan

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

Background— Regular fish consumption is associated with low cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality. Fish oils modify cardiac membrane phospholipid fatty acid composition with potent antiarrhythmic effects. We tested the effects of dietary fish oil on ventricular hemodynamics and myocardial oxygen consumption (MVO2). Methods and Results— Male Wistar rats were fed for 16 weeks on a reference diet rich in n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), a diet rich in saturated animal fat (SAT), or a diet rich in n-3 PUFA from fish oil. Isolated working hearts were perfused with porcine erythrocytes (40% hematocrit) at 75 mm Hg afterload with variable preload …

Intakes And Food Sources Of Omega-6 And Omega-3 Pufa, Barbara J. Meyer, Peter Howe, Janine Lewis, Greg Milligan, Neil Mann, Andrew Sinclair

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

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

Dietary N-3 And N-6 Fatty Acids Alter Avian Metabolism: Molecular-Species Compostiton Of Breast-Muscle Phospholipids, Ronald Newman, Wayne Bryden, Eva Fleck, John R. Ashes, Leonard Storlien, Jeffery A. Downing

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

The effects of diets high in n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA; provided by fish oil), n-6 PUFA (sunflower oil) or in more-saturated fatty acids (tallow) on the distribution of subclasses of choline phospholipids (PC) and ethanolamine phospholipids (PE) from the breast muscle of broiler chickens were examined. Supplementation with the different fatty acids had no effect on the distribution of phospholipid subclasses. Feeding sunflower oil or tallow gave a molecular-species profile similar in both fatty acid subtype and proportion. In the diacyl PC phospholipids, 16: 0–18: 1n-9 and 16: 0–18: 2n-6 accounted for approximately …

Case Report: Survival After Deliberate Strychnine Self-Poisoning, With Toxicokinetic Data, David Michael Wood, Emma Webster, Daniel Martinez, Paul Ivor Dargan, Alison L. Jones

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

Introduction Strychnine poisoning is uncommon, and in most severe cases, the patient dies before reaching hospital. The management of strychnine poisoning is well documented, although there are few data on the kinetics of elimination of strychnine after overdose. Case report A 42-year-old man presented shortly after ingestion of an unknown quantity of strychnine powder. After a respiratory arrest, with intensive supportive management requiring admission to an intensive care unit, he survived. Eight serum samples were taken over the first 5 days and analysed subsequently for strychnine concentrations. Results The initial concentration at 1.5 hours after ingestion was 4.73 mg/l, falling …

Acetaminophen Poisoning: An Update For The Intensivist, Paul I. Dargan, Alison L. Jones

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

Acetaminophen overdose is common and can result from deliberate/nonstaggered or accidental/staggered ingestion. Patients presenting within 24 h of an acetaminophen overdose can safely be managed on medical wards. Early management of nonstaggered overdose is guided by the plasma acetaminophen concentration, whereas management of accidental/staggered ingestion is guided by ingested dose. Ingested dose and time from ingestion to presentation are important prognostic factors in accidental/staggered ingestion. Acetaminophen-induced acute liver failure (ALF) requires meticulous supportive care in an intensive care unit (ICU), with early identification and transfer of patients who are likely to require liver transplantation to a specialist liver centre. The …

Cultural Sequence Of Bet Dwarka Island Based On Thermoluminescence Dating, K H. Vora, A S. Gaur, David Price, Sudaresh

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

Earlier studies on the onshore and inter-tidal zone explorations in Bet Dwarka island had revealed the presence of a large number of potsherds and other antiquities that correspond to the protohistoric (2000- 1500 BC), historical (3rd century BC to 5th century AD) and medieval (8th century to 15th century AD) periods. Until the present time there has been a lack of absolute chronology. This study therefore attempts to address this deficiency. Accordingly, nine potsherds from four different sites of Bet Dwarka island were dated by thermoluminescence (TL). The ages obtained from site BDK-VI vary between 3870 and 2220 years BP; …

Low Cost Technology For Monitoring Sustainable Development, R John Morrison, Ursula Kaly, Alifereti Tawake, Batiri Thaman

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

The term 'sustainable development' first appeared in a significant way in the World Conservation Strategy (IUCN 1980), but the basic ideas had been discussed much earlier. 'Ecologically sustainable development' became particularly popular after the publication of Our Common Future, the Brundtland report (WCED 1987). Many agencies claim that their work is highly dependent on, or governed by, sustainable development or sustainability principles. One of the major problems with the concept of sustainability, however, is that, while many people claim to be utilising sustainability principles, there is often little evidence to confirm this. Supporting data are frequently absent, perhaps because …

The Edge Effect And Ecotonal Species: Bird Communities Across A Natural Edge In Southeastern Australia, Jack Baker, Kris French, Robert Whelan

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

Ecotones have been considered as unique environments, and the concepts of edge effect and ecotonal species have been widely used, especially in avian community ecology. We studied the patterns of bird densities across heath-wood edges at replicated sites in three locations in southeastern Australia. Multivariate analysis showed that the bird community in the ecotone was intermediate between the heath and wood communities, indicating that the ecotone contained a mixing of species rather than a unique bird community. ANOVA showed a modest increase in bird density at the wood side of the ecotone, which may be partly due to sampling biases …

Functional Foods Ii: Claims And Evidence, Peter Williams

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

Book review of: Functional Foods II: Claims and Evidence Judy Buttriss & Michael Saltmarsh (eds) The Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, 2000 ISBN 0-85404-789-1 xx+244 pp £59.50 c. $A180

Molecular Analysis Of Group B Protective Surface Protein, A New Cell Surface Protective Antigen Of Group B Steptococci, Sezgin Erdogan, Peter K. Fagan, Susanne R. Talay, Manfred Rohde, Patricia Ferrieri, Aurea E. Flores, Carlos A. Guzman, Mark J. Walker, Gursharan S. Chhatwal

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

Group B streptococci (GBS) express various surface antigens designated c, R, and X antigens. A new R-like surface protein from Streptococcus agalactiae strain Compton R has been identified by using a polyclonal antiserum raised against the R protein fraction of this strain to screen a lambda Zap library. DNA sequence analysis of positive clones allowed the prediction of the primary structure of a 105-kDa protein designated BPS protein (group B protective surface protein) that exhibited typical features of streptococcal surface proteins such as a signal sequence and a membrane anchor region but did not show significant similarity with other known …

Multiyear Infrared Solar Spectroscopic Measurements Of Hcn, Co, C2h6, And C2h2 Tropospheric Columns Above Lauder, New Zealand (45 S Latitude), C P. Rinsland, Nicholas Jones, Brian J. Connor, Stephen W. Wood, Aaron Goldman, Thomas M. Stephen, Frank J. Murcray, Linda S. Chiou, Rodolphe Zander, Emmanuel Mahieu

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

Near-simultaneous, 0.0035 or 0.007 cm⁻¹ resolution infrared solar absorption spectra of tropospheric HCN, C₂H₂, CO, and C₂H₆ have been recorded from the Network for the Detection of Stratospheric Change station in Lauder, New Zealand (45.04°S, 169.68°E, 0.37 km altitude). All four molecules were measured on over 350 days with HCN and C₂H₂ reported for the first time based on a new analysis procedure that significantly increases the effective signal-to-noise of weak tropospheric absorption features in the measured spectra. The CO measurements extend by 2.5 years a database of measurements …

Ground-Based Infrared Spectroscopic Measurements Of Carbonyl Sulfide: Free Tropospheric Trends From A 24-Year Time Series Of Solar Absorption Measurements, C P. Rinsland, A Goldman, E Mahieu, R Zander, J Notholt, Nicholas Jones, D W. T Griffith, T M. Stephen, L S. Chiou

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

Solar absorption spectra recorded over a 24-year time span have been analyzed to retrieve average free tropospheric mixing ratios of carbonyl sulfide (OCS). The measurements were recorded with the Fourier transform spectrometer located in the U.S. National Solar Observatory McMath solar telescope facility on Kitt Peak (altitude 2.09 km, lat. 31.9°N, long. 111.6°W), southwest of Tucson, Arizona, and were obtained on 167 days between May 1978 and February 2002, typically at 0.01-cm⁻¹ spectral resolution. A best fit to the time series shows an average mixing ratio of 566 pptv (1 pptv = 10⁻¹² per unit volume) between 2.09 …