Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Patients With Metabolic Syndrome: A Study Using Automated Dietary Assessment In Primary Care, Y. C. Probst

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

An automated dietary assessment website has been developed for patients with metabolic syndrome. Computers have been set up in local GP practices to which the GP may refer their patients. These patients enter their dietary information into the website and receive an individualised dietary prescription put together by a dietitian. This study outlines the profile of patients using the website and their rates of completion of the assessment. Recruited patients were primarily female(66%). Ranging between 22 and 75 years of age patients reported to be overweight(77%), have high cholesterol (53%), elevated blood pressure (54%) and/or type 2 diabetes mellitus (35%). …

Consumer Understanding And Use Of Health Claims For Foods, P. G. Williams

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Health claims for foods are permitted in an increasing number of countries but there are very few studies evaluating the effect of such claims on purchase behavior and consumer health. There are significant differences between countries, but in general consumers see health claims as useful, they prefer short succinct wording rather than long and complex claims, and they believe claims should be approved by government. Consumers view a food as healthier if it carries a health claim and this “halo” effect may discourage them seeking further nutrition information. Consumers do not clearly distinguish between nutrient content, structure-function and health claims. …

Communicating Health Benefits - Do We Need Health Claims?, P. G. Williams

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Many countries are now permitting health claims on foods and Food Standards Australia New Zealand is developing new regulations to permit their use in Australia. However there is no clear understanding of how consumers use health claims and their likely impact on consumer food behaviour or health. More research is needed, but a review of previous studies allows some common conclusions can be drawn. Health claims on foods are seen by consumers as useful, and when a product features a health claim they view it as healthier and state they are more likely to purchase it. Consumers are sceptical of …

Breakfast And The Diets Of Australian Adults: An Analysis Of Data From The 1995 National Nutrition Survey, P. G. Williams

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The aim of this study was to describe the nutrients provided to Australian adults by the breakfast meal and compare the food and nutrient intakes and health of regular breakfast eaters and skippers. The Australian Bureau of Statistics was commissioned to undertake additional analysis of data collected in the 1995 Australian National Nutrition Survey (NNS). The survey included 24 hour recalls, physical measurements and a food habits questionnaire collected during the period February 1995 to March 1996, with a nationally representative sample of 10851 Australians aged nineteen years and older. The median nutrient intakes at breakfast and the proportion of …

Australian Consumers Are Sceptical About But Influenced By Claims About Fat On Food Labels, C. Chan, C. Patch, P. G. Williams

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objectives: To explore the beliefs and attitudes of Australian consumers to claims about fat made on the labels of packaged food.

Design: Content analysis of transcripts from focus group discussions.

Subjects: 26 females and 10 males aged 20-80y, recruited by advertisement into six focus groups, stratified by age, sex and health status.

Results: Awareness of claims about fat was high in this sample of Australians and participants admitted that they influenced their purchase decisions. The most preferred form of claim was “X% fat free”. Claims were considered most useful on foods that were high in fat. There was considerable scepticism …

Attitudes And Intentions Toward Purchasing Novel Foods Enriched With Omega-3 Fatty Acids, C. Patch, P. G. Williams, Linda C. Tapsell

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective: To identify the nature, strength and relative importance of influences on intentions to consume foods that are enriched with omega-3 fatty acids using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Design: A cross-sectional self-administered questionnaire. Setting: Community based residents living in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. Subjects: Two sub-samples were surveyed via questionnaire: Community members who responded to a local media advertisement (n=79), and subjects in a dietary intervention trial for type 2 diabetes mellitus (n=50). Variables Measures: Using the TPB variables – intention, attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control - questionnaire items were constructed to …

Plant Sterol/Stanol Prescription Is An Effective Treatment Strategy For Managing Hypercholesterolemia In Outpatient Clinical Practice, C. Patch, Linda C. Tapsell, P. G. Williams

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective To determine the effectiveness of prescribing 2 g plant sterols/stanols per day as an addition to standard practice in a dietary outpatient clinic. Design A randomized parallel design of comparative 12-week interventions. Subjects/Setting Patients referred by a general practitioner to a dietary outpatient clinic for the management of hyperlipidemia were eligible. Twenty-five patients (15 women and 10 men) completed the study. Intervention Counselling regarding diet for hyperlipidemia was based on the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) guidelines. The intervention group was instructed to incorporate ~25 g/day of margarine containing plant sterols/stanols, which delivered ~2 g of plant sterols/stanols. Main …

Overview Of Computerized Dietary Assessment Programs For Research And Practice In Nutrition Education, Y. Probst, Linda C. Tapsell

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Computerized dietary assessment programs are often used for nutrition education research and practice. This article provides an informal overview of 29 dietary assessment programs mentioned in the literature covered by MEDLINE from 1996 to 2003, along with the components and capabilities of these programs derived from additional sources as needed. According to the literature, the advantages of using computers for dietary assessment include standardization of the questioning sequence, fast and easy processing, immediate results, and increased flexibility.The disadvantages include the need for typing skills and computer literacy, as well as potential bias in the responses if an interviewer is required.

Low Plasma Vitamin E Levels In Major Depression: Diet Or Disease?, A. J. Owen, Marijka Batterham, Y. C. Probst, Brin F. Grenyer, Linda C. Tapsell

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

"Objective: Levels of vitamin E have been reported to be lower in patients suffering major depression, but whether this is due to inadequate dietary intake or the pathophysiology of depression is not known, and was the subject of the present study. Setting: Wollongong, Australia. Methods: Plasma vitamin E (a-tocopherol) was measured in 49 adults with major depression, age (mean7s.d.): 47712 y. In a subset (n¼19) usual dietary intake of vitamin E was determined by diet history. Results: Subjects had significantly lower plasma a-tocopherol (4.7170.13 mmol/mmol cholesterol) than has previously been reported for healthy Australians, and plasma a-tocopherol was inversely related …

Walnuts And Dietary Approaches To The Prevention And Management Of Abnormal Lipid Profiles In Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Linda C. Tapsell, L. J. Gillen, C. S. Patch

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Dietary fat is considered central to the management of obesity and heart disease risk, and more recently with the risk of type 2 diabetes, given its observed role in the development of insulin resistance in mechanistic studies. For changes in lipid profiles, foods delivering substantial amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids relative to saturated fats are of interest, and walnuts fit this category.As a class of foods, nuts have been shown to provide benefits to health in a number of clinical trials. A review of the cardiovascular benefits of nuts indicated their value on thrombotic factors, inflammatory markers and endothelial function.Including …

Increasing The Efficacy Of Breast Cancer Risk Communications: Contributiolns From Behavioural Science And Marketing, Sandra C. Jones, Donald C. Iverson

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women in Australia. Women are faced with numerous decisions in relation to breast cancer including: actions they can take to reduce their risk of developing breast cancer; whether to participate in screening programs; and selection of the most appropriate treatment option if diagnosed with breast cancer. This paper discusses ways in which theories and findings from two disciplines, behavioural science and marketing, can be used collaboratively to design effective communications to increase the uptake of health behaviours that have the potential of reducing morbidity and mortality from breast cancer. From marketing …

Motivational Factors In The Food Buying Behaviour Of Parents Of Pre-School Age Children: A Projective Technique Study, Gary Noble, Sandra C. Jones, Danielle Mcvie

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

There is growing concern over childhood obesity levels around the world with many overweight children developing into obese adults. Research shows that the food choices of young children are determined largely by parents and that many parents are aware of what constitutes ‘healthy’ food yet continue to purchase ‘unhealthy’ food for their children’s consumption. This study explores this apparent paradox by identifying the motivations of parents of pre-school children in the purchase of both ‘healthy’ and ‘unhealthy’ food in the context of a supermarket shopping experience. Data was collected from 116 respondents using projective story and photograph techniques and then …

The Relationship Between Media Exposure And Awareness Of Health Behaviour Guidelines Among Older Australians, Sandra C. Jones, Christina Hoang

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This study aimed to determine whether or not there was a relationship between media exposure and awareness of health behaviour guidelines for physical activity, breast cancer screening and alcohol consumption among older Australians. The results of the study suggest that media exposure to certain health issues does in fact impact on people’s health knowledge and in some cases lead people to form incorrect perceptions. This is most evident with breast cancer where the heavy emphasis on the disease in the media has led to the misconception that breast cancer is the leading cause of death among Australian women and that …

Beer, Boats And Breasts: Responses To A Controversial Alcohol Advertising Campaign, Sandra C. Jones

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Over the last 30 years there has been a notable increase in the use of sexual appeals in advertising. In 2003, as with previous years, approximately 30% of all complaints to the Australian Advertising Standards Board related to portrayal of sex/sexuality/nudity and for the past four years this has been the most common issue prompting complaints. The stimulus for this study was a current television commercial for a full-strength beer which used an overt sexual/sexist appeal. The ad has been the subject of a large number of complaints to the ASB, which were rejected as the ASB deemed that the …

A Practical Application Of Theory: Using Social Marketing Theory To Develop Innovative And Comprehensive Sun Protection Campaigns, Sandra C. Jones, Donald C. Iverson, A. Penman, A. Tang

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This paper presents the background to a large-scale collaborative project between researchers at the University of Wollongong and the Cancer Council of New South Wales, and outlines in detail the stages of the ongoing research project. The project provides the opportunity to synthesise and apply best evidence form research in marketing, mass media communication, and health behaviour change real-life campaigns for a leading industry partner. This project demonstrates the value of ongoing research collaborations between university researchers and industry practitioners in systematically applying, and evaluating, research findings to real-world programs.

Message Framing Effects In Exercise Promotions: Confounded By Linguistic Complexity?, Sandra C. Jones

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Studies of framing effects on health-related intentions and behaviour have been conducted in numerous areas, with contradictory results. These inconsistent results can be partially explained by the differential nature of the behaviours concerned, and by the degree to which people engage in detailed processing of the messages, but there is clearly more to learn about framing effects. This study compared the effectiveness of the communication approaches inherent in the four-cell framing model towards adopting a health-enhancing behaviour (exercise). However we found an atheoretical interaction effect caused by the linguistic complexity of the messages.

Using Market Segmentation Theory To Select Target Markets For Sun Protection Campaigns, Sandra C. Jones, L. Rees, Danika Hall, A. Tang

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This paper describes the initial steps in target market segmentation and evaluation as part of an industry-linked research project to develop a social marketing program for sun protection. The Project Reference Group developed a set of segmentation evaluation criteria based on recommendations from marketing and health promotion literature, as well as adding criteria specifically relevant to the industry partner. The process enabled an informed, representative and defensible selection of a primary target market as an initial starting point for further target market research and segmentation. It also demonstrated that bridging terminology from the fields of marketing and health promotion as …

Parents' Inferences About Other Parents' Motives For Food Choices For Children: A Pilot Study, Sandra C. Jones, Danielle Mcvie, Gary Noble

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The traditional approach to improving children’s diets has been to educate parents about the importance of healthy food choices. However, it is recognized that knowledge does not necessarily lead to improved food choices. This study used an indirect measure to investigate the underlying reasons for parents’ decisions about their children’s diets. We found a significant difference in parents’ perceptions of a hypothetical mother on items that related directly to food choices. It appears from these results that parents do indeed make value judgments about the food choices that mothers make for their children. Our results suggest that indirect question techniques, …

Australian Industry Responses To Current Ethical Dilemmas – Fast Cars And Fast Food, Sandra C. Jones

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This paper reviews two ethical dilemmas currently facing advertisers in Australia, which have resulted from lobby group activities and public concern over health and safety issues, and discusses industry responses to these dilemmas. In Australia the main response mechanism for advertisers has been the introduction of self-regulatory codes of practice. A review of the general and trade press, and of the records of the Australian Advertising Standards Board, finds that industry responses tend to be based on teleological ethics (focus on the ends) rather than deontological ethics (focus on the means), with the primary teleological motive being to avoid deleterious …

Are Negative Reactions To Sexist Appeals In Alcohol Advertisements A Function Of Feminism Or Gender?, Sandra C. Jones

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Anecdotal evidence suggests that the use of sexual appeals in alcohol advertising is increasing. It has been shown that the use of sex appeals may result in a more negative attitude towards the brand, particularly among female consumers. This study investigates the proposition that this is the effect of feminist ideology rather than, or in addition to, biological gender. The results show that female respondents have more negative attitudes towards alcohol advertisements utilizing overt (or demeaning) sexual appeals than males and more positive attitudes towards alcohol advertisements utilizing feminist (empowering) appeals than males; and that there is no consistent independent …

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.

The Interaction Of Transcutaneous Heating And Helicopter Flight Simulation Performance, Joanne N. Caldwell, Mark J. Patterson, Nigel A.S Taylor

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

It is well known that elevations in body temperature can impair both physical and cognitive performance. For helicopter pilots, the major heat source during flight originates from solar radiation. However, when nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) protective clothing is worn, metabolic heat generated during the pre-flight period, and during the mission, is trapped, exacerbating thermal strain. In this project, the hypothesis that elevations in body heat content would degrade flight performance was tested. Helicopter pilots completed three, two-hour flight simulations under three levels of thermal strain, administered in a balanced order. Thermal strain was induced using a water-perfusion gannent, worn …

An Assessment Of The Repetitive Manual Tasks Of Cleaners, Fiona Weigall, Katrina Simpson, Alison F. Bell, Lynn Kemp

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

WorkCover NSW established a Steering Committee to investigate musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in the cleaning industry following advice arising from the Workplace Safety Summtt 2002. In September 2004, Health & Safety Matters Pty Ltd was appointed to undertake research into this area, with a focus on conducting an assessment of the upper limbs demands of repetttive cleaning ta~ks, and to provide advice on reducing the risk of MSDs. The objectives of the project were to: 1. explore the impact of upper limb musculoskeletal disorder injuries amongst cleaners; 2. describe the physical and work organisational demands of the upper limb work in …

Workforce Issues, Skill Mix, Maternity Services And The Enrolled Nurse : A Discussion, Moira Williamson, Avon Strahle

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

New South Wales (NSW) is experiencing a shortage of registered midwives. Currently midwives are being actively recruited for 125 metropolitan and 45 rural positions in area health services across the state. This shortage of registered midwives is occurring not only in NSW but also throughout Australia, and has also been reported internationally (McKenna & Hasson, 2002; Keeney et al. 2005). In an attempt to address the ongoing shortage of registered nurses and midwives the NSW Health Department has proposed that a skill mix of 80% registered nurses or midwives to 20% enrolled nurses be implemented within hospitals. This initiative will …

Do Infants Use A Generalised Motion Processing System For Discriminating Facial Motion?, J V. Spencer, J M. O'Brien, Harold C. Hill, A Johnston

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract presented at The 28th European Conference on Visual Perception, 22-26 August 2005, A Coruña, Spain

Adaptation To Differences In 3-D Face Shape Across Changes In Viewpoint And Texture, Harold C. Hill, T Watson, G Vignali

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract presented at The 28th European Conference on Visual Perception, 22-26 August 2005, A Coruña, Spain

Collaborative Recovery: An Integrative Model For Working With Individuals Who Experience Chronic And Recurring Mental Illness, Lindsay G. Oades, Frank P. Deane, Trevor P. Crowe, Gordon Lambert, David Kavanagh, Christopher Lloyd

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objectives: Recovery is an emerging movement in mental health. Evidence for recovery-based approaches is not well developed and approaches to implement recovery-oriented services are not well articulated. The collaborative recovery model (CRM) is presented as a model that assists clinicians to use evidencebased skills with consumers, in a manner consistent with the recovery movement. A current 5 year multisite Australian study to evaluate the effectiveness of CRM is briefly described. Conclusion: The collaborative recovery model puts into practice several aspects of policy regarding recovery-oriented services, using evidence-based practices to assist individuals who have chronic or recurring mental disorders (CRMD). It …

Functional Foods: Definition And Commercialisation, Linda C. Tapsell

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This paper outlines the framework for a working definition of functional foods utilised by the National Centre of Excellence in Functional Foods, considers trends in the areas of influence, and raises issues for the successful commercialisation of functional foods by the Australian food industry.

Western Australians' Perceptions Of The Survivability Of Different Cancers: Implications For Public Education Campaigns, Robert J Donovan, Owen Bj Carter, Geoffrey Jalleh, Sandra C. Jones

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

No abstract provided.

An Evaluation Of A Life-Coaching Group Program: Initial Findings From A Waitlist Control Study, Suzy Green, Lindsay G. Oades, Anthony M Grant

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Life coaching has grown substantially in the last few years and received considerable media coverage worldwide (Rock, 2001). However, there have been few empirical investigations into its efficacy (Grant, 2003). The study outlined in this chapter aims to add to this limited empirical base.