Use of Mass Media Campaigns to Change Health Behaviour

"The Use of Media Campaigns to Change Health Behaviour" is a recent article in The Lancet. The authors look at the use of mass media campaings to expose populations passively to health information. They discuss the outcomes in the context of various health-risk behavious such as the use of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs, heart disease risk factors, sex-related behaviours, road safety, cancer screening and preventino, and organ or blood donation. They analyse what makes the campaigns work, having concluded that they "can produce positive changes or prevent negative changes in health-related behaviours across large populations", and also suggest areas for future improvement.

This article is available through CIAP or by contacting your hospital library. Lancet
Volume 376, Issue 9748 pages 1261-71, 9 October 2010.

Improving stroke therapy

A study in the latest Medical Journal of Australia by Marion Simpson et al, is called, Thrombolysis for acute stroke in Australia: outcomes from the Safe Implementation of Thrombolysis in Stroke registry (2002-2008). (Medical Journal of Australia 2010;193;7:439-443).

Thrombolysis for acute stroke with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) is increasingly being used in metropolitan and regional hospitals. Randomised controlled trials have shown that rt-PA given within 3 hours of onset of stroke symptoms improves outcome with reduced disability at 3 months, "albeit with a small risk of serious harm, usually related to intracranial haemorrhage." This study compared Australian outcomes with those overseas and found that they are similar to those worldwide.

This week's Health Report on ABC's Radio National included an interview with one of the authors of the MJA paper, Chris Levi. His concern was that this treatment is "very effective but not available to all Australians as It's still only around 5% of stroke patients that come to our major metropolitan and major rural hospitals that are receiving tPA out of approximately 30% that would be eligible". He says the barriers are the workforce and training capabilities of our system.

The Economics of childhood obesity

The Productivity Commission has published a report, Childhood obesity : an economic perspective. The weight of Australian children has increased markedly in recent decades, to the point where around 8 per cent are defined as obese (based on Body Mass Index), and 17 per cent as overweight. The problem has been linked to a raft of physical and psychosocial health problems, including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, as well as social stigmatisation and low self-esteem.

This report indicates that there is only limited evidence of interventions designed to address childhood obesity achieving their goals. The authors suggest that the issue childhood obesity is complex and that policies need to be carefully designed to maximise cost-effectiveness, with a focus on evidence gathering, information sharing, evaluation and consequent policy modification.

Digestive Diseases information

The National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse is a service of the U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, NIH. It provides a large number of plain language resources on digestive diseases, including a special section on coeliac disease. There are fact and information sheets, links, statistics, reviews of clinical trials and practice guidelines. There are also links here to their other equally useful clearinghouse sites on Diabetes, Endocrine & Metabolic Diseases, Haematologic Diseases and Kidney & Urologic Diseases.

Trauma and Resilience: Mind, Body, and Spirit

Dr. Maria Mouratidis, a Bethesda Naval Medical Center expert on traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), spoke on "Trauma and Resilience: Mind, Body, and Spirit," at the National Library of Medicine. NLM has made this informative lecture and discussion available. You may watch a streaming version of the video at your computer or download it for viewing later. A full transcript is also available.

Access to and uptake of adult health services and outcomes for young people with type 1 diabetes in regional New South Wales

The Medical Journal of Australia recently published an article discussing young people with diabetes and their transition to adult diabetes care in both regional and city areas. Inadequate routine specialist care, poor diabetes self-management and frequent use of acute services for crisis management, particularly in regional areas, suggest service redesign is needed to encourage young people’s engagement. Read the full article here.

No quick fix: three essays on the future of the Australian public hospital system

Until the mid-1980s, Australian public hospitals were managed by their own boards of directors. When hospital boards were abolished, state governments established centralised health bureaucracies to administer hospitals and other health services within designated regions, such as the eight ‘area health services’ in New South Wales. Describing the negative impact the bureaucratisation of the hospital system has had on staff and patients in the last 30 years, these essays argue for the reestablishment of local hospital boards. The three essays are:
1. Radical Surgery: The Only Cure for Public Hospitals
2. An Insider’s Perspective on Hospital Administration
3. Why Public Hospitals Are Overcrowded: Key Points for Policymakers
Read the documents here.

RACGP Standards for General Practice - New Edition

The RACGP Standards for General Practice 4th edition were officially launched at GP10, the RACGP annual conference, in October 2010. The 4th edition of the Standards represents a template for quality and risk management in contemporary general practice. The review process included a separate e-health standards working group to review all the standards and their alignment with national e-health initiatives (patient, provider and organisation healthcare identifiers, and electronic health records) and best practice.

Guide for Using Statistics for Evidence Based Policy

There is an increasing emphasis within Australia, and internationally, on the importance of using good statistical information when making policy decisions. The 'Guide for Using Statistics for Evidence Based Policy' provides an overview of how data can be used to make well informed policy decisions and includes the following information:

• What is evidence based decision making?


• How good statistics can enhance the decision making process


• Using statistics for making evidence based decisions


• Data awareness


• Understanding statistical concepts


• Analysing and evaluating statistical information


• Communicating statistical findings


• Evaluating policy outcomes

(From: Australian Bureau of Statistics 20 October 2010)

Workers with Mental Illness: a Practical Guide for Managers

The Australian Human Rights Commission has produced a guide Workers with mental illness: a practical guide for managers. The guide aims to help managers better understand mental illness, develop strategies that assist workers with a mental illness and ensure that their workplaces are healthy and productive," President Branson said. "We developed this guide because research conducted by the Australian Human Rights Commission showed that managers want to provide support to staff members who live with a mental illness, but often lack the confidence or skills to do so," said President Branson.
The guide has been released after extensive consultation with the business community, trades unions, disability organisations, workplace safety bodies and employers. "During any year, approximately one in five Australian adults will experience a mental illness. It is our hope that this guide will assist managers to understanding their legal obligations while developing strategies that support their staff and reduce the incidence of illness in the workplace," said President Branson.
The guide has been endorsed by the Fair Work Ombudsman, beyondblue: the national depression initiative, SANE Australia, the Mental Health Council of Australia, and supported by Safe Work Australia.

Heart failure and palliative care

Heart failure is the only cardiac disease which is increasing in prevalence. Despite continuing improvements in treatment which can prolong and improve the lives of heart failure patients, it remains a terminal condition with a heavy burden of symptoms, especially in the advanced stages.
CareSearch is an online resource of palliative care information and evidence. It has recently introduced a new set of Clinical Practice pages providing a summary of the systematic review level evidence for heart failure in a palliative care context.
Access the information here.

Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare (2010)

There are around 200,000 healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in Australian acute healthcare facilities each year. This makes HAIs the most common complication affecting patients in hospital. As well as causing unnecessary pain and suffering for patients and their families, these adverse events prolong hospital stays and are costly to the health system.

NHMRC’s Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare (2010) are now available on the NHMRC website.
The Guidelines support the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare’s work in preventing healthcare associated infections.

Internet Addiction

Internet addiction appears to be a relatively common behavioural addiction, the prevalence of which has been estimated to range from 1% to approximately 14%. A study supported by the Beijing Municipal Natural Science Foundation has formulated a list of proposed diagnostic criteria for internet addiction. The article, published in the journal Addiction is available here.

Database of Genomic Structural Variations

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced the launch of a new resource, called the Database of Genomic Structural Variation, or dbVar, to help scientists understand how differences in DNA contribute to human health and disease.
The database will help track large-scale variations in DNA discovered in healthy individuals as well as those affected with disorders such as autism and cancer.
The database can be accessed here.

Critical Care in the Intensive Care Unit

This weeks Lancet has a number of excellent review articles relating to critical care. You can access these articles through the Online Journal list on CIAP or check with your Librarian.

Critical care and the global burden of critical illness in adults
Ethics and end-of-life care for adults in the intensive care unit
Critical care: advances and future perspectives