Health

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    Addressing men's health policy concerns in Australia: what can be done?
    (BioMed Central - http://www.biomedcentral.com, 2007-10-10) Smith, James
    There is a lack of consensus about what men's health constitutes in Australia. The absence of a widely accepted definition has been problematic for establishing state and national men's health policies. I consider that one impediment to the implementation of state and federal men's health policies has been a lack of willingness to approach men's health from a broad public health perspective. In particular, scant attention has been paid to exploring lay perspectives of how men define and understand health, and in turn, how these relate to significant policy problems such as men's health service use. I conclude by suggesting that a focus on men's lay perspectives of their health emerging from the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland provides a useful framework to guide men's health policy discussion in Australia.
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    Addressing nutrition and social connection through community gardening: A South Australian study
    (Wiley, 2019-02-11) Mehta, Kaye Phillips ; Lopresti, Silvia ; Thomas, Jessica
    Background This research aimed to evaluate the benefits of the community gardening program called ‘‘Magic Harvest (MH)” with respect to its key elements: social interaction; gardening skills; and, healthier eating. The MH program supports community participants to grow food, share produce, prepare and preserve food. Methods Two focus groups were conducted with participants in MH programs in the south of Adelaide, South Australia. The MH programs were located in lower socio‐economic areas. Focus group interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, coded and analysed thematically. Results Thirteen participants took part in the focus groups and reported gains in community connectedness and shared learning, skills for growing food and healthy eating and making more sustainable food choices. Conclusion This study highlights the social and nutritional benefits that can be derived from a community gardening program in low‐income communities. Health practitioners and policymakers should consider community gardening as an effective health promotion strategy that can address physical and social determinants of health and nutrition for low‐income communities.
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    Agreement between pre-exercise screening questionnaires completed online versus face-to-face
    (Public Library of Science, 2018-06-26) Norton, Lynda ; Thomas, Jessica ; Bevan, Nadia ; Norton, Kevin
    Objectives To investigate the levels of agreement between self-reported responses to the Adult Preexercise Screening System (APSS) questionnaire using online versus face-to-face (F2F) modalities. Design Convenience sample of adults completing a pre-exercise screening questionnaire using different modalities. Methods Adult volunteers (n = 94) were recruited to complete the APSS using both online and F2F modalities. Participants were provided a URL link to an online APSS questionnaire then followed- up the next day in a F2F interview. Objective health risk factors were also measured. Comparisons between responses were undertaken using kappa and correlation statistics to determine levels of agreement. Results The levels of agreement between online versus F2F responses for the seven compulsory Stage 1 questions (known diseases and signs and/or symptoms of disease) were >94% (kappa = 0.644±0.794). Response comparisons for Stage 2 questions on health risk factors were also generally high (>82% agreement) but there were larger differences between reported and measured risk factors in Stage 3. Conclusions Levels of agreement between the Stage 1 responses were substantial and support the use of this online option for pre-exercise screening. There were larger differences between selfreported and objectively measured health risk factors in Stages 2 and 3.
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    Alcohol Consumption Change of English, French and Chinese Speaking Immigrants in Ottawa and Gatineau, Canada
    (Springer-Verlag, 2015-04-03) Tang, Ning ; MacDougall, Colin James
    Aim: The multicultural study aimed at examining alcohol consumption change or drinking change of English, French and Chinese speaking immigrants in Ottawa and Gatineau, Canada, and identifying demographic factors that impact the change. Subjects and methods: In all, 810 immigrants of three language sub-groups were recruited by purposive-sampling. Using self-reports, respondents answered questions regarding drinking change and demography in the Multicultural Lifestyle Change Questionnaire in either the English, French or Chinese versions. Data on drinking were analyzed statistically. Results: The immigrants of different gender, language and category sub-groups exhibited different drinking rates, drinking rates before immigration, drinking rates after immigration, drinking change rates and drinking belief change rates. Drinking change (drinking behavior change + drinking belief change) was correlated positively with mother tongue and negatively with gender. Drinking behavior change was negatively correlated with gender and category of immigration. Mother tongue and gender significantly impacted drinking change. Gender significantly impacted drinking behavior change. Conclusion: The immigrants of different sub-groups in Canada experienced different drinking change. Mother tongue and gender were main impacting factors. Culture and acculturation were important contributing factors. Data of immigrant drinking change may provide evidence for drinking policy-making and policy-revising in Canada.
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    Assessing Viewing Pattern Consistency in Mammogram Readers
    (Australian Computer Society, 2009) Maeder, Anthony ; Fookes, C
    Breast cancer screening programs typically require very large volumes of x-ray images (mammograms) to be viewed by highly experienced human readers. The readers can recognise a wide range of different visible features indicative of clinically abnormal situations, which they use as a basis to generate a report on their findings. Errors in reporting can occur if the readers fail to identify a particular feature of interest for further visual inspection during the viewing process. This risk is typically reduced by training readers to follow a particular viewing path through an image, which they should be able to apply consistently. Knowledge of the extent of consistency in this viewing behaviour within and between viewers would inform the development of an automated checking approach, based on monitoring of viewer visual attention. This paper presents an analysis of some reader viewing pattern profiles obtained using eye tracking with an infra red computer vision system, as a basis for developing a suitable consistency assessment model. .
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    Associations between quality of life and duration and frequency of physical activity and sedentary behaviour: Baseline findings from the WALK 2.0 randomised controlled trial
    (Public Library of Science, 2017-06-29) Kolt, Gregory S ; George, Emma S ; Rebar, Amanda L ; Duncan, Mitch J ; Vandelanotte, Corneel ; Caperchione, Cristina M ; Maeder, Anthony ; Tague, Rhys ; Savage, Trevor N ; van Itallie, Anetta K ; Mawella, Nadeesha R ; Hsu, Wei-Wen ; Mummery, W Kerry ; Rosenkranz, Richard R
    While physical and mental health benefits of regular physical activity are well known, increasing evidence suggests that limiting sedentary behaviour is also important for health. Evidence shows associations of physical activity and sedentary behaviour with health-related quality of life (HRQoL), however, these findings are based predominantly on duration measures of physical activity and sedentary behaviour (e.g., minutes/week), with less attention on frequency measures (e.g., number of bouts). We examined the association of HRQoL with physical activity and sedentary behaviour, using both continuous duration (average daily minutes) and frequency (average daily bouts≥10 min) measures. Baseline data from the WALK 2.0 trial were analysed. WALK 2.0 is a randomised controlled trial investigating the effects of Web 2.0 applications on engagement, retention, and subsequent physical activity change. Daily physical activity and sedentary behaviour (duration = average minutes, frequency = average number of bouts ≥10 minutes) were measured (ActiGraph GT3X) across one week, and HRQoL was assessed with the ‘general health’ subscale of the RAND 36-Item Health Survey. Structural equation modelling was used to evaluate associations. Participants (N = 504) were 50.8±13.1 (mean±SD) years old with a BMI of 29.3±6.0. The 465 participants with valid accelerometer data engaged in an average of 24.0±18.3 minutes and 0.64±0.74 bouts of moderate-vigorous physical activity per day, 535.2±83.8 minutes and 17.0±3.4 bouts of sedentary behaviour per day, and reported moderate-high general HRQoL (64.5±20.0). After adjusting for covariates, the duration measures of physical activity (path correlation = 0.294, p<0.05) and sedentary behaviour were related to general HRQoL (path coefficient = -0.217, p<0.05). The frequency measure of physical activity was also significant (path coefficient = -0.226, p<0.05) but the frequency of sedentary behaviour was not significantly associated with general HRQoL. Higher duration levels of physical activity in fewer bouts, and lower duration of sedentary behaviour are associated with better general HRQoL. Further prospective studies are required to investigate these associations in different population groups over time.
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    The background and development of quality of life and family quality of life: applying research, policy, and practice to individual and family living
    (University of Victoria Victoria, BC Canada, 2018) Brown, Roy Irwin ; Schippers, Alice
    This article introduces the concepts of quality of life and family quality of life and shows how they have developed in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities in terms of concepts and principles. The article underscores the relevance of many of the principles and practices to a wide range of disabilities and challenges in the broad field of human development. Finally, the article provides an introduction to the other articles in this special issue, and considers their relationship to the broader areas of research, practice, and policy.
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    Characterizing Image Properties for Digital Mammograms
    (Australian Computer Society, 2009) Nguyen, Anthony ; Dowling, Jason A ; Maeder, Anthony ; Nguyen, Phuong ; Brunton, Emma
    Adoption of computed radiology (CR) and direct radiology (DR) imaging for screening mammograms in many countries alongside digitally scanned film mammograms has resulted in a wide range of different intrinsic (physical) characteristics of images becoming commonplace. It is sometimes conjectured that viewer performance could be adversely affected by this wider variability, as compared with the variability that was formerly experienced with film only. This paper identifies several aspects of the image characteristics relevant to viewer perception, including intensity properties (such as contrast), spatial properties (such as texture) and structure properties (such as breast density). We then provide quantitative descriptions of the variability of these properties over a test set of 12 screening mammograms drawn from three different modalities and containing a typical mix of screening cases..
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    CJCheck Stage 1: development and testing of a checklist for reporting community juries – Delphi process and analysis of studies published in 1996–2015
    (Wiley, 2016-10-05) Thomas, Rae ; Sims, Rebecca ; Degeling, Chris ; Street, Jackie M ; Carter, Stacy M ; Rychetnik, Lucie ; Whitty, Jennifer A ; Wilson, Andrew ; Ward, Paul Russell
    Background Opportunities for community members to actively participate in policy development are increasing. Community/citizen's juries (CJs) are a deliberative democratic process aimed to illicit informed community perspectives on difficult topics. But how comprehensive these processes are reported in peer-reviewed literature is unknown. Adequate reporting of methodology enables others to judge process quality, compare outcomes, facilitate critical reflection and potentially repeat a process. We aimed to identify important elements for reporting CJs, to develop an initial checklist and to review published health and health policy CJs to examine reporting standards. Design Using the literature and expertise from CJ researchers and policy advisors, a list of important CJ reporting items was suggested and further refined. We then reviewed published CJs within the health literature and used the checklist to assess the comprehensiveness of reporting. Results CJCheck was developed and examined reporting of CJ planning, juror information, procedures and scheduling. We screened 1711 studies and extracted data from 38. No studies fully reported the checklist items. The item most consistently reported was juror numbers (92%, 35/38), while least reported was the availability of expert presentations (5%, 2/38). Recruitment strategies were described in 66% of studies (25/38); however, the frequency and timing of deliberations was inadequately described (29%, 11/38). Conclusions Currently CJ publications in health and health policy literature are inadequately reported, hampering their use in policy making. We propose broadening the CJCheck by creating a reporting standards template in collaboration with international CJ researchers, policy advisors and consumer representatives to ensure standardized, systematic and transparent reporting.
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    Cloud-based Medical Image Collection Database with Automated Annotation
    (IARIA, 2016) Maeder, Anthony ; Planitz, B
    Typical medical image annotation systems use manual annotation or complex proprietary software such as computer-assisted-diagnosis. A more objective approach is required to achieve generalised Content Based Image Retrieval (CBIR) functionality. The Automated Medical Image Collection Annotation (AMICA) toolkit described here addresses this need. A range of content analysis functions are provided to tag images and image regions. The user uploads a DICOM file to an online portal and the software finds and displays images that have similar characteristics. AMICA has been developed to run in the Microsoft cloud environment using the Windows Azure platform, to cater for the storage requirements of typical large medical image databases.
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    Clustering Multivariate Time Series Using Hidden Markov Models
    (MDPI, 2014-03-06) Ghassem Pour, S ; Girosi, F ; Maeder, Anthony
    In this paper we describe an algorithm for clustering multivariate time series with variables taking both categorical and continuous values. Time series of this type are frequent in health care, where they represent the health trajectories of individuals. The problem is challenging because categorical variables make it difficult to define a meaningful distance between trajectories. We propose an approach based on Hidden Markov Models (HMMs), where we first map each trajectory into an HMM, then define a suitable distance between HMMs and finally proceed to cluster the HMMs with a method based on a distance matrix. We test our approach on a simulated, but realistic, data set of 1,255 trajectories of individuals of age 45 and over, on a synthetic validation set with known clustering structure, and on a smaller set of 268 trajectories extracted from the longitudinal Health and Retirement Survey. The proposed method can be implemented quite simply using standard packages in R and Matlab and may be a good candidate for solving the difficult problem of clustering multivariate time series with categorical variables using tools that do not require advanced statistic knowledge, and therefore are accessible to a wide range of researchers.
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    Comparing Data Mining with Ensemble Classification of Breast Cancer Masses in Digital Mammograms
    (AIH, 2012) Ghassem Pour, S ; McLeod, P ; Verma, B ; Maeder, Anthony
    Medical diagnosis sometimes involves detecting subtle indi-cations of a disease or condition amongst a background of diverse healthy individuals. The amount of information that is available for discover-ing such indications for mammography is large and has been growing at an exponential rate, due to population wide screening programmes. In order to analyse this information data mining techniques have been utilised by various researchers. A question that arises is: do flexible data mining techniques have comparable accuracy to dedicated classification techniques for medical diagnostic processes? This research compares a model-based data mining technique with a neural network classification technique and the improvements possible using an ensemble approach. A publicly available breast cancer benchmark database is used to determine the utility of the techniques and compare the accuracies obtained.
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    A conceptual framework for secure mobile health
    (International Society for Telemedicine and eHealth, 2013) William, P ; Maeder, Anthony
    Mobile health is characterised by its diversity of applicability, in a multifaceted and multidisciplinary healthcare delivery continuum. In an environment of rapid change with the increasing development of mobile health, issues related to security and privacy must be well thought out. The different competing tensions in the development of mobile health from the device technologies and associated regulation, to clinical workflow and patient acceptance, require a framework for security that reflects the complex structure of this emerging field. There are three distinct associated elements that require investigation: technology, clinical, and human factors. Each of these elements consists of multiple aspects and there are specific risk factors to be addressed successively and co-dependently in each case. The fundamental approach to defining a conceptual framework for secure use of mobile health requires systematic identification of properties for the tensions and critical factors which impact these elements. The resulting conceptual framework presented here can be used for new critique, augmentation or deployment of mobile health solutions from the perspective of data protection and security.
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    Constructing a Synthetic Longitudinal Health Dataset for Data Mining
    (IARIA, 2012) Ghassem Pour, S ; Maeder, Anthony ; Jorm, L
    The traditional approach to epidemiological research is to analyse data in an explicit statistical fashion, attempting to answer a question or test a hypothesis. However, increasing experience in the application of data mining and exploratory data analysis methods suggests that valuable information can be obtained from large datasets using these less constrained approaches. Available data mining techniques, such as clustering, have mainly been applied to cross-sectional point-in-time data. However, health datasets often include repeated observations for individuals and so researchers are interested in following their health trajectories. This requires methods for analysis of multiple-points-over-time or longitudinal data. Here, we describe an approach to construct a synthetic longitudinal version of a major population health dataset in which clusters merge and split over time, to investigate the utility of clustering for discovering time sequence based patterns.
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    Criterion validity of the activPALTM and ActiGraph for assessing children’s sitting and standing time in a school classroom setting
    (BioMed Central, 2016) Ridley, Kate ; Ridgers, N ; Salmon, J
    Background Few studies have investigated the accuracy of the ActiGraph (AG) GTX3 accelerometer for assessing children’s sitting and standing time. The activPAL (aP) has an inclinometer function that enables it to distinguish between sitting/lying and standing; however, its accuracy for assessing sitting and standing in older children is unknown. This study validated the accuracy of these devices for estimating sitting and standing time in a school classroom against a criterion measure of direct observation (DO). Findings Forty children in grades 5–7 wore both devices while being video recorded during two school lessons. AG and aP data were simultaneously collected in 15-s epochs. Individual participant DO and aP data were recorded as total time spent sitting/lying, standing and stepping. AG data were converted into time spent sitting and standing using previously established cut-points. Compared with DO, the aP underestimated sitting time (mean bias = -1.9 min, 95 % LoA = -8.9 to 5.2 min) and overestimated standing time (mean bias = 1.8 min, 95 % LoA = -9.6 to 13.3 min). The best-performing AG cut-point across both sitting and standing (<75 counts/15 s) was more accurate than the aP, underestimating sitting time (mean bias = -0.8 min, 95 % LoA = -10.5 to 9.9 min) and standing time (mean bias = -0.4 min, 95 % LoA = -9.8 to 9.1 min), but was less precise as evidenced by wider LoAs and poorer correlations with DO (sitting r = 0.86 aP vs 0.80 AG; standing r = 0.78 aP vs 0.60 AG). Conclusions The aP demonstrated good accuracy and precision for assessing free-living sitting and standing time in classroom settings. The AG was most accurate using a cut-point of < 75 counts/15 s. Further studies should validate the monitors in settings with greater inter- and intra-individual variation in movement patterns.
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    The cultural relations of water in remote South Australian towns
    (The Australian Sociological Association, 2009) Wadham, Benjamin Allan ; Willis, Eileen Mary ; Pearce, Meryl Winsome
    Water is an increasingly scarce resource and the decline in rainfall presupposes people and communities adapting to live in drier, and very different, social and environmental conditions. In rural and remote South Australia residents have always considered water a reflexive resource that requires them to consider their relationship to water and its availability and access. These are material concerns. Yet, lifestyle, identity, sense of place and community is profoundly shaped by the inclusion of ‘water’ in one’s habitus. ‘Water’ is also a social concern and its material management arises within cultural relations.
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    The cycle of student and staff wellbeing: Emotional labour and extension requests in Higher Education. A Practice Report
    (Student Success, 2016-03-02) Abery, Elizabeth ; Gunson, Jessica Shipman
    This paper suggests that the sociological theory of emotional labour is a useful way to interpret how teaching practices in Higher Education often involve the simultaneous management of both staff and student wellbeing. This paper applies Berry and Cassidy’s Higher Education Emotional Labour model (2013) to the management of extension requests. We put forward a case study of processing a significant number of extension requests in a short space of time in a large, first year Health Sciences topic. We consider the responsibilities and risks for staff and students in this scenario, and ponder the implications for future practice and pedagogy. We argue that student and staff wellbeing must always be considered as interrelated, and that academic administrative procedures need to be developed with this mind.
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    Dietary Change of English, French and Chinese Speaking Immigrants in Ottawa and Gatineau, Canada
    (SciMed Central, 2015-05-15) Tang, Ning
    Objectives: The multicultural study aims at examining Dietary Change (Dietary Behaviour Change and Dietary Belief Change) of English, French and Chinese speaking immigrants in Ottawa and Gatineau, Canada, and identifying demographic factors that correlate with the change and impact the change. Materials and Methods: In total, 810 immigrants of the three language sub-groups were recruited by purposive-sampling. Using self-reports, respondents answered questions regarding Behaviour Change and Belief Change in Nutritional Food Consumption and Junk and Processed Food Consumption, and Demography in Multicultural Lifestyle Change Questionnaire of English, French or Chinese version. Percentage, significance of difference, correlation, regression and factor analysis were performed respectively to analyze the data in Dietary Change. Results: Immigrants of different gender, language and category sub-groups exhibited different rates in nutritional food and junk and processed food consumption changes, increasing and decreasing rates in consumption of different nutritional foods, increasing and decreasing rates in consumption of different junk and processed foods, and rates in nutritional food and junk and processed food belief changes. However, no statistical difference between the rates, except significant differences between increasing and decreasing rates of different category sub-groups in consumption of different nutritional foods and consumption of different junk and processed foods. Dietary Change (Dietary Behaviour Change + Dietary Belief Change) was correlated positively with Speaking Languages, Age and Religion, and Dietary Behaviour Change was correlated negatively with Religion. Speaking Languages, Age and Religion significantly impacted Dietary Change, and Religion significantly impacted Dietary Behaviour Change. Speaking Languages and Age significantly impacted Dietary Belief Change. One factor (factor one: dietary behaviour change factor) significantly influenced Dietary Change. Other factor (factor two: dietary belief change factor) did not significantly impacted Dietary Change. Conclusion: Immigrants of different sub-groups in Canada experienced different Dietary Change. Religion was a main factor influencing Dietary Change. Speaking Languages and Age were important factors impacting Dietary Belief Change. Acculturation was a relating factor contributing Dietary Change. Data of immigrant dietary change can provide evidence for dietetic health policy-making and policy-revising in Canada.
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    e-Research Meets e-Health
    (Australian Computer Society, 2008) Maeder, Anthony
    This paper considers some key aspects of e-Research methodology and infrastructure which are relevant to e-Health, and identifies some promising areas in e-Health where these aspects could be used beneficially .
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    The effect of group involvement on post-disaster mental health: A longitudinal multilevel analysis
    (Elsevier, 2018-11-07) Gallagher, H Colin ; Block, Karen ; Gibbs, Lisa ; Forbes, David ; Lusher, Dean ; Molyneaux, Robyn ; Richardson, John ; Pattison, Philippa ; MacDougall, Colin James ; Bryant, Richard
    Involvement in voluntary associations is a key form of social capital and plays an especially important role following disaster as a venue for coordination and decision-making for the wider community. Yet, relatively little attention has been paid to how group involvement affects mental health, at either the individual or community level. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of involvement in voluntary associations on mental health among residents of bushfire-affected communities. A longitudinal sample of 642 individuals affected by the 2009 Victorian bushfires in south-eastern Australia were surveyed in 2012 and 2014 (3- and 5-years post-disaster). A further subsample (n = 552) of residents residing continuously within 22 bushfire-affected communities were examined for community-level effects using multilevel regression methods. After adjusting for demographics, disaster exposure, and network variables, group involvement at time 1 bore a curvilinear relationship with PTSD at both time points: moderate involvement was most beneficial, with no participation, or high amounts, yielding poorer outcomes. High amounts of group involvement was likewise linked to a greater risk of major depression. Furthermore, communities with higher median levels of group involvement reported lower levels of PTSD symptoms and major depression two years later. With respect to group involvement, more is not always better. For individuals, moderation – if possible – is key. Meanwhile, community-level health benefits come when most people participate to some extent, suggesting that the distribution of involvement across the community is important.