A journey into school lunchbox decision-making: A mixed methods exploration of Australian parents

IntroductionThis study aimed to understand parents' decision-making processes when packing their child's lunchbox, investigating barriers and facilitators of seeking nutrition information for food choices.MethodsAn online survey with Likert and open-ended questions was conducted via social media platforms. Descriptive quantitative analysis was conducted for the quantitative data, and thematic analysis was done for the qualitative data.ResultsOf 52 parent participants, 78% considered nutritional information when packing lunchboxes, relying mainly on food labelling (32%) and the Australian Nutrition Food Guide (12%). Most parents (64%) felt confident preparing healthy lunchboxes, focusing on fresh, high-fibre foods and avoiding preservatives. While 60% felt they did not need additional information, 40% were open to more guidance. Key themes included informed food choices, balancing nutrition with preferences, managing information overload, and practical approaches.ConclusionsParents demonstrated knowledge of healthy eating guidelines but faced challenges in balancing nutritious choices with children's preferences, cost, and providing a balanced diet.So What?Clear, accessible guidance on healthy lunchbox preparation needs to be provided. This helps with comprehensive food labelling, strategies for balancing nutrition with preferences, addressing cost challenges, and developing interventions to overcome barriers in food knowledge and availability

Physiological stress accumulation in law enforcement officers across a multi-day active shooter training course

•Research on training scenarios in law enforcement officers (LEOs) has previously focused on officer performance (decision making, accuracy, etc.) rather than the physiological demand of the activity (2).•Active shooter training is designed to prepare officers to respond to various scenarios in which they receive reports of an armed suspect.• This course is required to be completed, at minimum, every five years for incumbent officers and before academy graduation for recruits in this municipality.•Heart rate variability (HRV) has often been used as an indicator of physiological stress in tactical populations (3).•Higher HRV is used as an indicator of “readiness”, though there hasbeen debate as to what cutoff point constitutes a high HRV

A Double-Edged Sword Perspective on Young Australians' Use of Social Media: A Structured Narrative Review

Issue Addressed: Social media's potential use has been underestimated in preventive interventions targeting young people despite its importance in psychosocial development. This structured narrative review examined both the positive and negative use of social media by young Australians and its health impacts with a focus on social media-based interventions. Method:Following a narrative review approach, 34 papers were analysed from four databases (Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL and Embase) from 2010 to 2025 to provide indications for leveraging the positive aspects. Thematic analysis was used for analysing data. Results: Three key themes emerged as outcomes of young Australians' social media use: (1) the engagement paradox; (2) motivations for social media use (information seeking, identity exploration and social connections); and (3) social media interventions. The positive use of social media by young Australians included using social media for information seeking, social connection and support, as well as finding identity and positive relationships. The negative use of social media included engagement and exposure to harmful content (e.g., substance use), addictive and distractive use of social media, and engaging with body image content. Although a few social media interventions were found, they were identified to be effective through facilitating peer support groups and online discussions on difficult topics. Conclusion: Understanding the dual impact and use of social media by young Australians will help policymakers and researchers develop interventions that empower young people to effectively navigate social media and maximise its benefits for health and wellbeing. These findings highlight the importance of balancing the benefits and risks of social media. Interventions should focus on fostering safe online spaces and developing resources to address the social and informational needs of young individuals

Leveling the playing field: evaluating measurement equivalence in MMIs between genders

Introduction: The selection process for medical schools plays a vital role in identifying candidates with the attributes and capabilities needed for success in medicine. Multiple Mini-Interviews (MMI) are widely used to assess non-cognitive attributes like communication, empathy, and ethical judgment. Ensuring their fairness and validity across diverse applicant groups is essential for equitable selection.Aims:This study aimed to investigate: (1) is there evidence to support the factorial validity of MMI structure; (2) whether non-cognitive attributes assessed by MMIs are consistently interpreted across gender groups; and (3) whether gender-related disparities exist in MMI performance.Methods: Data were drawn from applicants to an Australian Medical School across three selection cycles (2022–2024). Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to assess the dimensionality of MMI performance, with multiple competing models tested to identify the best-fitting structure. The selected model was then assessed for measurement invariance across gender using Multi-Group CFA. Once scalar invariance was established, latent mean comparisons were conducted to examine gender-related differences in MMI performance.Results: CFA indicated a well-fitting structure for MMIs, with a higher-order model emerging as the most appropriate representation across cohorts. Measurement invariance testing confirmed scalar invariance across gender groups, indicating that MMI non-cognitive attributes were demonstrated equivalently by males and females. Significant latent mean differences were identified, with female applicants consistently outperforming male applicants across all 3 years.Discussion: The results provided empirical support for the factorial validity and measurement fairness of the MMI across gender groups. However, the consistent gender-based performance differences highlight the need for continued research into potential sources of group disparities and how they may impact selections equity. The results are relevant for medical educators and policymakers committed to evidence-based and equitable selection processes

Australia Plays 2025

The 2025 Australia Plays report is the 11th in a series of studies that IGEA and Bond University have published since 2005. The purpose of this research has been to provide evidence and encourage conversation about who among us plays video games, why we play, how we play and what we think of this dynamic and often breathtaking medium

Can motivation and self-efficacy predict a law enforcement officer’s general and job-specific fitness?

The fitness of law enforcement officers generally declines over their career. Sedentary behaviors contribute to these declines, so it is important for officers to complete some form of exercise to maintain their general and job-specific fitness. An officer’s motivation (desire to exercise) and self efficacy (SE; belief in ability to exercise) could affect whether they exercise and their resulting fitness levels. Purpose: To determine whether motivation and SE could predict general and job-specific fitness in law enforcement officers. Methods: Data from 60 officers (48 men, 12 women)from one agency were analyzed. Motivation was measured via the 24-item Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire, and categorized as introjected, identified, integrated, intrinsic, external, and amotivation. A 6-item questionnaire assessed coping (confidence in performing exercise under challenging conditions) and scheduling (confidence in managing schedule and making time for exercise) SE, with items assessed on a scale of 0 (not confident) to 100 (completely confident). General fitness variables included sit-and-reach, grip strength, 60-s push-ups, 60-s sit-ups, and YMCA step test recovery heart rate. Job-specific fitness was measured by a 99-yard obstacle course, 165-lb body drag, 6-foot chain link fence climb, 6-foot solid wall climb, and 500-yard run. Stepwise regression, controlling for sex, derived relationships between motivation, and coping and scheduling SE, with general and job-specific fitness (p<0.05). Results: All variables that were significantly predicted by a motivation or SE variable included sex in the relationship (Table 1). Grip strength was predicted by introjected, identified, and integrated motivation (explained variance =~71%). Push-ups were predicted by integrated motivation and coping SE (explained variance = ~43%). The 99-yard obstacle course, and chain link fence and solid wall climbs, were predicted by coping SE (explained variance = ~24-47%). Conclusions: Internal motivation and coping SE were able to predict certain general and job-specific fitness metrics. Grip strength, as an indicator of muscular strength, was predicted by introjected(avoidance of guilt), identified (exercise is valued), and integrated (exercise integrated within a belief system) regulation. Integrated regulation andcoping SE, or the confidence to overcome obstacles to exercise, predicted push-ups as a muscular endurance metric. Coping SE could also contribute to the exercise needed to maintain job-specific fitness relative to obstacle courses and obstacle clearance. Practical applications:Internal motivation was important for officers with better muscular strength and endurance. Law enforcement training staff should developstrategies to target introjected, identified, and integrated regulation in officers. Provision of tools to develop coping SE could benefit muscularendurance and job-specific fitness tasks (obstacle courses, fence and wall climbs)

Development of an Audit Tool to Evaluate End of Life Care in the Emergency Department: A Face and Content Validity Study

Objectives:Emergency Departments (ED) are increasingly caring for patients with acute, chronic and terminal conditions requiring End of Life Care (EOLC). There is no published and validated tool available to evaluate EOLC delivery of patients dying in the ED. This study describes the face and content validity testing process to develop, refine and test a new and unique audit tool to evaluate EOLC in the ED.Methods: The face and content validation process used a three-round modified-Delphi technique. We consulted 11 experts to assess the proposed 89 items. Face validity explored the overall question of appropriateness and relevance; and content validity examined relevance ratings using the Content Validity Index (CVI) 4-point Likert scale in two rounds. Iterative assessment of ratings led to inclusion (CVI > 0.78), revision (CVI 0.65 to < 0.78) or exclusion (CVI < 0.65) of items from the tool.Results: Of the initial 89 items, 66 were included (CVI > 0.78), 16 items revised (scores 0.65 to < 0.78), seven were removed (scores < 0.65) and two new items suggested. Items covered the constructs patient characteristics, circumstances of death, ED performance, communication and care planning, recognition of dying, care delivery, and needs of families and carers. Scale CVI achieved 0.90. The consolidated list of 81 items achieved acceptable face validity and excellent content validity.Conclusion:Face and content validity of the ED EOLC audit tool achieved acceptable item-CVI scores and an excellent scale-CVI score. We recommend external validation of its components in real-life settings to monitor and set locally relevant clinical practice benchmarks

A Comparison of the Right to Protest and its Constitutional Protection: COVID and Beyond

This article considers the right to protest, and the way in which it is currently regulated by some Australian states. The legislation confers great discretion on decision makers in terms of whether to grant permission for a proposed protest. The article makes the argument that the discretion is so broad so that its exercise is, on one view, effectively unreviewable. The High Court has struck down provisions as constitutionally invalid where decisions made pursuant to it purport to be effectively unreviewable. It is also argued that legislation cast in such broad terms is contrary to the rule of law

RE: Invasive cervical cancer incidence following bivalent human papillomavirus vaccination: A population-based observational study of age at immunization, dose, and deprivation

In this article, Palmer and colleagues1 made certain claims regarding the impact of HPV vaccination in Scotland that on reanalysis of their data we find to contain inaccuracies. These inaccurate claims were reported widely in the media