Working with Veterans in Prison: "Don't Mention Art or Therapy"

This paper examines the health risks and issues associated with Military Training and Military Service in order to establish a veteran informed approach to working therapeutically with veterans in prison. It is written by a military veteran, and describes the author's work with veterans in prison using undirected, change focussed art therapy. It describes a conference workshop offered for delegates, which used the same format as that used in prisons. The different experiences are discussed. We asked: "What is a veteran?" Keywords: Military Training, Military Service, The Veterans Service (NHS), Kings Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR), PTSD, Adjustment Issues, Mental Health, Risks, Veteran Informed Approach, Psychological Injury, Criminal Justice System, Military Covenan

Working with Uncertainty: The Soldier’s Nightmare. Artist residency at Tidworth Garrison

As part of a community arts project I was invited by the Young gallery, Salisbury to undertake an artist residency with The Royal Tank Regiment at Tidworth Garrison. This article looks at some of the issues that arose in running a non-directive art workshop with a tank crew, such as soldiers need for certainty of knowing what to do, and being a veteran myself. Keywords: Artist residency, Community arts, Art Psychotherapy, Veterans, The Army.

Whetting disadvantaged adults’ appetite for nutrition education

Objective: To identify the features of a nutrition education programme for disadvantaged adults deemed most attractive and useful by participants. Design: A two-year, multi-method, qualitative evaluation of pre and post data collected from programme participants. Data were imported into NVivo10 for coding to facilitate a thematic analysis. Setting: Western Australia. Participants: Individuals attending the Western Australian FOODcents nutrition education programme that is designed to provide knowledge and skills needed to consume a healthy diet on a budget. Focus groups were conducted several weeks after course completion (five groups, forty-seven participants), observations were conducted during FOODcents sessions (thirty-one observation episodes, 237 participants), and open-ended questions were asked in pre–post hard-copy surveys administered in sessions (n 927) and an online survey administered on average six weeks after course completion (n 114). Results: The course attributes that were found to be especially important to participants were: (i) user-friendly, practical information that could be immediately translated to their daily lives; (ii) experiential learning that involved direct contact with food products; and (iii) opportunities for social interaction. These aspects of nutrition education were described as being highly influential in the decision to participate in the course, the application of the information in their subsequent food purchase and preparation activities, and their word-of-mouth communications with others about the course. Conclusions: Incorporating aspects of most importance to participants into nutrition education programme delivery and promotion may increase joining rates, enjoyment, satisfaction with course content and, ultimately, the uptake of recommended behaviours

Vegetable and fruit intake in Australian adolescents: Trends over time and perceptions of consumption

The consumption of vegetables and fruit during adolescence is crucial to ensuring adequate intake of the nutrients required to meet the rapid growth that characterises this developmental period. However, significant reductions in vegetable and fruit intake during adolescence have been observed making the promotion of consumption an important health promotion challenge. To monitor progress in this population segment toward meeting recommended intake levels and identifying at-risk groups, the present study assessed changes in Australian adolescents’ vegetable and fruit consumption over time and identified the demographic factors associated with meeting recommendations. As individuals who are aware of their diet deficiencies are likely to be more receptive to healthy eating interventions, the present study also assessed adolescents’ perceptions of the adequacy of their vegetable and fruit intake and identified the demographic factors associated with correctly perceiving fruit and vegetable intake to be inadequate. Two cross-sectional samples of Western Australian secondary school students aged 12–17 years were surveyed in 2009–2010 (n = 1501) and 2012–2013 (n = 1406). Only 14% of students at Wave 1 and 13% at Wave 2 met the recommended guidelines for vegetable intake while 68% and 71% met the guidelines for fruit intake. Females had significantly greater odds of failing to meet guidelines for vegetable intake than males. Only 50% of students correctly identified their vegetable and fruit intake to be inadequate. The observed very low levels of compliance with vegetable intake recommendations suggest that addressing deficiencies in vegetable consumption should be a primary focus of future nutrition interventions. Efforts should also be made to increase adolescents’ perceptions of the inadequacy of their intake to optimise the effectiveness of schemes designed to improve vegetable and fruit consumption in this population segment

Public health advocacy in action: the case of unproven breast cancer screening in Australia

In recent years, nonmammographic breast imaging devices, such as thermography, electrical impedance scanning and elastography, have been promoted directly to consumers, which has captured the attention of governments, researchers and health organisations. These devices are not supported by evidence and risk undermining existing mammographic breast cancer screening services. During a 5-year period, Cancer Council Western Australia (CCWA) used strategic research combined with legal, policy and media advocacy to contest claims that these devices were proven alternatives to mammography for breast cancer screening. The campaign was successful because it had input from people with public health, academic, clinical and legal backgrounds, and took advantage of existing legal and regulatory avenues. CCWA's experience provides a useful advocacy model for public health practitioners who are concerned about unsafe consumer products, unproven medical devices, and misleading health information and advertising

Potential in-class strategies to increase children’s vegetable consumption

Objective: The Crunch&Sip programme is a school-based nutrition initiative designed to increase the fruit, vegetable and water intakes of primary-school children. In recognition of the notable deficits in children’s vegetable consumption, the present study explored the receptivity of school staff to a realignment of the Crunch&Sip programme to feature a primary focus on vegetable consumption. This involved investigating school staff members’ perceptions of relevant barriers, motivators and facilitators. Design: A multi-method approach was adopted that involved four focus groups and a survey (administered in paper and online formats) containing a mixture of open- and closed-ended items. Setting: Western Australia. Subjects: Staff from Western Australian schools participated in the focus groups (n 37) and survey (n 620). Results: School staff were strongly supportive of modifying the Crunch&Sip programme to focus primarily on children’s vegetable consumption and this was generally considered to be a feasible change to implement. Possible barriers identified included children’s taste preferences and a perceived lack of parental support. Suggested strategies to overcome these barriers were education sessions for parents and children, teachers modelling vegetable consumption for their students and integrating vegetable-related topics into the school curriculum. Conclusions: School staff are likely to support the introduction of school-based nutrition programmes that specifically encourage the consumption of vegetables. Potential barriers may be overcome through strategies to engage parents and children