Promoting fit bodies, healthy eating and physical activity among Indigenous Australian men: a study protocol

Background: Overall the physical health of Indigenous men is among the worst in Australia. Research has indicated that modifiable lifestyle factors, such as poor nutrition and physical inactivity, appear to contribute strongly to these poor health conditions. To effectively develop and implement strategies to improve the health of Australia&rsquo;s Indigenous peoples, a greater understanding is needed of how Indigenous men perceive health, and how they view and care for their bodies. Further, a more systematic understanding of how sociocultural factors affect their health attitudes and behaviours is needed. This article presents the study protocol of a communitybased investigation into the factors surrounding the health and body image of Indigenous Australian men.Methods and design: The study will be conducted in a collaborative manner with Indigenous Australian men using a participatory action research framework. Men will be recruited from three locations around Australia (metropolitan, regional, and rural) and interviewed to understand their experiences and perspectives on a number of issues related to health and health behaviour. The information that is collected will be analysed using modified grounded theory and thematic analysis. The results will then be used to develop and implement community events in each location to provide feedback on the findings to the community, promote health enhancing strategies, and determine future action and collaboration.Discussion: This study will explore both risk and protective factors that affect the health of Indigenous Australian men. This knowledge will be disseminated to the wider Indigenous community and can be used to inform future health promotion strategies. The expected outcome of this study is therefore an increased understanding of health and health change in Indigenous Australian men, the development of strategies that promote healthy eating and positive patterns of physical activity and, in the longer term, more effective and culturally-appropriate interventions to improve health.<br /

Factors Influencing Access to Urban General Practices and Primary Health Care by Aboriginal Australians—A Qualitative Study

This paper aims to explore the barriers and facilitators for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians with chronic disease to access urban, mainstream general practice and primary health care. Six focus groups and five interviews were conducted with 40 participants that included Aboriginal people with diabetes, health service providers and policy makers. Using diabetes as the exemplar, participants were asked to relate their own experiences of diabetes management. Data was thematically analysed. Two overarching themes and seven other factors were identified as influencing Aboriginal people's access to health services. Cultural competence can be achieved within a health service when all nine factors are addressed in the context of the local community. Closing the health gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians requires a particular sensitivity and understanding of the facilitators and barriers for urban Aboriginal people accessing mainstream health services

Commercial sexual practices before and after legalization in Australia

The nature of sex work changes over time for many reasons. In recent decades around the world, there has been movement toward legalization and control of sex economies. Studies of the possible impact of legalization mainly have focused on sexually transmitted infections and violence, with little attention to change in the diversity of sexual services provided. This study examined the practices of sex workers before and after legalization of prostitution. Cross-sectional surveys of comparable samples of female sex workers were conducted in 1991 (N = 200, aged 16–46 years) and 2003 (N = 247, aged 18–57 years) in Queensland, Australia, spanning a period of major change in regulation of the local industry. In 2003, male clients at brothels and private sole operators (N = 161; aged 19–72 years) were also interviewed. Over time, there was a clear increase in the provision of “exotic” sexual services, including bondage and discipline, submission, fantasy, use of sex toys, golden showers, fisting, and lesbian double acts, while “traditional” services mostly remained at similar levels (with substantial decrease in oral sex without a condom). Based on comparisons of self-reports of clients and workers, the demand for anal intercourse, anal play, and urination during sex apparently exceeded supply, especially in licensed brothels. Within this population, legalization of sex work coincided with a substantial increase in diversity of services, but it appears that in the regulated working environments, clients who prefer high risk practices might not dictate what is available to them

Proceedings of 'Reimagining Sociology', the Annual Conference of the Australian Sociological Association (TASA 2008), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 02-05 December 2008

The TASA Annual Conference showcases a broad cross-section of cutting-edge Australian sociology research. The theme of the 2008 conference was 'Reimagining sociology'