What influences Australian women to not drink during pregnancy?

There is a strong social norm against consuming alcohol during pregnancy. However, many women do not realise they are pregnant until the sixth week and are not provided with information about the risks of consuming alcohol until they visit a health professional in the second trimester. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 12 midwives and 12 pregnant women from two regions inNSWin 2008–09 to explore attitudes towards alcohol consumption during pregnancy, and the factors that may encourage or inhibit women from following the recommendation to abstain from drinking while pregnant. Both groups noted the social issues around pregnant women consuming alcohol due to perceived social norms and the challenges in not revealing early pregnancy status at social events

Using health risk assessments to target and tailor: An innovative social marketing program in aged care facilities

The number of Australians over the age of 65 years is expected to double by 2021. Many older Australians suffer from one or more chronic diseases - including cancer, coronary heart disease, respiratory diseases (AIHW, 2009) resulting in increased morbidity and mortality, lower quality of life and a higher need for health care (Hickey and Stilwell, 1991). There is increasing evidence that the adoption of healthy lifestyles can have significant benefits even into older age (Haveman-Nies et al, 2002). This project utilized a social marketing framework to support aged residents of retirement homes to adopt healthy lifestyle behaviours to improve their health

\u27There\u27s nothing mental about seeking help\u27 - developing materials to support help seeking and reduce stigma amongst university students

Abstract of paper that was presented at 2013 Australia New Zealand Marketing Academy Conference

Zeitschrift für hohenzollerische Geschichte

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are lifelong developmental disabilities characterised by marked difficulties in social interaction, impaired communication, restricted and repetitive interests and behaviours, and sensory sensitivities (Aspect 2009). While there is considerable debate as to prevalence, Centrelink data shows an estimated prevalence of 62.5 per 10,000 for 6-12 year old children (McDermott et al. 2007). While young children find social situations aversive and prefer to play alone, as these children reach their teens many desire social contact with their peers but lack the ability to form and maintain friendships. Observations in schools demonstrate peer interaction in children with ASDs is of lower frequency and poorer quality than peer counterparts (Aspect 2012). The standard approach has been to work on social skills development with the ASD child and/or to educate teachers and support workers in social interaction facilitation. However, these approaches ignore the central element of peer relationships - the need for both parties to better understand each other and develop skills in communicating in a way that is acceptable and understandable to the other. There is a small body of evidence that disclosure of an ASD diagnosis and peer education can increase acceptance by peers (Dowjotas, 2009) although there are no published studies on interventions in schools (Keane, 2007)

Developing sun protection messages that resonate with adolescents

Australia has the highest incidence of skin cancer in the world, outnumbering all other forms of cancer by more than 3 to 1. Adolescents engage in fewer sun protective strategies than adults (Dobbinson and Hill, 2004); and sun protective behaviours among Australian adolescents are worsening (Livingstone and White, 2003; Beckmann and Conor, 2004). The decline begins in pre-adolescence, troughs around 15 to 17 years, and improves with the move into young adulthood (Coogan et al., 2001; Sjoberg et al., 2004; Schofield and Freeman, 2001)

Midwives and pregnant women talk about alcohol: what advice do we give and what do they receive?

Background the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) recently revised its guidelines for alcohol consumption during pregnancy and breast feeding, moving from a recommendation of minimising intake to one of abstinence. Women are potentially exposed to a variety of messages about alcohol and pregnancy, including from the media and social contacts, and are likely to see midwives as the source of expert advice in understanding these contradictory messages. Objective to explore the advice that midwives believe they give to pregnant women about alcohol consumption, and the advice that pregnant women believe they receive; the knowledge and attitudes of both groups regarding alcohol consumption and the consistency with the NHMRC guidelines; and the receptivity and comfort of both groups in discussing alcohol consumption in the context of antenatal appointments. Design individual semi-structured interviews with midwives and pregnant women. Setting face-to-face interviews with midwives and telephone interviews with pregnant women were conducted in two regional areas of New South Wales in 2008–2009. Participants 12 midwives and 12 pregnant women. Findings midwives and pregnant women consistently agreed that conversations about alcohol are generally limited to brief screening questions at the first visit, and the risks are not discussed or explained (except for high-risk women). Key conclusions both groups expressed comfort with the idea of discussing alcohol consumption, but lacked knowledge of the risk and recommendation, and it appears that this opportunity to provide women with information is under-utilised. Implications for practice there is a need to provide midwives with accurate information about the risks of alcohol consumption during pregnancy and effective communication tools to encourage them to discuss the risks and recommendations with their patients

A Review of current practices to increase Chlamydia screening in the community - a consumer-centred social marketing perspective

Background Chlamydia trachomatis is one of the most frequently reported sexually transmitted infections (STI) in Australia, the UK and Europe. Yet, rates of screening for STIs remain low, especially in younger adults. Objective To assess effectiveness of Chlamydia screening interventions targeting young adults in community-based settings, describe strategies utilized and assess them according to social marketing benchmark criteria. Search strategy A systematic review of relevant literature between 2002 and 2012 in Medline, Web of Knowledge, PubMed, Scopus and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health was undertaken. Results Of 18 interventions identified, quality of evidence was low. Proportional screening rates varied, ranging from: 30.9 to 62.5% in educational settings (n = 4), 4.8 to 63% in media settings (n = 6) and from 5.7 to 44.5% in other settings (n = 7). Assessment against benchmark criteria found that interventions incorporating social marketing principles were more likely to achieve positive results, yet few did this comprehensively. Most demonstrated customer orientation and addressed barriers to presenting to a clinic for screening. Only one addressed barriers to presenting for treatment after a positive result. Promotional messages typically focused on providing facts and accessing a testing kit. Risk assessment tools appeared to promote screening among higher risk groups. Few evaluated treatment rates following positive results; therefore, impact of screening on treatment rates remains unknown. Discussion Future interventions should consider utilizing a comprehensive social marketing approach, using formative research to increase insight and segmentation and tailoring of screening interventions. Easy community access to both screening and treatment should be prioritized.21 page(s

Using health risk assessments to target and tailor: An innovative social marketing program in aged care facilities.

The number of Australians over the age of 65 years is expected to double by 2021. Many older Australians suffer from one or more chronic diseases - including cancer, coronary heart disease, respiratory diseases (AIHW, 2009) resulting in increased morbidity and mortality, lower quality of life and a higher need for health care (Hickey and Stilwell, 1991). There is increasing evidence that the adoption of healthy lifestyles can have significant benefits even into older age (Haveman-Nies et al, 2002). This project utilized a social marketing framework to support aged residents of retirement homes to adopt healthy lifestyle behaviours to improve their health

Developing and implementing a sun protection intervention that resonates with adolescents

This presentation focuses on the development and testing of a communication campaign, which was part of a comprehensive intervention implemented in a New South Wales, Australia community. The aim was to position sun protection as an appearance- and health- enhancing behavior that fits easily within the lifestyle of adolescents and young adults. The process evaluation suggested the campaign was well-received among adolescents and that re-branding sun protection as an appearance-enhancing (rather than cancer-preventing) behavior worked