Australian motor sport enthusiasts’ leisure information behaviour

Purpose: This paper explores the leisure information behaviour of motor sport enthusiasts, examining: their information needs; their information seeking and sharing; what personal information they had; and their satisfaction with their information seeking and personal information management efforts. Method: This exploratory study examined participants’ information behaviour from a postpositivist and inductive research approach. An online survey was completed by 81 motor sport enthusiasts. Analysis: The quantitative survey data were analysed using descriptive statistics, whilst the qualitative data were analysed using thematic coding. Findings: The research findings highlighted that enthusiasts engaged in mixed serious leisure. They required information before, during, and after race events, and sought this primarily from online sources, as well as from other individuals. Ninety participants shared information about their interest in motor sport with family, friends, and fellow enthusiasts, primarily via emails (69%) and Facebook (49%). They also gathered information about motor sport, including photographs and memorabilia. Participants were satisfied with their information management strategies for their personal collections. Limitations: Participants were limited to motor sport enthusiasts in Australia, hence findings cannot be generalised more broadly. Originality/Value: This study fills a gap in the literature about leisure information behaviour of motor sport enthusiasts in Australia. It identifies and provides a typology of the 12 categories of information needed by enthusiasts. Further, introduces a preliminary Motor Sport Information Behaviour Model. These understandings of enthusiasts’ information behaviour provide information management professionals with insights to work with this user community

Suicide in the Northern Territory, 1981-2002

Objective: To examine trends in suicide in the Northern Territory between 1981 and 2002, and demographic and other characteristics of people completing suicide in the Top End region in 2000-2002. Design: Retrospective descriptive analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics death registration data and data from the NT Coroner's Office. Setting and participants: All residents of the NT who completed suicide between 1981 and 2002. Main outcome measures: Changes in the age-adjusted and age- and sex-specific rates of suicide in Indigenous and non-Indigenous NT residents over time; prior diagnosis of mental illness and use of alcohol or other drugs by those completing suicide. Results: The age-adjusted suicide rate in the NT increased significantly between 1981 and 2002 (P 0.05), respectively. Indigenous males aged under 45 years and non-Indigenous males aged 65 years and over were most at risk. In the Top End, a history of diagnosed mental illness was present in 49% of suicide cases, and misuse of alcohol or other drugs around the time of death was associated with 72% of suicide cases. Conclusion: Our study highlights the rising rate of suicide in the NT and suggests that suicide prevention initiatives need to specifically target Indigenous and non-Indigenous males in the age groups most at risk

Cigarette availability and price in low and high socioeconomic areas

Objective: To determine whether tobacco retailer density and cigarette prices differ between low and high socioeconomic status suburbs in South-East Queensland. Methods: A survey of retail outlets selling cigarettes was conducted in selected suburbs over a two-day period. The suburbs were identified by geographical cluster sampling based on their Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage score and size of retail complex within the suburb. All retail outlets within the suburb were visited and the retail prices for the highest ranking Australian brands were recorded at each outlet. Results: A significant relationship was found between Index of Relative Socioeconomic Advantage and Disadvantage score (in deciles) and the number of tobacco retail outlets (r=0.93, p=0.003), with the most disadvantaged suburbs having a greater number of tobacco retailers. Results also demonstrate that cigarettes were sold in a broader range of outlets in suburbs of low SES. The average price of the packs studied was significantly lower in the most disadvantaged suburbs compared to the most advantaged. While cigarettes were still generally cheaper in the most disadvantaged suburbs, the difference was no longer statistically significant when the average price of cigarette packs was compared according to outlet type (supermarket, newsagent, etc). Conclusions: In South-East Queensland, cigarettes are more widely available in the most disadvantaged suburbs and at lower prices than in the most advantaged suburbs

National trends in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander smoking and quitting, 1994-2008

Objective: To describe the trends in the prevalence of smoking, quitting and initiation among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women aged 18 years and over. Methods: Analysis of responses to smoking questions in national Indigenous surveys in 1994, 2002, 2004 and 2008. Results: Male Indigenous smoking prevalence fell significantly from 58.5% in 1994 to 52.6% in 2008, an absolute decrease of 0.4 (CI 0.1-0.7)% per year, with the same decline in remote and non- remote areas. Female smoking fell from 51.0% to 47.4%, with markedly different changes in remote and non-remote areas. In non-remote areas, there was an absolute decrease in female smoking of 0.5 (CI 0.2-0.9)% per year, but in remote areas, female smoking increased by 0.4 (CI 0.0-0.8)% per year. From 2002 to 2008, the percentage of ever-smokers who had quit (quit ratio) increased absolutely by 1% per year in both men and women, remote and non-remote areas. Results about trends in initiation were inconclusive. Conclusions and Implications: Health Minister Roxon has committed to halving the Indigenous smoking prevalence by 2018, and has dramatically increased Indigenous-specific funding and activity in tobacco control. The reported historical trends in this paper are encouraging as they occurred at a time when there was little such tobacco control activity focused on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. However, to meet the Minister’s goal, Indigenous smoking prevalence will need to fall more than six times as quickly as occurred from 1994 to 2008

Use of prescribed medications in a South Australian community sample

The document attached has been archived with permission from the editor of the Medical Journal of Australia. An external link to the publisher’s copy is included.Objective: To determine the extent of self-reported use of prescription medications in an Australian community sample. Design, setting and participants: Face-to-face interviews with a random, representative sample of the South Australian population (aged ≥ 15 years) living in metropolitan and rural areas. The study, a Health Omnibus Survey, was conducted between March and June 2004. Main outcome measures: Reported number of prescribed medications used per person, most common categories of medication, and use by individuals of multiple medications for the same body system. Results: From 4700 households selected, 3015 participants were interviewed (65.9% response rate). Of respondents, 46.8% were using prescribed medications; 171 respondents (5.7%) were taking six or more medications, and four were taking 16 or more; 23.2% were using medications for the cardiovascular system, with 11.9% using agents acting on the renin–angiotensin system. Prescription medication use increased with age, with over 10% of respondents aged ≥ 55 years using six or more medications. Conclusions: Use of multiple prescribed medications was common, with the potential for significant drug interactions. Assuming a similar pattern of medication use Australia-wide, reducing the number of prescribed medications by one for people taking six or more medications would save the federal government about $380 million a year.Robert D Goldney and Laura J Fishe

Disparities in cataract surgery between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in New South Wales, Australia

<b>Background:</b> To investigate variation in rates of cataract surgery in New South Wales (NSW), Australia by area of residence for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal adults.<p></p> <b>Design:</b> Observational data linkage study of hospital admissions.<p></p> <b>Participants:</b> 289 646 NSW residents aged 30 years and over admitted to NSW hospitals for 444 551 cataract surgery procedures between 2001 and 2008.<p></p> <b>Methods:</b> Analysis of linked routinely collected hospital data using direct standardisation and multilevel negative binomial regression models accounting for clustering of individuals within Statistical Local Areas (SLAs).<p></p> <b>Main outcome measures:</b> Age-standardised cataract surgery rates and adjusted rate ratios (ARRs).<p></p> <b>Results:</b> Aboriginal people had lower rates of cataract procedures than non-Aboriginal people of the same age and sex, living in the same SLA (ARR 0.71, 95% CI 0.68-0.75). There was significant variation in cataract surgery rates across SLAs for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people, with the disparity higher in major cities and less disadvantaged areas. Rates of surgery were lower for Aboriginal than non-Aboriginal people in most SLAs, but in a few, the rates were similar or higher for Aboriginal people.<p></p> <b>Conclusions:</b> Aboriginal people in NSW received less cataract surgery than non-Aboriginal people, despite evidence of higher cataract rates. This disparity was greatest in urban and wealthier areas. Higher rates of surgery for Aboriginal people observed in some specific locations are likely to reflect the availability of public ophthalmology services, targeted services for Aboriginal people and higher demand for surgery in these populations.<p></p&gt

Decreasing rates of natural deaths in a remote Australian Aboriginal community, 1996-2010

Objective: To examine the trends of all-cause natural mortality for people aged 15 years and over in a remote Australian Aboriginal community between 1996 and 2010. Methods: The annual population in the community by gender and age group was obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). All known deaths and all records of start of renal replacement therapy (RRT) for renal failure were recorded between 1996 and 2010. Five-year aggregated death rates were calculated and the changes in natural mortality over the interval were evaluated. Mortality was compared with those of the Northern Territory (NT) Indigenous and non-Indigenous people as a whole from 1998 to 2006. Results: Rates of natural deaths were lower in the third interval 2006-2010 relative to the first interval 1996-2000, with higher, but more rapidly falling rates for females than males. Reductions were prominent for both sexes in the 65 and over age groups, but death rates in females of earlier middle age also trended lower. The trends applied whether or not the starting of RRT was considered as a natural death. There was a similar trend in rates of natural death in the aggregate Indigenous population of NT. Conclusions: The downward trends probably reflect improvements in risk factor status since the 1960s, all-of-life health interventions, as well as better chronic disease management in the last two decades. The higher death rates in females than males in this community remain unexplained, but the rapid rate of decline of female death rates predicts that this gap will soon be minimised

Changes in mental health literacy about depression: South Australia, 1998 to 2004

The document attached has been archived with permission from the editor of the Medical Journal of Australia (26 April 2007). An external link to the publisher’s copy is included.OBJECTIVE: To identify changes in mental health literacy in regard to depression between 1998 and 2004. DESIGN AND SETTING: Face-to-face interviews with a random and representative sample of the South Australian population in 2004, compared with a similarly conducted survey in 1998 that used the same vignette, questions and methodology. PARTICIPANTS: 3015 randomly selected participants, aged 15 years and over. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Responses to both open-ended and direct questions about symptoms and treatment options for depression. RESULTS: The 3015 interviews conducted represented a response rate of 65.9%. Compared with 1998, in 2004 there was a significant increase in the proportion of people recognising depression in the vignette, acknowledging personal experience of depression, and perceiving professional assistance to be more helpful and less harmful. However, although more people nominated psychiatrists or psychologists as therapists of choice, the difference between 1998 and 2004 was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: There has been a significant increase in mental health literacy, at least as regards depression, in the South Australian community between 1998 and 2004. The lack of significant change in psychiatrists and/or psychologists being perceived as therapists of choice is of concern and suggests that community education about their expertise may be appropriate.Robert D Goldney, Laura J Fisher, Eleonora Dal Grande and Anne W Taylo

Labour markets and wages in Australia: 2008

The Australian economy in 2008 was one of contrasts: the resource based states continued to grow at relatively higher rates than the remainder; wage and employment outcomes varied widely for different groups in the labour force; and domestic climate change policies achieved prominence just as a global economic downturn lead to rapidly changing macroeconomic conditions. Within this rapidly changing context, ongoing concerns with labour utilization, wage equity and issues of compliance appear likely to grow in significance