Paving Pathways: shaping the Public Health workforce through tertiary education

Public health educational pathways in Australia have traditionally been the province of Universities, with the Master of Public Health (MPH) recognised as the flagship professional entry program. Public health education also occurs within the fellowship training of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine, but within Australia this remains confined to medical graduates. In recent years, however, we have seen a proliferation of undergraduate degrees as well as an increasing public health presence in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector. Following the 2007 Australian Federal election, the new Labour government brought with it a refreshing commitment to a more inclusive and strategic style of government. An important example of this was the 2020 visioning process that identified key issues of public health concern, including an acknowledgment that it was unacceptable to allocate less than 2% of the health budget towards disease prevention. This led to the recommendation for the establishment of a national preventive health agency (Australia: the healthiest country by 2020 National Preventative Health Strategy, Prepared by the Preventative Health Taskforce 2009). The focus on disease prevention places a spotlight on the workforce that will be required to deliver the new investment in health prevention, and also on the role of public health education in developing and upskilling the workforce. It is therefore timely to reflect on trends, challenges and opportunities from a tertiary sector perspective. Is it more desirable to focus education efforts on selected lead issues such as the "obesity epidemic", climate change, Indigenous health and so on, or on the underlying theory and skills that build a flexible workforce capable of responding to a range of health challenges? Or should we aspire to both? This paper presents some of the key discussion points from 2008 - 2009 of the Public Health Educational Pathways workshops and working group of the Australian Network of Public Health Institutions. We highlight some of the competing tensions in public health tertiary education, their impact on public health training programs, and the educational pathways that are needed to grow, shape and prepare the public health workforce for future challenges

IS JUMPING AND LANDING TECHNIQUE SYMMETRICAL IN FEMALE GYMNASTS?

The effect of eccentric load (drop height) on lower extremity neuromuscular function and performance was examined in young healthy female gymnasts. Each gymnast (level 4 – 6, n = 15) performed five drop landings and five rebound jumps whilst barefoot from three heights (30, 60, 90 cm) onto two AMTI force platforms (1000 Hz) covered with 6 cm thick carpeted gymnastics mats. Force-time measurements were exported into custom-written software to obtain key measures such as peak force (BW), loading rate (BW/s), and takeoff power (Watts/kg). Significant asymmetry was identified in the jumping and landing performance of the gymnasts, however the level of asymmetry observed was not influenced by eccentric load. In conclusion, coaches should aim to achieve safer landing strategies by developing ambidextrous movement in young gymnasts

Paving Pathways: shaping the Public Health workforce through tertiary education

Public health educational pathways in Australia have traditionally been the province of Universities, with the Master of Public Health (MPH) recognised as the flagship professional entry program. Public health education also occurs within the fellowship training of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine, but within Australia this remains confined to medical graduates. In recent years, however, we have seen a proliferation of undergraduate degrees as well as an increasing public health presence in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector

Workshop synopses : Pathways for public health education

The Commonwealth introduced the Public Health Education and Research Program (PHERP) initiative to support capacity building within the public health workforce, primarily through investment in Master of Public Health programs. Following the 2005 review of PHERP, a national \u27Quality Agenda\u27 was proposed to establish minimum standards in public health competencies of graduates; and Master of Public Health (MPH) graduates in particular. This \u27agenda\u27 has triggered renewed discussion on public health workforce needs, public health graduate competencies, and the capacity of the tertiary education sector to deliver these.The Australian Network of Academic Public Health Institutions (ANAPHI) has worked with the Department of Health and Ageing on the \u27Quality Agenda\u27. In 2008, ANAPHI convened a working group to further open up discussion among academic institutions on the public health education context to the Quality Agenda. The group held a lunchtime workshop at the 2008 Population Health Congress in Brisbane, as one of a themed pair of sessions entitled \u27Public Health Professionals - Shaping our Future\u27. A further aim of the workshop was to identify key themes to shape the next ANAPHI Teaching and Learning Forum (September 23rd to 24th 2008, Canberra, www.anaphi.org.au).<br /

Contributing to an autism biobank: Diverse perspectives from autistic participants, family members and researchers

A lot of autism research has focused on finding genes that might cause autism. To conduct these genetic studies, researchers have created 'biobanks' - collections of biological samples (such as blood, saliva, urine, stool and hair) and other health information (such as cognitive assessments and medical histories). Our study focused on the Australian Autism Biobank, which collected biological and health information from almost 1000 Australian autistic children and their families. We wanted to know what people thought about giving their information to the Biobank and why they chose to do so. We spoke to 71 people who gave to the Biobank, including 18 autistic adolescents and young adults, 46 of their parents and seven of their siblings. We also spoke to six researchers who worked on the Biobank project. We found that people were interested in giving their information to the Biobank so they could understand why some people were autistic. Some people felt knowing why could help them make choices about having children in the future. People also wanted to be involved in the Biobank because they believed it could be a resource that could help others in the future. They also trusted that scientists would keep their information safe and were keen to know how that information might be used in the future. Our findings show that people have lots of different views about autism biobanks. We suggest researchers should listen to these different views as they develop their work

Unruly men, improper patriarchs: male witches in colonial New England

Set against the backdrop of the now infamous seventeenth-century witch-panic in Salem, Massachusetts, this thesis argues for a new conceptualization of the men who were accused of witchcraft. Rather than considering men as adjuncts to female actors in this narrative, or feminizing them to explain the accusations against them, this thesis argues that it was often their performance of hyper-masculinity put them at risk. Despite this focus, this thesis knits together a complex web of contextual and behavioral threads to explain accusations of witchcraft made against men in colonial New England. Additionally, this thesis argues that the writings of American demonologists like Cotton and Increase Mather illustrate an intellectual continuity between Old World and New, one that did not balk at the idea of male witches

Inclusion, acceptance, shame and isolation: Attitudes to autism in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Australia

This is the first qualitative study to investigate experiences of, and attitudes towards, autism in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Australia. Understanding the complexity of these attitudes is crucial because they influence the recognition of autism as well as the ways in which individuals and families are supported. Twelve families with 16 autistic children living in diverse regions of Australia participated in a semi-structured interview. The interviews were thematically analysed using the six-step process outlined by Braun and Clarke. The analysis identified a marked tension in participants’ accounts. On the one hand, participants described negative feelings, including shame associated with atypical behaviour, stigmatisation and the social isolation of families, which potentially point towards under-identification or misdiagnosis. On the other hand, they also described inclusive attitudes, including ‘looking after each other’ and a growing acceptance of autistic differences. This positive model of support for and acceptance of autistic children and their families may well contribute to good outcomes for autistic children and adults in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. More research is needed on cross-cultural and pluralistic understandings of autism, parental perceptions and family experience.This research project received financial support from Positive Partnerships, who are funded by the Australian Government’s Department of Education

“Peas in a pod”: Oral History Reflections on Autistic Identity in Family and Community by Late-Diagnosed Adults

In this paper, we report on a participatory oral history study documenting the lives of late-diagnosed autistic adults in Australia. We interviewed 26 autistic adults about their life history and the impact of late diagnosis. All were diagnosed after the age of 35, growing up in an era when autism was not well known. Using reflexive thematic analysis, we uncovered a rich body of reflections on shared Autistic identity and identified three major themes within that data set: 'conceptualising the Autistic family', 'creating Autistic community', and 'contesting Autistic identity'. Overall, the study provides insights into the active creation of shared Autistic identity and the importance of Autistic community to these late-diagnosed autistic adults

Misclassification of Plasmodium infections by conventional microscopy and the impact of remedial training on the proficiency of laboratory technicians in species identification.

BACKGROUND: Malaria diagnosis is largely dependent on the demonstration of parasites in stained blood films by conventional microscopy. Accurate identification of the infecting Plasmodium species relies on detailed examination of parasite morphological characteristics, such as size, shape, pigment granules, besides the size and shape of the parasitized red blood cells and presence of cell inclusions. This work explores misclassifications of four Plasmodium species by conventional microscopy relative to the proficiency of microscopists and morphological characteristics of the parasites on Giemsa-stained blood films. CASE DESCRIPTION: Ten-day malaria microscopy remedial courses on parasite detection, species identification and parasite counting were conducted for public health and research laboratory personnel. Proficiency in species identification was assessed at the start (pre) and the end (post) of each course using known blood films of Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium malariae, Plasmodium ovale and Plasmodium vivax infections with densities ranging from 1,000 to 30,000 parasites/μL. Outcomes were categorized as false negative, positive without speciation, P. falciparum, P. malariae, P. ovale, P. vivax and mixed infections. DISCUSSION AND EVALUATION: Reported findings are based on 1,878 P. falciparum, 483 P. malariae, 581 P. ovale and 438 P. vivax cumulative results collated from 2008 to 2010 remedial courses. Pre-training false negative and positive misclassifications without speciation were significantly lower on P. falciparum infections compared to non-falciparum infections (p < 0.0001). Post-training misclassifications decreased significantly compared to pre- training misclassifications which in turn led to significant improvements in the identification of the four species. However, P. falciparum infections were highly misclassified as mixed infections, P. ovale misclassified as P. vivax and P. vivax similarly misclassified as P. ovale (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the misclassification of malaria species could be a common occurrence especially where non-falciparum infections are involved due to lack of requisite skills in microscopic diagnosis and variations in morphological characteristics within and between Plasmodium species. Remedial training might improve reliability of conventional light microscopy with respect to differentiation of Plasmodium infections

Mixed-Methods Evaluation of Real-Time Safety Reporting by Hospitalized Patients and Their Care Partners:The MySafeCare Application

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the amount and content of data patients and carepartners reported using a real-time electronic safety tool compared to other reporting mechanisms, and understand their perspectives on safety concerns and reporting in the hospital. METHODS: Mixed-methods study including 20 month pre- and post-implementation trial evaluating MySafeCare, a web-based application which allows hospitalized patients/carepartners to report safety concerns in real-time. Comparison of MySafeCare submission rates for three hospital units (oncology acute care; vascular intermediate care; medical intensive care) to submissions rates of Patient Family Relations (PFR) Department, a hospital service to address patient/family concerns. Triangulation of quantitative data with thematic analysis of safety concern submissions and patient/carepartner interviews to understand submission content and perspectives on safety reporting. RESULTS: Thirty-two MySafeCare submissions were received with an average rate of 1.7 submissions per 1,000 patient-days and a range of 0.3 to 4.8 submissions per 1,000 patient-days across all units, indicating notable variation between units. MySafeCare submission rates were significantly higher than PFR submission rates during the post-intervention period on the vascular unit (4.3 [95% CI 2.8 – 6.5] versus 1.5 [95% CI 0.7 – 3.1], Poisson) (P=0.01). Overall trends indicated a decrease in PFR submissions after MySafeCare implementation. Triangulated data indicated patients preferred to report anonymously and did not want concerns submitted directly to their care team. CONCLUSIONS: MySafeCare evaluation confirmed the potential value of providing an electronic, anonymous reporting tool in the hospital to capture safety concerns in real-time. Such applications should be tested further as part of patient safety programs