Outdoor worker sun protection project : a comprehensive applied research project to demonstrate the effectiveness of sun protection measures which influence high risk outdoor workers in Queensland to adopt sun safe behaviour practices 2010 – 2013

The QUT Outdoor Worker Sun Protection (OWSP) project undertook a comprehensive applied health promotion project to demonstrate the effectiveness of sun protection measures which influence high risk outdoor workers in Queensland to adopt sun safe behaviours. The three year project (2010-2013) was driven by two key concepts: 1) The hierarchy of control, which is used to address risks in the workplace, advocates for six control measures that need to be considered in order of priority (refer to Section 3.4.2); and 2) the Ottawa Charter which recommends five action means to achieve health promotion (refer to Section 2.1). The project framework was underpinned by a participatory action research approach that valued peoples’ input, took advantage of existing skills and resources, and stimulated innovation (refer to Section 4.2). Fourteen workplaces (small and large) with a majority outdoor workforce were recruited across regional Queensland (Darling Downs, Northwest, Mackay and Cairns) from four industries types: 1) building and construction, 2) rural and farming, 3) local government, and 4) public sector. A workplace champion was identified at each workplace and was supported (through resource provision, regular contact and site visits) over a 14 to 18 month intervention period to make sun safety a priority in their workplace. Employees and employers were independently assessed for pre- and postintervention sun protection behaviours. As part of the intervention, an individualised sun safety action plan was developed in conjunction with each workplace to guide changes across six key strategy areas including: 1) Policy (e.g., adopt sun safety practices during all company events); 2) Structural and environmental (e.g., shade on worksites; eliminate or minimise reflective surfaces); 3) Personal protective equipment (PPE) (e.g., trial different types of sunscreens, or wide-brimmed hats); 4) Education and awareness (e.g., include sun safety in inductions and toolbox talks; send reminder emails or text messages to workers);5) Role modelling (e.g., by managers, supervisors, workplace champions and mentors); and 6) Skin examinations (e.g., allow time off work for skin checks). The participatory action process revealed that there was no “one size fits all” approach to sun safety in the workplace; a comprehensive, tailored approach was fundamental. This included providing workplaces with information, resources, skills, know how, incentives and practical help. For example, workplaces engaged in farming complete differing seasonal tasks across the year and needed to prepare for optimal sun safety of their workers during less labour intensive times. In some construction workplaces, long pants were considered a trip hazard and could not be used as part of a PPE strategy. Culture change was difficult to achieve and workplace champions needed guidance on the steps to facilitate this (e.g., influencing leaders through peer support, mentoring and role modelling). With the assistance of the project team the majority of workplaces were able to successfully implement the sun safety strategies contained within their action plans, up skilling them in the evidence for sun safety, how to overcome barriers, how to negotiate with all relevant parties and assess success. The most important enablers to the implementation of a successful action plan were a pro-active workplace champion, strong employee engagement, supportive management, the use of highly visual educational resources, and external support (provided by the project team through regular contact either directly through phone calls or indirectly through emails and e-newsletters). Identified barriers included a lack of time, the multiple roles of workplace champions, (especially among smaller workplaces), competing issues leading to a lack of priority for sun safety, the culture of outdoor workers, and costs or budgeting constraints. The level of sun safety awareness, knowledge, and sun protective behaviours reported by the workers increased between pre-and post-intervention. Of the nine sun protective behaviours that were assessed, the largest changes reported included a 26% increase in workers who “usually or always” wore a broad-brimmed hat, a 20% increase in the use of natural shade, a 19% increase in workers wearing long-sleeved collared shirts, and a 16% increase in workers wearing long trousers.

Outdoor Worker Sun Protection Project : a mixed methods intervention to improve sun safety among outdoor workers

Queensland, Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world. Outdoor workers are regularly exposed to high doses of ultraviolet radiation, and are at increased risk to develop non-melanoma and melanoma skin cancers. In 2010, a health promotion intervention to improve sun protection among outdoor workers in Queensland commenced. The intervention employed a mixed methods approach and a participatory action research framework. Fourteen workplaces were recruited from building and construction, rural and farming, local government, and public sector organisations. Management and workers were engaged in cycles of assessment, reflection and discussion, planning, implementation and reassessing, over a 14-month intervention period. Overall, at least one workplace representative from each workplace (range 1-3) and in depth focus groups were held with a subset of workers (range 3-16) to assess sun safe behaviours pre and post intervention. Workers’ attitudes, beliefs, knowledge and willingness to engage in sun protection differed depending on workplace characteristics and support. A familiar theme among workers spoke of sun safety as being “common sense” and the “workers individual responsibility”. Often there was a discrepancy in the perceptions of the workers, compared to the view of workplace representatives and the workplaces position or policy on sun safety. In larger workplaces, especially Government Departments, workers were more aware and followed sun safe practices compared to smaller workplaces where sun safety was not a high priority. These results indicate that a workplace culture which places high values on safety and polices more broadly may also have a positive effect on sun safety among outdoor workers as well. In addition, the specific characteristics of the workplace and the outdoor work tasks influence workers willingness to engage in sun safety measures.

Comprehensive primary health care: a pathway to social inclusion and improved health

Originating from the World Health Organization of alma Ata in 1978, the philosophy of Comprehensive Primary Health Care (CPHC) includes the interconnecting principles of equity, access, empowerment, community self-determination and intersectoral collaboration in order to achieve better health outcomes for all people. It encompasses addressing the social, economic, cultural and political determinants of health. CPHC when implemented correctly should lead to social inclusion. However, implementing CPHC is complex due to misunderstandings about what it encompasses and about how to achieve the intended goals. This workshop aims to explore a range of issues that are tackled through a diverse range of primary health care services that target: community health, youth mental health, HIV/AIDS, homelessness, and marginalised disadvantaged groups.

Organisational change stressor and nursing job satisfaction : the mediating effect of coping strategies

Aim To examine the mediating effect of coping strategies on the consequences of nursing and non-nursing (administrative) stressors on the job satisfaction of nurses during change management. Background Organisational change can result in an increase in nursing and nonnursing- related stressors, which can have a negative impact on the job satisfaction of nurses employed in health-care organisations. Method Matched data were collected in 2009 via an online survey at two timepoints (six months apart). Results Partial least squares path analysis revealed a significant causal relationship between Time 1 administrative and role stressors and an increase in nursing-specific stressors in Time 2. A significant relationship was also identified between job-specific nursing stressors and the adoption of effective coping strategies to deal with increased levels of change-induced stress and strain and the likelihood of reporting higher levels of job satisfaction in Time 2. Conclusions The effectiveness of coping strategies is critical in helping nurses to deal with the negative consequences of organisational change. Implications for nursing management This study shows that there is a causal relationship between change, non-nursing stressors and job satisfaction. Senior management should implement strategies aimed at reducing nursing and nonnursing stress during change in order to enhance the job satisfaction of nurses. Keywords: Australia, change management, job satisfaction, nursing and non-nursing stressors, public and non-profit sector

Generate : Youth Culture and Migration Heritage in Western Sydney

Executive Summary This report is the first in-depth exploration of identity and popular culture among Middle Eastern and Asian youth. It documents preliminary research findings on the contribution of Middle Eastern and Asian youth to Sydney’s cultural life and migration heritage. While young people from these communities, the largest migrant communities in NSW, are often negatively portrayed, this research has focused on their social practices of cultural invention, opening up new and creative means of mobilising cultural difference. These young people’s cultural negotiations between migrant family background and the wider society require real engagement with difference and provide rich resources for invigorating the multicultural fabric of the nation. Their repertoire of cultural skills and their involvement in different cultural worlds are often viewed as evidence of not ‘belonging’ to the mainstream or dominant culture. However, the results of our research reveal that the ‘in-betweenness’ of these young people often enables them to move easily between different social and cultural groupings, embracing cultural diversity as inherent and integral to their everyday experience, that is, ‘normal’ to urban life. In this report, we document the changing nature of friendship networks and family relations, the particular meanings and uses of different languages and expressions, and the patterns of consumption of Middle Eastern and Asian youth. In these everyday activities these young people contribute to a changing migration heritage and are redefining what it means to be Australian.

Surrogate indicators for assessing community resilience

The importance of community resilience to natural disasters is being increasingly recognised. This paper presents an approach for the development of surrogate indicators for comprehensive assessment of community resilience, which is crucial in the context of predicted increase in natural disasters resulting from extreme weather events due to climate change. The use of surrogate indicators is advocated because a comprehensive assessment of community resilience across various thematic areas and associated key areas requires the measurement of a large number of resilience indicators which is not always feasible due to time and resource constraints, To overcome this, researchers tend to use secondary data sources, which are easily available but not always reliable. This highlights the need for surrogate indicators that are easy to measure from reliable primary data sources and are adequate to capture the resilience of a community. Firstly, the paper discusses the two approaches for defining and conceptualising community resilience and the need to account for the complex interrelationships between thematic areas, key areas and resilience indicators and their implications for research. Secondly, a comprehensive framework for the assessment of community resilience is proposed and the difficulties associated with the measurement of overall resilience of the community are discussed. Thirdly, the paper explains a two-step approach to develop surrogate indicators highlighting the necessity and challenges associated with it. Finally, the proposed approach is elaborated with a simple example for better understanding.

Understanding the impact of legislative changes on child car seating and restraint practices in regional Queensland

Road crashes contribute to a significant amount of child mortality and morbidity in Australia. In fact, passenger injuries contribute to the majority of child crash road trauma. A number of factors contribute to child injury and death in motor vehicles, including inappropriate seating position, inappropriate choice of restraint, and incorrect installation and use of child restraints. Prior to March 2010, child restraint legislation in Queensland only required children twelve months and younger to be seated in a properly adjusted and fastened child restraint. This legislation left older infants and young children potentially suboptimally protected. From March 2010, new legislation specified seating position and type of child restraint required, depending on the age of the child. This research was underpinned by the Health Belief Model (HBM), which explores health related behaviour, behaviour change, environmental factors influencing behaviour change (including legislative changes) and is flexible enough to be used in relation to parents' health practices for their children, rather than parent health directly. This thesis investigates the extent to which the changes to child restraint legislation have led parents in regional areas of Queensland to use appropriate restraint practices for their children and determines the extent to which the constructs of the HBM, parental perceptions, barriers and environmental factors contribute to the appropriateness of child seating and restraint use. Study One included three sets of observations taken in two regional cities of Queensland prior to the legislative amendment, during an educative period of six months, and after the enactment of the legislation. Each child's seating position and restraint type were recorded. Results showed that the proportion of children observed occupying the front seat decreased by 15.6 per cent with the announcement the legislation. There was no decrease in front seat use at the enactment of the legislation. The proportion of children observed using dedicated child restraints increased by 8.8 per cent with the announcement of the legislation when there was one child in the vehicle. Further, there was a 10.1 per cent increase in the proportion of children observed using a seat belt that fit with the announcement when there was one child in the vehicle and with the enactment of the legislation regardless of the number of children in the vehicle (21.8 per cent for one child, 39.7 per cent for two children and 40.2 per cent for three or more children). Study Two comprised initial intercept interviews, later followed up by telephone, with parents with children aged eight years and younger at the announcement and telephone interviews at the enactment of the legislation in one regional city in Queensland. Parents reported their child restraint practices, and opinions, knowledge and understanding of the requirements of the new legislation. Parent responses were analysed in terms of the constructs in the HBM. When asked which seating position their child 'usually' used, parents reported child front seat use was nil (0.0 per cent) and did not change with the enactment of the legislative amendment. However, when parents were asked whether they allowed children to use the front seat at some point within the six months prior to the interview, reported child front seat use was 7 (5.4 per cent) children at T2 and 10 (9.6 per cent) at T3. Reported use of age-appropriate child restraints did not increase with the enactment of the legislation (p = 0.77, ns). Parents reported restraint practices were classed as either appropriate or inappropriate. Parents who reported appropriate restraint practices were those whose children were sitting in optimal restraints and seating positions for their age according to the requirements of the legislation. Parents who reported inappropriate restraint practices were those who had one or more children who were suboptimally restrained or seated for their age according to the requirements of the legislation. Neither parents' perceptions about their susceptibility of being in a crash nor the likelihood of severity of child injury if involved in a crash yielded significant differences in the appropriateness of reported parent restraint practices over time with the enactment of the legislation. A trend in the data suggested parents perceived a benefit to using appropriate restraint practices was to avoid fines and demerit points. Over 75 per cent of parents who agreed that child restraints provide better protection for children than an adult seat belt reported appropriately seating and restraining their children (2 (1) = 8.093, p<.05). The self-efficacy measure regarding parents' confidence in installing a child restraint showed a significant association with appropriate parental restraint practices (2 (1) = 7.036, p<.05). Results suggested that some parents may have misinterpreted the announcement of the legislative amendment as the announcement of the enforcement of the legislation instead. Some parents who correctly reported details of the legislation did not report appropriate child restraint practices. This finding shows that parents' knowledge of the legislative amendment does not necessarily have an impact on their behaviour to appropriately seat and restrain children. The results of these studies have important implications for road safety and the prevention of road-related injury and death to children in Queensland. Firstly, parents reported feeling unsure of how to install restraints, which suggests that there may be children travelling in restraints that have not been installed correctly, putting them at risk. Interventions to alert and encourage parents to seek advice when unsure about the correct installation of child restraints could be considered. Secondly, some parents in this study although they were using the most appropriate restraint for their children, reported using a type that was not the most appropriate restraint for the child's age according to the legislation. This suggests that intervention may be effective in helping parents make a more accurate choice of the most appropriate type of restraint to use with children, especially as the child ages and child restraint requirements change. Further research could be conducted to ascertain the most effective methods of informing and motivating parents to use the most appropriate restraints and seating positions for their children, as these results show a concerning disparity between reported restraint practices and those that were observed.

Low formalin concentrations induce fine-tuned responses that are sex and age-dependent : a developmental study

The formalin test is increasingly applied as a model of inflammatory pain using high formalin concentrations (5–15%). However, little is known about the effects of low formalin concentrations on related behavioural responses. To examine this, rat pups were subjected to various concentrations of formalin at four developmental stages: 7, 13, 22, and 82 days of age. At postnatal day (PND) 7, sex differences in flinching but not licking responses were observed with 0.5% formalin evoking higher flinching in males than in females. A dose response was evident in that 0.5% formalin also produced higher licking responses compared to 0.3% or 0.4% formalin. At PND 13, a concentration of 0.8% formalin evoked a biphasic response. At PND 22, a concentration of 1.1% evoked higher flinching and licking responses during the late phase (10–30 min) in both males and females. During the early phase (0–5 min), 1.1% evoked higher licking responses compared to 0.9% or 1% formalin. 1.1% formalin produced a biphasic response that was not evident with 0.9 or 1%. At PND 82, rats displayed a biphasic pattern in response to three formalin concentrations (1.25%, 1.75% and 2.25%) with the presence of an interphase for both 1.75% and 2.25% but not for 1.25%. These data suggest that low formalin concentrations induce fine-tuned responses that are not apparent with the high formalin concentration commonly used in the formalin test. These data also show that the developing nociceptive system is very sensitive to subtle changes in formalin concentrations.

Does it matter whether friends, parents, or peers drink walk? Identifying which normative influences predict young pedestrian's decisions to walk while intoxicated

Drink walking, that is walking in a public place while intoxicated, is associated with increased risk of injury and fatality. Young people and males are especially prone to engaging in this behaviour, yet little is known about the factors associated with individual’s decisions to drink walk. The present research explores the role of different normative influences (friendship group norm, parent group norm, university peer group norm) and perceived risk, within an extended theory of planned behaviour (TPB) framework, in predicting young people’s self-reported drink walking intentions. One hundred and eighteen young people (aged 17-25 years) completed a survey including sociodemographic measures and extended TPB measures related to drink walking. Overall the extended TPB explained 72.8% of the variance in young people’s intentions to drink walk in the next six months with attitude, perceived behavioural control, friendship group norm, and gender (male) emerging as significant predictors. Males, as compared with females, had higher intentions to drink walk and lower perceptions of risk regarding drink walking. Together, these findings provide a clearer indication of the salient normative influences and gender differences in young pedestrian’s decisions to walk while intoxicated. Such findings can be used to inform future interventions designed to reduce injuries and fatalities associated with drink walking.

Can I touch this?

Building knowledge economies seems synonymous with re-imaging urban fabrics. Cities producing vibrant public realms are believed to have better success in distinguishing themselves within a highly competitive market. Many governments are heavily investing in cultural enhancements burgeoning distinctive cosmopolitan centers of which public art is emerging as a significant stakeholder. Brisbane’s goal to grow a knowledge-based economy similarly addresses public art. To stimulate engagement with public art Brisbane City Council has delivered an online public art catalogue and assembled three public art trails, with a fourth newly augmented. While many pieces along these trails are obviously public others question the term ‘public’ through an obscured milieu where a ‘look but don’t touch’ policy is subtly implied. This study investigates the interactional relationship between publics and public art, and in doing so, explores the concept of accessibility. This paper recommends that installations of sculpture within an emerging city should be considered in terms of economic output measured through the degree in which the public engages.

Flexibility in change practices and job outcomes for nurses : exploring the role of subjective fit

Aims To integrate existing theoretical perspectives on change management, subjective fit and occupational stress to better understand the effects of change on employee adjustment. Background Although subjective fit with organizational goals and objectives has been shown to have positive effects on employee adjustment, its role in the organizational change–occupational stress context is not understood. This represents a caveat in research when considering the notion that those who feel that they fit with the organization's goals may be better equipped to reconcile and deal with change. Design A cross-sectional survey of nurses from public and non-profit sector hospitals was conducted. Method Data were collected from 252 public and non-profit sector nurses via online surveys. Data were collected from June–October in 2010. Structural equation modelling was used to test the direct and indirect effects among the focal variables. Results The results showed that public and non-profit nurses experience flexibility-limiting and flexibility-promoting change initiatives and that these are differentially related to the perception of administrative stressors and adjustment with these relationships directly and indirectly influenced by perceptions of subjective fit. Flexibility-limiting change initiatives led to lower levels of subjective fit, higher levels of administrative stressors and less favourable adjustment. On the other hand, flexibility-promoting change practices led to higher levels of subjective fit, lower levels of administrative stressors and ultimately better adjustment. Conclusion The results further the theoretical understanding of the role of subjective fit in organizational change and occupational stress theories.