Solaria use in Queensland, Australia

Objective: To describe the demographics of solarium users and the correlates of solarium use in Queensland. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 9,419 Queensland residents was conducted via an anonymous computer-assisted telephone interview. Results: Overall, 8.8% of the respondents had ever used a solarium and less than 1% had used a solarium in the previous year. Results indicated that users were more likely to be female and younger than non-users, and less than half of the users signed a consent form, suggesting that they had not been made aware of the associated risks by operators. Conclusions: The Queensland Cancer Risk Study was one of the first population-based studies to address solarium use in this State and highlights that the use of solariums in Queensland is low in comparison to other countries. Implications: There is no regulation of compliance with guidelines. It may become necessary to make compliance with the guidelines mandatory to effectively communicate the associated risks.

Are parent-reported outcomes for self-directed or telephone-assisted behavioral family intervention enhanced if parents are observed?

The study examined the effects of conducting observations as part of a broader assessment of families participating in behavior family intervention (BFI). It was designed to investigate whether the observations improve intervention outcomes. Families were randomly assigned to different levels of BFI or a waitlist control condition and subsequently randomly assigned to either observation or no-observation conditions. This study demonstrated significant intervention and observation effects. Mothers in more intensive BFI reported more improvement in their child’s behavior and their own parenting. Observed mothers reported lower intensity of child behavior problems and more effective parenting styles. There was also a trend for less anger among mothers who were observed and evidence of an observation-intervention interaction for parental anger, with observed mothers in more intensive intervention reporting less anger compared to those not observed. Implications for clinical and research intervention contexts are discussed.