Perceived personal, social and environmental barriers to weight maintenance among young women: a community survey

Background: Young women are a group at high risk of weight gain. This study examined a range of perceived personal, social and environmental barriers to physical activity and healthy eating for weight maintenance among young women, and how these varied by socioeconomic status (SES), overweight status and domestic situation. Methods: In October-December 2001, a total of 445 women aged 18–32 years, selected randomly from the Australian electoral roll, completed a mailed self-report survey that included questions on 11 barriers to physical activity and 11 barriers to healthy eating (relating to personal, social and environmental factors). Height, weight and socio-demographic details were also obtained. Statistical analyses were conducted mid-2003. Results: The most common perceived barriers to physical activity and healthy eating encountered by young women were related to motivation, time and cost. Women with children were particularly likely to report a lack of social support as an important barrier to physical activity, and lack of social support and time as important barriers to healthy eating. Perceived barriers did not differ by SES or overweight status. Conclusions: Health promotion strategies aimed at preventing weight gain should take into account the specific perceived barriers to physical activity and healthy eating faced by women in this age group, particularly lack of motivation, lack of time, and cost. Strategies targeting perceived lack of time and lack of social support are particularly required for young women with children.

'Motor magic' : evaluation of a community capacity-building approach to supporting the development of preschool children (part 2)

Background and Aims: This paper is the second in a series of two that presents and discusses an exploratory evaluation study of the 'Motor Magic' program conducted in Adelaide, South Australia.

Methods: A realist evaluation approach was used, and two focus groups (one with parents and one with kindergarten staff) were held to identify program outcomes and to develop and refine key hypotheses about how these outcomes occurred.

Results and Conclusions: Results for kindergarten staff involved in the program are presented and discussed in this paper, including improved early identification and early intervention for children with, or at risk of, fine motor developmental difficulties; increased confidence in the effectiveness of their practice with these children; improved practice of kindergarten staff with both targeted and all children; improved empathy with, and support for, parents; and increased interagency links and ongoing advocacy for further resources. These results suggest that the program provides an effective model for building the capacity of kindergarten staff to support children with, or at risk of, developmental difficulties.

Limitations of an established community of practice in developing online innovation

This research was undertaken to explore the effectiveness of an already established community of practice among staff at a small rurally-based training organisation as a vehicle through which to develop innovative practice in online collaboration and learning. The research was situated within that ongoing innovation, and used interview and observational techniques to generate the research data from staff and management personnel. Substantial limitations to using an already existing community of practice to develop innovative practice were shown in the research. Development of new behaviours was substantially inhibited by the power of already established behaviours and practices. Additionally, lack of sufficient experience among community members in online technologies was a further barrier to effective and orderly development. The research indicates that the achievement of innovative practice through communities of practice within existing workplaces may best be served by the strategic development of members of those communities, focusing on change from already established behaviours, and by ensuring a mix of skill and experience to support and lead less experienced participants.

The realm of the game geek : supporting creativity in an online community

This paper explores the importance of online communities designed to support the creativity of tertiary students enrolled in Computer Science studies. Online discussion forums provide university students with a supportive and nurturing environment and a community where they can share knowledge and ideas. The authors draw on findings derived from a study of first year Computer Science students enrolled in a Games Design and Development unit. Of particular interest is the ways in which the participants develop and control the environment in order to enhance their own creative expression.

Living alone, social support, and feeling lonely among the elderly

This study aimed to describe the characteristics of the elderly population living alone, and to examine how living alone relates to feeling lonely. Interviews were conducted with a stratified random sample of 4,859 elderly individuals living in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Variables collected included demographic information, living alone or not, activities of daily living
(ADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ), chronic conditions, perceived social support, and a subjective measure of feeling lonely. Using logistic regression, it was found that factors associated with living alone included gender, marital status, occupation, source of income, religion, and IADL. Living alone was, in tum, related to decreased levels of both perceived social support
and feeling lonely after adjustment for potential confounders. Managing retired life is important for adult elders, particularly for men. Lack ofsocial support is common among the elderly community who live alone, which could wel1 be a main reason for this group to feel lonely. As loneliness is linked to physical and mental health problems, increasing social support and facilitating friendship should be factored into life-style management for
communities of elderly.

The costs of a community-based intervention to promote maternal health

The costs of community-level interventions are rarely reported, although such insights are needed if intervention research is to be useful to practitioners seeking to understand what might be involved in replicating interventions in different contexts. We report the costs of a 2-year community-based intervention to promote the health of recent mothers in Victoria, Australia. Program of Resources, Information and Support for Mothers was an integrated programme of primary care and community-based strategies. It had health care professional training, health education and community development components as well as an emphasis on creating ‘mother-friendly’ environments. Costs included the programme costs [primarily the salaries of the community development officers (CDO) in the field] and also ‘induced’ costs that relate to the CDOs' successes in attracting additional resources to the intervention from the local community. The total cost averaged A$272 490 per rural community and A$313 900 per urban community, equivalent to A$172.40 and A$128.70 per mother, respectively. For every A$10 of public funds initially invested in the project, the CDOs were able to attract a further A$1–2 worth of local resources, predominantly in the form of volunteer time or donated services.

The evolution of an online community - a case study

This article reflects findings from a long term case study of an online community of practice established through a network for the professional education of teachers in Ontario, Canada. The Education Network of Ontario/Réseau éducatif de l'Ontario (ENO/REO) was created in 1992–1993 to support and connect teachers from kindergarten to grade 12 in the province of Ontario. Its mandate was to ensure that all teachers had free access to the Internet and to each other and to encourage the development of skills in the area of information and communication technology with the ultimate goal of using those skills to improve classroom practice. The study investigated whether information technology had the potential to connect teachers to each other in order to build the capacity to create networks where professional learning could take place in a cost-efficient and flexible time and/or place. It was found that participants were early adopters who enjoyed innovation, that online networkswere supportive for learning but hard to maintain over time, and though they supported the integration of technology in the classroom, other barriers within schools could challenge this effect.

Community reintegration of ex-prisoners : type and degree of change in variables influencing successful reintegration

Community reintegration of ex-prisoners is an important issue in efforts to reduce recidivism. The present study examined the multiple, complex, and dynamic nature of variables influencing successful reintegration by assessing the type and degree of change in reintegration variables over time. Participants were 79 adult prisoners (54 male, 25 female) who completed a prerelease questionnaire 1 month before their release, which focused on prison-related variables, participant background, and anticipated conditions upon release. A postrelease questionnaire was administered to the same participants at 1-4 weeks and 3-4 months postrelease, focusing on the quality of life conditions experienced following release. Results indicate that current health ratings and several indicators of drug use were significantly different over the three measurement phases. Ratings of employment and housing stability, finance, and social support were unchanged over the postrelease period. Theoretical implications of the present investigation for reintegration theory are discussed, together with practical applications.

Wellbeing, job satisfaction and commitment among Australian community health workers: the relationship with working conditions

The Australian community health sector has undergone extensive organisational reform in recent times, and, in the push to enhance efficiencies and contain costs, there are indications that these changes may have undermined the wellbeing of community health personnel and their ability to provide high quality illness-prevention services. The aim of this study was to examine the working environments experienced by community health service employees and identify conditions that are predictive of employee stress. The study was guided by a tailored version of the demand-control-support model, whereby the generic components of the model had been augmented by more situation-specific stressors. The results of multiple regression analyses indicated that job control, and, to a lesser extent, social support, were closely associated with the outcome variables (psychological health, job satisfaction and organisational commitment). The more situation-specific stressors also accounted for significant proportions of explained variance. Overall, the results suggest that working conditions, particularly job control, social support and specific job stressors, offer valuable opportunities for protecting and enhancingthe wellbeing of community health service personnel.

What makes continuing education effective : perspectives of community pharmacists

Objective To explore how different aspects of the professional environment for Australian community pharmacists are perceived to be influencing the effectiveness of continuing education models in improving practice.

Setting Australian community pharmacy.

Methods A convenience sample of practising community pharmacists (n = 15) was recruited using the 'snowballing' technique to participate in one of four focus group teleconferences. Each focus group examined continuing education experiences from different professional perspectives and training needs (recent graduates, experienced practitioners, specialist practitioners and rural/remote practitioners).

Key findings Facilitation of professional development by accreditation bodies, and new challenges resulting from the introduction of cognitive services were seen to promote a favourable environment for continuing education engagement. Complex continuing education delivery models combined with high costs and excessive workloads made it more difficult to engage with continuing education systems or try to apply knowledge to the workplace.

Conclusion Results support findings from previous research that practice development requires a multifaceted approach with continuing education as just one component. Affordable and integrated models of continuing education are required in order to optimise efficacy for participants.

Teaching and learning online : older adults in a community setting

This research was designed to assess whether the older adult learning in IT environments and online represents a different pedagogy from that of younger learners, as has been suggested by some authors in the literature. The study was conducted in a community learning and employment centre in an Australian rural town, and involved interviews with six teachers of older adults, and nine older learners. The results did not support the need for a particular pedagogy for older learners, instead supporting an approach to teaching that was based around teachers identifying learner characteristics and needs and responding to them as individuals. This finding has been interpreted in the context of already published iterative and interactive teaching models, and has considerable implications for the effective teaching and learning of older adults. Those implications are discussed in the paper.

Individual characteristics associated with community intergration of adults with intellectual disability

Background The purpose of this study was to identify individual characteristics associated with community integration of adults with an intellectual disability.

Method A group of 37 males with high support needs, and who had previously lived in a large institution, participated in the study. Using proxy respondents, data were collected on three measures of community integration, and on the participants' adaptive and maladaptive functioning. Chronological age and years of institutionalisation were also examined for their associations with community integration.

Results Level of daily living skills predicted life circumstances. There were no significant associations among the measures of community integration.

Conclusions The examination of the relationships between participant characteristics and community integration produced similar conclusions to previous research. Only daily living skills scores were uniquely associated with variations in life circumstances. Further research is required to determine whether these findings will be replicated with other cohorts of participants.

An insight into implementing person-centred active support

This paper provides reflections on the implementation of an active support staff training programme for staff working in community residential facilities for adults with an intellectual disability. Outcomes for the people with an intellectual disability were consistent with recent research findings indicating that active support can lead to improved opportunities for participation in everyday activities within the home. We propose that the success of the training programme was largely influenced by three key elements: ensuring that there is expertise in, and support for, this approach to service provision among key service managers, provision of in vivo one-to-one practical staff training in addition to classroom-based theoretical input, and inclusion of elements of person-centred planning approaches in combination with active support. Future research should focus on how best to maximise the effectiveness of active support staff training.

'Dig in' to social capital : community gardens as mechanisms for growing urban social connectedness

This article reports on research undertaken with members of a Melbourne urban community garden to explore the extent to which such a natural amenity provides opportunities for enhancing social capital. It is apparent even from this small qualitative study that membership of 'Dig In' community garden offers many benefits to its members. These benefits include increased social cohesion (the sharing of values enabling identification of common aims and the sharing of codes of behaviour governing relationships), social support (having people to turn to in times of crisis) and social connections (the development of social bonds and networks). However, the study indicates that, at least in the early stages of development, such benefits do not necessarily extend beyond the garden setting. This raises a question about the time required to develop high levels of social capital, and points to the need for further research into 'time' and 'space' aspects of community gardens.

Clinical supervision in child protection for community nurses

Community nurses have been recognized as having a key role in the protection and care of children, particularly in relation to the identification and detection of child abuse. In order to fulfill this role in a competent manner, they need to have access to appropriate supervision. The aim of this paper is to explore community nurses' and health care managers' understanding and experience of clinical supervision in child protection. The findings presented here were collected as part of a larger study commissioned by the Greater Glasgow Primary Health Care National Health Service (NHS) Trust. Ninety-nine nurses and nursing managers were interviewed, either individually or in groups, about their professional involvement in child protection issues and support for their involvement in child protection work, as well as their current knowledge and perceived training needs. The interview data was subjected to a thematic analysis. A lack of consensus was found among nurses and managers in Glasgow as to what constitutes clinical supervision and a good deal of variation in nurses' experiences of clinical supervision in the field of child protection. The historical difficulties with regard to supervision were attributed to several aspects of nursing culture. However, both nurses and managers emphasized the need for formal, regular, systematic supervision for all nurses regardless of their specific role with regard to child protection.