Living high but healthy : high-rise housing, nature, health and wellbeing

This exploratory mixed method study investigated the factors, including access to nature (i.e. parks and gardens), impacting on inner city high-rise residents' health and wellbeing. Analysis of the integrated findings revealed that a range of factors (including accessibility, choice and control and tenure) impact on residents' health and wellbeing.

Impact of social anxiety on quality of life : a longitudinal study

This thesis found that individuals with social anxiety had high levels of co-morbid depression, reduced quality of life, poorer health and wellbeing, and they used maladaptive coping strategies. The negative effects of social anxiety and social anxiety co-morbid depression could be predicted over a 6-month time period. The portfolio argues the impact of poor attachment style, poor parenting behaviour and negative environmental influences as contributors to individuals' longer term psychological functioning with four case studies highlighting the contributing role of these early influences on later functioning.

Wild adventures in wellbeing

This study examined the foundations, features and wellbeing impacts of Australian outdoor adventure interventions (OAI). According to literature- and practice-based evidence, Australian OAI support positive impacts for individuals across physical, emotional, behavioural, social, cultural, spiritual, economic and environmental wellbeing in the Australian context.

Inner city high-rise living : a catalyst for social exclusion and social connectedness?

This paper discusses the concepts ‘social exclusion’ and ‘social connectedness’ which may result from living in inner city high-rise housing. Using data from the ‘Living High But Healthy’ study completed in 2006, the author explores the health and wellbeing impacts of high-rise living. The paper begins with a review of literature on high-rise living, social exclusion and social connectedness. This is followed by discussion of the ‘Living High But Healthy’ study findings in relation to social exclusion and social connectedness and lastly, the notion that inner city high-rise living may be a catalyst for these concepts is explored.

Effects of parental perception of neighbourhood deprivation and family environment characteristics on pro-social behaviours among 4-12 year old children

Objective : To assess the effect family environment stressors (e.g. poor family functioning and parental psychological distress) and neighbourhood environment on child prosocial behaviour (CPB) and child difficulty behaviour (CDB) among 4-to-12 year old children.

Methods : Analysis of the 2006 Victorian Child Health and Wellbeing Survey (VCHWS) dataset derived from a statewide cross-sectional telephone survey, with a final total sample of 3,370 children.

Results : Only family functioning, parental psychological distress, child gender, and age were associated with CPB, explaining a total of 8% of the variance. Children from healthily functioning families and of parents without any psychological distress exhibited greater prosocial behaviours than those from poorly functioning families and of parents with mental health problems. Neighbourhood environment was not found to contribute to CPB. A total of eight variables were found to predict CDB, explaining a total of 16% of the variance. Poor family and parental psychological functioning as well as poor access to public facilities in the neighbourhood were associated with conduct problems in children.

Conclusion : Our results point to the importance of the family environment in providing a context that fosters the development of empathic, caring and responsible children; and in buffering children in exhibiting behaviour difficulties during the formative years of life. Programs aimed at promoting prosocial behaviours in children need to target stressors on the family environment.

The self-reported personal wellbeing of a sample of Australian injecting drug users

Aims To examine the self-reported personal wellbeing of a sample of Australian injecting drug users (IDU) using a standardized instrument and determine the key correlates of variations in self-reported personal wellbeing.

Design, setting and participants Cross-sectional survey of 881 Australian IDU.

Measurements Self-reported personal wellbeing collected using the Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI).

Findings IDU scored significantly lower than the general Australian population on the PWI and all subscales. Lower PWI scores were associated with a range of socio-demographic, drug use and other health and social characteristics. Across all PWI subscales, lower personal wellbeing scores were associated with unemployment, past 6-month mental health problems and more frequent injecting (all P < 0.05).

Conclusions The PWI is sufficiently sensitive to distinguish between IDU and the general population, and to identify key correlates of PWI among IDU. Some domains canvassed within the scale, such as health, standard of living and life achievements, are well within the scope of current intervention strategies, such as pharmacotherapy maintenance treatment and housing and employment support services. This suggests that the PWI could be useful in clinical settings by allowing structured identification of the areas of a person's life to be addressed as a part of a treatment regimen. In order to inform targeted prevention and intervention efforts, longitudinal studies of PWI and its correlates among IDU are required.

Splash!: a prospective birth cohort study of the impact of environmental, social and family-level influences on child oral health and obesity related risk factors and outcomes

Background: Dental caries (decay) is the most prevalent disease of childhood. It is often left untreated and can impact negatively on general health, and physical, developmental, social and learning outcomes. Similar to other health issues, the greatest burden of dental caries is seen in those of low socio-economic position. In addition, a number of diet-related risk factors for dental caries are shared risk factors for the development of childhood obesity. These include high and frequent consumption of refined carbohydrates (predominately sugars), and soft drinks and other sweetened beverages, and low intake of (fluoridated) water. The prevalence of childhood obesity is also at a concerning level in most countries and there is an opportunity to determine interventions for addressing both of these largely preventable conditions through sustainable and equitable solutions. This study aims to prospectively examine the impact of drink choices on child obesity risk and oral health status.
Methods/Design: This is a two-stage study using a mixed methods research approach. The first stage involves qualitative interviews of a sub-sample of recruited parents to develop an understanding of the processes involved in drink choice, and inform the development of the Discrete Choice Experiment analysis and the measurement instruments to be used in the second stage. The second stage involves the establishment of a prospective birth cohort of 500 children from disadvantaged communities in rural and regional Victoria, Australia (with and without water fluoridation). This longitudinal design allows measurement of changes in the child’s diet over time, exposure to fluoride sources including water, dental caries progression, and the risk of childhood obesity.
Discussion: This research will provide a unique contribution to integrated health, education and social policy and program directions, by providing clearer policy relevant evidence on strategies to counter social and environmental factors which predispose infants and children to poor health, wellbeing and social outcomes; and evidence-based strategies to promote health and prevent disease through the adoption of healthier lifestyles and diet. Further, given the absence of evidence on the processes and effectiveness of contemporary policy implementation, such as community water fluoridation in rural and regional communities it’s approach and findings will be extremely
informative.

Concepts in conflict : social marketing and sustainability

This article discusses a major dilemma faced by social marketers: the conflict between implementing social marketing programs aimed at developing material wellbeing and the increased use of resources as a result of these changes. Social marketers aim to make social changes positively however the social‐environmental cost benefit is seldom a consideration. It is suggested that many changes are ‘unsustainable’ in their current format. Social marketers will need to become involved in the tradeoffs between material wellbeing and sustainability of the environment. This important issue is of direct relevance to a large section of those involved in social change creation. The consideration of sustainability is an important issue for social marketers. Implications and further research are proposed.

An examination of the health and wellbeing of childless women : A cross-sectional exploratory study in Victoria, Australia

Background
Childlessness among Australian women is increasing. Despite this, little is known about the physical and mental health and wellbeing of childless women, particularly during the reproductive years. The aims of this exploratory study were to: 1) describe the physical and mental health and wellbeing and lifestyle behaviours of childless women who are currently within the latter part of their reproductive years (30 – 45 years of age); and 2) compare the physical and mental health and wellbeing and lifestyle behaviours of these childless women to Australian population norms.
Methods
A convenience sample of 50 women aged between 30 and 45 years were recruited to participate in a computer assisted telephone interview. The SF-36 Health Survey v2 and lifestyle indicators were collected in regards to women’s health and wellbeing. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, t-tests for independent sample means and 95% confidence intervals for the difference between two independent proportions.
Results
Childless women in this study reported statistically significant poorer general health, vitality, social functioning and mental health when compared to the adult female population of Australia. With the exception of vegetable consumption, lifestyle behaviours were similar for the childless sample compared to the adult female population in Australia.
Conclusions
Childless women may be at a greater risk of experiencing poor physical and mental health when compared to the Australian population. A woman’s health and wellbeing during her reproductive years may have longer term health consequences and as such the health and wellbeing of childless women requires further investigation to identify and address implications for the provision of health (and other social) services for this growing population group.

If a holistic approach to social work requires acknowledgement of religion, what does this mean for social work education?

There is growing recognition that promoting wellbeing requires a holistic approach to social work practice which includes understanding the role of religion in the lives of service users. This is reflected in a number of mentions of religion in the new code of ethics produced by the Australian Association of Social Workers. However, any consideration of whether religion has a place in social work should not only occur at the individual level, but also consider faith-based agencies. This paper considers the implications of this for social work education in respect of developing curriculum which acknowledges the religious dimension of the lives of many service users; skill development to enable social workers to broach issues of religion with service users; and working in or with faith-based agencies.

Understanding determinants of nutrition, physical activity and quality of life among older adults : the Wellbeing, Eating and Exercise for a Long Life (WELL) study

Background : Nutrition and physical activity are major determinants of health and quality of life; however, there exists little research focusing on determinants of these behaviours in older adults. This is important, since just as these behaviours vary according to subpopulation, it is likely that the determinants also vary. An understanding of the modifiable determinants of nutrition and physical activity behaviours among older adults to take into account the specific life-stage context is required in order to develop effective interventions to promote health and well-being and prevent chronic disease and improve quality of life.

Methods : The aim of this work is to identify how intrapersonal, social and environmental factors influence nutrition and physical activity behaviours among older adults living in urban and rural areas. This study is a cohort study of adults aged 55-65 years across urban and rural Victoria, Australia. Participants completed questionnaires at baseline in 2010 and will complete follow-up questionnaires in 2012 and 2014. Self-report questionnaires will be used to assess outcomes such as food intake, physical activity and sedentary behaviours, anthropometry and quality of life. Explanatory variables include socioeconomic position, and measures of the three levels of influence on older adults' nutrition and physical activity behaviours (intrapersonal, social and perceived environmental influences).

Discussion : Obesity and its determinant behaviours, physical inactivity and poor diet are major public health concerns and are significant determinants of the quality of life among the ageing population. There is a critical need for a better understanding of the determinants of nutrition and physical activity in this important target group. This research will provide evidence for the development of effective policies and programs to promote and support increased physical activity and healthy eating behaviours among older adults.

Making Connections in Geelong : migrants, social capital and growing regional cities

Migration has been increasingly used to compensate for demographic trends and skill shortages in developed countries. This has resulted in policies to encourage migration to regional areas in order to relieve pressures on liveability and infrastructure in big cities. Like many other regional cities in Victoria, Geelong actively encourages migrants from overseas, from Melbourne and from other parts of rural and regional Australia, by promoting workforce participation, and enhancing lifestyles to attract and retain a growing population. A number of countries including Australia, Canada, Italy and Spain have policies to encourage immigration to locations other than large urban centres to stimulate regional economic development and to ensure immigrants fill skill shortages in regional areas. However, migrants do not always stay long in the regional locations where they initially settle, and new migrants are needed to replace their skills. Given the Australian and Victorian government policy imperatives of encouraging regional migration there is a need to understand how migrants and their families make the social connections that contribute to wellbeing and their retention in regional areas such as Geelong. This paper emerges from a research project on this challenge at Deakin University, in Geelong It discusses some of the issues associated with regional migration and describes how a sound, theoretically informed understanding of social capital can assist employers, governments and community groups (formal and informal) to effectively assist migrants to make social connections and therefore remain in regional cities.

The rise of the 'silver surfer' : online social networking and social inclusion for older adults

As the proportion of older adults continues to grow in many Western countries, there are increasing concerns about how to meet their needs. Ensuring social connectedness and inclusion is one way to support older adults’ wellbeing. Online social networking has become common place amongst younger age groups, suggesting its possible usefulness for older adults, in order to combat isolation and loneliness. Some quantitative studies have already explored the amount and degree of online social networking amongst older adults. To add further understanding of how older adults experience social inclusion via the internet, the current qualitative study aimed to explore older adults’ subjective experience of online social networking. Findings demonstrated a number of supports and barriers to social inclusion which reflect barriers to social inclusion of older adults in the non-virtual world. Recommendations to support social inclusion of isolated older adults via online social networking are suggested.