A randomised controlled trial of a social support intervention

Background: Much evidence has accumulated over the last three decades that low social support is related to both mental and physical health. Despite this large and convincing literature, reviewers have noted that there exists remarkably little evidence that social support can be increased by an appropriate intervention. This study reports on the development and evaluation of a new intervention for social support which takes account of the stress-buffering and direct effect models.

Method: Eighty-one individuals scoring low on social support were randomly allocated to the intervention or a waiting-list control condition. Treatment consisted of 10 weekly sessions administered in a group format, and 49 participants (nine males) completed assessments at the beginning and end of a 10-week period, and at 10-week follow-up (intervention condition only).

Results: The intervention proved to be successful at increasing functional support but not structural support. The intervention was also successful in increasing the social skill of self-disclosure, and decreasing depression. Gains made between pre- and post-treatment were maintained at 10-week follow-up.

Conclusions: Based on published analyses of the effects of social support on health, the results imply that the intervention would be useful for stress-buffering purposes, but not for the general health-promoting effects that are associated with good social integration.

The role of objective and subjective evaluation in the production and marketing of goats for meat

Objective and subjective evaluations of goats for meat production are related to important determinants of production and profitability. The most important attributes in assessment of goats for market are: live weight; body condition score; and the age of goats. As goats grow, their carcass and body organs increase in weight in proportion to the empty body weight. For farmers and field workers the linear regression approach for estimating carcass weight by measuring live weight is the most suitable as it accounts for 88 to 97% of the variation in carcass, offal and boneless meat weight. Live weight scales or heart girth tapes should be used and the risks and errors associated with these methods are summarized. The proportion of a live goat that is the carcass, known as dressing percentage, increases from 35% to about 50% as goats grow. The usefulness and errors associated with dressing percentage in field estimation are discussed. A valuable subjective method for estimating the nutritional status of goats is the use of body condition scoring as it accounts for 60 to 67% of the variation in live weight change, carcass weight and fat reserves of goats. A method for body condition scoring and a similar fat scoring system are explained. Body condition score is also associated with mortality risk and reproductive performance of goats. The number of permanent incisors in the lower jaw of goats is a method of estimating the age of goats but is biased by differences in live weights of goats. The value and role of ultrasound scanning the carcasses of goats is summarized. For the marketing of kid meat no permanent incisors should have erupted. Other useful practices for the successful marketing of goat meat are discussed including: knowing market specifications and chemical withholding periods; animal health; prevention of bruising; identification of goats; size of consignments; timeliness; provision of paperwork. A checklist is provided. The use of subjective and objective assessment techniques in evaluating goats for meat production will provide the best results. Where only subjective assessment techniques are available they will provide satisfactory performance provided the skills have been learnt and are applied.

Mobility of people with retinitis pigmentosa as a function of vision and psychological variables

We investigated the mobility performance of subjects with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) as a function of clinical measures of residual vision and psychological variables. We found a highly significant correlation between clinical measures of residual vision and mobility. Pelli-Robson contrast sensitivity and residual visual field together explained 64% of the variance in mobility performance in an indoor shopping mall. We suggest a simple new clinical method of scoring the visual field for predicting mobility performance, the RP Concentric Field Rating. The RP Concentric Field Rating alone explained 60% of the variance in mobility performance. In spite of expectations derived from reading the recent literature, we did not find a significant correlation between psychological variables and mobility performance in a group of subjects with RP.

A population-based study investigating the association between sexual and relationship satisfaction and psychological distress among heterosexuals

This study examined whether sexual/relationship satisfaction are differentially associated with mental health issues. Using data from a population-based computer-assisted telephone survey, the authors included in this study 3,800 respondents who had a regular heterosexual partner. The authors used 2 methods of scoring the K6 to produce measures of moderate psychological distress and serious psychological distress. Overall, 8.8% of men and 12.1% of women were classified as having moderate psychological distress, whereas 1.6% of men and 3.2% of women were classified as currently experiencing serious psychological distress. The association between satisfaction and mental health was influenced by sex and the severity of the mental health issue but not by type of satisfaction. After adjusting for demographic differences in mental health, low ratings of sexual/relationship satisfaction were both consistently associated with higher levels of moderate psychological distress in men and women and higher proportions of serious psychological distress in men. Although women may be able to resolve their satisfaction issues during less severe stages of psychological distress, for men there was a strong association between low sexual/relationship satisfaction and serious psychological distress.

Complexity of management and health outcomes in a prospective cohort study of 573 heart failure patients in Australia : does more equal less?

Aims and objectives : To compare the efficacy of chronic heart failure management programmes (CHF-MPs) according to a scoring algorithm used to quantify the level of applied interventions–the Heart Failure Intervention Score (HF-IS).

Background : The overall efficacy of heart failure programmes has been proven in several meta-analyses. However, the debate continues as to which components are essential in a heart failure programme to improve patient outcomes.

Design : Prospective cohort study of patients participating in heart failure programmes.

Method : Forty-eight of 62 (77%) programmes in Australia participating in a national register of CHF-MPs were evaluated using the HF-IS: derived from a summed and weighted score of each intervention applied by the CHF-MP (27 interventions overall). The CHF-MPs were prospectively categorised as relatively low (HF-IS < 190 – n = 39 programmes & 407 patients) or high (HF-IS ≥ 190 – n = 9 programmes & 166 patients) in complexity. Six-month morbidity and mortality rates in 573 consecutively recruited patients with systolic dysfunction and in New York Heart Association Class II–IV were prospectively examined.

Results : Patients exposed to CHF-MPs with a high HF-IS had a lower rate of unplanned, all-cause hospitalisation (n = 24, 14% vs. n = 102, 25%) compared with CHF-MPs with a low HF-IS within six months. On an adjusted basis, CHF-MPs with a high HF-IS were associated with a reduced risk of unplanned hospitalisation and/or death within six months and remained event-free longer.

Conclusion : High complexity CHF-MPs applying more evidence-based interventions are associated with a higher event-free survival over six months.

Relevance to clinical practice : The HF-IS is an easy-to-use evidence-based tool to assist programme coordinators to improve the quality of their heart failure programme which may also improve patient outcomes.

Assessing risk post intervention for an acute coronary syndrome: a review of the risk assessment tools and their development

Considerable variability in survival rate after an acute myocardial infarction exists and accurate risk stratification is of significant importance. The American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association has recommended early risk stratification using several clinical risk scoring instruments to identify high risk patients. The aim of this paper is to identify secondary cardiovascular risk scoring instruments that could be utilized at the time of intervention for acute coronary syndromes and compare their psychometric properties as they were developed. A search using Medline, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature and the Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection data-bases identified studies published between January 1990 and January 2010 used to measure risk after intervention for acute coronary syndrome. Four validated secondary risk prediction scoring instruments were identified for comparison.Secondary risk prediction scoring instruments for the acute coronary syndrome patient population are evidence based, valid and reliable. Use of the instruments by cardiac focused clinicians will aid in the determination of treatment strategies, and estimation of short and long term events and mortality.

Sharing good NEWS across the world: developing comparable scores across 12 countries for the neighborhood environment walkability scale (NEWS)

Background: The IPEN (International Physical Activity and Environment Network) Adult project seeks to conduct pooled analyses of associations of perceived neighborhood environment, as measured by the neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS) and its abbreviated version (NEWS-A), with physical activity using data from 12 countries. As IPEN countries used adapted versions of the NEWS/NEWS-A, this paper aimed to develop scoring protocols that maximize cross-country comparability in responses. This information is also highly relevant to non-IPEN studies employing the NEWS/NEWS-A, which is one of the most popular measures of perceived environment globally.
Methods: The following countries participated in the IPEN Adult study: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hong Kong, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Participants (N = 14,305) were recruited from neighborhoods varying in walkability and socio-economic status. Countries collected data on the perceived environment using a self- or interviewer-administered version of the NEWS/NEWS-A. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to derive comparable country-specific measurement models of the NEWS/NEWS-A. The level of correspondence between standard and alternative versions of the NEWS/NEWS-A factor-analyzable subscales was determined by estimating the correlations and mean standardized difference (Cohen’s d) between them using data from countries that had included items from both standard and alternative versions of the subscales.
Results: Final country-specific measurement models of the NEWS/NEWS-A provided acceptable levels of fit to the data and shared the same factorial structure with six latent factors and two single items. The correspondence between the standard and alternative versions of subscales of Land use mix – access, Infrastructure and safety for walking/cycling, and Aesthetics was high. The Brazilian version of the Traffic safety subscale was highly, while the Australian and Belgian versions were marginally, comparable to the standard version. Single-item versions of the Street connectivity subscale used in Australia and Belgium showed marginally acceptable correspondence to the standard version.
Conclusions: We have proposed country-specific modifications to the original scoring protocol of the NEWS/NEWS-A that enhance inter-country comparability. These modifications have yielded sufficiently equivalent measurement models of the NEWS/NEWS-A. Some inter-country discrepancies remain. These need to be considered when interpreting findings from different countries.

Neighborhood environment walkability scale : validity and development of a short form

Purpose : The aim of this study was to examine the factorial and criterion validity of the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS) and to develop an abbreviated version (NEWS-A).

Methods : A stratified two-stage cluster sample design was used to recruit 1286 adults. The sample was drawn from residential addresses within eight high- and eight low-walkable neighborhoods matched for socioeconomic status. Subjects completed the NEWS and reported weekly minutes of walking for transport and recreation using items from the International Physical Activity Questionnaire.

Results : Multilevel confirmatory factor analysis was used to develop measurement models of the NEWS and NEWS-A. Six individual-level and five blockgroup-level factors were identified. Factors/scales gauging presence of diversity of destinations, residential density, walking infrastructure, aesthetics, traffic safety, and crime were positively related to walking for transport. Aesthetics, mixed destinations, and residential density were associated with walking for recreation.

Conclusions : The NEWS and NEWS-A possess adequate levels of factorial and criterion validity. Alternative methods of scoring for different purposes are presented.

Monitoring policy and actions on food environments: rationale and outline of the INFORMAS policy engagement and communication strategies

 The International Network for Food and Obesity/non-communicable diseases Research, Monitoring and Action Support (INFORMAS) proposes to collect performance indicators on food policies, actions and environments related to obesity and non-communicable diseases. This paper reviews existing communications strategies used for performance indicators and proposes the approach to be taken for INFORMAS. Twenty-seven scoring and rating tools were identified in various fields of public health including alcohol, tobacco, physical activity, infant feeding and food environments. These were compared based on the types of indicators used and how they were quantified, scoring methods, presentation and the communication and reporting strategies used. There are several implications of these analyses for INFORMAS: the ratings/benchmarking approach is very commonly used, presumably because it is an effective way to communicate progress and stimulate action, although this has not been formally evaluated; the tools used must be trustworthy, pragmatic and policy-relevant; multiple channels of communication will be needed; communications need to be tailored and targeted to decision-makers; data and methods should be freely accessible. The proposed communications strategy for INFORMAS has been built around these lessons to ensure that INFORMAS's outputs have the greatest chance of being used to improve food environments.

Influence of field position and phase of play on the physical demands of match-play in professional rugby league forwards

This article describes the utilisation of an unsupervised machine learning technique and statistical approaches (e.g., the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test) that assist cycling experts in the crucial decision-making processes for athlete selection, training, and strategic planning in the track cycling Omnium. The Omnium is a multi-event competition that will be included in the summer Olympic Games for the first time in 2012. Presently, selectors and cycling coaches make decisions based on experience and intuition. They rarely have access to objective data. We analysed both the old five-event (first raced internationally in 2007) and new six-event (first raced internationally in 2011) Omniums and found that the addition of the elimination race component to the Omnium has, contrary to expectations, not favoured track endurance riders. We analysed the Omnium data and also determined the inter-relationships between different individual events as well as between those events and the final standings of riders. In further analysis, we found that there is no maximum ranking (poorest performance) in each individual event that riders can afford whilst still winning a medal. We also found the required times for riders to finish the timed components that are necessary for medal winning. The results of this study consider the scoring system of the Omnium and inform decision-making toward successful participation in future major Omnium competitions.

Modelling and analysing track cycling Omnium performances using statistical and machine learning techniques

This article describes the utilisation of an unsupervised machine learning technique and statistical approaches (e.g., the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test) that assist cycling experts in the crucial decision-making processes for athlete selection, training, and strategic planning in the track cycling Omnium. The Omnium is a multi-event competition that will be included in the summer Olympic Games for the first time in 2012. Presently, selectors and cycling coaches make decisions based on experience and intuition. They rarely have access to objective data. We analysed both the old five-event (first raced internationally in 2007) and new six-event (first raced internationally in 2011) Omniums and found that the addition of the elimination race component to the Omnium has, contrary to expectations, not favoured track endurance riders. We analysed the Omnium data and also determined the inter-relationships between different individual events as well as between those events and the final standings of riders. In further analysis, we found that there is no maximum ranking (poorest performance) in each individual event that riders can afford whilst still winning a medal. We also found the required times for riders to finish the timed components that are necessary for medal winning. The results of this study consider the scoring system of the Omnium and inform decision-making toward successful participation in future major Omnium competitions.

Reading, writing, crafting – Innovations in first year tertiary writing pedagogy

This paper will outline some of the rationale behind, and strategies contributing to, curriculum revision in first-year creative writing at Deakin University in 2012 – delivered in that year and currently running in 2013. The process aimed to produce two consecutive offerings, with distinct but strategically scaffolded preoccupations. This paper deals with the first of these. The design process for this offering, named ‘Writing Craft’, involved addressing two central concerns: (a) the need to unhook the initial encounter with tertiary creative writing pedagogy from a preoccupation with ‘genres’ or the ‘forms’ of creative writing (such as prose fiction, creative nonfiction, script, poetry, and so on) and instead to reorient efforts towards establishing an engagement with craft per se; (b) to address a perceived impoverishment in the range of texts to which students had been exposed prior to commencing study – in other words, to emphasise the practice of reading to facilitate the practice of writing. The curriculum design also involved reimagining assessment, noting the ‘messages about making’ sent to students via the framing of tasks and rubrics. Aiming instead to deemphasise the role of inspiration and ‘work arriving fully formed’, it sought to offer assessment that provided clear – and bounded – prompts for incidents of making and the practice of craft, as well as to provoke conversation with a broad range of texts as a way of courting intertextual inspiration and aesthetic formation.

Development and validation of the Approach-Iron Skill Test for use in golf

The primary aim of this study was to develop and validate a golf-specific approach-iron test for use with elite and high-level amateur golfers. Elite (n=26) and high-level amateur (n=23) golfers were recruited for this study. The ‘Approach-Iron Skill Test’ requires players to hit a total of 27 shots. Specifically, three shots are hit at each of nine targets on a specially constructed driving range in a randomised order. A real-time launch monitor positioned behind the player, measured the carry distance for each of these shots. A scoring system was developed based on the percentage error index of each shot, meaning that 81 points was the maximum score possible (with a maximum of three points per shot). Two rounds of the test were performed. For both rounds of the test, elite-level golfers scored significantly higher than their high-level amateur counterparts (56.3±5.6 and 58.5±4.6 points versus 46.0±6.3 and 46.1±6.7 points, respectively) (P<0.05). For both elite and high-level players, 95% limits of agreement statistics also indicated that the test showed good test–retest reliability (2.1±7.9 and 0.2±10.8, respectively). Due to the clinimetric properties of the test, we conclude that the Approach-Iron Skill Test is suitable for further examination with the players examined in this study.

A recognition tool for transient ischaemic attack

Background: Scoring systems exist to assist rapid identification of acute stroke but not for the more challenging diagnosis of transient ischaemic attack (TIA). Aim: To develop a clinical scoring system to assist with diagnosis of TIA. Methods: We developed and validated a clinical scoring system for identification of TIA patients. Logistic regression analysis was employed. Results: Our development cohort comprised 3216 patients. The scoring system included nine clinically useful predictive variables. After adjustment to reflect the greater seriousness of missing true TIA patients (a 2:1 cost ratio), 97% of TIA and 24% of non-TIA patients were accurately identified. Our results were confirmed during prospective validation. Conclusions: This simple scoring system performs well and could be used to facilitate accurate detection of TIA.