Cannabis use and related harms in the transition to young adulthood: a longitudinal study of Australian secondary school students

The current study documents the changing rates of cannabis use, misuse and cannabis-related social harms among Australian adolescents as they grow into young adulthood. It utilised data from a longitudinal study of young people at ages 15, 16, 17, and 19. The rates of cannabis use were found to increase as participants aged; past year use increased from 7.5% at age 15 to 29.8% at age 19. Further, at ages 17 and 19, cannabis use was more prevalent among males than females. Among those who reported cannabis use, the rates of cannabis-related harms were low to moderate, and did not increase with age in the same manner as rates of cannabis use. The most prevalent self-reported cannabis-related harm was anxiety/depression; affecting between 20–30% of the cannabis users at each age. These findings may assist in understanding the extent of cannabis-related problems among youth, and in planning relevant services.

Predicting early intitiation of alcohol use: a prospective study of Australian Children

This study explores the social, contextual and individual factors that predict early initiation of alcohol use. A state-wide representative sample of 927 fifth-grade students, in Victoria, Australia were surveyed. Students were resurveyed in the sixth and seventh grade. Risk and protective factors were measured with a modified version of the Communities That Care youth survey. Alcohol use was measured to assess transition from alcohol nonuse to use. Social contexts perceived to provide easier access to alcohol and drugs were found to be the clearest predictors of early onset alcohol use. The limitations and implications of these findings are discussed.

Report on survey of directors (or equivalent) of Australian University Teaching and Learning Centres

This document reports on the results and findings of a national survey of Directors (or equivalent) of Teaching and Learning Centres at Australian universities. The respondent group included 31 out of the 38 Centres invited to participate, and was a highly representative sample of the generally recognised institutional groupings in Australian higher education. While there is wide variation in the characteristics of individual Centres, the richness of which can only be appreciated by exploring the results and findings in detail, a summary of the results is provided here in the form of a description of a mythical ‘average’ Australian university Teaching and Learning Centre.

A cluster-randomised, controlled trial to assess the impact of a workplace osteoporosis prevention intervention on the dietary and physical activity behaviours of working women: study protocol

Background Osteoporosis is a debilitating disease and its risk can be reduced through adequate calcium consumption and physical activity. This protocol paper describes a workplace-based intervention targeting behaviour change in premenopausal women working in sedentary occupations. Method/Design A cluster-randomised design was used, comparing the efficacy of a tailored intervention to standard care. Workplaces were the clusters and units of randomisation and intervention. Sample size calculations incorporated the cluster design. Final number of clusters was determined to be 16, based on a cluster size of 20 and calcium intake parameters (effect size 250 mg, ICC 0.5 and standard deviation 290 mg) as it required the highest number of clusters. Sixteen workplaces were recruited from a pool of 97 workplaces and randomly assigned to intervention and control arms (eight in each). Women meeting specified inclusion criteria were then recruited to participate. Workplaces in the intervention arm received three participatory workshops and organisation wide educational activities. Workplaces in the control/standard care arm received print resources. Intervention workshops were guided by self-efficacy theory and included participatory activities such as goal setting, problem solving, local food sampling, exercise trials, group discussion and behaviour feedback. Outcomes measures were calcium intake (milligrams/day) and physical activity level (duration: minutes/week), measured at baseline, four weeks and six months post intervention. Discussion This study addresses the current lack of evidence for behaviour change interventions focussing on osteoporosis prevention. It addresses missed opportunities of using workplaces as a platform to target high-risk individuals with sedentary occupations. The intervention was designed to modify behaviour levels to bring about risk reduction. It is the first to address dietary and physical activity components each with unique intervention strategies in the context of osteoporosis prevention. The intervention used locally relevant behavioural strategies previously shown to support good outcomes in other countries. The combination of these elements have not been incorporated in similar studies in the past, supporting the study hypothesis that the intervention will be more efficacious than standard practice in osteoporosis prevention through improvements in calcium intake and physical activity.

The services internationalization process: n exploratory investigation of Australian service company internationalization to China

Service companies possess different characteristics from non-service-based companies, affecting their process of internationalization. This article examines the internationalization of service organizations using case studies of 23 Australian service organizations internationalizing to China. It finds that the internationalization process is influenced by the type of service the organization produces. The Uppsala internationalization model partially explains internationalization for companies producing exportable services but did not explain internationalization for companies, which produce nonexportable services (services that must be located within the market). International experience, government regulations and capital intensity were influential for internationalization. The findings develop a model for service organization internationalization.

A profile of Australian adults who have discussed their posthumous organ donation wishes with family members

Next of kin who are aware of the deceased's organ donation wishes usually will honor those wishes, while next of kin who are unaware of these wishes typically withhold consent for posthumous donation. Encouraging individuals to communicate or register their organ donation wishes is therefore important. Using a sample of 409 participants, the current study sought to develop a profile of Australian adults who had communicated their organ donation wishes to family members. Christian participants and those who had a higher income were more likely to have communicated their donation wishes. Conversely, participants were less likely to have communicated their donation wishes if they were unregistered and undecided/opposed to organ donation, unregistered but willing to donate, or fearful of death. Finally, whether participants had communicated, registered, or communicated and registered their donation wishes was associated with their age, religion, attitude toward organ donation, and recall of media content about organ donation. Messages encouraging the communication of organ donation wishes to family members should therefore be targeted toward those individuals who are most likely to be receptive toward enacting this behavior.

Preventing maternal and early childhood obesity: the fetal flaw in Australian perinatal care

Almost half of Australian women of child-bearing age are overweight or obese, with a rate of 30–50% reported in early pregnancy. Maternal adiposity is a costly challenge for Australian obstetric care, with associated serious maternal and neonatal complications. Excess gestational weight gain is an important predictor of offspring adiposity into adulthood and higher maternal weight later in life. Current public health and perinatal care approaches in Australia do not adequately address excess perinatal maternal weight or gestational weight gain. This paper argues that the failure of primary health-care providers to offer systematic advice and support regarding women’s weight and related lifestyle behaviours in child-bearing years is an outstanding ‘missed opportunity’ for prevention of inter-generational overweight and obesity. Barriers to action could be addressed through greater attention to: clinical guidelines for maternal weight management for the perinatal period, training and support of maternal health-care providers to develop skills and confidence in raising weight issues with women, a variety of weight management programs provided by state maternal health services, and clear referral pathways to them. Attention is also required to service systems that clearly define roles in maternal weight management and ensure consistency and continuity of support across the perinatal period.