Health Promotion Journal of Australia最新文献

Issue Addressed

Smoking during pregnancy poses serious health risks for mother and baby. Addressing smoking among pregnant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women is an Australian national priority. This study aimed to understand the geographical variation in rates of not smoking during pregnancy among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women.

Methods

Data from the National Perinatal Data Collection were obtained for all births in Australia recorded between 2014 and 2017 to women aged 18 and over who were recorded as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. Sociodemographic characteristics were obtained from national data for each of the 340 included geographic areas of residence (SA3). The characteristics associated with not smoking in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy were explored with conditional autoregressive spatial regression modelling.

Results

Over half (56%) of the 49 341 women included in the dataset reported they did not smoke in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. The prevalence of not smoking ranged from 39% to 86% across geographic areas. Not smoking was highest in areas with higher median age, lower levels of socio-economic disadvantage and increased participation in employment.

Conclusions

Not smoking during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women was strongly associated with area-level socioeconomic disadvantage driven primarily by the level of employment in the area.

So What?

Targeted public health strategies that focus on areas identified as having high rates of maternal smoking and on improving employment opportunities and addressing socioeconomic disadvantage could contribute to a reduction in smoking rates.

Introduction

Grief in young people is a public health challenge, yet little is known about adolescents' and young adults' views on grief support. Young people with lived experience of grief co-designed all aspects of the project.

Methods

Via a youth-led design, we engaged a Youth Advisory Committee and conducted 10 workshops with 42 young people aged 14–24 years (M_age = 20.3, SD = 3.0) where they were asked about their views on grief literacy and to create scenarios to depict a grief literate world.

Results

Thematic analysis was used to develop five themes about the importance, definition, components, and examples of grief literacy, and how to disseminate grief literacy.

Conclusions

For young people, grief literacy means knowing about grief, showing support to grieving people, and being caring and compassionate to themselves and others. Findings show a range of losses is important to young people such as the death of a close person or pet, parents' divorce, job loss, life transitions, relationship break-ups, identity changes, and world crises. Young people want to be listened to and have their grief normalised and validated. They do not like outdated ideas about stages of grief, clichés, and unsolicited advice.

So What?

Working with young people helped us to understand that young people want structured ways to learn about grief, including how to talk about it, ways to get support, how to help a grieving peer, and how to feel less isolated and alone. These findings are important to create a world that recognises, validates, and supports young people's grief.

Introduction

Residents in the Fowler electorate of NSW, Australia experience high socioeconomic disadvantage and may therefore be vulnerable to food insecurity. This study aimed to assess the cost, cost differential and affordability of recommended and current diets for various household structures in this electorate.

Methods

This study applied the low socioeconomic group Healthy Diets Australian Standardised Affordability and Pricing protocol. Food and beverage prices, including both ‘popular brand’ and ‘cheapest alternative’ options, were collected from 43 outlets in five locations across Fowler using standardised recommended and current diet pricing tools. Fortnightly diet costs and the differential between both diets and pricing options were calculated for a family of four, a single-parent family and a single male. Diet affordability was assessed against low-minimum wage and welfare-dependent household incomes, characterising diet costs as causing ‘food stress’ or being ‘unaffordable’ if exceeding 25% and 30% of household income, respectively.

Results

Recommended diets were less expensive than current diets for all households by 9%–31%. Pricing ‘cheapest alternatives’ reduced both diet costs by 30%–34%.

For ‘popular brands’, recommended and current diets required 13%–34% and 19%–42% of household income, respectively, while ‘cheapest alternatives’ required 9%–23% and 13%–28% of household income, respectively. Recommended and current diets priced with ‘popular brands’ were unaffordable or caused ‘food stress’ for many welfare-dependent and low-income families with children.

Conclusion

Whilst recommended diets were less expensive than current diets, they were unaffordable or caused ‘food stress’ for many welfare-dependent and low-income families with children unless the households purchased the ‘cheapest alternatives’.

Implications for Health Promotion

Targeted policy interventions to improve diet affordability for regions with high socioeconomic disadvantage are urgently required, including expansion of local-level food access initiatives and, more broadly, stronger fiscal policy measures to address dietary inequities.

Background

Crystal methamphetamine use is a global health concern and highly stigmatised. Amid increased international focus on drug use as a health concern, the current study aimed to examine knowledge and attitudes around crystal methamphetamine among key groups in a contemporary Australian community sample.

Methods

A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in February–April 2022 (n = 736), open to all Australian residents aged 18 years and over. Knowledge and attitudes were assessed among people who use crystal methamphetamine, family/friends, health workers, and the general community. Data was combined with a previous 2019 survey (n = 2108) and linear regression examined factors associated with knowledge and attitudes.

Results

Stigmatising attitudes were common among people who had not used crystal methamphetamine, and they were more likely to endorse negative statements than those who had. Family/friends and community members, females, and respondents from regional areas had the highest stigma scores. Of those who used crystal methamphetamine, 70.9% reported experiencing discrimination. Higher knowledge scores (p < 0.001) were significantly associated with less stigmatising attitudes as was being surveyed in 2022 compared to 2019. Health workers demonstrated the highest knowledge scores.

Conclusions

Stigmatising attitudes towards crystal methamphetamine remain prevalent, and experiences of discrimination towards people who use it are common. Evidence-based education and initiatives to reduce both public and self-stigma associated with crystal methamphetamine are needed.

So What?

Stigma towards people who use methamphetamine remains common in Australia. This study highlights the need for targeted, evidence-based stigma reduction strategies to encourage help-seeking and improve health outcomes for people who use methamphetamine.

Issue Addressed

Masculinity norms and risky behaviours are often identified as drivers of poorer health among men, and one underlying factor that is increasingly found to be important is loneliness. The aim of this study is to describe the prevalence of loneliness in Australian men and its relationship with preventive health capabilities.

Methods

A national cross-sectional survey of men aged 18 years and over (N = 1282) was conducted. Levels of loneliness (low, moderate, and severe) were stratified by socio-demographic and health status characteristics. Multivariable modelling was used to examine relationships between severe loneliness and prevention knowledge and attitudes, health literacy, and health empowerment.

Results

The prevalence of moderate and severe loneliness was 27.2% and 15.8%, respectively. Severe loneliness was mostly reported by men in middle adulthood, without a partner, of low socioeconomic status, working in sales or service occupations, or living with a disability or mental health condition. Men with severe loneliness were less likely to have positive attitudes towards preventive care, including colon cancer screening, visiting their general practitioner, blood pressure checks, skin checks, and prostate cancer screening. They also showed lower health literacy and lower health empowerment compared to others.

Conclusions

Loneliness at a moderate or severe level is prevalent among Australian men, with severe loneliness strongly related to important prerequisites for preventive health action.

So What?

The quality of men's relationships should be given higher priority in strategies to engage and support men to prevent disease and injury, and maintain wellbeing across the life course.

Issue Addressed

This study investigated how various advertisers engage in vaping-related marketing on social media, with a focus on message stance, audience targeting and advertising strategies, using data from the Meta Ad Library. This is particularly relevant given the growing concern around vaping among young people and recent policy reforms in Australia.

Methods

We analysed vaping-related advertisements from Meta platforms between May 7, 2018 and July 31, 2024. Keyword searches identified relevant advertisements. Descriptive statistics were applied to the number of impressions, spending, duration, year posted, audience size and platform distribution, with advertisers classified into government, politicians/political groups, non-governmental organisations (NGOs)/universities, commercial entities, news sources and undisclosed groups.

Results

A total of 861 advertisements were identified. After duplicates and non-vaping related advertisements were removed, 394 were included in the final analysis. Of the anti-vaping messages (n = 269), 37% were posted by NGOs/universities and 35% by politicians/political groups, while pro-vaping messages (n = 87) primarily originated from commercial entities (44%) and undisclosed groups (47%). Anti-vaping campaigns had higher audience reach, targeted all ages and spending varied widely compared with pro-vaping messages, which predominantly targeted the 18–34 age group.

Conclusions

The advertisers of pro- and anti-vaping messages on social media differ in their expenditure and demographic targeting. Commercial entities were still able to post pro-vaping content despite Meta's advertising restrictions.

So What?

These findings offer timely insights for health promotion practitioners and policymakers. Better understanding of paid social media advertising practices can inform the development of more targeted, transparent and effective digital health campaigns.

Introduction

This study aimed to understand parents' decision-making processes when packing their child's lunchbox, investigating barriers and facilitators of seeking nutrition information for food choices.

Methods

An online survey with Likert and open-ended questions was conducted via social media platforms. Descriptive quantitative analysis was conducted for the quantitative data, and thematic analysis was done for the qualitative data.

Results

Of 52 parent participants, 78% considered nutritional information when packing lunchboxes, relying mainly on food labelling (32%) and the Australian Nutrition Food Guide (12%). Most parents (64%) felt confident preparing healthy lunchboxes, focusing on fresh, high-fibre foods and avoiding preservatives. While 60% felt they did not need additional information, 40% were open to more guidance. Key themes included informed food choices, balancing nutrition with preferences, managing information overload, and practical approaches.

Conclusions

Parents demonstrated knowledge of healthy eating guidelines but faced challenges in balancing nutritious choices with children's preferences, cost, and providing a balanced diet.

So What?

Clear, accessible guidance on healthy lunchbox preparation needs to be provided. This helps with comprehensive food labelling, strategies for balancing nutrition with preferences, addressing cost challenges, and developing interventions to overcome barriers in food knowledge and availability.