Role of general practice in the utilisation of the NSW Get Healthy Information and Coaching Service.

A lifestyle-modification telephone-based service is delivered in New South Wales (NSW; the Get Healthy Information and Coaching Service (GHS)) as an important obesity-prevention, population-wide program. The present study examined referrals from general practitioners (GP) versus self-referral to the GHS in terms of risk profile and effectiveness of outcomes. The study used a pre-post test design to assess changes in outcomes within the setting of a telephone-based lifestyle-support service available to NSW adults (18+ years) who self-referred or were referred by their health practitioner and/or GP, and registered for the GHS between February 2009 and August 2013 (n = 22 183).

Oxytocin and postpartum depression: delivering on what's known and what's not.

The role of oxytocin in the treatment of postpartum depression has been a topic of growing interest. This subject carries important implications, given that postpartum depression can have detrimental effects on both the mother and her infant, with lifelong consequences for infant socioemotional and cognitive development. In recent years, oxytocin has received attention for its potential role in many neuropsychiatric conditions beyond its well-described functions in childbirth and lactation.

Interrater reliability assessment using the Test of Gross Motor Development-2.

Objectives: The aim was to examine interrater reliability of the object control subtest from the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 by live observation in a school field setting.

Design: Reliability Study--cross sectional.

Methods: Raters were rated on their ability to agree on (1) the raw total for the six object control skills; (2) each skill performance and (3) the skill components.

Synthesizing evidence-based strategies and community-engaged research: a model to address social determinants of health.

Addressing social determinants of health (SDH) requires multileveled intervention designs. Increasingly, organizations and coalitions face pressure to use evidence-based strategies when seeking to address SDH. Evidence-based strategies, however, must be locally relevant and integrated into existing systems to function efficiently.

Practice with anxiety improves performance, but only when anxious: evidence for the specificity of practice hypothesis.

We investigated for the first time whether the principles of specificity could be extended to the psychological construct of anxiety and whether any benefits of practicing with anxiety are dependent on the amount of exposure and timing of that exposure in relation to where in learning the exposure occurs. In Experiment 1, novices practiced a discrete golf-putting task in one of four groups: all practice trials under anxiety (anxiety), non-anxiety (control), or a combination of these two (i.e.

Performance improvements from imagery: evidence that internal visual imagery is superior to external visual imagery for slalom performance.

We report three experiments investigating the hypothesis that use of internal visual imagery (IVI) would be superior to external visual imagery (EVI) for the performance of different slalom-based motor tasks. In Experiment 1, three groups of participants (IVI, EVI, and a control group) performed a driving-simulation slalom task. The IVI group achieved significantly quicker lap times than EVI and the control group.

Activity behaviors in schoolchildren and subsequent 5-yr change in blood pressure.

Purpose: This study aimed to establish whether time spent in sport-related physical activities and sedentary behaviors (e.g., TV viewing, videogame usage, and homework) was prospectively associated with change in blood pressure (BP) for 5 yr.

Thirteen-year trends in child and adolescent fundamental movement skills: 1997-2010.

Purpose: The objective of this study is to describe 13-yr trends in children's fundamental movement skill (FMS) competency.

Methods: Secondary analysis of representative, cross-sectional, Australian school-based surveys was conducted in 1997, 2004, and 2010 (n = 13,752 children age 9-15 yr). Five FMS (sprint run, vertical jump, catch, kick, and overarm throw) were assessed using process-oriented criteria at each survey and children's skills classified as competent or not competent.

Prevalence and perceptions of overweight and obesity in Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal young people in custody.

Objective: To describe prevalence of and risk factors for overweight, obesity and self-perceived weight gain of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australian young people in custody at baseline and over 12 months of follow-up.

Design, Setting And Participants: Prospective cohort study of youths in custody in New South Wales, from August 2009, with follow-up at 3, 6 and 12 months.

Main Outcome Measures: Body mass index at baseline, categorised as overweight or obese using international cut-points; waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) at baseline, categorised as increased metabolic risk (≥ 0.

Feasibility and acceptability of a novel cervicovaginal lavage self-sampling device among women in Kigali, Rwanda.

The Delphi Screener is a novel cervicovaginal lavage self-sampling device. Sixty women in Kigali (Rwanda) assessed the Screener at 2 consecutive visits. Between the visits, ease of use improved, reported difficulties decreased, and the collected sample weight increased.

Great expectations: different high-risk activities satisfy different motives.

Research on people's motives for engaging in high-risk activities has typically been viewed through the single-focused lens of sensation seeking. We provide evidence that comprehensively challenges that view. First, we develop and confirm the structure of a 3-factor measure of motives: the Sensation Seeking, Emotion Regulation, and Agency Scale (SEAS; Study 1).

Socio-cultural differences in Australian primary school children's weight and weight-related behaviours.

Aim: To examine whether there are socio-cultural differences in overweight/obesity and weight-related behaviours of Australian primary school children.

Methods: Secondary data analysis of the 2010 NSW Schools Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey (n = 4898). Height and weight were measured.

Investigating the media power of a population health monitoring survey: case study of the NSW Schools Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey (SPANS).

Objective: To examine the extent and nature of news coverage of a government-funded population monitoring survey of children and the potential implications of this coverage for public health advocacy.

Methods: Case study of the NSW Schools Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey (SPANS), a population monitoring survey of school-aged children's weight and weight-related behaviours, conducted in 1997, 2004 and 2010. Printed news items from all Australian newspapers between January 1997 and December 2011 mentioning the survey findings were identified from the Factiva database and a descriptive analysis of the content conducted.

Reliability and validity of a short FFQ for assessing the dietary habits of 2-5-year-old children, Sydney, Australia.

Objective: A simple FFQ which ranks young children's dietary habits is necessary for population-based monitoring and intervention programmes. The aim of the present study was to determine the reliability and validity of a short FFQ to assess the dietary habits of young children aged 2-5 years.

Design: Parents completed a seventeen-item FFQ for their children by telephone on two occasions, two weeks apart.

Structural, kinetic, and pharmacodynamic mechanisms of D-amino acid oxidase inhibition by small molecules.

We characterized the mechanism and pharmacodynamics of five structurally distinct inhibitors of d-amino acid oxidase. All inhibitors bound the oxidized form of human enzyme with affinity slightly higher than that of benzoate (Kd ≈ 2-4 μM). Stopped-flow experiments showed that pyrrole-based inhibitors possessed high affinity (Kd ≈ 100-200 nM) and slow release kinetics (k < 0.

Stressors, social support, and tests of the buffering hypothesis: effects on psychological responses of injured athletes.

Objective: The purpose of this article was to examine the main and stress-buffering effect relationships between social support and psychological responses to injury.

Design: The article presents two studies, both of which matched social support types with injury stressors. Study 1 used measures of stressors, perception of social support availability, and psychological responses of injured athletes.

A fizzy environment: availability and consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages among school students.

Objective: Reducing sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption has been targeted in obesity prevention strategies internationally. This study examined associations between SSB availability at school and in the home, and consumption among Australian school students.

Method: Secondary analysis of the 2010 New South Wales Schools Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey (n=8058) was conducted.

A Neuropsychological Model of Mentally Tough Behavior.

Four studies were conducted with two primary objectives: (a) to conceptualize and measure mental toughness from a behavioral perspective and (b) to apply relevant personality theory to the examination of between-person differences in mentally tough behavior. Studies 1 (N = 305 participants from a range of different sports) and 2 (N = 110 high-level cricketers) focused on the development of an informant-rated mental toughness questionnaire that assessed individual differences in ability to maintain or enhance performance under pressure from a wide range of stressors. Studies 3 (N = 214) and 4 (N = 196) examined the relationship between reinforcement sensitivities and mentally tough behavior in high-level cricketers.

Longitudinal sedentary behavior changes in adolescents in Ho Chi Minh City.

Background: Sedentary behavior is associated with increased risk of chronic disease and sedentary behavior is increasing among adolescents. Data on changes in sedentary behavior in developing countries are limited.

Purpose: To describe 5-year longitudinal changes in nonschool sedentary hours among urban adolescents in Ho Chi Minh City, and to identify correlates with this change.

Effect of child health status on parents' allowing children to participate in pediatric research.

Background: To identify motivational factors linked to child health status that affected the likelihood of parents' allowing their child to participate in pediatric research.

Methods: Parents were invited to return their completed questionnaires anonymously to assess motivational factors and factors that might improve participation in pediatric research.

Results: Of 573 eligible parents, 261 returned the completed questionnaires.

Utilization of a population health survey in policy and practice: a case study.

Background: There is growing interest by funding bodies and researchers in assessing the impact of research on real world policy and practice. Population health monitoring surveys provide an important source of data on the prevalence and patterns of health problems, but few empirical studies have explored if and how such data is used to influence policy or practice decisions. Here we provide a case study analysis of how the findings from an Australian population monitoring survey series of children's weight and weight-related behaviors (Schools Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey (SPANS)) have been used, and the key facilitators and barriers to their utilization.

Water and sodium intake habits and status of ultra-endurance runners during a multi-stage ultra-marathon conducted in a hot ambient environment: an observational field based study.

Background: Anecdotal evidence suggests ultra-runners may not be consuming sufficient water through foods and fluids to maintenance euhydration, and present sub-optimal sodium intakes, throughout multi-stage ultra-marathon (MSUM) competitions in the heat. Subsequently, the aims were primarily to assess water and sodium intake habits of recreational ultra-runners during a five stage 225 km semi self-sufficient MSUM conducted in a hot ambient environment (Tmax range: 32°C to 40°C); simultaneously to monitor serum sodium concentration, and hydration status using multiple hydration assessment techniques.

Methods: Total daily, pre-stage, during running, and post-stage water and sodium ingestion of ultra-endurance runners (UER, n = 74) and control (CON, n = 12) through foods and fluids were recorded on Stages 1 to 4 by trained dietetic researchers using dietary recall interview technique, and analysed through dietary analysis software.

Immunohistochemistry validation procedures and practices: a College of American Pathologists survey of 727 laboratories.

Context: The immunohistochemistry (IHC) laboratory represents a dynamic area of surgical pathology with limited practice guidelines. Studies have shown significant interlaboratory variability in results.

Objective: To establish baseline parameters for IHC validation procedures and practice, and to assess their feasibility of implementation.