Get BusActive!: Protocol of a single-blinded randomised controlled trial incentivising public transport use for physical activity gain among young people and adults.

Background: Population level physical activity generally does not meet recommended targets. Compared with private motor vehicle users, public transport users tend to be more physically active and financial incentives may encourage more public transport use, but these relationships are under-investigated. This paper describes the protocol of a randomised controlled trial that aimed to determine the effect of financially incentivising public transport use on physical activity in a regional Australian setting.

Is public transport a promising strategy for increasing physical activity? Evidence from a study of objectively measured public transport use and physical activity.

Background: Greater public transport use has been linked to higher physical activity levels. However, neither the amount of physical activity associated with each daily public transport trip performed, nor the potential total physical activity gain associated with an increase in trips/day, has been determined. Using objective measures, we aimed to quantify the association between public transport use, physical activity and sedentary time.

Free bus fares, bus use and physical activity: An exploratory cross-sectional study.

Issue Addressed: Public transport (PT) users often accumulate more physical activity (PA) than private motor vehicle users and financial incentives may increase PT use. Responding to rising petrol prices, from 28 March to 1 May 2022, the Tasmanian government made public bus use fare-free. This exploratory study examined the perceived impact of fare-free buses on bus use and PA.

trips4health: a single-blinded randomised controlled trial incentivising adult public transport use for physical activity gain.

Background: Public transport users tend to accumulate more physical activity than non-users; however, whether physical activity is increased by financially incentivising public transport use is unknown. The trips4health study aimed to determine the impact of an incentive-based public transport intervention on physical activity.

Methods: A single-blinded randomised control trial of a 16-week incentive-based intervention involved Australian adults who were infrequent bus users (≥ 18 years; used bus ≤ 2 times/week) split equally into intervention and control groups.

The importance of family support to engage and retain girls in male dominated action sports. A qualitative study of young people's perspectives.

Issue Addressed: Social support is positively correlated with physical activity (PA), especially amongst girls, but is underexplored in male-dominated action sports (e.g., mountain biking, skateboarding and surfing).

A prospective study of the impact of COVID-19-related restrictions on activities and mobility upon physical activity, travel behaviour and attitudes.

Background And Aims: Public health measures adopted to contain the spread of COVID-19 included restrictions on activities and mobility as people were asked to stay at home and schools moved to online learning. This may have increased risk of non-communicable disease by limiting recreational and transport-related physical activity. Building on an existing study, we assessed changes in self-reported and device-measured physical activity and travel behaviour before, during and after the peak of local COVID-19 outbreak and restrictions (March-July 2020).

Is greater public transport use associated with higher levels of physical activity in a regional setting? Findings from a pilot study.

Background: Public transport users often accumulate more physical activity than motor vehicle users, but most studies have been conducted in large metropolitan areas with multiple public transport options with limited knowledge of the relationship in regional and rural areas. In a regional city, this pilot study aimed to (1) test the feasibility of preliminary hypotheses to inform future research, (2) test the utility of survey items, and (3) establish stakeholder engagement.

Methods: Data were collected via a cross-sectional online survey of 743 Tasmanian adults.

Childhood factors related to diverging body mass index trajectories from childhood into mid-adulthood: A mixed methods study.

Body mass index (BMI) trajectories that improve over the lifecourse result in better cardiometabolic profiles, but only a small proportion of children of an unhealthy weight show improving BMI trajectories. This study aimed to examine the childhood factors related to diverging BMI trajectories from childhood into adulthood using data from the Childhood Determinants of Adult Health study. A convergent parallel mixed methods design was used.

Socio-demographic, behavioural and health-related characteristics associated with active commuting in a regional Australian state: Evidence from the 2016 Tasmanian Population Health Survey.

Issue Addressed: Physical activity is lower and rates of preventable common diseases are higher in regional/rural than urban Australia. Active commuting (walking/bicycling to get from one place to another) may benefit health through increased physical activity, but most evidence of its correlates come from urban studies. This study aimed to investigate associations between active commuting, socio-demographic characteristics, behaviours, total physical activity and health in a regional/rural Australian state.

Test-retest reliability of a self-reported physical activity environment instrument for use in rural settings.

Objective: Little is known about how the physical environment impacts physical activity behaviour among rural populations, who are typically less active and at higher risk of chronic disease than urban dwellers. The lack of individual-level instruments to assess the physical environment in rural areas limits advancement of this field. Among rural adults, this study aimed to evaluate (a) the test-retest reliability of a self-reported questionnaire of individual-level perceptions of the physical activity environment, and (b) the stability of a self-reported physical activity questionnaire.

Acceptability and perceived feasibility of strategies to increase public transport use for physical activity gain - A mixed methods study.

Issue Addressed: Public transport (PT) users typically accumulate more physical activity (PA) than motor vehicle users. This mixed methods study aimed to determine acceptability and perceived effectiveness of strategies to increase bus use for PA gain in a regional Australian setting.

Methods: In a 2017 online survey, Tasmanian adults (n = 1091) rated the likelihood of increasing their bus use according to ten hypothetical strategies (fare-, incentives-, information- or infrastructure-based).

Health and broader community benefit of parkrun-An exploratory qualitative study.

Issue Addressed: parkrun is a free, weekly, timed, international mass community 5-km walk/run event. Unlike other paid events, parkrun attracts populations harder to engage in physical activity (PA) (eg, women, those with overweight/obesity or illness/injury/disability). This exploratory qualitative study investigated the individual, social and environmental factors associated with parkrun's broad appeal in Australia.

A qualitative investigation of the health economic impacts of bariatric surgery for obesity and implications for improved practice in health economics.

Obesity is an economic problem. Bariatric surgery is cost-effective for severe and resistant obesity. Most economic evaluations of bariatric surgery use administrative data and narrowly defined direct medical costs in their quantitative analyses.

Exploring the Health-Promoting Potential of the "parkrun" Phenomenon: What Factors are Associated With Higher Levels of Participation?

Purpose: " parkrun" is a free and increasingly popular weekly 5-km walk/run international community event, representing a novel setting for physical activity (PA) promotion. However, little is known about who participates or why. This study aimed to identify sociodemographic, health, behavioral, individual, social, and environmental factors associated with higher levels of participation.

Population estimates and characteristics of Australians potentially eligible for bariatric surgery: findings from the 2011-13 Australian Health Survey.

Objective The aim of the present study was to determine the potential demand for publicly and privately funded bariatric surgery in Australia. Methods Nationally representative data from the 2011-13 Australian Health Survey were used to estimate the numbers and characteristics of Australians meeting specific eligibility criteria as recommended in National Health and Medical Research Council guidelines for the management of overweight and obesity. Results Of the 3352037 adult Australians (aged 18-65 years) estimated to be obese in 2011-13, 882441 (26.

What are the support experiences and needs of patients who have received bariatric surgery?

Objective: To explore the support needs and experiences of patients who had received publicly or privately funded bariatric surgery and the importance of this support in mediating outcomes of surgery.

Methods: Seven semi-structured focus groups were conducted. A broad interview schedule guided the discussions which were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim.

A Head-to-Head Comparison of the EQ-5D-5L and AQoL-8D Multi-Attribute Utility Instruments in Patients Who Have Previously Undergone Bariatric Surgery.

Background: Psychosocial health status is an important and dynamic outcome for bariatric/metabolic surgery patients, as acknowledged in recent international standardised outcomes reporting guidelines. Multi-attribute utility-instruments (MAUIs) capture and assess an individual's health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) within a single valuation, their utility. Neither MAUIs nor utilities were discussed in the guidelines.

Review of Publicly-Funded Bariatric Surgery Policy in Australia-Lessons for More Comprehensive Policy Making.

Background: The objective of the study was to determine the level of guidance provided by or to government health departments across different regions of Australia on publicly funded bariatric surgery.

Methods: Bariatric surgery policies and guidelines were sought from each Australian state (n = 6) and territory (n = 2) government health department and compared in relation to their origins, level of guidance on patient eligibility and priority, as well as recommendations for patient care, including follow-up surgical services. Comparison with national guidelines on bariatric surgery from Australia, the UK and USA was also made.

Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation stretching : mechanisms and clinical implications.

Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching techniques are commonly used in the athletic and clinical environments to enhance both active and passive range of motion (ROM) with a view to optimising motor performance and rehabilitation. PNF stretching is positioned in the literature as the most effective stretching technique when the aim is to increase ROM, particularly in respect to short-term changes in ROM. With due consideration of the heterogeneity across the applied PNF stretching research, a summary of the findings suggests that an 'active' PNF stretching technique achieves the greatest gains in ROM, e.