The risk of infectious pathogens in breast-feeding, donated human milk and breast milk substitutes.

Objective: This review collates the published reports that focus on microbial and viral illnesses that can be transmitted by breast milk, donor milk and powdered infant formula (PIF). In this context, we attempt to define a risk framework encompassing those hazards, exposure scenarios, vulnerability and protective factors.

Design: A literature search was performed for reported cases of morbidity and mortality associated with different infant feeding modes.

Underpinning of the sharing knowledge about immunisation (SKAI) communication approach: A qualitative study using recorded observations.

Objective: To refine communication strategies to assist clinician conversations with vaccine hesitant and declining parents as part of the Sharing Knowledge About Immunisation (SKAI) package.

Methods: We recorded and analysed consultations held in two Specialist Immunisation Clinics in tertiary hospitals in Australia between consenting clinicians and parents. We undertook content analysis that was both iterative and informed by the Calgary Cambridge Model of health communication and motivational interviewing.

Sharing knowledge about immunisation (SKAI): An exploration of parents' communication needs to inform development of a clinical communication support intervention.

Introduction: The SKAI (Sharing Knowledge About Immunisation) project aims to develop effective communication tools to support primary health care providers' consultations with parents who may be hesitant about vaccinating their children.

Aim: This study explored parents' communication needs using a qualitative design.

Methods: Parents of at least one child less than five years old were recruited from two major cities and a regional town known for high prevalence of vaccine objection.

When parents won't vaccinate their children: a qualitative investigation of australian primary care providers' experiences.

Background: Increasingly, the experiences and perceptions of parents who decline vaccination are the subject of investigation. However, the experiences of clinicians who encounter these parents in the course of their work has received little academic attention to date. This study aimed to understand the challenges faced and strategies used when general practitioners and immunising nurses encounter parents who choose not to vaccinate their children.

Health and nutrition content claims on websites advertising infant formula available in Australia: A content analysis.

The use of health and nutrition content claims in infant formula advertising is restricted by many governments in response to WHO policies and WHA resolutions. The purpose of this study was to determine whether such prohibited claims could be observed in Australian websites that advertise infant formula products. A comprehensive internet search was conducted to identify websites that advertise infant formula available for purchase in Australia.

Volume marker inaccuracies: A cross-sectional survey of infant feeding bottles.

A cross-sectional examination of the accuracy of volume markers on infant feeding bottles available for sale in Australia between December 2013 and February 2014 was carried out. Ninety-one bottles representing 28 different brands were examined. Eighty-eight bottles were hard sided.

Lost in translation: a focus group study of parents' and adolescents' interpretations of underage drinking and parental supply.

Background: Reductions in underage drinking will only come about from changes in the social and cultural environment. Despite decades of messages discouraging parental supply, parents perceive social norms supportive of allowing children to consume alcohol in 'safe' environments.

Methods: Twelve focus groups conducted in a regional community in NSW, Australia; four with parents of teenagers (n = 27; 70 % female) and eight with adolescents (n = 47; 55 % female).

The SHED-IT community trial: a randomized controlled trial of internet- and paper-based weight loss programs tailored for overweight and obese men.

Background: There is limited evidence for effective obesity treatment programs that engage men.

Purpose: This study evaluated the efficacy of two gender-tailored weight loss interventions for men, which required no face-to-face contact.

Methods: This was a three-arm, randomized controlled trial: (1) Resources (n = 54), gender-tailored weight loss materials (DVD, handbooks, pedometer, tape measure); (2) Online (n = 53), Resources materials plus study website and e-feedback; and (3) Wait-list control (n = 52).

It's not the contents, it's the container: Australian parents' awareness and acceptance of infant and young child feeding recommendations.

Adherence to public health recommendations around infant and young child feeding is poor amongst Australian parents. This study aimed to investigate Australian parents' awareness and acceptance of public health recommendations about infant feeding. A cross-sectional design was used to survey a convenience sample of Australian parents.

Emergency preparedness for those who care for infants in developed country contexts.

Emergency management organisations recognise the vulnerability of infants in emergencies, even in developed countries. However, thus far, those who care for infants have not been provided with detailed information on what emergency preparedness entails. Emergency management authorities should provide those who care for infants with accurate and detailed information on the supplies necessary to care for them in an emergency, distinguishing between the needs of breastfed infants and the needs of formula fed infants.

Circumventing the WHO Code? An observational study.

Background: This study compares the formula milk advertisements that appeared in parenting magazines published in two countries that have enacted measures to restrict the advertising of infant formula products in response to the international code with two that have not.

Methods: Content analysis was used to compare the type and frequency of formula milk advertisements that appeared in parenting magazines collected from the USA, Canada, the UK and Australia during 2007, and to examine whether there was a relationship between these frequencies and advertising regulations.

Findings: Advertisements that promoted formula products or brands occurred in all of the magazines sampled but the type of product advertised differed.

Relax, you're soaking in it: sources of information about infant formula.

Although the advertising of infant and follow-on formula products in Australia is prohibited by the Marketing in Australia of Infant Formulas: Manufacturers and Importers Agreement (1992), toddler milk is advertised without restriction. Recent research suggests that Australian mothers perceive advertisements for toddler milk to also be advertisements for infant formula. Furthermore, they tend to accept the messages they encounter in these advertisements uncritically.

Why (not) alcohol energy drinks? A qualitative study with Australian university students.

Introduction And Aims: Alcohol energy drinks (AEDs) are a recent entry to the ready-to-drink market, but there is an absence of research into the reasons young people consume these products and their consumption-related experiences. The aim of the current study was to investigate university students' perceptions of, and experiences with, pre-mixed AEDs.

Design And Methods: Four focus groups with undergraduate university students in a large regional city in New South Wales; with transcripts coded for key themes.

The SHED-IT community trial study protocol: a randomised controlled trial of weight loss programs for overweight and obese men.

Background: Obesity is a major cause of preventable death in Australia with prevalence increasing at an alarming rate. Of particular concern is that approximately 68% of men are overweight/obese, yet are notoriously difficult to engage in weight loss programs, despite being more susceptible than women to adverse weight-related outcomes. There is a need to develop and evaluate obesity treatment programs that target and appeal to men.

It's all formula to me: women's understandings of toddler milk ads.

This study utilised semi-structured interviews to investigate how women expecting a first baby perceived print advertisements for 'toddler milks' in order to determine whether they function as indirect advertising for infant and follow-on formula. Examination of the marketing literature, analysis of the advertisers' websites and the advertisements themselves provided sources of triangulation. Fifteen women expecting a first baby were recruited from antenatal classes conducted by staff of the Northern Sydney Central Coast Area Health Service.

Breast is no longer best: promoting normal infant feeding.

The recent release of new growth charts by the World Health Organization (WHO) heralds a fresh understanding of what constitutes normal infant growth and development. The Multicenter Growth Reference Study that underpins these new growth standards 'establish[es] breastfed infants as the normative model for growth and development'. This is in contrast to past practice, which treated breastfeeding as the optimal, rather than the normal, way to feed babies.