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Older people who are wanting to support their own ability to age well may benefit from attending community-based group programs. However, many of these programs are designed and implemented by health professionals without direct input from older people, which may limit the opportunity to ensure such programs are authentically meeting the needs of this population group. A qualitative approach, using an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), was undertaken with seven (six female and one male) participants, aged between 62 and 80 years to explore the experiences of participating in a pilot Ageing Well Program. Interviews were transcribed and analysed according to IPA principles. Three themes emerged from the analysis of the interview data: (1) The value of focusing on different aspects of ageing; (2) Learning new knowledge; and (3) Transferring skills to everyday life. Participants in the pilot of the Ageing Well Program highlighted that those aspects of the Program, such as the focus on adding value through targeting multiple aspects of ageing, as well as developing strategies to successfully learn, apply, and translate new knowledge into their everyday lives, were beneficial and supported engagement. However, future programs would benefit from the inclusion of clear and coherent written material to provide an aide in remembering the strategies and new information learnt during the Program. Findings support the importance and value of engaging with older people to assist with the development of community-based programs that are authentically designed to align with the expectations of older people, through a process of quality improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Evidence‐based practice requires health professionals to recognise situations of uncertainty in their practice, translate that uncertainty into answerable questions, and find and appraise information relevant to those questions. No research to date has explored the research‐based information needs of allied health professionals (AHPs) in regional and rural Australia. Objective: To examine the information‐seeking experiences and needs of AHPs in regional and rural Australia. Methods: A total of 80 AHPs, predominantly occupational therapists and physiotherapists, practising in regional and rural areas of Australia completed an online survey. Results: Almost all respondents reported having questions requiring research evidence, but most of their questions were worded non‐specifically. Respondents practising in rural areas had greater perceived difficulty in obtaining relevant evidence than their regional counterparts. Many respondents reported wanting additional support to find relevant research evidence. Discussion: The findings offer insights regarding information‐seeking challenges AHPs face and potential solutions, including improved training and increased health librarian support. However, due to sampling limitations, the results cannot be generalised to all allied health professions. Conclusion: Allied health professionals may require more training and support to engage in efficient and effective information‐seeking behaviours. Health librarians have a valuable role to play in providing this training and support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION: Kinesio tape (KT) is an emerging tool in paediatric physiotherapy. A small body of research suggests KT is efficacious with some children, but clinical guidelines are not yet available. The aim of this study was to gather physiotherapists' practices and experiences using KT with children. The focus was on why, where, how, and how long physiotherapists use KT with children, and the outcomes they observe, to guide future experimental research. METHOD: Nine Australian physiotherapists, each with at least two years of experience using KT with children, were recruited. All nine physiotherapists completed a largely open-ended online survey, and three of these physiotherapists participated in a brief follow-up telephone interview. Basic content analysis was conducted. RESULTS: The physiotherapists' practices and experience with KT largely related to four themes: (1) taping for muscle activation; (2) gait and posture outcomes; (3) child tolerance limiting effectiveness; and (4) inconsistent application methods and treatment durations. CONCLUSION: Physiotherapists in this study used KT to serve a variety of purposes, it was mainly considered beneficial for improving gait and posture. However, there was little agreement regarding how to apply it, for how long, and the exact nature of its benefits. Empirical research is also lacking on these questions. The effectiveness of KT as an adjunct therapy for improving children's posture and gait warrants further investigation. Research comparing specific taping application methods and durations will be valuable in guiding physiotherapists' practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Healthcare services should conscientiously ensure their health literacy environment (HLE) supports wayfinding and provides comprehensible health information. Despite the increasing focus on the importance of evaluating and enhancing the HLE, consumer perspectives about HLE barriers and enablers have received limited attention in the published literature. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to identify barriers and enablers in the HLE of the Elective Surgery Access Unit (ESAU) at Albury Wodonga Health in regional south-east Australia. METHODS Three consumers participated in the study. Two of these participants completed a wayfinding interview, verbalizing the barriers and enablers encountered during wayfinding from the nearest carpark to the ESAU. All participants reviewed samples of written materials for ESAU consumers. Two participants, who had been discharged, commented on whether any important information was overlooked, from a post-discharge perspective. The data was categorized into inter-related themes within broader overarching domains. RESULTS The helpfulness of the physical environment was one domain, involving three themes: signage, parking, and visual cues. The helpfulness of written information was another domain, involving three themes: comprehensiveness, readability and relevance. A third overlapping domain was: the importance of verbal information-giving. This domain also involved three themes: the importance of a phone number to seek assistance, a clearly identifiable reception area, and in-person communication. CONCLUSIONS The insights of these three service users can inform health services trying to enhance access for everyone needing healthcare. If more Australian health services reviewed their HLE, the findings could inform organizational improvements towards safer, more efficient, and higher quality healthcare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is consensus in the partner abuse prevention education literature that a skills-focus is needed. However, appropriate instruments for evaluating the effectiveness of skills-focused programs do not exist. Against this background, and based on the dyadic slippery slope model of partner abuse, the Tendency to Resist or End Abusive Dynamics (TREAD) scale was developed. TREAD is defined as one's tendency to respond assertively or protectively in situations involving warning-sign (potentially hurtful or controlling) behaviors by a partner. The scale's development drew on the input of three Australian samples: mixed-gender adolescent focus groups, 426 young female respondents to an online survey, and 152 adolescent girls participating in a school-based program trial. When tested with the 152 adolescent girls, the TREAD scale had acceptable internal consistency and high inter-rater reliability. Principal components analysis identified three interrelated TREAD subscales (i.e., Conflict-Retaliation TREAD, Denigration TREAD, and Dominance-Possessiveness TREAD) all of which were negatively associated with frequency of exposure to warning-sign behaviors. This paper charts the preliminary development of the TREAD scale, presenting evidence supporting its validity as a change-target for partner abuse prevention education with adolescent girls and, potentially, boys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Factors associated with chronic exposure to warning-sign behaviour (WSB) in girls' romantic relationships need to be understood in order to develop responsive prevention programs. Data was provided by 152 Australian adolescent girls (M = 14.7 years, range = 13 to 17), 66 of whom reported recent relationship experience and exposure to at least one WSB. Guided by the dyadic slippery-slope model of chronic partner abuse, relationships were tested between frequency of WSB exposure, perceived WSB risk, confidence in self-agency, and assertive tendency in romantic relationships. Girls who reported more assertive responses to WSBs reported less frequent exposure to WSBs in the past 3 months. Risk sensitivity, while weakly related to assertiveness in non-WSB-exposed girls, was unrelated to assertive tendency in WSB-exposed girls. Girls with greater WSB exposure had lower perceived self-agency, and lower perceived self-agency was associated with less assertiveness in response to Dominance and Possessiveness WSBs. These results are discussed in relation to dyadic slippery-slope theory, and point to the potential importance of strategically timed, empowerment-oriented programming in partner abuse prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intimate partner abuse (or relationship abuse) against women is recognised as a major public health issue. A number of relationship abuse prevention programs targeted at youth have been developed in Australia. These programs are generally aimed at changing attitudes, and take the stance that girls should not be viewed as being responsible for protecting themselves against violence. In this paper it is argued that the current, dominant focus on physical violence, over other forms of relationship abuse, limits the potential effectiveness of programs that might otherwise help young people to resist the development of abusive dynamics. It is also argued that programs that presume a victim status for girls and a perpetrator status for boys are both inconsistent with contemporary evidence and unlikely to empower young people at risk of chronic perpetration and/or victimisation to avoid such outcomes. A dyadic slippery slope model of chronic relationship abuse is proposed and new directions for prevention research in this area are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To describe the designs and methods used in published Australian health promotion evaluation articles between 1992 and 2011., Methods: Using a content analysis approach, we reviewed 157 articles to analyse patterns and trends in designs and methods in Australian health promotion evaluation articles. The purpose was to provide empirical evidence about the types of designs and methods used., Results: The most common type of evaluation conducted was impact evaluation. Quantitative designs were used exclusively in more than half of the articles analysed. Almost half the evaluations utilised only one data collection method. Surveys were the most common data collection method used. Few articles referred explicitly to an intended evaluation outcome or benefit and references to published evaluation models or frameworks were rare., Conclusion: This is the first time Australian-published health promotion evaluation articles have been empirically investigated in relation to designs and methods. There appears to be little change in the purposes, overall designs and methods of published evaluations since 1992., Implications: More methodologically transparent and sophisticated published evaluation articles might be instructional, and even motivational, for improving evaluation practice and result in better public health interventions and outcomes., (© 2015 Public Health Association of Australia.)