Health promotion journal of Australia : official journal of Australian Association of Health Promotion Professionals
-
Health Promot J Austr · Dec 2011
Why sustainable population growth is a key to climate change and public health equity.
Australia's population could reach 42 million by 2050. This rapid population growth, if unabated, will have significant social, public health and environmental implications. On the one hand, it is a major driver of climate change and environmental degradation; on the other it is likely to be a major contributor to growing social and health issues including a decline in quality of life for many residents. ⋯ The plan needs to ensure adequate hospitals and healthcare services, education facilities, road infrastructure, sustainable transport options, water quality and quantity, utilities and other amenities that are already severely overburdened in Australian cities. There is a need for a guarantee that affordable housing will be available and priority be given to training young people and Indigenous people for employment. This paper presents evidence to support the need for the stabilisation of population growth as one of the most significant measures to control climate change as well as to improve public health equity.
-
Health Promot J Austr · Aug 2011
ReviewAggression and violence in the ED: issues associated with the implementation of restraint and seclusion.
A number of surveys have reported that those who work in emergency departments (EDs) experience high levels of violence and aggression. Some suggest that 100% of emergency department nurses have, at some time, experienced workplace violence. ⋯ Those practices are evaluated in the context of current policy. This review suggests that rather than continue with discussions about whether or not restraint and seclusion are appropriate management procedures in the emergency room, efforts should be directed towards development of best practice for initiating and managing the use of restraint when it is implemented.
-
Health Promot J Austr · Aug 2011
Workplace-related smoking in New South Wales: extent of bans, public attitudes and relationships with relapse.
Little research has examined issues surrounding employee smoking outside smoke-free workplaces. The study's aims were to: 1) document the proportion of NSW indoor employees covered by total workplace smoking bans; 2) examine community perceptions of employee smoking during working hours; 3) identify the characteristics of having a supportive attitude toward tobacco control in the workplace; and 4) describe relationships between smoking relapse and workplace-related smoking. ⋯ Findings emphasise the low support for smoking during or near work. Smoking outside workplaces is highly visible. Data on relapse suggest a modest relationship with workplace-related smoking.
-
Health Promot J Austr · Apr 2011
Health literacy and Australian Indigenous peoples: an analysis of the role of language and worldview.
This article delineates specific issues relating to health literacy for Indigenous Australians. Drawing on the extensive experience of the authors' work with Yolnu people (of north-east Arnhem Land) and using one model for health literacy described in the international literature, various components of health literacy are explored, including fundamental literacy, scientific literacy, community literacy and cultural literacy. By matching these components to the characteristics of Yolnu people, the authors argue that language and worldview form an integral part of health education methodology when working with Indigenous people whose first language is not English and who do not have a biomedical worldview in their history. Only through acknowledging and actively engaging with these characteristics of Indigenous people can all aspects of health literacy be addressed and health empowerment be attained.