Daily step count and the need for hospital care in subsequent years in a community-based sample of older Australians.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the extent to which physical activity reduces the number of hospital bed-days for Australians over 55, using an objective measure of activity. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: 9784 Newcastle residents aged 55 years or more were invited to participate. 3253 responders were eligible and wore pedometers for one week during 2005-2007; their hospital data from recruitment to 31 March 2015 were analysed (mean follow-up time: 8.2 years). Complete data for 2110 people were available for analysis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mean annual hospital bed-days, according to individual step count. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant reduction in the number of hospital bed-days associated with higher step counts; the incidence rate ratio per extra 1000 steps per day at baseline was 0.91 (95% CI, 0.90-0.94). The disease-specific reductions were significant for admissions for cancer and diabetes, but not for cardiovascular disease. The difference between 4500 and 8800 steps per day (the upper and lower quartile boundaries for step count) was 0.36 bed-days per person per year, after adjusting for age, sex, number of medications, number of comorbidities, smoking and alcohol status, and education. When analysis was restricted to hospital admissions after the first 2 years of follow-up, the difference was 0.29 bed-days per person per year. CONCLUSIONS: More active people require less hospital care, and an achievable extra 4300 steps per day would result in an average of one less day in hospital for each 3 years of life.

Waiting room ambience and provision of opioid substitution therapy in general practice.

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether patients receiving opioid substitution therapy (OST) in general practice cause other patients sufficient distress to change practices--a perceived barrier that prevents general practitioners from prescribing OST. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey of consecutive adult patients in the waiting rooms of a network of research general practices in New South Wales during August-December 2009. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence of disturbing waiting room experiences where drug intoxication was considered a factor, discomfort about sharing the waiting room with patients being treated for drug addiction, and likelihood of changing practices if the practice provided specialised care for patients with opiate addiction. RESULTS: From 15 practices (eight OST-prescribing), 1138 of 1449 invited patients completed questionnaires (response rate, 78.5%). A disturbing experience in any waiting room at any time was reported by 18.0% of respondents (203/1130), with only 3.1% (35/1128) reporting that drug intoxication was a contributing factor. However, 39.3% of respondents (424/1080) would feel uncomfortable sharing the waiting room with someone being treated for drug addiction. Respondents were largely unaware of the OST-prescribing status of the practice (12.1% of patients attending OST-prescribing practices [70/579] correctly reported this). Only 15.9% of respondents (165/1037) reported being likely to change practices if theirs provided specialised care for opiate-addicted patients. In contrast, 28.7% (302/1053) were likely to change practices if consistently kept waiting more than 30 minutes, and 26.6% (275/1033) would likely do so if consultation fees increased by $10. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the frequency of stigmatising attitudes towards patients requiring treatment for drug addiction, GPs' concerns that prescribing OST in their practices would have a negative impact on other patients' waiting room experiences or on retention of patients seem to be unfounded.

Is there a risk of malaria transmission in NSW?

NSW has a putative malaria vector in Anopheles annulipes, and increased numbers of immigrants from malaria endemic countries who may be infective to mosquitoes but asymptomatic. We examine the factors known to influence malaria transmission and conclude that local transmission is possible but unlikely. The public health implications are that there should be systematic screening of immigrants from malaria endemic countries on arrival, and that the public health capacity to identify and respond to a malaria outbreak should be maintained.

Referral for Expert Physical Activity Counseling: A Pragmatic RCT.

INTRODUCTION: Primary care physicians are well placed to offer physical activity counseling, but insufficient time is a barrier. Referral to an exercise specialist is an alternative. In Australia, exercise specialists are publicly funded to provide face-to-face counseling to patients who have an existing chronic illness. This trial aimed to (1) determine the efficacy of primary care physicians' referral of insufficiently active patients for counseling to increase physical activity, compared with usual care, and (2) compare the efficacy of face-to-face counseling with counseling predominantly via telephone. STUDY DESIGN: Three-arm pragmatic RCT. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred three insufficiently active (<7,000 steps/day) primary care practice patients (mean age 57 years; 70% female) recruited in New South Wales, Australia, in 2011-2014. INTERVENTION: (1) Five face-to-face counseling sessions by an exercise specialist, (2) one face-to-face counseling session followed by four telephone calls by an exercise specialist, or (3) a generic mailed physical activity brochure (usual care). The counseling sessions operationalized social cognitive theory via a behavior change counseling framework. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Change in average daily step counts between baseline and 12 months. Data were analyzed in 2016. RESULTS: Forty (20%) participants formally withdrew; completion rates at 3 and 6 months were 64% and 58%, respectively. Intervention attendance was high (75% received five sessions). The estimated mean difference between usual care and the combined intervention groups at 12 months was 1,002 steps/day (95% CI=244, 1,759, p=0.01). When comparing face-to-face with predominantly telephone counseling, the telephone group had a non-significant higher mean daily step count (by 619 steps) at 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: Provision of expert physical activity counseling to insufficiently active primary care patients resulted in a significant increase in physical activity (approximately 70 minutes of walking per week) at 12 months. Face-to-face only and counseling conducted predominantly via telephone were both effective. This trial provides evidence to expand public funding for expert physical activity counseling and for delivery via telephone in addition to face-to-face consultations. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial is registered at www.anzctr.org.au/ ACTRN12611000884909.

Association between Participation in Outpatient Cardiac Rehabilitation and Self-Reported Receipt of Lifestyle Advice from a Healthcare Provider: Results of a Population-Based Cross-Sectional Survey.

We test the hypothesis that the odds of self-reported receipt of lifestyle advice from a health care provider will be lower among outpatient cardiac rehabilitation (OCR) nonattendees and nonreferred patients compared to OCR attendees. Logistic regression was used to analyse cross-sectional data provided by 65% (4971/7678) of patients aged 20 to 84 years discharged from public hospitals with a diagnosis indicating eligibility for OCR between 2002 and 2007. Among respondents, 71% (3518) and 55% (2724) recalled advice regarding physical activity and diet, respectively, while 88% (592/674) of smokers recalled quit advice. OCR attendance was low: 36% (1764) of respondents reported attending OCR, 11% (552) did not attend following referral, and 45% (2217) did not recall being invited. The odds of recalling advice regarding physical activity and diet were significantly lower among OCR nonattendees compared to attendees (OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.21, 0.56 and OR 0.33, 95% CI 0.25, 0.44, resp.) and among nonreferred respondents compared to OCR attendees (OR 0.10, 95% CI 0.07, 0.15 and OR 0.17, 95% CI 0.14, 0.22, resp.). Patients hospitalised for coronary heart disease should be referred to OCR or a suitable alternative to improve recall of lifestyle advice that will reduce the risk of further coronary events.

Population rates of bone densitometry use in Australia, 2001-2005, by sex and rural versus urban location.

OBJECTIVE: To explore use of bone densitometry in Australia and to identify any sex and geographic differences, as a marker of osteoporosis diagnosis and care. DESIGN AND SETTING: Analysis of claims data from Medicare Australia in patients aged over 45 years during the period 2001-2005. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Age-standardised rates of bone densitometry use, by sex and by metropolitan, rural or remote classification. RESULTS: Bone densitometry use increased by 26% over the 5 years. Rates were lower for rural and remote populations, with people in capital cities about three times as likely to undergo the investigation as those in remote areas. The sex ratio for the rate of bone densitometry use (women to men) decreased from more than 6 : 1 in 2001 to 4 : 1 in 2005. CONCLUSION: Although the sex ratio for osteoporotic fracture is close to 2 : 1 (women to men), the sex ratio for testing is much higher, suggesting underuse of bone densitometry in men. Sex and rural inequities in use of the investigation need to be addressed as part of a national approach to reducing minimal trauma fracture.

Generating pre-test probabilities: a neglected area in clinical decision making.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the accuracy and variability of clinicians' estimates of pre-test probability for three common clinical scenarios. DESIGN: Postal questionnaire survey conducted between April and October 2001 eliciting pre-test probability estimates from scenarios for risk of ischaemic heart disease (IHD), deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and stroke. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Physicians and general practitioners randomly drawn from College membership lists for New South Wales and north-west England. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Agreement with the "correct" estimate (being within 10, 20, 30, or > 30 percentage points of the "correct" estimate derived from validated clinical-decision rules); variability in estimates (median and interquartile ranges of estimates); and association of demographic, practice, or educational factors with accuracy (using linear regression analysis). RESULTS: 819 doctors participated: 310 GPs and 288 physicians in Australia, and 106 GPs and 115 physicians in the UK. Accuracy varied from about 55% of respondents being within 20% of the "correct" risk estimate for the IHD and stroke scenarios to 6.7% for the DVT scenario. Although median estimates varied between the UK and Australian participants, both were similar in accuracy and showed a similarly wide spread of estimates. No demographic, practice, or educational variables substantially predicted accuracy. CONCLUSIONS: Experienced clinicians, in response to the same clinical scenarios, gave a wide range of estimates for pre-test probability. The development and dissemination of clinical decision rules is needed to support decision making by practising clinicians.