Find Cancer Early: Evaluation of a Community Education Campaign to Increase Awareness of Cancer Signs and Symptoms in People in Regional Western Australians.

INTRODUCTION: Cancer outcomes for people living in rural and remote areas are worse than for those living in urban areas. Although access to and quality of cancer treatment are important determinants of outcomes, delayed presentation has been observed in rural patients. METHODS: Formative research with people from rural Western Australia (WA) led to the Find Cancer Early campaign. Find Cancer Early was delivered in three regions of WA, with two other regions acting as controls. Staff delivered the campaign using a community engagement approach, including promotion in local media. Television communications were not used to minimize contamination in the control regions. The campaign evaluation was undertaken at 20 months via a computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI) survey comparing campaign and control regions. The primary outcome variable was knowledge of cancer signs and symptoms. RESULTS: Recognition and recall of Find Cancer Early and symptom knowledge were higher in the campaign regions. More than a quarter of those who were aware of the campaign reported seeing the GP as a result of their exposure. CONCLUSION: Despite limited use of mass media, Find Cancer Early successfully improved knowledge of cancer symptoms and possibly led to changes in behavior. Social marketing campaigns using community development can raise awareness and knowledge of a health issue in the absence of television advertising.

Prevalence of overweight, obesity and underweight in Western Australian school-aged children; 2008 compared with 2003.

OBJECTIVE: Due to rising rates of obesity globally, the present study aimed to examine differences in overweight and underweight prevalence in Western Australian schoolchildren in 2008 compared with 2003. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study at two time points; using two-stage stratified sampling, primary and secondary schools in both metropolitan and non-metropolitan Western Australia; sample selected was representative of the State's population figures. SETTINGS: Seventeen primary and thirteen secondary (2008) and nineteen primary and seventeen secondary (2003) schools. Government and non-government funded schools in metropolitan and non-metropolitan (regional/rural) Western Australia were recruited. SUBJECTS: Height and weight were measured for 1708 (961 primary and 747 secondary) students in 2008 and 1694 (876 primary and 817 secondary) students in 2003. RESULTS: Overweight and obesity prevalence in primary students was similar in 2008 (22·9 %) to 2003 (23·2 %; P > 0·05). In secondary girls overweight and obesity prevalence dropped from 23·1 % (2003) to 15·9 % (2008; P = 0·002). Secondary boys showed a slight decrease in overweight and obesity prevalence; however, this was not statistically significant (P = 0·102). Higher proportions of underweight in primary girls were observed in 2008 (9·9 %) compared with 2003 (4·2 %; P < 0·001) and in secondary girls in 2008 (9·4 %) compared with 2003 (5·5 %; P < 0·001). CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence of overweight and obesity in Western Australian primary students was stable; however, it declined in secondary students. Both primary and secondary girls showed an increase in underweight prevalence. Public health interventions are needed for the high percentage of youth still overweight, whereas the observed increase in underweight girls warrants attention and further investigation.

New-Generation Active Videogaming Maintains Energy Expenditure in Children Across Repeated Bouts.

OBJECTIVE: Active videogames (AVGs) remain popular among 10-15-year-old children. The Xbox 360 Kinect™ from Microsoft (Redmond, WA) represents a new generation of AVGs where body movements are used to control gameplay. The purpose of this study was to measure energy expenditure required to play repeated bouts of six Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect games ("Motion Sports Adrenaline™," "Sonic Free Riders™," "Virtua Tennis 4™," "Kinect Sports™," "Kinect Adventures™," and "Just Dance 3™"). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Forty-seven children (between 10 and 15 years) participated in a repeated-measures experiment, completing five 1-hour sessions (one familiarization and four separate gaming sessions). Three different AVGs were played for 15 minutes during each gaming session in a counterbalanced order. An Actiheart (CamNtech Ltd., Cambridge, United Kingdom) was used to monitor heart rate and acceleration during gameplay. RESULTS: Average energy expended across the six AVGs during 15 minutes of gameplay was 3.0±0.17 metabolic equivalents/minute, significantly higher than resting energy expenditure (P<0.01). Similar levels of energy expenditure were observed between the first and fourth gaming session for all six games, although the energy expenditure between each game over the four sessions was similar. Boys expended more energy than girls within each AVG and across the four gaming sessions. CONCLUSIONS: The Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect games in this study were found to elicit moderate-intensity exercise over four gaming sessions, with no decay in energy expenditure over several gaming sessions. Although small differences in the energy expenditure between the six Microsoft Xbox Kinect games were found, they are all likely to contribute toward reduced sitting time in children.

The mathematical relationship between dishware size and portion size.

Portion size has increased considerably over the past few decades and one influencing factor is dishware size. Using mathematical models we investigated how dish size affects the potential energy available in a meal. Two types of plate filling - flat and conical - were modelled for a range of plate sizes and energy densities, then compared to recommended daily energy requirements from Australian guidelines. Bowl filling was also modelled. Results indicate that a small increase in dishware size can lead to a substantial increase in energy available to be consumed, particularly if food is energy dense. This reinforces the need to consider dishware size when developing strategies to prevent over-consumption.

Impact of a short, culturally relevant training course on cancer knowledge and confidence in Western Australia's Aboriginal Health Professionals.

OBJECTIVE: To develop, deliver and evaluate a cancer education course for Indigenous Health Professionals. METHOD: The cancer education course combines expert presentations, interactive sessions and visits to local cancer treatment centres. Three four-day courses have been run, in both metropolitan and regional Western Australia (WA). Cancer knowledge and confidence were measured at baseline, course completion and at follow-up (six to eight months). Data were analysed within subject. RESULTS: Thirty-five Aboriginal Health Professionals have completed the program, most from rural or remote WA. All confidence items significantly improved at course completion (p<0.005), but improvements for only two items, 'I know what cancer is' and 'I can describe the different common cancers', were sustained at follow-up (p<0.05). Knowledge of treatment (p<0.05), screening (p<0.05) and the most common cancers in women (p<0.005) were significantly greater after course completion, but increased knowledge was not sustained at follow-up. CONCLUSION: Demand for places suggests that Aboriginal Health Professionals are interested in developing knowledge, skills and confidence in cancer control. Attendance increased understanding of cancer and improved cancer knowledge however this was not maintained. IMPLICATIONS: A short, culturally relevant training course increases cancer knowledge and confidence, however, ongoing education is needed to maintain this.