Biomedical subjects

C W Binns

Publications and source records attributed to C W Binns.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Trends in the expression of breastmilk 1993-2003.

The expression of breastmilk is an important strategy to enable mothers to continue exclusive breastfeeding. In some situations, for health or convenience, expressed breastmilk is required and infants fed this way still fall within the definition of exclusive breastfeeding. The aim of this study was to document the changes in rates of breastmilk expression between the first Perth Infant Feeding Study (PIFS I) in 1992-03 and PIFS II in 2002-03. The proportion of mothers expressing breastmilk peaked in the first six weeks, at 38% for PIFS I and 69% for PIFS II. The proportion of mothers who had expressed breastmilk had almost doubled in the decade between studies. The proportion of mothers expressing declined to about 28% of mothers at 22 weeks for PIFS II and slightly less in PIFS I. Breastmilk expression is a very useful skill to allow mothers to exclusively breastfeed until six months and should be taught to all mothers.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Contraception within six-month postpartum in rural Vietnam: implications on family planning and maternity services.

OBJECTIVES: This longitudinal study documents contraception practice and factors influencing contraception decision within the first six months postpartum, amongst women residing in the rural Northern Central region of Vietnam. METHODS: A sample of 463 rural women who gave birth during August-October 2002 were recruited and interviewed at one, 16 and 24 weeks postpartum. RESULTS: The proportion of contraceptive users at weeks 16 and 24 were 17% and 43% respectively. At week 24, of contraceptive users, 57% used IUD, 25% used condom, and 14% used traditional methods. Logistic regression analysis found age, sufficient knowledge on contraceptives and husband/partner opinion can significantly affect the contraception decision. CONCLUSIONS: In order to improve the situation, health authorities should be encouraged to provide counselling on postpartum contraceptive methods during ante- and postnatal care visits. Health education on family planning and breastfeeding should also involve the husband/partner group taking into account local socio-cultural features.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

National targets for breastfeeding at hospital discharge have been achieved in Perth.

AIM: To report updated rates of breastfeeding in Perth through 2002/3 and to compare them to those from 1992/3. METHODS DESIGN: A 12-mo longitudinal study. SETTING: Two public maternity hospitals in Perth, Australia. SUBJECTS: Eligible mothers of healthy newborn infants delivered between mid-September 2002 and mid-July 2003. INTERVENTIONS: All eligible mothers were asked to participate in a 12-mo longitudinal study of infant feeding. While in hospital, participating mothers completed a questionnaire that included questions on how they were feeding their newborn. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES: Prevalence of ever breastfeeding, and breastfeeding at discharge. RESULTS: A total of 587 mothers, or 55% of those eligible, participated in the study. At hospital discharge, 93.8% of mothers in 2002/3 were breastfeeding compared with 83.8% in 1992/3. Significant increases were observed across all socio-demographic groups, with the biggest increase seen amongst younger mothers and those born outside of Australia. The national target of having in excess of 90% of mothers breastfeeding at discharge from hospital has been achieved in Perth. The challenge for health professionals and the community is to help maintain and further improve these breastfeeding practices.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

A quantitative food frequency questionnaire for women in southeast China: development and reproducibility.

This study describes the development and reproducibility of a 128-item quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to measure usual food consumption for women in southeast China. The FFQ was pre-tested using 51 Chinese women who recently migrated to Australia. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.81 for internal consistency. The reliability of the FFQ was then assessed by another test-retest study. A sample of 41 women residing in southeast China was interviewed twice within 12 weeks. Intraclass correlation coefficients were moderate to high for mean food group consumption (0.43-0.96) and mean daily nutrient intakes (0.47-0.89). Kappa statistics for eating habits ranged from 0.27 to 0.89 in the test-retest. The mean ratio of energy intake to basal metabolic rate was 1.73 (S.D. 0.39) in both test and retest samples. The study confirmed that the FFQ method using standard containers is appropriate to assess dietary intake for women in southeast China.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Do preserved foods increase prostate cancer risk?

Preserved foods have been found in some studies to be associated with increased cancer risks. The possible relationship between preserved foods and prostate cancer was investigated in a case-control study in southeast China during 2001-2002 covering 130 histologically confirmed cases and 274 inpatient controls without malignant disease. The total amount of preserved food consumed was positively associated with cancer risk, the adjusted odds ratio being 7.05 (95% CI: 3.12-15.90) for the highest relative to the lowest quartile of intake. In particular, the consumption of pickled vegetables, fermented soy products, salted fish and preserved meats was associated with a significant increase in prostate cancer risk, all with a significant dose-response relationship.

Aged↗

PubMed2004

Prolonged lactation reduces ovarian cancer risk in Chinese women.

To investigate the effect of lactation on the risk of ovarian cancer for Chinese women, a case-control study was conducted in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, China. Cases were 275 patients with histologically confirmed epithelial ovarian cancer. Controls were 623 women without neoplasm. All participants were parous women who had given at least one live birth and had been residents of Zhejiang province for at least 10 years. Information was collected using a validated and reliable questionnaire on total months of lactation, number of children breastfed, and average duration of lactation per child. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to assess the association between ovarian cancer risk and lactation variables, accounting for age, locality, full-term pregnancy, oral contraceptive use and family history of the cancer. The adjusted odds ratios were 0.51 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.3-0.9) and 0.44 (95% CI 0.2-0.9) respectively for women with over 12 months of lactation and at least three children breastfed, compared with those with 4 months or less lactation and one child breastfed. The corresponding dose-response relationships were also significant (P<0.05). Therefore, prolonged lactation could reduce the risk of ovarian cancer for Chinese women.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Can we make hospitals and the community baby friendly?

There is an increasing trend in midwifery towards shorter hospitalization, and in a world where 24-48 h will be the norm, the challenge for the baby-friendly hospital in the new century will be to establish community support services for all mothers and to make all of our hospitals and communities "Baby and breastfeeding friendly".

Breast Feeding↗

PubMed2002

Diet and ovarian cancer risk: a case-control study in China.

This case-control study, conducted in Zhejiang, China during 1999-2000, investigated whether dietary factors have an aetiological association with ovarian cancer. Cases were 254 patients with histologically confirmed epithelial ovary cancer. The 652 controls comprised 340 hospital visitors, 261 non-neoplasm hospital outpatients without long-term diet modifications and 51 women recruited from the community. A validated food frequency questionnaire was used to measure the habitual diet of cases and controls. The risks of ovarian cancer for the dietary factors were assessed by adjusted odds ratios based on multivariate logistic regression analysis, accounting for potential confounding demographic, lifestyle, familial factors and hormonal status, family ovarian cancer history and total energy intake. The ovarian cancer risk declined with increasing consumption of vegetables and fruits but vice versa with high intakes of animal fat and salted vegetables. The adjusted upper quartile odds ratio compared to the lower quartile was 0.24 (0.1-0.5) for vegetables, 0.36 (0.2-0.7) for fruits, 4.6 (2.2-9.3) for animal fat and 3.4 (2.0-5.8) for preserved (salted) vegetables with significant dose-response relationship. The risk of ovarian cancer also appeared to increase for those women preferring fat, fried, cured and smoked food.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Perceptions of the quality of life for the adolescent with a chronic illness by teachers, parents and health professionals: a Delphi study.

AIMS: The perceptions that teachers, parents and health professionals have on the relative importance of different aspects of quality of life (QOL) for the adolescent with a chronic illness were explored using a three-round Delphi study. METHODS: The first round questionnaire identified the level of importance each panel attached to 16 aspects relating to QOL. Panellists were also encouraged to provide additional comments on why they felt a particular item was important. In round two, panellists were asked to prioritize the items in order of importance, whereas round three attempted to achieve consensus among each of the three panels. RESULTS: Differences between and within panels in the prioritization of items in round one and round two were evident. However, consensus was achieved in round three, except for the prioritization of very important items by the panel of teachers. Items identified by all three panels as extremely important included the adolescent's attitude, family relationships and friendships with the same age group. Themes to emerge from the qualitative responses to the open-ended questions included the perception of the chronically ill adolescent 'not wanting to be different' and the importance of a 'positive attitude'. The majority of participants also perceived adolescents with a chronic illness as having worse QOL than their healthy counterparts. CONCLUSIONS: By increasing the awareness among the different groups of the impact of chronic illness on various aspects of adolescent QOL, the overall care and support of those adolescents could be improved. Further studies should also be undertaken to explore the views of the chronically ill adolescents themselves.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

Factors associated with breastfeeding at discharge and duration of breastfeeding.

OBJECTIVE: To identify determinants of the initiation and duration of breastfeeding amongst Australian women. METHODS: A prospective cohort study of 556 women in Perth, Western Australia and 503 women from the Darling Downs area, Queensland, Australia. RESULTS: Breastfeeding at discharge was most strongly associated with perceived paternal support of breastfeeding with an adjusted odds ratio of 9.13 (95% CI 4.83-17.26), using multivariate logistic regression analysis. Duration of breastfeeding was most strongly associated with the length of time a mother intended to breastfeed with an adjusted relative risk of 4.18 (95% CI 2.81-6.22) for > or = 4 months relative to < 4 months. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions which aim to increase the length of time a woman intends to breastfeed, and which highlight the role of the father in successful breastfeeding, are recommended to help achieve recommended targets for breastfeeding initiation and duration.

Attitude to Health↗

PubMed2001

Thermal inactivation of antimicrobial-resistant Gram-positive cocci in chicken meat: D and Z value determinations.

Antimicrobial-resistance in Gram-positive bacteria is reported with increasing frequency in strains isolated from food animals. Their isolation from commercial poultry carcasses and meat products constitute a potential risk that resistant strains or resistance genes might spread to humans via the food chain. As bacterial inactivation by thermal process is a critical control point in the safe preparation of many ready-to-eat foods, it is important to determine the thermal resistance of these organisms. The present study was undertaken to investigate the thermal tolerance (D and Z values) of antimicrobial-resistant, Gram-positive cocci in ground chicken meat. The antimicrobial-resistant, Gram-positive cocci for this study were isolated from two poultry processing plants in Western Australia. D and Z value data indicate that these isolates do not exhibit enhanced thermal resistant characteristics. The estimated lethal effect of the cooking process for chicken meat indicates that an internal temperature of 70 degrees C for 2.1 min would provide a 7-log reduction of all cell suspensions tested.

Animals↗

PubMed2001

Psychosocial factors associated with the abandonment of breastfeeding prior to hospital discharge.

A prospective study of 556 women from Perth, Western Australia, and 503 women from the Darling Downs area, Queensland, Australia, was conducted to identify factors associated with the abandonment of breastfeeding prior to hospital discharge. In total, 88% of women initiated breastfeeding, but 5% discontinued breastfeeding while still in the hospital. Discontinuation of breastfeeding prior to discharge was associated with a number of psychosocial factors, namely, infant feeding method being chosen after becoming pregnant, a perception by the mother that the infant's father either preferred formula feeding or was ambivalent about how the infant was fed, and whether the mother's own mother had ever breastfed. Judicious questioning prenatally regarding a women's commitment to, social support for, and prior exposure to breastfeeding will help identify those women most at risk of abandoning breastfeeding prematurely. Such women should be targeted for additional support while in the hospital.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Assessing quality of life for adolescents in western Australia.

This study investigates the quality of life (QOL) for adolescents residing in Perth, Western Australia. The Quality of Life Profile-Adolescent Version (QOLPAV), a generic self-reported questionnaire, was administered to 363 adolescents aged between ten and 18 years who were enrolled in 20 high schools within metropolitan Perth. Stepwise regression analysis of the data showed that age, control, opportunity and perceptions of health have significant associations with QOL. It was also found that adolescents with a chronic condition and those without have similar QOL scores. This suggests that, in terms of QOL, the chronically ill adolescents do not view themselves as different from their healthy counterparts.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

The fetal origins of disease hypothesis: public health implications for the Asia-Pacific region.

There has been rapid development in the Asia-Pacific region, leading to improvements in the food supply and nutrition. The high prevalence of low birth weight has been a problem in many countries and continues to be a problem in some parts of the region. In the past few years an epidemic of obesity and chronic disease has emerged. The fetal origins hypothesis links the high prevalence of low birth weight and recent increasing obesity to explain the emerging epidemic of chronic disease. One public health strategy to challenge this epidemic is the promotion of breastfeeding of all infants. Breastfeeding has been shown to protect against childhood obesity, and is "dose related", that is, the longer an infant is breastfed, the lower the risk of obesity.

Asia, Southeastern↗

PubMed2001

Teaching information technology and research skills for public health.

The acquisition of information technology and research skills is fundamental for all students in Public Health because of its fundamental emphasis on population studies. In the Curtin University, Division of Health Sciences the School of Public Health has the responsibility of introducing communication and IT skills to all students, both undergraduate and postgraduate. A special program of information technology skills is offered. The age of the Internet has meant added temptation for students in terms of plagiarism and all students and staff must be aware of their ethical obligations in this area. The advent of flexible learning strategies will provide many opportunities for Schools of Public Health, both in the education of their students and in the continuing education of public health practitioners. APACPH member institutions could usefully pool their resources to develop flexible learning resources.

Australia↗

PubMed2000

Public health nutrition: results and research.

Public health nutrition is focused on the prevention of diet-related diseases and the attainment of good health, through policy, education and health promotion. It involves many sectors of the community, cooperating to improve the health and wellbeing of the population with emphasis on prevention, equity, wellbeing and improved quality of life. In the majority of western countries, an epidemic of coronary heart disease (CHD) began after World War One, reaching its peak in the 1970's. In Asia, the epidemic began after WW2 with the rapid economic development of the region. In western countries, of which Australia is a typical example, health promotion activities and improved hospital treatment have been effective in reducing the impact of the CHD epidemic. The life expectancy of the population has steadily grown to 75.6 years for males and 81.3 years for females. Despite major advances in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease, it is still the leading cause of premature mortality and morbidity in Australia. Furthermore, cardiovascular disease shares common risk factors with other leading causes of death, including lifestyle behaviours (diet, physical inactivity, alcohol consumption, smoking), physiological states (obesity, hypertension, high blood cholesterol) and socioeconomic factors. For Asia, the challenge is to implement public health policies that will tackle the epidemic of chronic disease before it reaches its peak. Health Promotion policies will be important for all countries. The use of the disability adjusted life years (DALY) methodology to measure the association between the cause of disease and relate its occurrence to health outcomes will be an important public health planning tool.

Aged↗

PubMed1999

Factors associated with the duration of breastfeeding amongst women in Perth, Australia.

Duration of breastfeeding was studied in 556 women delivering at 2 maternity hospitals in Perth, Australia. At discharge 83.8% of women were breastfeeding their infants, including 6% who were giving complementary feeds. At 3 and 6 months, 61.8% and 49.9%, respectively, were still breastfeeding. In a Cox survival analysis of factors associated with duration of breastfeeding a positive association was found with maternal education, age and intended duration of breastfeeding. Male infants were more likely to be weaned before female infants and women whose partners were unemployed, or did not have a preference for breastfeeding, breastfed for shorter duration. There is still a need for programmes which support and encourage breastfeeding, focusing particularly on younger, less well-educated women who intend to breastfeed for less than the recommended 4-6 months.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

Factors associated with the initiation and duration of breastfeeding: a review of the literature.

Breastfeeding is promoted internationally as the preferred method of feeding for infants up to the age of four to six months. As a consequence there is much research interest in factors which may be predictors of breastfeeding. This paper presents a review of the recent literature identifying factors associated with the initiation and duration of breastfeeding among Western women. Attention was focused on studies which employed multivariate analysis of the data and breastfeeding initiation and duration were considered as two uniquely separate events. This review reveals that the associations between breastfeeding and many of the factors commonly investigated were not consistent. Many of the strong associations previously reported in univariate studies were not evident in more recent studies which employed multivariate analysis to control for covariates and potential confounders. While there was a strong and consistent association with demographic factors such as maternal age and level of education, there was a less consistent association with factors such as marital and socioeconomic status. Similarly, the previously reported univariate associations between breastfeeding and biomedical factors such as parity, method of delivery and infant health were less consistent in multivariate studies. However, a consistent negative association has been reported between maternal smoking habits and breastfeeding duration. More recent studies have investigated the association between breastfeeding and psychosocial factors. There is evidence to suggest that fathers play an important role in the breastfeeding decision and that intended duration is a strong predictor of actual duration. Despite the inconsistency of the reported associations, this review highlights the fact that breastfeeding is multifactorial in nature and future programs aimed at promoting breastfeeding must take this into consideration.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗