D Kassulke | PubMed Health

PubMed2002

Appropriate indicators for injury control?

Indicators are valuable tools used to measure progress towards a desired health outcome. Increased awareness of the public health burden due to injury has lead to a concomitant interest in monitoring the impact of national initiatives that aim to reduce the size of the burden. Several injury indicators have now been proposed. This study examines the ability of each of the suggested indicators to reflect the nature and extent of the burden of non-fatal injury. A criterion validity, population-based, prospective cohort study was conducted in Brisbane, a sub-tropical Metropolitan City on the eastern seaboard of Australia, over a 12-month period between 1 January and 31 December 1998. Neither the presence of a long bone fracture nor the need for hospitalisation for 4 or more days were sensitive or specific indicators for 'serious' or major injury as defined by the 'Gold Standard' Injury Severity Score (ISS). Subsequent analysis, using other public health outcome measures demonstrated that the major component of the illness burden of injury was in fact due to 'minor' not serious injury. However, the suggested indicators demonstrated low sensitivity and specificity for these outcomes as well. The results of the study support the need to include at least all hospitalisations in any population-based measure of injury and not attempt to simplify the indicator to a more convenient measure aimed at identifying just those cases of 'serious' injury.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1993

Information-seeking behaviour and sources of health information: associations with risk factor status in an analysis of three Queensland electorates.

Making a special effort to gain health information has been associated with healthy behaviour. This paper identifies the information-seeking dimension and the sources of information people use and examines whether there is an association between these and individual health status. In November 1989 a randomly selected sample of 2134 adults in the electorates of Maryborough, Toowoomba and Port Curtis (Gladstone) completed a self-administered questionnaire which aimed to measure health-related knowledge, attitudes and behaviour. Factor analysis identified clusters of items representing different dimensions of risky health behaviour as well as different perceived barriers to seeking preventive health care. Multiple regression analysis was then used to determine sociodemographic, attitudinal and behavioural variables related to a tendency not to seek health information and to be at risk for preventable diseases. The findings have implications for the development of future health promotion programs in provincial Australian cities. Both age and sex were significant in predicting where people obtain information on health. Women were more likely than men to seek health information and their sources of information reflected this proactive attitude to health. While there was no significant difference between the perceived health status of males and females, reported behavioural risk factors were much more prevalent in males. Most respondents had consulted a general practitioner in the previous twelve months and stated that they would change their behaviour on the advice of a medical practitioner. However, few nominated medical practitioners as their main source of health information.

Adult↗