A survey of suppression of public health information by Australian governments

BACKGROUND: It is cause for concern when a democratically elected government suppresses embarrassing information by hindering public health research or the publication of research findings. We conducted a survey of Australian public health academics to estimate the level of acts of suppression of research by Australian governments, to characterise these events, and to gather views on what interventions might be effective in curbing them. METHODS: A total of 302 academics in 17 institutions completed a postal questionnaire in August 2006 (46% of 652 invited). The instrument sought details of suppression events they had witnessed since 2001. RESULTS: There were 142 suppression events, including 85 personally experienced by 21.2% (n=64) of respondents. The rates were higher in 2005/06 than in earlier years. No State or Territory was immune from suppression. Although governments most commonly hindered research by sanitising, delaying or prohibiting publications (66% of events), no part of the research process was unaffected. Researchers commonly believed their work was targeted because it drew attention to failings in health services (48%), the health status of a vulnerable group (26%), or pointed to a harm in the environment (11%). The government agency seeking to suppress the health information mostly succeeded (87%) and, consequently, the public was left uninformed or given a false impression. Respondents identified a full range of participative, cognitive, structural and legislative control strategies. CONCLUSION: The suppression of public health information is widely practised by Australian governments. IMPLICATIONS: Systemic interventions are necessary to preserve the integrity of public health research conducted with government involvement.     

Education for health services management: a graduate student survey of an Australian program

This article reports the results of a study which was designed to evaluate a revised Master's of Health Administration program in the School of Health Services Management at the University of New South Wales, Australia. The original program was established in 1956; during the 1970s, humanities-based subjects such as sociology and quality assurance were added to the traditional financial and management subjects. During 1987-88, health-oriented subjects such as public health and epidemiology were included as compulsory subjects. To assess the program, a cross-sectional study of 1990 to 1992 graduates was undertaken. The study revealed that students found that the traditional financial and management subjects and the health-related subjects were useful to their jobs. The study also demonstrated significant career advancement for a majority of graduates. Two-thirds of the respondents stated that their initial objectives for enrolling in the course had been met.     

Clinical vocabularies and terminologies: impact on the future of health information management

As standardized clinical vocabularies and terminologies are being developed, Health Information Management (HIM) practitioners must increase their knowledge of nomenclature and coding systems beyond the traditional ICD-9-CM and CPT. The limited scope of these classifications prevents them from serving as the standard vocabulary for the computer-based patient record. The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) Coding Futures Task Force provided insights into the knowledge and skills that HIM professionals will need as clinical vocabularies and terminologies become more integrated into health care systems. Certain characteristics are important in a clinical vocabulary and several clinical vocabularies are in use today.     

The future of public health: a survey of the states

A survey of state health agencies was conducted to determine agreement and disagreement of state health officers with the recommendations contained in The Future of Public Health issued by the Institute of Medicine in 1988. The survey also measured the extent to which the IOM recommendations were judged currently in place or in the process of being implemented in the states. The survey showed almost unanimous consensus among the nation's state health officers for the vast majority of the recommendations. There was less consensus concerning the appropriateness of locating substance abuse, Medicaid, mental health, and regulation of health professions within state departments of health. However, a significant proportion of health officers favored a health agency location for these responsibilities (72%, 52%, 48%, and 38% respectively).     

Turning postgraduate students' research into publications: a survey of New Zealand masters in public health students

The authors attempted to contact all 157 graduates from the University of Auckland's Master's in Public Health (MPH) program who completed theses from 1991 to 2005 about publications arising from their research. Of the 104 students contacted, 77 (74%) completed the questionnaire: 34 (45%) submitted a total of 46 articles, 31 (66%) of which were accepted or published. An expectation of publication and being supported financially were both associated with submission for publication. The most commonly reported barriers were lack of time (62%), lack of staff support (35%), and low confidence in ability to write (29%). For those regarding time as a barrier, work demands were commonly cited (90%). Sustained commitment from supervisors plus practical support (seminars, workshops, and cosupervision) was considered likely to be helpful. More effective supervisor-student engagement, funding, and setting an expectation of publication could increase MPH research outputs, but the additional supervisor workload must be realistic.     

Smoking habits of future physicians: A survey among medical students of a South German university

Summary Physicians can play a key role in promoting abstinence from tobacco. In many european countries, however, a large proportion of physicians are still smoking themselves. To assess smoking habits of future physicians, a cross-sectional study was conducted in 1992/1993 among 817 students enrolled in the first, third, and fifth years of medical school at the university of Ulm, Germany, using a self-administered questionnaire. The overall participation rate was 85.2%. Prevalence of current smoking was 17.6% among female participants and 29.2% among male participants. Among male students, smoking prevalence varied between 22.9% in the first year and 34.6% in the fifth year of medical school. Among female students, there were only minor differences in smoking prevalence between the first, third and fifth years at medical school. Most of the smokers had started to smoke prior to entry into medical school. Among third and fifth year students, slightly more students quit smoking than started to smoke during medical school, and smokers in the fifth year of medical school were more frequently willing to quit than smokers in the first and third year. Factors associated with regular smoking of medical students, after adjustment for potential confounders in multivariable analysis, were age, sex, and maternal smoking. While smoking prevalence was somewhat lower in the present study than in previous studies from Germany, further efforts are needed to reduce smoking among future physicians in this country.

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Zusammenfassung Den Ärzten kommt bei der Förderung des Nichtrauchens eine Schlüsselrolle zu. In vielen europäischen Ländern ist jedoch ein grosser Teil der Ärzte selbst noch Raucher. Zur Untersuchung der Rauchgewohnheiten künftiger Ärzte führten wir 1992/1993 an der Universität Ulm eine schriftliche Befragung unter 817 Medizinstudenten des ersten, dritten und fünften Studienjahrs durch. Die Teilnahmequote betrug 85,2%. Die Raucherprävalenz der Studentinnen betrug 17,6%, die der Studenten 29,2%. Während 22,9% der männlichen Studenten im ersten Studentenjahr rauchten, betrug der Raucheranteil im 5. Studienjahr 34,6%. Bei den Studentinnen variierte die Raucherprävalenz zwischen den unterschiedlichen Studienjahren nur geringfügig. Die meisten Raucher hatten schon vor dem Eintritt ins Medizinstudium mit dem Rauchen begonnen. Die Zahl der Studenten des dritten und fünften Studienjahres, die während des Medizinstudiums mit dem Rauchen aufgehört hatten, lag geringfügig über der Zahl derer, die während des Medizinstudiums anfingen zu rauchen. Der Anteil der Raucher, die gerne mit dem Rauchen aufhören würden, war im fünften Studienjahr grösser als im ersten und dritten Studienjahr. In einer multivariablen Analyse wurden Alter. Geschlecht und mütterliches Rauchen als Prädikatoren regelmässigen Rauchens von Medizinstudenten identifiziert. Obwohl die Raucherprävalenz von Medizinstudenten in dieser Studie etwas niedriger war als in früheren Erhebungen, sollten weitere Anstrengungen zur Verringerung des Rauchens in der künftigen Ärzteschaft unternommen werden.

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Résumé Les médecins jouent un rôle primordial dans la prévention contre le tabagisme. En effet, dans la plupart des pays européens, une grande proportion des médecins sont eux-mêmes fumeurs. Pour examiner les habitudes tabagiques chez les futurs médecins, on a effectué en 1992/1993 une étude à l'Université d'Ulm. 817 étudiants de première, troisième et cinquième année y ont participés. La quote de participation était de 85.2%. La prévalence de fumeuses actives était de 17.6%, parmi les participants de sexe masculin 29.2%. Chez les sujets masculins la prévalence a variée entre 22.9% en première année d'études, et 34.6% en cinquième année. En ce qui concerne la prévalence chez les sujets feminins on a constaté qu'une différence non-significative pour les années examinées. La plupart des fumeurs l'étaient déjà avant le début des études. Le nombre des étudiants de troisième et cinquième année qui ont arrêté de fumer durant leurs études était légèrement plus que le nombre de ceux qui ont commencé durant leurs études. L'envie d'arrêter de fumer était plus prononcé chez les fumeurs de cinquième année. Avec une analyse multivariante, on a montré qu'il existe une association significative entre l'âge, le sexe, la mère fumeuse et l'habitude de fumer regulièrement chez les étudiants. Malgré le fait que la prévalence de fumeurs dans cette étude était moindre, comparée avec des études semblables, un effort en vue de diminuer la consommation de tabac chez les futurs médecins reste indispensable.

     

驻马店市医专学生心理健康状况调查

目的了解医专学生心理健康状况,为开展心理健康教育提供依据。方法采用SCL—90症状自评量表,对河南省某医学专科学校365名学生进行测试。结果医专学生心理健康状况水平低于全国常模。主要心理卫生问题是抑郁、强迫、偏执、敌对,人际关系等(检出率1.92%-12.33%);心理问题发生率(23.84%)高于全国大学生抽样调查结果。心理问题发生率一年级学生最高(26.15%),其次是二年级(23.36%),再次是三年级(21.13%),主要心理问题基本相似。结论医专学校健康教育应针对学生心理健康状况和特点进行。