Publications
Below is a selection of our publications.
Protocol for a systematic review of qualitative and quantitative effects of cardiovascular disease risk communication using heart age concepts – Carissa Bonner et al (Preprint)
The concept of heart age is increasingly used for health promotion and alongside clinical guidelines for cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention. These tools have been used by millions of consumers around the world, and many health organisations promote them as a way of encouraging lifestyle change. [...]
Future directions in cardiovascular disease risk prediction – Jenny Doust, Carissa Bonner, Katy Bell (invited analysis)
Although the National Vascular Disease Prevention Alliance (NVDPA) guidelines were published in 2012, many individuals at high risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) are not prescribed preventive medication or have CVD risk factors recorded. Better use of CVD risk prediction tools and targeting of medication could [...]
Experiences of a national web-based heart age calculator for cardiovascular disease prevention: User characteristics, heart age results, and behaviour change survey – Carissa Bonner et al
Heart age calculators are used worldwide to engage the public in cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention. Experimental studies with small samples have found mixed effects of these tools, and previous reports of population samples that used web-based heart age tools have not evaluated psychological and behavioural [...]
Supporting patients to be involved in decisions about their health and care: Development of a best practice health literacy App for Australian adults living with Chronic Kidney Disease – Danielle Muscat et al
Inadequate health literacy is common in those with chronic kidney disease (CKD), especially among culturally and linguistically-diverse groups. Patient information for people with CKD, including those with kidney failure requiring dialysis, is often written beyond their literacy level, and many CKD-related apps are not accurate [...]
Using Facebook to recruit to a national online survey investigating complementary medicine product use in pregnancy and lactation: a case study of method – Larisa Barnes et al
Online recruitment can be targeted efficiently to recruit specific samples for survey research. It has been shown to be a cost-effective method of recruitment, and useful for geographically dispersed populations. This study describes the use of Facebook to recruit a targeted sample of expectant and [...]
COVID-19: Beliefs in misinformation in the Australian community – Kristen Pickles et al (Preprint)
These findings highlight important gaps in communication effectiveness. Stronger endorsement of misinformation was associated with male gender, younger age, lower education and language other than English spoken at home. Misinformation can undermine public health efforts. Public health authorities must urgently target groups identified in this [...]
Media coverage of calls to rename low-risk cancers: a content analysis – Brooke Nickel et al
The use of more medicalised labels can increase both concern about illness and the desire for more invasive treatment. This study analyses the media's coverage of an Analysis article in The BMJ which generated a large amount of high-profile international media coverage. It aims to understand how [...]
Advancing Health Literacy Interventions – Don Nutbeam and Danielle Muscat
The past 25 years has seen extraordinary growth in interest in health literacy among researchers, policy-makers and practitioners. This interest has been underpinned by academic debate about the concept, definition, and measurement of health literacy, and further strengthened by a growing volume of research that [...]
Breast density notification: evidence on whether benefit outweighs harm is required to inform future screening practice – Brooke Nickel et al
Breast density is one of a number of independent risk factors for breast cancer. Having dense breasts (heterogeneously dense or extremely dense) is prevalent in 40%–50% of women in the breast screening population, making it one of the most common risk factors for breast cancer. Separate [...]
Women’s experiences of the renewed National Cervical Screening Program in Australia 12 months following implementation: a qualitative study – Rachael Dodd et al
This study explored women's experiences of the renewed National Cervical Screening Program in Australia from the perspective of women who have received different human papillomavirus (HPV) test results. Women aged 25 to 74 are now screened every 5 years with primary HPV screening. Women show [...]