Reference no: EM132351244 , Length: word count:800

Using health information and data to explore a contemporary issue

This assignment draws on Topics 1, 2 and 3. It requires you to access and understand health- related data and information from reputable, widely used sources of health information in the form of:

• Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics
• Data from a health research organisation
• Research findings from peer-reviewed academic journals accessed through the University

Topics 1, 2 and 3 (and especially the online tutorial activities and sessions associated with each topic) will provide you with the knowledge and skills you need to successfully complete this assignment.

Please note that links to these online reports are deliberately not provided in this assignment because one of the skills of a health professional (taught in this unit) is being able to locate health data and information online.

Introduction

Australia continues to experience high levels of diet-related conditions and diseases. For example, 67% of Australians aged 18 years and over were overweight or obese (nearly 12.5 million people), an increase of 3.6% from 2014-15 (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2018). The health problems associated with poor diet occur as a result of excessive intake of foods that are deemed high in energy, saturated fat, added sugars and/or added salt but relatively low in nutrients (National Health Medical Research Council 2013). When consumed regularly, these foods can promote weight gain, high blood pressure and cholesterol, thus increasing the risk of disease.

When it comes to ‘healthy' eating, however, the interactions between individual-level, household-level and community-level factors have significant influence on appropriate diets (Hendrie et al 2019). As health and health-related practitioners, we are interested in basing our practice (including clinical practice, as well as assisting governments to develop appropriate public policies and programs) on evidence. Therefore, this assignment requires you to access and understand health-related data from reputable, widely-used (by health professionals) sources of information in order to establish whether ‘healthy' eating is indeed influenced by finance and other factors. If so, it is important that we understand ways that this can be addressed effectively in order to improve eating habits and reduce the risk of diet- related diseases.

TASK A: Locating health data and information from reputable sources

Question 1

This question begins to explore ‘healthy' eating patterns in Australia. In particular, the consumption of a balanced diet inclusive of fruit and vegetables. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Australian Health Survey includes data on ‘Fruit and vegetable consumption' in the Australian population. You are required to locate data from this survey from the ABS website. ABS health survey data is now available in the form of (a) a very brief summary of selected findings from the survey; and (b) detailed downloadable data tables (as Microsoft Office Excel spreadsheets).

The report is:

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2018, National Health Survey: First Results, 2017-18, cat. no. 4364.0.55.001, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra.
Please go to the ABS website, and:
• Access and read the "Fruit and Vegetable Consumption" summary shown in the first screenshot below.
• Have a look at the "Glossary", which is available from the ‘Explanatory Notes' tab (orange circle in screenshot 1).
• Download "Table 6: Health risk factors by population characteristics - Australia". This is available from the ‘Downloads' tab (blue circle in screenshot 1).
• Click on the Excel spreadsheet, which will load Table 6 as an Excel spreadsheet.
• Select Table 6.3 at the bottom of the Excel spreadsheet, which shows "Proportion of persons".

Q1(a): When conducting quantitative health research, it is important to define how the constructs will be measured precisely. In the Australian Health Survey, how was ‘adequate consumption of fruit and vegetables' defined? Please include an in-text citation with your answer for full marks.

Q1(b): Based on the results of the survey presented in the Summary (screenshot 1), are Australians more likely to meet the guidelines for fruit or vegetable consumption? What are the differences between men and women? Please include percentages to support your answer.

Q1(c): Examining Table 6.3, which quintile in the Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage had the highest proportion of persons with inadequate fruit consumption? Which quintile had the highest proportion with inadequate vegetable consumption? Please include the percentages in your answer for full marks.

Q1(d): Based on information presented in the Glossary about the Index of Relative Socio- Economic Disadvantage and your answer to Question 1(c), what appears to be the relationship between fruit and vegetable consumption and socio-economic status? Please include data to support your answer.

Question 2

This question requires you to access a report published by the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth), a government funded organisation that aims to promote good health and prevent chronic disease through its programs and research projects. Please access and read the following report in order to answer Question 2:

VicHealth 2018, VicHealth Healthy Eating Strategy 2017-2019, VicHealth, Melbourne. Q2(a):
What factors influence an individual's behaviour towards healthy eating? What are the number of serves of discretionary foods for males and females?

Q2(b): According to this VicHealth report, what factors influence food choices in those from disadvantaged backgrounds, i.e. lowest income bracket?

Question 3
Using the skills you developed in Topic 2 locate the journal article cited below through the Deakin library website and read the article carefully before answering questions 3(a)-(c).

Q3(a): What is the overall percentage of adult population not meeting the recommended intake of vegetables? What was the total number of participants in the study?

Q3(b): Based on Phase 1 of the study targeting behaviour identify the specific target behaviour that formed the basis of the analysis and discussion. Identify the potential outcome of targeting the specific behaviour. Please include data to support your answer.

Q3(c): Obtaining informed consent is one of the key ethical considerations identified in Topic 1. Based on your reading of the article by Hendrie et al. (2019), identify whether or not the researchers needed to obtain informed consent. Justify your answer.

Q3(d): Based on your answers to Questions 1-3, state whether cost alone influences Australians' ability to consume a ‘healthy' diet. Base your statement on the data you have accessed (i.e. not your personal ‘opinion'), and include supporting data where relevant.

Hendrie GA, James-Martin G, Williams G, Brindal E, Whyte B, Crook A 2019, ‘The Development of VegEze: Smartphone App to Increase Vegetable Consumption in Australian Adults' JMIR Formative Research, vol. 3, no. 1:e10731.

Question 4

Hendrie et al (2019, p. 14) state that "The barriers to consumption and strategies to increase intake may differ in those who are already consuming vegetables compared with those with low consumption or compared with those who intend to increase consumption. The appeal and impact of the app to a broader range of users will be part of the evaluation. In addition, the majority of the consumer sample were women, aged in their late 40s or early 50s, health motivated, and all volunteered to help in the development of an app targeting vegetable consumption. It is possible that the particular nature of this sample may have informed the development of app features that do not appeal as much to other groups of the population." Understanding other population groups and their motivations for healthy uptake in fruits and vegetables is key to providing a comprehensive plan for implementing strategies that can address as many diverse groups as possible. The paper below investigates indigenous communities' responses to financial incentives for increasing fruit and vegetable intake.

Using the skills you developed in Topic 2 locate the journal article cited below through the Deakin library website and read the article carefully before answering questions 4(a)-(c).

Q4(a): State if this article represents a quantitative research study and/or a qualitative research study. Briefly describe how you know this particular study is qualitative and/or quantitative.

Q4(b): According to Brown et al. (2019, p. 5), "James Cook University Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC H5938) and the combined Northern Territory Department of Health and Menzies School of Health research Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC 2014-2313) granted ethical approval for the study". Considering the study design used, briefly explain two ethical principles these authors would have needed to comply with in order to secure ethical approval.

Q4(c): Briefly describe in your own words what the specific findings of the above study were. You will find reading the abstract and the results section most useful for this. Please ensure you provide an appropriate in-text citation.

Brown, C, Laws, C, Leonard, D, Campbell, S, Merone, L, Hammond, M, Thompson, K, Canuto, K, Brimblecombe, J, 2019, ‘Healthy Choice Rewards: A Feasibility Trial of Incentives to Influence Consumer Food Choices in a Remote Australian Aboriginal Community', International Journal of Environmental Research in Public Health, vol. 16, no. 1, p.112.

TASK B: Research hypotheses/questions

Question 5 Q5(a):
Develop a quantitative research hypothesis relating to the topic of dietary behaviour and socio-economic status (HINT: You might find it helpful to watch Topic 1 Movie 2 for information on hypotheses and research questions).

Q5(b): Develop a qualitative research question relating to the topic of dietary behaviour and socio-economic status (HINT: You might find it helpful to review Topic 1 and think about the focus of qualitative research approaches when developing your research question).

TASK C: Searching Databases

Question 6

Select either the hypothesis or research question you developed in task B (Question 5). You MUST clearly state which one you have selected to use for Question 6 otherwise marks will be lost in this section. Using the skills you developed in Topic 2 search the A-Z databases on the Deakin Library website to locate an article which is relevant to your research question/hypothesis.

The article must be:
A journal article
Peer-reviewed

Published within the past 10 years

Qualitative in nature if it is addressing the qualitative research question OR quantitative in nature if it is addressing the research hypothesis Appropriate to the hypothesis/research question

To receive any marks for this question you must paste the abstract of the article into your assignment. Note that the abstract is not counted in the word count for this assignment. Abstracts will affect your Turnitin score (they tend to increase it) but we look at each paper to assess the originality of your written work so there is no need to worry about the impact of the abstract on your Turnitin score.

Q6(a): Name the database(s) you searched in order to find the article.

Q6(b): Specify the search terms you used to locate the article.

Q6(c): Provide the full citation of the relevant article.

Q6(d): Based on the evidence presented in your article, along with the material you reviewed in Questions 2, 3 and 4, write a brief recommendation on how to best address the barriers to healthy eating experienced by Australians.

Referencing style - Either Deakin Harvard or APA

Use of references
Include all references cited in your assignment in a reference list at the end of the assignment, using (i.e. author-date) or American Psychological Association (APA) referencing style. Remember that, as covered in Topic 2, references are not restricted to academic journals, and can include books and reports from reputable websites - Example

Below is an example of how to provide an in-text citation for a movie from the unit content (if you used this information to help inform an answer in your assignment).

In the above example a few extra details in addition to those recommended in the Deakin- Harvard guide (e.g. the topic number, the name of the movie) have been included. By adding these details you are making it very clear which exact unit learning resources you are referring to. The date included above is the date you accessed the movie. There is no need to list the course materials in the reference list at the end of your assignment.

Attachment:- Health Information and Data.rar