Poor at higher risk of death: study

New research shows that lower socioeconomic status is a major factor in the long-term survival of people who have spent time in hospital with a critical illness.

The study, published in the Medical Journal of Australia, analysed 15,000 patients who had been admitted to intensive care units in Western Australia.

Doctor Kwok Ho from Royal Perth Hospital says the report found being poor was the single biggest factor in determining whether patients would survive after their release from hospital.

He says lower socioeconomic status was more of a detrimental influence on the outcome than many other factors, including age.

He said one explanation could be because that group could not afford to get specialist medical care.

But he says other lifestyle factors such as smoking or possible drug use might also be to blame, and more should be done to improve the long-term outcomes of patients.

Unsafe corporations, unsafe sex, drugs, binge drinking 'normal' for teens: study

Researchers say the tax on alcopops will do little to curb binge drinking which is seen as 'normal' (Get Images)

A university study has found binge drinking is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to teenage risk-taking behaviour.

Education researchers at the University of Tasmania surveyed 1,000 parents and 1,000 high school students over five years about their perception of risky behaviours.

Thirteen per cent of students surveyed said they got "blind drunk" regularly while 43 per cent said they did so occasionally.

Education researcher, Professor Joan Abbott-Chapman, says she was surprised to find that many young people do not regard binge drinking as high-risk.

"Teenagers seem to think that normal teenage behaviour includes drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes and to a certain degree smoking marijuana and also to a lesser extent unsafe sex," she said.

Professor Abbott-Chapman says parental involvement in setting standards can reduce teenage risk-taking behaviour.

"And it's the teenagers who rely only on peer groups for support or feel isolated and have no one to turn to these are the ones that tend to drink more and we also found that school engagement was also involved," she said.

Alcopop tax little use [to corporations]


The Federal Government's tax on so called 'alcopops' is likely to have only a minimal impact on teenage binge drinking according the researchers [from the business association?]

Taxes on pre-mixed alcoholic drinks have increased by around 70 per cent, making them to $1.30 more expensive, in a bid to curb binge drinking.

Professor Abbott-Chapman says more needs to be done to address the problem.

"The effects are likely to be marginal unless they are linked to a widespread range of community and family programs which tackle some of the problems of social and educational engagement or disengagement rather," she said.

Updaedt 350:pm (AEST)

Greens want alco-pops tax revenue spent on alcohol education

Greens leader Bob Brown says his party will not be inclined to support the Government's increased tax on pre-mixed drinks unless the money is put aside to combat alcohol abuse.

The Coalition says it will block the legislation to approve the 70 per cent tax increase, which is expected to give the government $3 billion in revenue.

Senator Brown says the Greens do support the tax and believe it will reduce consumption of so-called alco-pops.

But he says the revenue raised must be spent on education and health programs.

"We're not inclined to support this legislation unless there's a program for re-mediating the impact of alcohol abuse goes with it, in other words unless a sizeable part of this money goes to tackling the big problem of alcohol abuse in our communities" he said.

Related:

Calls for binge warnings on alcohol packaging
The Public Health Association (PHA) says warnings about the dangers of binge drinking should be pasted on all forms of packaged alcoholic drinks.

Support for booze public education
A SURVEY of 1000 Australians found more than three-quarters of those questioned about attitudes to drinking said there was not enough public education about the dangers of alcohol, despite the Rudd Government's promise of a multimillion-dollar binge-drinking strategy

Conference told drinking needs to be 'denormalised'
A conference in Brisbane has been told that society needs to change the way it thinks about alcohol before there will be a reduction in binge drinking. The Alcohol and Drug Foundation organised the conference to discuss ways to tackle the problem, with organisations and researchers from across the country attending the event.

Alcohol boosts cancer risks: experts
A new study has found that drinking just two standard alcoholic drinks a day significantly increases the risks of developing breast, bowel, throat and mouth cancer.

Balmain hotels fill as young mourn pub mates
Many of those involved in the accident were from Balmain. Friends gathered, embraced and cried openly on Darling Street, and soon after were intoxicated with alcohol as well as grief. Balmain bar staff described the incident as a pub staff night gone wrong.

Fighting intergenerational crime

In some family trees, branch after branch is bent.

Tasmanian criminologist, Vanessa Goodwin is studying how crime is passed down the generations in some families, and says early intervention - and support - could help people break the cycle.

Ms Goodwin says she is about to focus on 6 Tasmanian families to find out why crime is a way of life.

"Potentially a different value system, a different way of life, very difficult to break the cycle," she said.

"I think it's extremely difficult, particularly if you're living in an area where there are a lot of other people who are involved in crime as well,

"So there's a lot of positive reinforcement to commit crime and not a lot of positive role models of how to get out of involvement in crime and lead a different life."

Ms Goodwin has already studied five generations of one family.

The 167 members had committed more than 2,500 offences.

103 had at least one conviction, while 45 had served at least one jail term.

Ms Goodwin told yesterdays National Police Commissioner's conference in Hobart, the Northern Territory intervention could provide some answers for families at risk.

"Obviously education and making sure kids are in school is another important area," she said.

"And making sure that kids are being provided for by their families, so that you know the welfare cheque isn't being spent on alcohol or gambled away."

Intensive support is another option.

Ms Goodwin says Queensland's 'Family Independence Program' dedicates workers to helping families.

"Whether it's problems getting the kids to school, health issues, problems accessing Centrelink payments, whatever it is, there's someone there to assist the family."

From those on the front line, there is applause for initiatives like 'Project U-Turn' that confront offenders with the consequences of their behaviour:

"If you're stealing a TV and you think it's just a TV, you don't see the impact of that offence on children who might have nightmares because a crook has done their house over, or are bed-wetting," says former policeman, John Lennox.

Results from the crime study should be known by early next year.

Related:

Adelaide, South Australia
New Ways Forward: Pathways to Change
23 & 24 September 2008
1st Call for Abstracts
Closing Date 31 March 2008

Victim Support Service (SA) is delighted to announce that we will be hosting the 2008 National Victims of Crime conference in Adelaide.

This conference aims to excite and inspire participants by providing a range of diverse papers, presentations and workshops that explore ‘New Ways Forward’. The key themes for the Conference include: Reform, Participation & Accountability, Response. The Conference Organising Committee hopes that a wide range of people with diverse interests in working with people who have experienced crime, victimology, law reform and trauma will come together to explore New Ways Forward and potential Pathways to Change. Papers and workshops are invited within the following broad themes or any other that you believe may be of interest:
􀂃 Reform e.g.
o Victims’ rights
o Law reform
o Changes to legal processes
􀂃 Participation & Accountability e.g.
o Restorative justice initiatives
o Mediation and adult conferencing
o Crime prevention
o Community safety
o Specialist courts
o Diversity
􀂃 Responding to Victims of Crime e.g.
o Therapeutic responses
o New and emerging crimes
o Access and equity issues
o Rural and remote services
o Police and legal responses
o Role of volunteers
o Group-work
Should you wish to submit an application for an oral presentation / paper, workshop or poster presentation, please follow the guidelines below. Abstracts (maximum of 300 words) should be sent as an email attachment in the following format:
• Title of Presentation / Workshop
• Author/s
• Brief Biography of Author/s (Please note: if the abstract is accepted then this biography will be printed in the conference program.)
• Contact person
• Postal address
• Telephone number
• Email address
• Type of presentation
o Oral presentation & paper
o Workshop
o Poster
o Other
• Abstract (overview of presentation content)
• Audiovisual requirements
The Conference Organising Committee must receive abstracts no later than 31 March 2008 by email to conference@victimsa.org. Receipt of your abstract will be acknowledged. Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their submission by 30 April 2008. Full papers must be submitted by 31 July 2008. For further information please contact either David Kerr or Jodie Sloan at
Victim Support Service on (08) 8231 5626 or Toll Free 1800 182 368.