BackgroundPhysical inactivity levels are unacceptably high and effective interventions that can increase physical activity in large populations at low cost are urgently needed. Web-based interventions that use computer-tailoring have shown to be effective, though people tend to ‘skim’ and ‘scan’ text on the Internet rather than thoroughly read it. The use of online videos is, however, popular and engaging. Therefore, the aim of this 3-group randomised controlled trial is to examine whether a web-based physical activity intervention that provides personally-tailored videos is more effective when compared with traditional personally-tailored text-based intervention and a control group.Methods/designIn total 510 Australians will be recruited through social media advertisements, e-mail and third party databases. Participants will be randomised to one of three groups: text-tailored, video-tailored, or control. All groups will gain access to the same web-based platform and a library containing brief physical activity articles. The text-tailored group will additionally have access to 8 sessions of personalised physical activity advice that is instantaneously generated based on responses to brief online surveys. The theory-based advice will be provided over a period of 3 months and address constructs such as self-efficacy, motivation, goal setting, intentions, social support, attitudes, barriers, outcome expectancies, relapse prevention and feedback on performance. Text-tailored participants will also be able to complete 7 action plans to help them plan what, when, where, who with, and how they will become more active. Participants in the video-tailored group will gain access to the same intervention content as those in the text-tailored group, however all sessions will be provided as personalised videos rather than text on a webpage. The control group will only gain access to the library with generic physical activity articles. The primary outcome is objectively measured physical activity. Secondary outcomes include website engagement and retention, quality of life, depression, anxiety, stress, sitting time, sleep and psychosocial correlates of physical activity. Outcomes will be measured at baseline, 3, and 9 months.DiscussionThis study presents an ideal opportunity to study the effectiveness of an isolated feature within a web-based physical activity intervention and the knowledge generated from this study will help to increase intervention effectiveness.Trial registrationAustralian New-Zealand Clinical Trial Registry: ACTRN12615000057583. Registered 22 January 2015.CQUniversity Ethics Project Number: H14/07-163

ObjectivesSome online, personally tailored, text-based physical activity interventions have proven effective. However, people tend to ‘skim’ and ‘scan’ web-based text rather than thoroughly read their contents. In contrast, online videos are more engaging and popular. We examined whether web-based personally tailored physical activity videos were more effective in promoting physical activity than personally tailored text and generic information.Methods501 adults were randomised into a video-tailored intervention, text-tailored intervention or control. Over a 3-month period, intervention groups received access to eight sessions of web-based personally tailored physical activity advice. Only the delivery method differed between intervention groups: tailored video versus tailored text. The primary outcome was 7-day ActiGraph-GT3X+ measured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) assessed at 0, 3 and 9 months. Secondary outcomes included self-reported MVPA and website engagement. Differences were examined using generalised linear mixed models with intention-to-treat and multiple imputation.ResultsAccelerometer-assessed MVPA increased 23% in the control (1.23 (1.06, 1.43)), 12% in the text-tailored (1.12 (0.95, 1.32)) and 28% in the video-tailored (1.28 (1.06, 1.53)) groups at the 3-month follow-up only, though there were no significant between-group differences. Both text-tailored (1.77 (1.37, 2.28]) and video-tailored (1.37 (1.04, 1.79)) groups significantly increased self-reported MVPA more than the control group at 3 months only, but there were no differences between video-tailored and text-tailored groups. The video-tailored group spent significantly more time on the website compared with text-tailored participants (90 vs 77 min, p=0.02).ConclusionsThe personally tailored videos were not more effective than personally tailored text in increasing MVPA. The findings from this study conflict with pilot study outcomes and previous literature. Process evaluation and mediation analyses will provide further insights.Trial registration numberACTRN12615000057583

Objective: To compare chronic physical health disorder prevalence amongst Australian adults with and without mental illness. Method: Total n=1,716 participants (58% female) with a mean age of 52 ± 13 years (range: 18 to 89 years) completed an online survey of Australian adults in 2010. Outcome measures including prevalence of chronic physical conditions and self‐reported body mass index (BMI) in n=387 (23%) with a self‐reported mental illness diagnosis were compared to respondents without mental illness. Results: A significantly higher proportion of participants with mental illness were obese (BMI ≥ 30; 31 vs 24%, p=0.005). Adjusted odds ratios (OR) for coronary heart disease, diabetes, chronic bronchitis or emphysema, asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, and food allergies or intolerances (OR range: 1.54–3.19) demonstrated that chronic physical disorders were significantly more common in participants with a mental illness. Conclusion: Australian adults with a diagnosis for mental illness have a significantly increased likelihood of demonstrating chronic physical health disorders compared to persons without mental illness. Implications: Health professionals must be alert to the increased likelihood of comorbid chronic physical disorders in persons with a mental illness and should consider the adoption of holistic approaches when treating those with either a mental or physical illness.

Child maltreatment is a growing problem nationally in Australia. This paper documents the extent of the problem. It also presents a range of interventions shown to work, including a number that have been developed and used here in Australasia. Despite the fact that there are evidence-based services available, the problem of child maltreatment continues to grow. Problems linked to implementing and sustaining an evidence-based program or culture include organisations that are resistant to change, whose staff see a new program as short term and not a part of longer-term, routine service delivery. In the face of such a climate, these initial conditions then have potential to become exacerbated through hasty implementation of new services that are not well thought out, resourced or supported. With intervention services that have documented potential, the critical next step is to ensure that implementation is done correctly to guarantee that successful services are being delivered effectively over the long term. Thus, following a description of the problem of child maltreatment and review of potential intervention-based solutions, this paper then discusses factors that need to be considered when advocating for or adopting a new, evidence-supported service. Psychologists have a role to play in the future to help stem the growth of child maltreatment in Australia, at both local service delivery as well as state and national policy levels.

Using an empirical case study approach, we evaluated a Family-Centered, Feedback-Informed Therapy (FC-FIT) for conduct disorder. A single-case design strategy was used across 4 participant families and included 12-and 24-month follow-up assessment. Parent-rated feedback was provided through in-session outcome and session satisfaction measures and out-of-session through an independently administered parentrated fidelity measure once a month. In terms of outcomes, families reported improved parenting and family practices and improved youth functioning. Substantial drops in youth-and parent-reported youth criminality and other antisocial behaviors were maintained across 12-month follow-up. Official reports showed offending frequency and severity reduced across intervention and follow-up, including 3 of 4 participants not offending during or following treatment. For the final participant, through 24-month follow-up, official reports noted 18 months of offending-free functioning versus the 18 months prior where 19 separate charges were laid. This study suggests that familycentered, feedback-informed services may facilitate effective, and efficient, treatment delivery for families with a conduct-disordered youth. Practice implementation factors are also considered including the use of benchmarking strategies that can be considered for use by practitioners.