Lisa Buckley

Introduction: Whiplash-associated disorders (WADs) are the most common and costly consequence of road traffic injury (RTI). Providing early and effective treatment is a healthcare priority; however, current guideline-based care which focuses on education and physiotherapy-led exercise does not routinely address the psychosocial effects of trauma, and access to early integrated treatment is limited. This study aims to evaluate the feasibility of delivering and evaluating recovery, information, support and empowerment (RISE), a co-designed short message service-based intervention integrating psychosocial and exercise/activity support for individuals with acute whiplash injury who are at risk of poor recovery in a randomised feasibility trial. Secondary aims are to explore preliminary changes in candidate clinical outcomes and opportunities for intervention personalisation and future implementation. Methods and analysis: This mixed-methods randomised controlled feasibility trial with a nested process evaluation will recruit 50 participants ( > 18 years) with WAD grade II/III who are identified at medium to high risk of poor recovery and within 12 weeks of RTI from Queensland emergency departments and the community. Participants will be randomised in a 1:1 ratio to receive either the RISE intervention (tailored, daily messaging+optional brief clinician support session/s) or an active control (general health-related text messages plus access to an online resource, My Whiplash Navigator). Feasibility outcomes, including recruitment and retention rates, data collection (including wearable-derived and economic data) and intervention uptake will be descriptively summarised and evaluated against pre-defined traffic light progression criteria. Acceptability will be examined using validated questionnaires and purpose-built items, qualitative interviews with intervention participants and focus groups with patients, clinicians and funders. Secondary aims will be addressed through preliminary estimates of between-group differences in patient-reported outcomes with 95% CIs and exploratory analysis of multimodal data (eg, wearable-derived physiological data, intervention engagement metrics) using a large language model where possible to inform future personalisation and implementation planning. Ethics and dissemination: This trial is approved by the Townsville Hospital Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC/QTHS/121395) and ratified by the Human Research Ethics Committee at The University of Queensland, which is the study sponsor (2025/HE002491). Results will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at conferences and professional meetings. Trial registration: ACTRN12626000506392; date registered: 23 April 2026; https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=390706&isReview=true

Social media represents a way to communicate prevention efforts and to understand the social nature of alcohol consumption and related harms for young adults. An affordance approach to social media research facilitates understanding of different platforms and the evolution of platforms. Online interviews involved participants (N=32) viewing and describing their social media, specifically content related to alcohol or driving (including alternatives to driving, such as public transportation). Participants all described alcohol content and many described driving content. Different content was described relative to the platform affordances, such that there were considerations around public/ private content, synchronicity of sending/ receiving content, visualness, quantification, permanence, availability, emotional cues, and a platforms’ algorithms. We found nuances in these considerations when receiving marketing/advertisements and communication with friends, as well as differences with different purposes to communication among friends (e.g., commemorating events, more sensitive content). Communication differed in social context and in the use of technology and highlights value in understanding social media affordances. Findings are relevant for both delivering public health messages via social media and in further understanding the social nature of, and communication about, alcohol and alcohol-related harms.

Digital, self-guided mental health programs have been shown to improve the mental health of LGBTQA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, asexual, plus other gender, sexual, and romantic minority identities) people. Extant literature demonstrates that tailoring these programs to LGBTQA+ experiences is important, but how to meaningfully achieve this given the heterogeneity of identities within LGBTQA+ communities is a challenge. This research aimed to understand LGBTQA+ individuals' perceptions toward digital, self-guided mental health programs, including their thoughts on tailoring. Semi-structured interviews were completed with 24 Australian LGBTQA+ individuals recruited from a larger randomized control trial evaluating a digital, self-guided mental health program. Participants were aged between 17 and 53 years and predominantly from metropolitan areas in Australia. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis and yielded three themes. Theme 1 identified that there is no "perfect" way to design a digital, self-guided mental health program. Theme 2 described the impacts of meaningful verses non-meaningful tailoring to LGBTQA+ challenges and experiences, and that the individual need for an LGBTQA+ tailored program fluctuates. Theme 3 identified that participants felt this care modality was safe, but adequate risk-management procedures are necessary. These findings re-affirm the importance of co-creation with communities to guide meaningful program design.

Adolescent prosocial behavior suggests social competence and it is associated with greater parental warmth yet the experience of warmth through child and adolescent development is not well understood as it relates to such prosocial behavior. A nationally representative dataset from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children cohort was used. The analyses involved multiple waves beginning when children were aged 4–5. The main analyses used a sample of 2723 adolescents aged 16–17 years (Mean, S.D. = 16.45, 0.50; 49.2% female, 50.8% male). Parental warmth trajectories (from ages 4–5 through 16–17 years) were created and used to explore the accumulated effect of a lifecourse of parental warmth on adolescent prosocial behavior as measured when adolescents were aged 16–17 years. There were three trajectories described as, consistent (28.7%), slight decline (51.4%), and declining warmth (19.8%). These were associated with prosocial behavior; adolescents with a slight decline in warmth were 2.2 times less likely than those with consistent warmth to have the highest prosocial behavior. Consistent parental warmth likely provides greatest benefit for increased prosocial behavior in mid-adolescence.

Background: Spokespeople play a significant role in communicating public health information yet there is little research understanding the characteristics of those who provide such messaging.Methods: One hundred and four health professionals (70% female) recruited through professional association mailing lists in Australia completed a brief online quantitative and qualitative survey.Results: Participants reported characteristics they believed to be important for spokespeople, those that they believed their organisation considered important, and those they thought engendered public trust. Knowledge of public health issues, public speaking skills, and willingness to speak on behalf of the organisation were identified as important characteristics (by at least 70%). Qualitative results showed some participants distinguished between perceived, as well as actual, expertise, and described the potential for public health university programs to include public speaking and communication skills. Participants also identified an individual's role in the organisation was considered important in their organisation's selection of a spokesperson, particularly in relation to seniority and leadership.Conclusions: The study provides an initial description and priority considerations from health professionals about key characteristics of effective spokespeople. Findings suggest possible avenues for training and support for spokespeople and the need for further research regarding the characteristics of who are effective spokespeople.So What?: Findings suggest possible avenues for training and support for spokespeople and the need for further research regarding the characteristics of who are effective spokespeople.