Australasian Hub

The CBC’s Australasian Hub (AusHub) provides training, research collaboration and consultancy to academic and other organisations in Australasia and South East Asia.

Highlights

World Conference on Health Promotion

This year’s International Union for Health Promotion and Education conference was held in Rotorua, a New Zealand. AusHub and collaborators from University of Newcastle, Australia co-facilitated a workshop introducing a toolkit for behaviour change and demonstrated its application to reduce smoking prevalence in indigenous groups.

University of Auckland Associate

Dr Lou Atkins was appointed an Honorary Academic at the University of Auckland. The position fortifies links between AusHub and the National Institute for Health Innovation which Lou is working with to develop grant applications for NIHI’s Tobacco & Addiction research programme.

End of Life Care and Behaviour Change

AusHub visited the Lien Centre for Palliative Care, Singapore to deliver a keynote at the Centre’s 10th anniversary conference. The visit also included spending two days with Centre researchers to learn about their valuable work to improve end of life care and to explore opportunities for future research collaboration and training.

Publications

Bermon Angarita A, Uribe Rodríguez A, Pérez-Rivero P, Prieto-Merino D, Cáceres Rivera D, Guio E, Atkins L, Horne R, Murray E, Serrano Díaz N, Free C, Perel P, Casas J.
Evaluation of the efficacy and safety of text messages targeting adherence to cardiovascular medications in secondary prevention: the txt2heart Colombia randomised controlled trial protocol.
BMJ Open 2019;0:e028017. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2018-028017
Nelligan R, Hinman R, Atkins L, Bennell K.
Use of the Behaviour Change Wheel to design a Short Messaging System (SMS) intervention to support adherence to home-based strengthening exercise for people with knee osteoarthritis.
JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 2019;7(10):e14619 DOI: 10.2196/14619.
Nelligan, R. K., Hinman, R. S., Kasza, J., Schwartz, S., Kimp, A., Atkins, L., & Bennell, K. L. (2019).
Effect of a short message service (SMS) intervention on adherence to a physiotherapist-prescribed home exercise program for people with knee osteoarthritis and obesity: protocol for the ADHERE randomised controlled trial.
BMC MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDERS, 20(1), 10 pages. doi:10.1186/s12891-019-2801-z
Bar Zeev Y, Bovill M, Bonevski B, Gruppetta M, Oldmeadow C, Palazzi K, Atkins L, Reath J, Gould G.
Improving Smoking Cessation Care in Pregnancy at Aboriginal Medical Services: ‘ICAN QUIT in Pregnancy’ Step-Wedge Cluster Randomized Study.
BMJ Open 2019;9:e025293. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-025293.

Grants

Indigenous Counselling and Nicotine (ICAN) QUIT in Pregnancy
A cluster randomised trial to implement culturally competent evidence-based smoking cessation for pregnant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander smokers' Australian National Health and Medical Research Council/ Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases $2,300,000AUD. CIs Professor Bille Bonevski, Dr Gillian Gould, University of Newcastle, Australia. Lou Atkins listed as Associate Investigator.

Training & Workshops

AusHub provides bespoke training courses in behaviour change for cross-sector organisations and academic institutions. Courses can be held face-to-face or virtually. Recent courses include:

A two-day introduction to behaviour change for public health researchers and practitioners from Hunter New England Local Health District, New South Wales
A four-session distance course delivered to Genetic Counsellors from University of Technology Sydney

To request training, email l.atkins@ucl.ac.uk

Invited talks

Upcoming

Physiotherapy New Zealand (PNZ) Conference 2020
URL: https://pnz.org.nz/conference

Recent

Laboratory Animal Science Association (LASA) Annual Conference 2019 – pre-recorded talk

Membership

To find out more on the AusHub, including membership and how to get involved, email the AusHub leader Dr Lou Atkins.