The authors make a case for urgent action to ensure all Australian children are provided with the opportunity to develop competence and confidence in fundamental movement skills (FMS), which will help them to be physically active, fit and to have a healthy body composition. It is suggested that cooperation and commitment between public health, education and early childhood sectors is required. The authors advocate that FMS development should be highlighted in all relevant policy documents, that children should be given opportunities to be taught FMS during the preschool years and that primary schools should provide a quality health and physical education programs.

No systematic reviews are available to guide the delivery of programs to prevent or treat substance use among young Indigenous Australians. This paper reviewed journal articles published between 1990 and 2011; eight papers met the study’s inclusion criteria, the majority with severe methodological limitations. Four projects reported reductions in substance use, of which two included recreational or cultural activities and had strong community support, and one included supply control combined with employment opportunities. More systematic evaluation is needed of efforts to prevent and treat substance use among young Indigenous Australians.

The preferences for topics and means of access to health information among 268 newly arrived culturally and linguistically diverse women in Perth, Western Australia, were explored, with some differences noted between refugee women’s and other migrant’s preferences. An interactive talk or presentation, with supplementary written material, was the most popular format for receiving information, but increasing interest in computer-based learning suggests health education providers should consider including computer or social media information options. Interest in employment pathways and mental health concerns were high priorities; however, a need for more discussion on sensitive topics, such as family violence and alcohol-related issues, was revealed, with women suggesting such topics be included in general health information sessions to destigmatise attendance.

This project identified effective recruitment and retention strategies used by community health-promotion organisations focussing on increasing physical activity and improving nutrition via interviews with key informants from various organisations. The findings from this study provide important insights for the development of future community-based healthy eating and physical activity programs.

The Find Thirty every day^® campaign was developed in 2007–2008, but did not include a significant online presence. By the close of the campaign in 2010, new media and communication technologies were coming to the market, and uptake and use was growing exponentially. The small but positive outcome for the campaign highlights the potential synergy of using traditional and social media as an engaging way to deliver future health interventions.

This study examined the test–retest reliability and criterion validity of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire–Short Form (IPAQ-SF) for older adults in Vietnam. Good test–retest reliability and fair criterion validity were observed from the 150 participants. The translated IPAQ-SF appeared to be a reliable and reasonably valid tool to monitor habitual physical activity for elderly people in Vietnam.

This paper provides a critical analysis of the Torres Indigenous Hip Hop Project, conducted in the Torres and Northern Peninsula Area of Queensland during early 2010. It also identifies criteria that may form a suitable framework for the assessment of proposals for sexual health promotion using performing arts-based approaches in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander settings. The authors conclude that with substantial support and planning, performing arts-based approaches to sexual health promotion can play an important role in engaging young people and bridging the gap between clinical interventions and improvements in health deriving from community-driven strategies.

A model describing the dynamics of concomitant use of tobacco and cannabis (mull). An explanatory framework demonstrating participants’ flexible smoking practices, including substance substitution. It provides a greater understanding on the role of tobacco in mull smoking; enable more relevant interventions to be targeted to this specific group.

This study investigated the communication preferences of young women regarding information about endometriosis. The women surveyed indicated they did want to know more about endometriosis, their preference was to find out about it through school and the Internet, and they were most comfortable talking to doctors. Although early detection of endometriosis can enhance health outcomes and fertility, there is a recognised diagnostic delay of 6.7 years. Early delivery of information, provided in the ways suggested by the study participants, may reduce this diagnostic delay