Leanne Lester

University of Western Australia | UWA · Health Promotion Evaluation Unit

Background Despite immense benefits of physical activity on health and developmental outcomes, few children achieve recommended daily levels of physical activity. Given more than half of families with children own a dog, we investigated the effect of a mobile health (mHealth) intervention to encourage dog-facilitated physical activity through incre...

This study seeks to assess the health, social and economic outcomes associated with rough sleeping among women and compare those outcomes with those of (1) men sleeping rough, and (2) women experiencing other forms of homelessness (such as being housed in temporary supported accommodation due to family and domestic violence). The paper analyses sur...

Background A significant number of children attend Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). ECEC is an important environment and behaviour setting for young children. Time spent outdoors is positively associated with children's physical activity levels, yet increased time spent physically active outdoors may expose young children to traffic-relat...

Background Daily physical activity is critical during the early years of life for facilitating children’s health and development. A large proportion of preschool children do not achieve the recommended 3 h of daily physical activity. Early childhood education and care (ECEC) services are a key setting to intervene to increase physical activity. The...

Objectives When the COVID-19 pandemic was declared, Governments responded with lockdown and isolation measures to combat viral spread, including the closure of many schools. More than a year later, widespread screening for SARS-CoV-2 is critical to allow schools and other institutions to remain open. Here, we describe the acceptability of a minimal...

(1) Background: Limited research exists on the pathways through which physical activity influences cognitive development in the early years. This study examined the direct and indirect relationships between physical activity, self-regulation, and cognitive school readiness in preschool children. (2) Method: Participants (n = 56) aged 3–5 years were...

The objectives of this report are twofold. First, to collate and assess the current evidence base on the state of homelessness in Australia and its key drivers. Second, to set out an evidence-informed policy and practice agenda towards ending homelessness in Australia. Our examination of the current state of homelessness draws on publicly available...

This report builds on the Centre for Social Impact's previous work by presenting an analysis of homelessness in Western Australia using the Advance to Zero database. The report presents the first comprehensive analysis of Western Australia’s Advance to Zero data from 2012 onwards, detailing Western Australia’s homelessness policy and service contex...

This exploratory study investigates aspects of sleep quality and some of the potential impacts that sleep complaints for 168 male boarding students from regional and remote communities in Years 7 to 12. An online self-report questionnaire was used to examine the relationship between sleep quality and participants sense of academic self-perception,...

This report presents an analysis of client outcomes with a view to understanding the impact of Zonta House and provides a statistical analysis of the validity and reliability of the Life Matrix tool developed and used by Zonta House to measure clients’ wellbeing at intake and exit. As with many community agencies, Zonta House manages a number of pr...

Background: Social emotional development is imperative to young children's long-term psychological and physical health. Physical activity (PA) may be important for young children's social emotional development. The association between preschooler PA duration and intensity and social emotional development was investigated. Methods: Data from six...

Introduction: Amidst the evolving COVID-19 pandemic, understanding the transmission dynamics of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is key to providing peace of mind for the community and informing policy-making decisions. While available data suggest that school-aged children are not significant spreaders of SARS-CoV-2, the possibility of transmission in schools...

School has a significant role in providing opportunities for children to engage in physical activity (PA) through policies and practices. This study aimed to identify the prevalence of school policies and practices related to physical activity (PA) and their association with Thai students’ overall and domain specific PA. This cross-sectional analys...

Background Pet ownership brings many health benefits to individuals. In children developmental benefits can extend to improved self-esteem, better social competence and decreased loneliness. The majority of households with children own a dog, however only a small proportion of children gain the benefits of dog ownership through dog walking and play...

This study aimed to assess whether sex moderates the association of fundamental movement skills and health and behavioral outcomes. In 170 children (10.6 ±0.3 years; 98 girls), path analysis was used to assess the associations of fundamental movement skills (Get Skilled, Get Active) with perceived sports competence (Children and Youth—Physical Self...

This longitudinal study aimed to survey over a 12-month period, the mental health and wellbeing of new incoming students transitioning to a boys' only boarding school. An online self-report questionnaire was used to investigate the perceptions and pre-transition experience of new incoming Year 7 students (e.g., while still in Year 6) prior to their...

Regular physical activity provides children with health and developmental benefits. This study investigated if active play and walking with the family dog was associated with better social–emotional development in young children. We surveyed 1646 parents to ascertain if families with pre-schoolers owned a dog, and the frequency per week their child...

This study examined the utility of novel measures of power output (PO) compared to traditional measures of heart rate (HR) and stroke rate (SR) for quantifying high-intensity sprint kayak training. Twelve well-trained, male and female sprint kayakers (21.3 ± 6.8 y) completed an on-water graded exercise test (GXT) and a 200-, 500- and 1000-m time-tr...

Purpose: To compare methods of monitoring and prescribing on-water exercise intensity (heart rate [HR], stroke rate [SR], and power output [PO]) during sprint kayak training. Methods: Twelve well-trained flat-water sprint kayak athletes completed a preliminary on-water 7 × 4-min graded exercise test and a 1000-m time trial to delineate individua...

Background Understanding factors influencing adolescents’ sport/exercise participation (S/EP) is vital to developing effective interventions, but currently evidence from less developed countries is limited. The purpose of this study was to examine correlates of S/EP across individual, interpersonal, and environmental levels in a nationally represen...

(1) Background: Participation in physical activity is crucial for the healthy growth and development of young children. More robust measurement of environmental influences on children’s physical activity in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings may help resolve inconsistencies in the literature. This study evaluated the reliability of...

The authors compared the effectiveness of two modes of daily iron supplementation in athletes with suboptimal iron stores: oral iron (PILL) versus transdermal iron (PATCH). Endurance-trained runners (nine males and 20 females), with serum ferritin concentrations <50 μg/L, supplemented with oral iron or iron patches for 8 weeks, in a parallel group...

The authors compared the effectiveness of daily (DAY) versus alternate day (ALT) oral iron supplementation in athletes with suboptimal iron. Endurance-trained runners (nine males and 22 females), with serum ferritin (sFer) concentrations <50 μg/L, supplemented with oral iron either DAY or ALT for 8 weeks. Serum ferritin was measured at baseline and...

Physical inactivity is a significant risk factor for childhood obesity. Preventing obesity in the early years reduces the risk of developing chronic health conditions later. Early childhood education and care (ECEC) services are important settings to establish good preschooler physical activity behaviors. This natural experiment investigated the in...

Background: Physical activity professional development programs for Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) educators are a viable strategy for improving preschool children's physical activity behavior. This pilot intervention evaluated the effectiveness of 'nature play' and 'fundamental movement skills' (FMS) professional development programs o...

Commercial companies invest in sport and arts sponsorship to align their brand with highly engaged spectators. Competing for spectator attention are government and non-government organizations promoting healthy lifestyles. This study investigated spectator engagement on the effectiveness of health messages promoted at sponsored events. Surveys from...

Objective To investigate the association between shade coverage in early childhood education and care (ECEC) centres and pre-school children’s physical activity, outdoor time and ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure. Methods A total of 48 ECEC centres (678 children) in the Western Australian Play Spaces and Environments for Children’s Physical Act...

INTRODUCTION: Current practice for the classification of exercise intensity in Flat-water sprint kayaking involves the use of heart rate (HR) and stroke rate (SR) measures (1). However, HR measures are limited by cardiovascular drift during long-duration bouts and a lag time during high intensity, short-duration efforts (2). Moreover, measures of...

This research investigates the self-reported perceptions, readiness and psychological wellbeing of 15 male primary school students prior to transitioning to a secondary boarding school (S1) located away from home and family. A mixed-methods approach was used (i.e., online questionnaire and focus group), and findings indicate that while participants...

Purpose The consequences of problematic alcohol consumption fall heavily on Australian adolescents, with this population at increased risk of death, serious injury and other harm. Research regarding whether gender, socioeconomic status (SES) or locality play a role in young people’s alcohol consumption and related harm is limited in Australia. The...

Background Chronic homelessness is a problem characterised by longstanding inability to attain or maintain secure accommodation. Longitudinal research with homeless populations is challenging, and randomised controlled trials that evaluate the effectiveness of intensive, case management interventions aimed at improving housing and health-related ou...

Objectives: To examine the frequency of task-constraints between game-scenario training drills and competition games for all disposals, by considering, temporal, distance, pressure and related situational factors. Methods: The skill patterns of elite-level Australian football players (n = 33) were compared relative to playing environment (training...

Peer bullying in schools is a significant public health problem that contributes to poor health and wellbeing outcomes for those who bully or are bullied. Meta-analyses of the efficacy of secondary school bullying prevention interventions have typically found no effects or an increase in student bullying. Consequently, few secondary school studies...

Objectives and importance of study: Young children’s outdoor play mostly occurs within the home-yard space, yet the influence of the home yard on preschoolers’ outdoor play and physical activity is poorly understood. We investigated the relationships between home-yard features and home-based outdoor play and physical activity in preschoolers (2–5 y...

Purpose Recent studies have suggested that turning is power intensive. Given the sporadic and irregular movement patterns of children, such findings have important implications for the assessment of true energy expenditure associated with habitual physical activity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of walking speed and ang...

Peer bullying increases in times of school transition, influenced by changing peer and friendship groups, new schooling environments and greater stress. Covert forms of bullying, including cyberbullying, become more common in secondary school and cause considerable distress and long‐term harm. The period of transition to secondary school is therefo...

Purpose: The purpose of the current study was to investigate the mediatory role between vigorous physical activity, body mass index (BMI), and cardiorespiratory fitness on symptoms of depression and their subsequent direct and indirect effects on quality of life (QoL). Methods: Five hundred and seventy-six adolescents' (314 boys, 12.5 ± 1.1 year...

Understanding pre-service teachers' capacity to prevent and manage student bullying behaviours is critical for ensuring a smooth transition into early career teaching and the success of schools' antibullying initiatives. This exploratory study investigated 234 pre-service teachers' knowledge, attitudes, perception of skills, personal experience of...

With alcohol misuse one of the leading causes of disability among young Australians, determination of potential predictors of risky drinking trajectories of young people is crucial. This study aimed to identify risky drinking trajectories from early to mid-adolescence and to determine if membership of a harm minimization intervention, alcohol knowl...

The prevalence of warehouse-style liquor stores has prompted alarm from local communities and public health advocates. To increase local government control over liquor stores, one proposed planning response is to distinguish between 'small' (i.e., ≤ 300 m2) and 'large' (i.e., > 300 m2) liquor stores. We mapped the size and location of liquor stores...

Purpose: To assess the efficacy of critical metabolic power derived from variable-speed movement for classifying intensity in team sport activity. Methods: Elite male hockey players (n = 12) completed a series of time trials (100 yd, 400 yd, 1500 yd) and a 3-min all-out test to derive both critical speed (CS) and critical power (CP). Heart rate...

This study aimed to determine and compare Radiation Therapists' (RTs') and Radiation Oncology Medical Physicists' (ROMPs') perspectives about their profession and workplace, satisfaction with career progression opportunities, and leaving the current workplace. RTs and ROMPs who were currently or had previously worked in Australia were invited to co...

Supportive Childcare Environments for Physical Activity in the Early Years. Perth, Western Australia

This study explores the influence of transition from primary to secondary schools in Australia versus no transition in Denmark by comparing age trends in students’ school connectedness, emotional symptoms and conduct problems. Survey data from 5067 students in Australia and Denmark were used to compare 11–12 (prior to transition in Australia), 13–1...

Background: Alcohol use by young people is a public health concern in Australia because of the disproportionate harm they experience. Accordingly, governments have sought to protect young people, with school identified as an appropriate site for drug, including alcohol, prevention through education. School-based drug education programmes, however,...

Research indicates that involving families in school efforts to prevent and manage bullying behaviour is essential to success. Parents can influence their children's involvement in bullying situations by modelling positive social behaviour, offering advice about appropriate responses to bullying, and encouraging help-seeking. This paper reports fam...

This report presents results of an evaluation of four SVHM homeless services; (i) Assessment, Liaison, & Early Referral Team (ALERT), (ii) Clarendon Homeless Outreach Psychiatric Service (CHOPS), (iii) The Sister Francesca Healy Cottage (The Cottage) and, (iv) Prague House. There were eight specific objectives guiding the evaluation, the essence be...

Abstract Background Aboriginal Australians have worse cancer survival rates than other Australians. Reasons include fear of a cancer diagnosis, reluctance to attend mainstream health services and discrimination from health professionals. Offering health professionals education in care focusing on Aboriginal patients’ needs is important. The aim of...

This research report constitutes the first of three reports for the evaluation of the 50 Lives. 50 Lives is a cross-sectoral collaborative project between a range of Perth-based agencies, including Ruah Community Services (which provides backbone support to the project) and, 27 other partner organisations to date, including, homelessness support se...

Background: High strain in soft tissues that overly bony prominences are considered a risk factor for pressure ulcers (PUs) following spinal cord impairment (SCI) and have been computed using Finite Element methods (FEM). The aim of this study was to translate a MRI protocol into ultrasound (US) and determine between-operator reliability of expert...

Introduction: The objectives of this research were to: (1) determine the extent of Australian radiation therapists (RTs) research participation; (2) evaluate the impact of research involvement on career perceptions (3) explore which research topics require investigation and (4) identify benefits and barriers to research participation. Methods: T...

Issue addressed An important strategy for increasing children's physical activity is to enhance children's opportunities for school recess physical activities, yet little is known about the influence of school recess physical activities on children's health‐related quality of life (HRQOL). The purpose of the present study was to explore the relatio...

Background: Children and youth gain multiple health benefits from regular participation in physical activity (PA). However, in Thailand there is limited national data on children and youth's PA behaviors and recent reports suggest that Thai children and youth have low levels of PA. Furthermore, there is almost no data on the factors associated wit...

This study examined indicators of mental health, as well as strengths and difficulties, as reported by same-age boarding and non-boarding students spanning four time points over a 2-year period as they transitioned from primary to boarding school in Western Australia (i.e., at the end of Grade 7, beginning of Grade 8, end of Grade 8, and end of Gra...

Objectives: To examine different timeframes for calculating acute to chronic workload ratio (ACWR) and whether this variable is associated with intrinsic injury risk in elite Australian football players. Design: Prospective cohort study Methods: Internal (session rating of perceived exertion: sRPE) and external (GPS distance and sprint distance)...

Objectives: To assess the association between workload, subjective wellness, musculoskeletal screening measures and non-contact injury risk in elite Australian footballers. Design: Prospective cohort study. Methods: Across 4 seasons in 70 players from one club, cumulative weekly workloads (acute; 1 week, chronic; 2-, 3-, 4-week) and acute:chronic...

Objective: Our aim was to explore caregiver perceptions of the care received from Australian specialist palliative care services. Method: Caregivers of patients receiving palliative care in services registered with Australia's Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration were invited to participate in a caregiver survey. The survey included the FAMCAR...

Aims: The Drug Education in Victorian Schools (DEVS) programme taught about licit and illicit drugs over two years (2010–2011), with follow up in the third year (2012). It focussed on minimising harm and employed participatory, critical-thinking and skill-focussed pedagogy. This study evaluated the programme’s residual effectiveness at follow up in...

Objectives The Patient Evaluation of Emotional Comfort Experienced (PEECE) is a 12-item questionnaire which measures the mental well-being state of emotional comfort in patients. The instrument was developed using previous qualitative work and published literature. Design Instrument development. Setting Acute Care Public Hospital, Western Austral...

Fly-in fly-out work patterns have become an integral part of employment in the Australian resource sector. When attachment to parents is disrupted by a parent working away from home on a regular basis, young people’s feelings of connection to their family may be impacted, as well as their mental and emotional well-being compromised. The objective o...

Introduction The early years are a critical period in a child's health and development, yet most preschool children fail to meet physical activity guidelines. Outside of the home and neighbourhood, children spend a large proportion of time within early childhood education and care (ECEC) services such as long day care. Research is required to deter...

As part of a study of the radiation oncology workforce, radiation oncology medical physicists (ROMPs) who had worked in Australia were surveyed regarding their attitudes to participating in research. Responses from 88 ROMPs were available for analysis, representing a broad mix of employment situations and research experience. Greater than 70% of RO...

Parents can significantly affect children's peer relationships, including their involvement in bullying. The authors developed and evaluated ways to enhance parents’ knowledge, self-efficacy, attitudes, and skills related to parent–child communication about bullying. The 3-year Friendly Schools Friendly Families whole-school intervention included a...

Objective: This study investigated the effect of acute exergaming on the physiological and psychosocial responses of young adults and the modulatory effect of a single- or dual-player game play situation. Materials and methods: Thirty-six participants (19 male; 21.7 ± 3.8 years; 23.65 ± 3.17 kg/m(2)) each completed two 30-minute exergame session...

The purpose of this study was to assess the association between pre-season workloads and non-contact injury risk in Australian football players. Individual player injury data were recorded over four full seasons (2012-15) from one professional club. Non-contact injury incidence (per 1000 "on legs" field training and game hours) was compared across...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe a seven stage community engagement process to develop and disseminate community uptake strategies which encouraged cybersafety as part of a positive transition from primary to secondary school among Australian young people. Design/methodology/approach The combined principles from socio-ecological mo...

Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate whether making fruit boxes available in the workplace is a successful health promotion strategy. Design A quasi-experimental study involving three conditions – free fruit, 50c per piece of fruit and $1 per piece of fruit – to investigate the effect of a contribution scheme on employees’ fruit...

Background: This study investigated the impact of the Drug Education in Victorian Schools (DEVS) program on tobacco smoking. The program taught about licit and illicit drugs in an integrated manner over 2 years, with follow up in the third year. It focused on minimizing harm, rather than achieving abstinence, and employed participatory, critical-t...

Background Utilisation of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) and guide sheath (EBUS-GS) for diagnosis and staging of lung cancer is gaining popularity, however, its impact on clinical practice is unclear. This study aimed to determine the impact of the introduction of endobronchial ultrasound-guided procedu...

An emerging strategy to enhance school children’s opportunities for unstructured physical activity opportunities is to implement diverse materials within school playgrounds during school break periods. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a movable/recycled materials playground intervention on elementary school children’s individual...

School climate has often been described as the “quality and character of school life”, including both social and physical aspects of the school, that can positively promote behaviour, school achievement, and the social and emotional development of students. The current study examined the relationship between students’ mental and emotional wellbeing...

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore the seasonal influences on elementary school children's enjoyment of physical activity during school breaks. Methods: The Lunchtime Enjoyment of Activity and Play (LEAP) questionnaire and Physical Activity Children's Enjoyment Scale (PACES) were used to measure children's (N = 80) enjoyment of ph...

AimTo investigate healthy food purchasing intentions and behaviours among patrons attending a large festival and any associations with healthy eating attitudes, social norms or perceived behavioural control.Methods Food consumption intention and behaviour were measured via pre (upon entry)-post (prior to exit) surveys among West Australian adults a...

This study investigated the social, emotional and mental wellbeing predictors of bullying victimisation and perpetration for boarding students following the transition from primary school to secondary boarding school. Longitudinal data on 76 male and 74 female boarding students in Grades 7, 8 and 9 was used from a larger longitudinal study of 3,462...

The objective of this study was to explore the parenting patterns of families exposed to the fly-in-fly-out (FIFO) work pattern in raising adolescent children, and develop and test the usefulness of a parenting resource specific to this family structure. A mixed methods research design was employed using semi-structured telephone interviews and que...

The Drug Education in Victorian Schools program provided integrated education about licit and illicit drugs, employed a harm minimization approach that incorporated participatory, critical thinking and skill-based teaching methods, and engaged parental influence through home activities. A cluster-randomized, controlled trial of the program was cond...

This study reports on a three-year group randomized controlled trial, the Cyber Friendly Schools Project (CFSP), aimed to reduce cyberbullying among grade 8 students during 2010-2012. In each year, 14-15 year old student ‘cyber’ leaders acted as catalysts to develop and implement whole-school activities to reduce cyberbullying-related harms. This p...

In Australia, patients at the end of life with complex symptoms and needs are often referred to palliative care services (PCSs), but little is known about the symptoms of patients receiving palliative care in different settings. To explore patients' levels of pain and other symptoms while receiving care from PCSs. PCSs registered through Australia'...

Objectives: Few longitudinal studies have investigated how cyberbullying interacts with traditional bullying among young people, who are increasingly using online environments to seek information, entertainment and to socialise. This study aimed to identify the associations between the relative contribution of cyberbullying victimisation and tradi...

An emerging strategy to enhance children's opportunities for unstructured physical activity opportunities is to implement diverse materials on school playgrounds. The Accelerometer Intensities from Movable Playground and Lunchtime Activities in Youth (AIM-PLAY) study consisted of a movable/recycled materials intervention that included baseline, sev...

An emerging public health strategy is to enhance children's opportunities for physical activity (PA) during school recess periods, yet little is known about the influence of children's enjoyment of school playground activities on their participation in lunchtime recess PA. In this study, the Lunchtime Enjoyment Activity and Play (LEAP) questionnair...

The current study used developmental trajectories to examine the relationship between internalising and externalising behaviours and victimisation over the transition period from primary to secondary school. Data were collected using a self-completion questionnaire four times over 3 years from 3,459 students aged 11-14 years. Students were tracked...