Challenge:
Product-related injuries among older people are a significant, preventable public health issue shaped by both individual factors, including functional changes that can occur with ageing, and external factors such as home environments and product design. In Australia, the limited and fragmented research on consumer product risks for older persons, together with the absence of a national product injury surveillance system, limits risk identification and the translation of evidence into effective injury prevention and system-level action.

Evidence:
This Australian Research Council–funded discovery project (DP240101533) interrogated multiple data sources to generate new evidence on product safety risks for older Australians. The following four data sources for 2014–2023 were examined to identify product-related injury cases:
1. International regulatory responses;
2. Linked Queensland ambulance, emergency, hospital and death injury data;
3. SaferProducts incident reports; and
4. Online product reviews.
These data will be integrated to create SafeAge, a linked-data intelligence platform that will enable the quantification of product-related injuries and the identification of unsafe product classes, hazards, risk factors, and high-risk behaviours. An interactive visualisation tool will provide a deeper understanding of real-world product safety harms and allow diverse stakeholders to explore and apply insights to their needs.

Implications for action:
This work demonstrates how integrated, cross-sector data can strengthen evidence-to-action pathways in injury prevention. Findings support implementation of targeted prevention strategies, safer product design, consumer education and home safety interventions, while providing a scalable model for national surveillance. The approach enables coordinated responses across health, regulatory and consumer sectors, advancing system-level change aligned with prevention and healthy ageing.

Learning objectives/outcomes:
1. Understand how multi-source data integration improves identification of injury risks.
2. Apply data-driven insights to policy development and injury prevention strategies.
3. Identify opportunities to build collaborative, cross-sector injury surveillance systems.

Background: Early childhood education and care (ECEC) is a recommended setting for the implementation of physical activity interventions ‘at scale’ (i.e. to large numbers of ECEC services) to improve child physical activity at a population level. Appraisal of intervention scalability, defined as suitability for delivery at scale, is recommended to support evidence-informed public health decision-making. This study examined the extent to which factors recommended to assess scalability are reported among ECEC-based physical activity interventions.

Aim: To determine the extent to which factors recommended to assess scalability are reported among ECEC-based physical activity interventions.

Methods: This was a secondary analysis of a systematic review. Included studies were randomised controlled trials within ECEC settings that assessed physical activity outcomes in children aged 0-6 years. The Intervention Scalability Assessment Tool (ISAT) was used to assess the extent to which recommended factors of scalability (the problem, the intervention, strategic and political context, effectiveness, costs, fidelity and adaptation, reach and acceptability, delivery setting and workforce, implementation infrastructure, and sustainability) were reported in each study. Data were synthesised narratively.

Results: Of the 53 included studies, none reported all scalability factors within the ISAT. All studies reported the problem, the intervention, effectiveness and delivery setting and workforce. The lowest reported factors were costs (19% of studies) and sustainability (11% of studies).

Conclusions: Findings indicate poor reporting of some important factors of scalability within ECEC-based physical activity interventions, particularly cost and sustainability. Future studies should both measure and report such factors to enable policy and practice decision-makers to select the most appropriate interventions for scale-up.

Background: Physical inactivity is a major public health priority in Australia and yet there is no monitoring platform. A purpose-built online platform for schools was developed in collaboration with key partners to enable Australian schools to capture child- and school-level physical activity (PA) and physical literacy (PL). This project examined implementation of the platform.
Methods: Nine primary schools in WA participated. Following platform training, teachers administered the PA and PL online tool to their students (n=>376; Yr1-6). A sub-sample of school personnel completed an implementation survey (n=27) and semi-structured interviews (n=18) to explore the implementation outcomes of appropriateness, acceptability, and adoption.
Results: Teachers felt the child surveys were appropriate for students, as they were quick and easy, with simple wording and images enhancing engagement and understanding. Challenges related to comprehension for certain students (e.g. younger, English as another language). Results from the tool were well received, particularly the capacity to look at child-, class- and school-level data. Benefits included tangible insights into areas of success and additional needs. Misalignment with PA/PL expectations were noted by some. Most teachers intended to share results with colleagues and school leadership to advocate for change (e.g. install bike sheds), and to emphasise the importance of PA/PL for student’s physical, social, emotional and mental health. Teachers noted results had potential to inform changes to teaching practices (e.g. expanding organised and non-organised activity options), and wide-reaching policies (e.g. active transport, student wellbeing, environmental initiatives, sunsafety, and community engagement).
Conclusion: Findings support national scale up of the platform. This would provide a tool to inform school level practice and policy planning, as well as national surveillance and understanding of child PA/PL levels which can directly inform public health priorities and initiatives.
Funding: Healthway, in partnership with Australian Sports Commission, Department of Education (WA), The Kids Research Institute.

Introduction
Participation in Australia’s National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) remains substantially lower among multicultural populations (24-31%) compared with the general population (42%)¹. Understanding culturally specific beliefs, attitudes, barriers and enablers to screening is essential to inform effective, targeted communication strategies.

Methods
Qualitative research was conducted with NSW residents aged 45–64 years from Vietnamese-, Mandarin-, Cantonese-, and Arabic-speaking (Lebanese and Iraqi) communities who had low English proficiency. Twenty-four online focus groups were undertaken, segmented by language group, gender, age, and screening status (recent, lapsed, or never screened). Discussions explored awareness, knowledge, perceptions of bowel cancer, and behavioural drivers of NBCSP participation, as well as reactions to different messages.

Results
Across all communities, awareness of bowel cancer was limited, particularly its asymptomatic nature in early stages. Common barriers to screening included avoidance and discomfort, particularly related to handling stool samples, fear of results, and embarrassment. Cultural taboos influenced types of communication about cancer and the body, with Arabic-speaking participants often avoiding naming cancer directly and Vietnamese participants expressing discomfort discussing bowel-related topics. Language and health literacy barriers further impeded engagement with the NBCSP.
Key motivators to bowel screening included family responsibility, encouragement from general practitioners, and social norms.

Conclusion
No single approach is sufficient to motivate bowel cancer screening among multicultural populations. Culturally tailored in-language communication and engagement activity that balances urgency with reassurance, addresses practical barriers, and leverages family and primary care influence is critical to improving equitable participation in the NBCSP.

References
¹Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2025). National Bowel Cancer Screening Program: Monitoring Report 2025, Table A4.1. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/cancer-screening/nbcsp-monitoring-2025/data. Accessed 17 February 2026

Introduction
Adolescent pregnancy is often framed as a public health problem, overlooking how it is experienced within adolescents’ social and cultural context. Using photovoice as a participatory visual method, this study examined how socio-cultural factors in rural Bali shape adolescents’ experiences of pregnancy.

Methods
From a larger study of adolescent pregnancy in rural Bali, five pregnant adolescents aged 16-19 participated in Photovoice. Photovoice is a participatory research methodology that enables participants to document, reflect on, and raise awareness of their lived experiences. Photovoice participants photographed everyday pregnancy experiences, then participated in focus group discussions, participant-led photo selection and caption writing, and curated a public exhibition. Exhibition fieldnotes contextualised how the images were received. Analysis was abductive, combining visual and thematic approaches. Photographs were examined to identify recurring visual patterns, while the focus group discussion and captions were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.

Results
Photovoice enabled participants to represent and reflect on the everyday objects, places, and moments through which pregnancy was experienced. Three themes dominated the study findings. First, Photovoice made adolescents’ everyday experiences visible, demonstrating how pregnancy reorganised responsibilities and relationships through household roles, economic contributions, and marital adjustments. Second, access to maternal care was shaped by practical and structural barriers, including rural infrastructure, costs, and experiences of age-related discrimination by services. Third, the photographs showed how pregnancy experiences were constructed through Balinese cultural and spiritual practices, where local beliefs and village-specific knowledge shaped how adolescents understood and cared for their pregnancies.

Conclusion
The findings highlight that visual data can deepen public health understandings of adolescent pregnancy. For the participants, Photovoice was a forum for examining the social and cultural norms influencing their attitudes and experiences of pregnancy, and a medium for raising awareness of those experiences among village institutions.

Introduction
Bowel cancer is the second biggest cancer killer in New South Wales (NSW)¹, but only two in five eligible residents participate in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP)². To inform future bowel cancer screening activities, the Cancer Institute NSW undertook extensive qualitative and quantitative research to gain an updated understanding of NSW residents’ bowel cancer screening awareness, knowledge, attitudes and behaviours.

Methods
Guided by a Theory of Change Logic Model, qualitative research was undertaken with people eligible to participate in the NBCSP aged 45-64 years (12 focus groups, n=77). An online cross-sectional survey with the same age range, was conducted in July 2025 (n=1,050). Statistical analyses segmented participants and identified the key factors underlying intention to screen.

Results
Participants demonstrated mixed perceived susceptibility to bowel cancer, high awareness of severity, and numerous practical and emotional barriers to screening. Structural equation modelling identified some elements of the Theory of Change Logic Model influence bowel cancer screening intention more than others, including self-efficacy and subjective norms. The quantitative segmentation identified six segments, from Proactive Champions to Uninformed Avoiders. These segments hold some common communication needs but also demonstrate key differences in terms of bowel cancer screening knowledge and attitudes.

Conclusion
This research showcases how iterative, mixed method research can be leveraged to inform social marketing campaign development, contributing to increased equity in NBCSP participation, and greater prevention and early detection of bowel cancer.

References
¹Cancer Institute NSW (2025). Cancer Statistics NSW webpage (2019-2023 data). www.cancer.nsw.gov.au/detailed-cancer-incidence-mortality-nsw [Accessed: 04/05/2026]
²Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2025). National Bowel Cancer Screening Program monitoring report 2025. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/cancer-screening/nbcsp-monitoring-2025 [Accessed: 04/05/2026]

Racism is a recognised social determinant of health that contributes to inequities in mental health, social participation, service access, and overall wellbeing for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities. Despite growing recognition of racism as a public health issue, there is limited evidence of community-led, co-designed anti-racism initiatives that translate lived experience into local action.

In response, ‘In Her Shoes: Women in Darebin Unmasking Racism’ was developed through the Our Place Our Purpose health promotion program delivered by Your Community Health in Darebin, Victoria. The initiative emerged from community consultations and anti-racism workshops where CALD migrant women identified racism, exclusion, invisibility, and structural barriers as key determinants impacting wellbeing and belonging. A cross-sector community forum involving Victoria Police, Islamic Council of Victoria, and Darebin City Council reinforced the need for culturally safe, community-led responses to racism.

Using a trauma-informed, participatory co-design methodology, CALD migrant women were positioned as leaders, storytellers, and decision-makers across all stages of the project, including narrative development, framing, and dissemination. This process strengthened leadership, confidence, social connection, and collective agency, while creating safe spaces for critical dialogue on racism and inclusion.

A key outcome was the production of the In Her Shoes video, a community-led advocacy and education resource amplifying lived experience narratives of racism, resilience, and belonging. The video has been used in community engagement and awareness-raising activities to support dialogue and reflection on anti-racism practice.

Project impact extended beyond storytelling into public recognition and leadership. Participants were formally recognised by the Mayor of Darebin City Council at the Colours of Unity Parade hosted by Your Community Health, for their leadership in inclusion and community connection initiatives.

This presentation will explore co-design methodology, implementation learnings, and the role of participatory storytelling in advancing anti-racism and health equity in public health practice.

In Her Shoes video:
Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLLPdZQfysU
Colours of Unity Parade:
View here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/your-community-health_yourcommunityhealth-coloursofunity-opop-activity-7333627259720781825-wZmP?utm_source=li_share&utm_content=feedcontent&utm_medium=g_dt_web&utm_campaign=copy

Embedding accessibility across every stage of cancer prevention and control is essential to achieving equitable cancer outcomes for people with disability in Australia. Approximately 4.4 million people have disability in Australia, representing 18% of the population.1 People with disability experience inequities across the cancer continuum, including higher exposure to modifiable risk factors, lower participation in screening programs, increased barriers to timely and appropriate diagnosis and treatment, and ultimately higher rates of cancer-related mortality.2, 3

Optimal care pathways are a framework for delivering consistent, safe, high-quality, evidence-based care across the cancer continuum. Disability is not a homogeneous group, and experiences, needs, and access barriers vary significantly across disability types and individual contexts. The development of an Optimal Care Pathway for people with disability requires balancing high-level, system-wide recommendations that establish expectations for equitable care, whilst continuing to emphasise the need for individualised care adapted to each person's circumstances. Given the limited evidence base exploring optimal cancer care for people with disability within Australia, the expertise of people with lived experience, as well as healthcare professionals and researchers are vital to identifying optimal care for this project.

This presentation will provide an update on the development of an Optimal Care Pathway being led by Cancer Council Australia. It will explore how defining optimal care can inform national policy priorities to improve equity for people with disability across cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship. These include improving access to accessible information, strengthening healthcare workforce training, implementing reasonable adjustments across services, improving coordination and collaboration between disability and health systems, and embedding accessibility across all cancer initiatives. Cancer Council Australia will continue to advocate for these priorities to be embedded within national cancer control efforts to ensure equitable outcomes for people with disability across the cancer continuum.

References

1. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. People with disability in Australia. Canberra: AIHW; 2024.

2. Tosetti I, Kuper H. Do people with disabilities experience disparities in cancer care? A systematic review. PLoS One. 2023;18(12):e0285146.

3. Yang Y, Afshar N, Butchart J, Sully A, Bergin RJ, Kavanagh A, et al. Cancer inequalities experienced by people with disability: a systematic review. Disabil Health J. 2025:101851.

This Cancer Patient Support Program received grant funding from the Australian Government.

Physical activity and sport are important mechanisms for promoting health, wellbeing and social inclusion, particularly among Australia's growing migrant population. Indian migrants are one of Australia's fastest-growing communities, largely concentrated in Victoria. Understanding how migration influences health behaviours is critical for equitable health promotion, fostering inclusion and enhancing wellbeing.

This research explores the key contextual factors influencing physical activity and sedentary behaviour among Indian migrants in Australia. Using a multistage mixed-methods approach incorporating qualitative interviews, questionnaire adaptation and administration, and policy document analysis, the study examines how migration shapes participation in physical activity and sport.

Findings demonstrate that definitions of physical activity and sedentary behaviour are influenced by cultural norms and migration experiences. The study identifies key sociocultural, environmental and structural factors affecting participation following migration and highlights how these influences contribute to changes in health behaviours. Findings also informed the adaptation of a pre-to-post-migration questionnaire designed to measure changes in key sociocultural factors associated with physical activity. Policy analysis highlights opportunities for more migrant-responsive sport and physical activity policies, particularly in Victoria, to better support the needs of its growing Indian community.

This research deepens the understanding of the relationship between changes in sociocultural factors and changes in physical activity levels. It provides recommendations for policies and research practices to promote the integration and inclusion of migrants through sport and physical activity. These include addressing pre- to post-migration changes in sport and physical activity patterns, adapting physical environments to promote access to opportunities, promoting social cohesion through mainstream sport for inclusion, adopting holistic health approaches, promoting workplace strategies, and implementing strategies for new arrivals.

Learning objectives include understanding the impact of migration on physical activity participation, identifying broader sociocultural determinants of health, and recognising evidence-informed opportunities to strengthen equity, inclusion and wellbeing through policy and practice.