Effect of ethnic media on cervical cancer screening rates.

The effect on cervical screening rates of paid publicity on ethnic radio was evaluated. The radio publicity occurred during three discrete periods between 1992 and 1994. The numbers of women having Pap smears before and after the intervention were compared in postcode areas with high and low percentages of residents of non-English-speaking background. During the second and third publicity periods, when the media coverage was more intense, a larger increase in screening rates was evident in postcode areas with high percentages of women of non-English-speaking background. Across the three intervention periods, the media publicity appeared to generate an additional 6.7 per cent (95 per cent confidence interval 4.4 to 9.2 per cent) increase in screening in areas with a high proportion of women of non-English-speaking-background compared with changes in screening in areas with a low proportion of women of non-English-speaking background. Paid publicity on ethnic radio may be an effective strategy to increase cervical screening rates among women of non-English-speaking background.

The GP as first responder in a major medical emergency.

UNLABELLED: While there have been many articles and seminars on the Ash Wednesday bushfire and Port Arthur shooting disasters, the role, responsibility and support structure of general practitioners (GPs) and the effect of the disaster on them, have received little attention. This paper looks at the role of the GP as the first responder in a disaster in rural and semi-rural Australia. Hopefully, a structured involvement, with adequate preparation and recovery, will minimise harm to these respondents. This article was written after a local GP response to disasters had been incorporated into the local Displan of one region. This response was successfully activated by Victorian State Displan during the Dandenong Ranges bushfire disaster of January, 1997. DEFINITIONS: A disaster is said to have occurred when normal community and organisational arrangements are overwhelmed by an event, and extraordinary responses need to be instituted. First responder has become the generic term for those who arrive at the scene during the early phase of the response, that is, before centralised coordination is in place. Displan is the abbreviation for the State Emergency Response Plan. The phases of emergency management consist of: prevention; preparation; response; and recovery.