Tobacco and Pituri Use in Pregnancy: A Protocol for Measuring Maternal and Perinatal Exposure and Outcomes in Central Australian Aboriginal Women

Maternal tobacco smoking is a recognized risk behavior that has adverse impacts on maternal and fetal health. However, in some populations, the use of smokeless tobacco exceeds the use of smoked tobacco. In central Australia, Aboriginal populations utilize wild tobacco plants (Nicotiana spp.) as a smokeless product. These plants are known by a variety of names, one of which is pituri. The plants are masticated and retained in the oral cavity for extended periods of time and their use continues throughout pregnancy, birth, and lactation. In contrast to the evidence related to combusted tobacco use, there is no evidence as to the effects of pituri use in pregnancy. Central Australian Aboriginal women who were at least 28 weeks pregnant were stratified into three tobacco exposure groups: (a) Pituri chewers, (b) smokers, and (c) non-tobacco users. Routine antenatal and birth information, pre-existing and pregnancy-related maternal characteristics, fetal characteristics, and biological samples were collected and compared. The biological samples were analysed for tobacco and nicotine metabolite concentrations. Samples from the mother included venous blood, urine, hair and colostrum and/or breast milk. From the neonate, this included Day 1 and Day 3 urine and meconium, and from the placenta, arterial and venous cord blood following delivery. This is the first study to correlate the pregnancy outcomes of central Australian Aboriginal women with different tobacco exposures. The findings will provide the foundation for epidemiological data collection in related studies. Note to readers: In this article, the term “Aboriginal” was chosen by central Australian women to refer to both themselves and the Aboriginal people in their communities. “Indigenous” was chosen to refer to the wider Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

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Genitourinary tract infections in pregnancy and low birth weight: case-control study in Australian aboriginal women.

BMJ ◽

10.1136/bmj.303.6814.1369 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 303 (6814) ◽

pp. 1369-1373 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

R Schultz ◽

A W Read ◽

J A Straton ◽

F J Stanley ◽

P Morich

Keyword(s):

Birth Weight ◽

Low Birth Weight ◽

Case Control Study ◽

Case Control ◽

Genitourinary Tract ◽

Australian Aboriginal ◽

Aboriginal Women ◽

Tract Infections ◽

Control Study ◽

In Pregnancy

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Electronic cigarette use (vaping) and patterns of tobacco cigarette smoking in pregnancy–evidence from a population-based maternity survey in England

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0252817 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (6) ◽

pp. e0252817

Author(s):

Charles Opondo ◽

Siân Harrison ◽

Fiona Alderdice ◽

Claire Carson ◽

Maria A. Quigley

Keyword(s):

Preterm Birth ◽

Cigarette Smoking ◽

Outcome Measures ◽

Population Based ◽

Secondary Outcome ◽

Tobacco Exposure ◽

Maternal Characteristics ◽

Smoking In Pregnancy ◽

Persistent Smoking ◽

In Pregnancy

Objectives Exposure to tobacco products during pregnancy presents a potential harm to both mother and baby. This study sought to estimate the prevalence of vaping during pregnancy and to explore the factors and outcomes associated with vaping in pregnancy. Setting England. Participants Women who gave birth between 15th and 28th October 2017. Methods A cross-sectional population-based postal survey of maternal and infant health, the National Maternity Survey (NMS) 2018. The prevalence of vaping and patterns of cigarette smoking were estimated, and regression analysis was used to explore associations between maternal characteristics and vaping, and between vaping and birth outcomes. Outcome measures Unweighted and weighted prevalence of vaping with 95% confidence intervals, and unadjusted and adjusted relative risks or difference in means for the association of participant characteristics and secondary outcomes with vaping. Secondary outcome measures were: preterm birth, gestational age at birth, birthweight, and initiation and duration of breastfeeding. Results A total of 4,509 women responded to the survey. The prevalence of vaping in pregnancy was 2.8% (95%CI 2.4% to 3.4%). This varied according to the pattern of cigarette smoking in pregnancy: 0.3% in never-smokers; 3.3% in ex-smokers; 7.7% in pregnancy-inspired quitters; 9.5% in temporary quitters; and 17.7% in persistent smokers. Younger women, unmarried women, women with fewer years of formal education, women living with a smoker, and persistent smokers were more likely to vape, although after adjusting for pattern of cigarette smoking and maternal characteristics, persistent smoking was the only risk factor. We did not find any association between vaping and preterm birth, birthweight, or breastfeeding. Conclusions The prevalence of vaping during pregnancy in the NMS 2018 was low overall but much higher in smokers. Smoking was the factor most strongly associated with vaping. Co-occurrence of vaping with persistent smoking has the potential to increase the harms of tobacco exposure in pregnant women and their infants.

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Collective and negotiated design for a clinical trial addressing smoking cessation supports for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers in NSW, SA and Qld – developing a pilot study

Australian Journal of Primary Health ◽

10.1071/py16140 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 23 (6) ◽

pp. 497 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Michelle Bovill ◽

Yael Bar-Zeev ◽

Maree Gruppetta ◽

Peter O'Mara ◽

Brett Cowling ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Smoking Cessation ◽

Aboriginal People ◽

Research Approach ◽

Developmental Phase ◽

Health Providers ◽

Aboriginal Community ◽

Smoking During Pregnancy ◽

Aboriginal Women ◽

The People ◽

In Pregnancy

Tobacco smoking leads to one in five deaths of Aboriginal Australians and accounts for 17% of the reversible health gap. One in two Aboriginal women are reported to smoke during pregnancy, with no effective strategies currently available for health practitioners to utilise for supporting Aboriginal women. Aboriginal community participation in primary health research is crucial to implementing ethical research, with a clear benefit to the people and communities involved. However, currently there is little evidence on how Aboriginal programs and interventions are being developed in partnership with Aboriginal people and communities. ‘Indigenous Counselling and Nicotine (ICAN) QUIT in Pregnancy’ aims to address the prevalence of smoking during pregnancy by enhancing health providers’ training in offering evidence-based smoking cessation care to Aboriginal mothers during pregnancy. This paper outlines the participatory research approach adopted for the developmental phase of the ‘ICAN QUIT in Pregnancy’ project developed in partnership with two Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Services in NSW, and negotiation processes undertaken to implement a pilot intervention across NSW, SA and Qld.

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Considering the Impact of Social Media on Contemporary Improvement of Australian Aboriginal Health: Scoping Review (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.11573 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Troy Walker ◽

Claire Palermo ◽

Karen Klassen

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Scoping Review ◽

Torres Strait Islander ◽

Aboriginal People ◽

Aboriginal Health ◽

Health Messages ◽

Community Control ◽

Torres Strait Islander People ◽

Australian Aboriginal ◽

Torres Strait

BACKGROUND Social media may have a significant role in influencing the present and future health implications among Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, yet there has been no review of the role of social media in improving health. OBJECTIVE This study aims to examine the extent of health initiatives using social media that aimed to improve the health of Australian Aboriginal communities. METHODS A scoping review was conducted by systematically searching databases CINAHL Plus; PubMed; Scopus; Web of Science, and Ovid MEDLINE in June 2017 using the terms and their synonyms “Aboriginal” and “Social media.” In addition, reference lists of included studies and the Indigenous HealthInfonet gray literature were searched. Key information about the social media intervention and its impacts on health were extracted and data synthesized using narrative summaries. RESULTS Five papers met inclusion criteria. All included studies were published in the past 5 years and involved urban, rural, and remote Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people aged 12-60 years. No studies reported objective impacts on health. Three papers found that social media provided greater space for sharing health messages in a 2-way exchange. The negative portrayal of Aboriginal people and negative health impacts of social media were described in 2 papers. CONCLUSIONS Social media may be a useful strategy to provide health messages and sharing of content among Aboriginal people, but objective impacts on health remain unknown. More research is necessary on social media as a way to connect, communicate, and improve Aboriginal health with particular emphasis on community control, self-empowerment, and decolonization.

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Dementia in Aboriginal people in Residential Aged Care Facilities in Alice Springs: A Descriptive Study

Brain Impairment ◽

10.1017/brimp.2019.23 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 20 (2) ◽

pp. 171-179

Author(s):

Bruce Hocking ◽

Michael Lowe ◽

Tricia Nagel ◽

Caroline Phillips ◽

Melissa Lindeman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Cognitive Assessment ◽

Aboriginal People ◽

Aged Care ◽

Residential Aged Care ◽

Aboriginal Populations ◽

Care Facilities ◽

Aged Care Facilities ◽

Residential Aged Care Facilities ◽

Clinical File

AbstractBackground:A high prevalence of dementia among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders has been reported but knowledge of underlying causes and associations remains limited.Objective:To identify the prevalence of factors that may be associated with the categories of Major neurocognitive disorders (Major NCDs) in Aboriginal people living in residential aged care facilities in Alice Springs in the Northern Territory (NT).Design and Setting:This descriptive cross-sectional study analysed clinical file and cognitive assessment data of participants who were identified as having cognitive impairment between January and June 2016.Method:Screening for the presence of cognitive impairment using the Kimberley Indigenous Cognitive Assessment (KICA) was undertaken and 58 of 84 Aboriginal people were admitted to the study. Using a clinical file audit, diagnoses of Major NCDs consistent with the DSM-5 classification were made and the prevalence of factors possibly associated with these diagnoses described.Results:Fifty of the 58 participants were diagnosed with a Major NCD. The most frequent diagnoses were Major NCD due to vascular disease (30%), Major NCD due to Alzheimer’s Disease (26%) and Major NCD due to brain injury (20%). Hypertension, Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and alcohol misuse were commonly reported together with hypothyroidism, hypoglycaemia and vitamin D deficiency.Conclusion(s):This study identified possible associations with Major NCDs in this population as well as a different spread of Major NCD diagnoses to previous studies in Aboriginal populations. There is a need for further research to understand the causes of dementia in Australian Aboriginal people and to use this information to appropriately tailor treatment and prevention programmes.

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