Objectives: To determine the utility of point‐of‐care (POC) capillary blood glucose measurements in the diagnosis and exclusion of diabetes in usual practice in primary health care in remote areas. Design: Cross‐sectional study comparing POC capillary glucose results with corresponding venous glucose levels measured in a reference laboratory. Participants: 200 participants aged 16–65 years enrolled: 198 had POC capillary glucose measurements; 164 also had acceptable venous glucose laboratory results. Setting: Seven health care sites in the Kimberley region of Western Australia from May to November 2006. Main outcome measures: Concordance and mean differences between POC capillary blood glucose measurement and laboratory measurement of venous blood glucose level; POC capillary blood glucose equivalence values for excluding and diagnosing diabetes, and their sensitivity, specificity and positive‐predictive value. Results: The concordance between POC and laboratory results was high (ρ = 0.93, P < 0.001). The mean difference in results was 0.48 mmol/L (95% CI, 0.23–0.73; limits of agreement, − 2.6 to 3.6 mmol/L). The POC capillary glucose equivalence values for excluding and diagnosing diabetes were < 5.5 mmol/L (sensitivity, 53.3%; specificity, 94.4%; positive‐predictive value, 88.9%; for a venous value of < 5.5 mmol/L) and ≥ 12.2 mmol/L (sensitivity, 83.3%; specificity, 99.3%; positive‐predictive value, 95.2%; for a venous value of ≥ 11.1 mmol/L), respectively. While the choice of glucometer and whether or not patients were fasting altered these results, they did not have a significant influence on the diagnostic utility of POC glucose measurement in this setting. Conclusion: POC capillary blood glucose analysers can be used as part of the process of diagnosing and excluding diabetes in remote rural communities using these locally established capillary equivalence values.

Objective: To assess the impact of airborne lead dust on blood lead levels in residents of Esperance, a regional Western Australian town, with particular reference to preschool children. This was not significantly different to two previous community-based surveys elsewhere in Western Australia. However, at a lower cut-off of 5 μg/dL, the prevalence of elevated lead levels was 24.6%, significantly higher than children tested in a previous Western Australian survey. The prevalence of blood lead levels of 10 μg/dL or greater in adults was 1.3% (26 adults), not significantly different from a previous Western Australian survey. Conclusions:The prevalence of preschool children with blood lead levels exceeding the current level of concern was not significantly increased. However, the increased prevalence of children with lead levels at or above 5 μg/dL demonstrates exposure to lead dust pollution.Implications: This episode of lead dust contamination highlights the need for strict adherence to environmental controls and effective monitoring processes to ensure the prevention of future events.

As Washington's lead agency for radon issues, the Department of Health (DOH) is developing the analytical basis for establishing a public health policy regarding radon. The Geographic Information System (GIS) is a fundamental step in this analytical process to develop a map of the potential for indoor radon occurrence. The GIS analysis will take into account geology, geography, topography, soil permeability, indoor test results, population density and distribution, and housing. In addition, DOH is working to aid policy makers and residents by comparing residential exposures to the lowest exposure range at which miners evidenced excess lung cancers. This approach is a departure from the commonly used risk assessments that extrapolate from high to low exposure, and will help determine how many Washington residents are at risk. In conclusion there is an examination of Washington's radon prescriptive construction standards for residences.