Issue addressed Tobacco consumption contributes to health disparities among Aboriginal Australians who experience a greater burden of smoking‐related death and diseases. This paper reports findings from a baseline survey on factors associated with smoking, cessation behaviours and attitudes towards smoke‐free homes among the Aboriginal population in inner and southwestern Sydney. Methods A baseline survey was conducted in inner and south‐western Sydney from October 2010 to July 2011. The survey applied both interviewer‐administered and self‐administered data collection methods. Multiple logistic regression was performed to determine the factors associated with smoking. Results Six hundred and sixty‐three participants completed the survey. The majority were female (67.5%), below the age of 50 (66.6%) and more than half were employed (54.7%). Almost half were current smokers (48.4%) with the majority intending to quit in the next 6 months (79.0%) and living in a smoke‐free home (70.4%). Those aged 30–39 years (AOR 3.28; 95% CI: 2.06–5.23) and the unemployed (AOR 1.67; 95% CI: 1.11–2.51) had higher odds for current smoking. Participants who had a more positive attitude towards smoke‐free homes were less likely to smoke (AOR 0.79; 95% CI: 0.74‐.85). Conclusions A high proportion of participants were current smokers among whom intention to quit was high. Age, work status and attitudes towards smoke‐free home were factors associated with smoking. So what? The findings address the scarcity of local evidence crucial for promoting cessation among Aboriginal tobacco smokers. Targeted promotions for socio‐demographic subgroups and of attitudes towards smoke‐free homes could be meaningful strategies for future smoking‐cessation initiatives.

Based on our data, it is unclear whether playground markings are an effective intervention to increase physical activity in the school setting. The amount of playing space available appears to influence the use of the playground markings.

Issue addressed Body mass index (BMI) is generally accepted as a useful measurement for monitoring risk factors in adults. Although self‐reported anthropometric measurements are deemed to be more cost‐effective, its accuracy has been debated. While BMI based on self‐reported measures may have to be relied on, accuracy of reporting such measures among culturally and linguistically diverse groups is unknown. Methods Face‐to‐face surveys were conducted among 272 adults of Arabic‐speaking backgrounds living in south western Sydney using non‐probability sampling to collect data for directly measured and self‐reported BMI. Agreement between both measures was determined by the Cohen's kappa coefficient analyses. The Wilcoxon matched‐pairs signed‐ranks and Mann‐Whitney U tests were used to compare the differences in median values between both measures. The Bland‐Altman analysis was conducted to identify the limits of agreement between both measurements. Results There was substantial agreement between both self‐reported and directly measured data (kappa = 0.70). Significant small median differences were found between both direct and self‐reported overall BMI measure (27.58 vs 27.34; P < .0001) with a significantly greater median difference for females compared to males (0.76 vs 0.38 kg/m2; P = .05). However, the 95% limits of agreement were moderately large for BMI (−5.1 and 6.4). Conclusion Self‐reported data for height and weight are generally appropriate for calculating BMI for health promotion interventions among adults from Arabic‐speaking backgrounds but should be used cautiously when assessing BMI status at the individual level. So what? When limited resources are available for accomplishing health promotion interventions, self‐reporting measures may be used as a proxy for assessing BMI.

IntroductionThe South Western Sydney Local Health District (SWSLHD) is home to nearly 75 000 Arabic-speaking people. Of these, nearly three quarters are overweight or obese and suffer from a range of chronic diseases. To address this, the Health Promotion Service of SWSLHD will conduct a community-based overweight and obesity prevention intervention (Arabic Healthy Weight Project, 2018–2021) with Arabic community members aged between 18 and 50 years. The intervention’s main activities will include a comprehensive social marketing campaign and an ‘Eat-Move-Live Healthy’ programme.Methods and analysisThe project will be evaluated using a pre–postintervention study design to measure changes in practices in relation to physical activity, consumption of vegetables and intake of sugar-sweetened beverages. The evaluation will apply mixed data collection methods. The quantitative data will be collected using a face-to-face survey of 1540 participants from two independent samples (pre: 770 and post: 770). Descriptive and inferential statistical tests will be used to analyse the quantitative data. The qualitative component will use focus group discussions and interviews to evaluate the formative, process and follow-up phases of data collection. A combination of deductive and inductive methods of data analysis will be conducted using NVivo software.Ethics and disseminationThe protocol has been approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of SWSLHD (HREC/16/LPOOL/303). Findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals.