Who do people talk to about healthy lifestyles? A South Australian survey

To investigate who people talk to about healthy lifestyle a personal interview of people in a representative sample of South Australians was carried out. The information was collected by interview from all occupants of selected private dwellings who were aged 15 years or older. The interviewer used a prompt card with nine possible responses and the question asked was "which one of these would you be most likely to talk about healthy lifestyle changes?" Forty-four per cent nominated the general practitioner and 22% a family member. People who were either married or in a de facto relationship (30%) significantly chose a general practitioner more than others (14%) (P < 0.05). In the 30-59 age group more men (12%) than women (6%) chose a family member as a healthy lifestyle adviser (P < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in interest in healthy lifestyle in people born in Australia and outside Australia, or in the employed or unemployed. It is suggested that further attention needs to be paid to training in preventive medicine at all levels of general practice education and more needs to be known about the role of family members as healthy lifestyle advisers.