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Research

Detailed, comprehensive, and timely reporting on population health by underlying causes of disability and premature death is crucial to understanding and responding to complex patterns of disease and injury burden over time and across age groups, sexes, and locations. The availability of disease burden estimates can promote evidence-based interventions that enable public health researchers, policy makers, and other professionals to implement strategies that can mitigate diseases. 

Research

Medications are commonly used during pregnancy to manage pre-existing conditions and conditions that arise during pregnancy. However, not all medications are safe to use in pregnancy. This study utilized privacy-preserving record linkage (PPRL) to examine medications dispensed under the national Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to pregnant women in Western Australia (WA) overall and by medication safety category. 

Research

Difficulties in executive functioning (EF) can result in impulsivity, forgetfulness, and inattention. Children living in remote/regional communities are particularly at risk of impairment in these cognitive skills due to reduced educational engagement and poorer access to interventions. This vulnerability has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and strategies are needed to mitigate long-term negative impacts on EF.

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Children prone to irritability experience significant functional impairments and internalising and externalising problems. Contemporary models have sought to elucidate the underlying mechanisms in irritability, such as aberrant threat and reward biases to improve interventions. 

Research

A considerable proportion of patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) experience emotional problems due to the continual demands of the disease, which may persist throughout life without appropriate support. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) intervention and provide early indications of its capacity to impact psychosocial outcomes for adolescents with T1D. 

Research

Australia does not have a national strategy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adolescent health and as a result, policy and programming actions are fragmented and may not be responsive to needs. Efforts to date have also rarely engaged Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in co-designing solutions. The Roadmap Project aims to work in partnership with young people to define priority areas of health and well-being need and establish the corresponding developmentally appropriate, evidence-based actions.

Research

As herpes simplex virus in infancy is not a mandatory notifiable condition in Australia, completeness of ascertainment by the Australian Paediatric Surveillance Unit (APSU) has been difficult to evaluate to date. We evaluated case capture in Queensland and Western Australia using statewide laboratory and clinical data and complementary surveillance data collected via the APSU.

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LGBTQA+ young people experience suicidal thoughts and behaviors at a much greater rate than their heterosexual and cisgender peers. This study explored firsthand accounts of the coping strategies employed by LGBTQA+ young people when experiencing suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

Research

Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine has immunomodulatory effects that may provide protection against unrelated infectious diseases. We aimed to determine whether BCG vaccination protects adults against COVID-19. 

Research

Pediatric gender clinics and researchers commonly use scales to measure different dimensions of gender (e.g. identity, dysphoria, satisfaction). There has been little investigation into the relevance and consumer acceptability of these scales within contemporary understandings and experiences of gender.