Investigating the utility of the AQ-10 in children and adolescents assessed in an outpatient ARFID clinic.

The high co-occurrence of autism and eating disorders is well established, including for those with Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID). It is therefore important to consider autism and identify possible autism when people present to eating disorder services to ascertain whether further assessment is indicated, to support clinical formulation and to make appropriate adaptations during interventions. This paper explores the utility of a validated autism screening measure, the AQ-10, in a population of children and adolescents who presented to an outpatient eating disorders clinic for an assessment of possible ARFID.

The clinical presentation of avoidant restrictive food intake disorder in children and adolescents is largely independent of sex, autism spectrum disorder and anxiety traits.

Background: Avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is a new eating disorder with a heterogeneous clinical presentation. It is unclear which patient characteristics contribute to its heterogeneity.

Methods: To identify these patient characteristics, we performed symptom-level correlation and driver-level regression analyses in our cross-sectional study in up to 261 ARFID patients (51% female; median age = 12.

Performance of hospital-based contact tracing for COVID-19 during Australia's second wave.

Background: Hospital-based contact tracing aims to limit spread of COVID-19 within healthcare facilities. In large outbreaks, this can stretch resources and workforce due to quarantine of uninfected staff. We analysed the performance of a manual contact tracing system for healthcare workers (HCW) at a multi-site healthcare facility in Melbourne, Australia, from June-September 2020, during an epidemic of COVID-19.

Presenting symptoms of COVID-19 and clinical outcomes in hospitalised older adults.

Background: In July 2020, a COVID-19 outbreak was recognised in the geriatric wards at a subacute campus of the Royal Melbourne Hospital affecting patients and staff. Patients were also admitted to this site after diagnosis in residential care.

Aims: To describe the early symptoms and the outcomes of COVID-19 in older adults.

Sustainability in Health care by Allocating Resources Effectively (SHARE) 5: developing a model for evidence-driven resource allocation in a local healthcare setting.

Background: This is the fifth in a series of papers reporting Sustainability in Health care by Allocating Resources Effectively (SHARE) in a local healthcare setting. This paper synthesises the findings from Phase One of the SHARE Program and presents a model to be implemented and evaluated in Phase Two. Monash Health, a large healthcare network in Melbourne Australia, sought to establish an organisation-wide systematic evidence-based program for disinvestment.

Sustainability in Health care by Allocating Resources Effectively (SHARE) 2: identifying opportunities for disinvestment in a local healthcare setting.

Background: This is the second in a series of papers reporting a program of Sustainability in Health care by Allocating Resources Effectively (SHARE) in a local healthcare setting. Rising healthcare costs, continuing advances in health technologies and recognition of ineffective practices and systematic waste are driving disinvestment of health technologies and clinical practices that offer little or no benefit in order to maximise outcomes from existing resources. However there is little information to guide regional health services or individual facilities in how they might approach disinvestment locally.

Development, implementation and evaluation of an evidence-based program for introduction of new health technologies and clinical practices in a local healthcare setting.

Background: This paper reports the process of establishing a transparent, accountable, evidence-based program for introduction of new technologies and clinical practices (TCPs) in a large Australian healthcare network. Many countries have robust evidence-based processes for assessment of new TCPs at national level. However many decisions are made by local health services where the resources and expertise to undertake health technology assessment (HTA) are limited and a lack of structure, process and transparency has been reported.

Preparedness for internship: a survey of new interns in a large Victorian health service.

Objective: To gain better understanding of the work-preparedness of new interns and identify areas where further training and education should be provided.

Design: Surveys of new interns assessing self-reported confidence and preparedness for tasks commonly undertaken without direct supervision. The first survey was undertaken before the cohort had started work, the second once they had completed their second intern rotation.

Personifications of personal and typical death as related to death attitudes.

The present article examined differences in personifications of personal and typical death as a function of attitudes about death. Ninety-eight students enrolled in psychology classes were randomly assigned to personify death as a character in a movie depicting either their own deathbed scene or the deathbed scene of the typical person prior to completing the Death Attitude Profile-Revised. The results supported the conceptual distinction between attitudes about personal death and death in general.

The Sydney Medically Supervised Injecting Centre: a controversial public health measure.

Background: Injecting drug use remains a major public health concern, particularly because of opiate overdose and transmission of blood-borne viruses. Sydney's Medically Supervised Injecting Centre (MSIC) opened on a trial basis in May 2001 in an effort to reduce the harms of drug use. In this report, we provide a brief overview of the reported public health impact of supervising injecting facilities (SIFs) and review the history and early process evaluations of the Sydney Centre.