Estimating levels of mental health service need by small geographic area: A case study for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults living in South East Queensland.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine regional variation in need for mental health care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults (18+ years).

Methods: Three Australian Indigenous health surveys were analysed, and prevalence rates of high/very high psychological distress (as per the Kessler-5 tool) by the Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage were computed and combined via meta-analysis. These estimates were applied to census population data to estimate regional needs and summed to geographic planning regions.

Using the National Mental Health Service Planning Framework to inform integrated regional planning: a case study in Tasmania, Australia.

Background: The aim of this study was to demonstrate the application of a needs-based mental health service planning model in Tasmania, Australia to identify indicative directions for future service development that ensure the equitable provision of mental health services across the State.

Methods: The activity and capacity of Tasmania's 2018-19 mental health services were compared to estimates of required care by: (1) generating estimates of required care using the National Mental Health Service Planning Framework (NMHSPF); (2) collating administrative mental health services data; (3) aligning administrative data to the NMHSPF; and (4) comparing aligned administrative data and NMHSPF estimates to identify priority areas for service development. Findings were contextualised using information about service location, population demographics, and upcoming service development.

Analysis of data items and gaps in Australia's national mental health services activity and capacity data collections for integrated regional service planning.

Services data are an important source of information for policymakers and planners. In Australia, significant work has been undertaken to develop and implement collections of mental health services data. Given this level of investment, it is important that collected data are fit for purpose.

A review of excluded groups and non-response in population-based mental health surveys from high-income countries.

National mental health surveys play a critical role in determining the prevalence of mental disorders in a population and informing service planning. However, current surveys have important limitations, including the exclusion of key vulnerable groups and increasing rates of non-response. This review aims to synthesise information on excluded and undersampled groups in national mental health surveys.

COVID-19 Patient Management in Outpatient Setting: A Population-Based Study from Southern Italy.

Evidence on treatments for early-stage COVID-19 in outpatient setting is sparse. We explored the pattern of use of drugs prescribed for COVID-19 outpatients' management in Southern Italy in the period February 2020-January 2021. This population-based cohort study was conducted using COVID-19 surveillance registry from Caserta Local Health Unit, which was linked to claims databases from the same catchment area.

Estimating demand for mental health care among Australian children and adolescents: Findings from the Young Minds Matter survey.

Objective: Mental health service use by individuals without a diagnosed mental disorder is sometimes termed 'met un-need'. However, provision of services for this group may be necessary to provide appropriate assessment, referral and early intervention. This study quantified child and adolescent use of, and perceived need for, mental health services to inform population-level service planning.

Counting Differently: Assessing Mathematics Achievement of Signing Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children Through a Unique Lens.

Limited studies exist that connect using signed language with mathematics performance of deaf and hard of hearing children. In the present study, the authors examined 257 participants and compared their results on the Northwest Evaluation Association: Measures of Academic Progress (NWEA MAP) to their results on an assessment of American Sign Language (ASL) skills. It was found that better ASL skills tended to result in better MAP performance.

A New Stepping-Stone on the Path to Mathematics Success for DHH Learners.

Coeditors of a special issue of the American Annals of the Deaf on mathematics instruction in deaf education, the authors provide a context for the five featured articles. First, the authors establish the importance of mathematics. They then give a historical account of previously related "stepping-stones.

Beta-blocker choice and exchangeability in patients with heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: an Italian register-based cohort study.

Clinical guidelines suggest that for patients with heart failure and concurrent chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), metoprolol/bisoprolol/nebivolol should be preferred over carvedilol. However, studies suggest a high proportion of carvedilol usage that remains unexplained. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the predictors of carvedilol choice in patients with heart failure and COPD that were naïve to carvedilol or metoprolol/bisoprolol/nebivolol.

Usability of American Sign Language Videos for Presenting Mathematics Assessment Content.

There is considerable interest in determining whether high-quality American Sign Language videos can be used as an accommodation in tests of mathematics at both K-12 and postsecondary levels; and in learning more about the usability (e.g., comprehensibility) of ASL videos with two different types of signers - avatar (animated figure) and human.

[Evaluation of therapeutical appropriateness in psychiatric treatment of schizophrenia, by integrating computer data records with clinical audit results].

Aim: The aim is to evaluate prescriptive patterns of atypical antipsychotic drugs for the treatment of schizophrenia in the LHU Caserta in 2011-2013, and to indicate potentially inappropriate therapy; to plan or schedule corrective/preventive activities to support the continuous improvement of health services.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study, based on integration of health records and clinical audit. The study was performed in the following steps: data retrieval and analysis; comparison of data with international literature; editing of the Diagnostic-Therapeutic Path.

Indications of newer and older anti-epileptic drug use: findings from a southern Italian general practice setting from 2005-2011.

Aims: The aim of the study was to analyze the prescribing pattern of both newer and older AEDs.

Methods: A population of almost 150 000 individuals registered with 123 general practitioners was included in this study. Patients who received at least one AED prescription over 2005-2011 were identified.

Pattern of statin use in southern italian primary care: can prescription databases be used for monitoring long-term adherence to the treatment?

Objectives: We sought to evaluate the prescribing pattern of statins according to national and regional health policy interventions and to assess specifically the adherence to the therapy in outpatient setting in Southern Italy.

Methods: A population-based study was performed on persons ≥15 years old, living in the catchment area of Caserta (Southern Italy), and registered in Arianna database between 2004 and 2010. Prevalence and incidence of new treatments with statins were calculated for each year and stratified by drug.

Technology use among adults who are deaf and hard of hearing: a national survey.

As society becomes increasingly more dependent on technology, information regarding the use, preference, and accessibility of commonly used devices and services among individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) is crucial. Developing technologies that are functional and appropriately accessible allows persons who are DHH to fully participate in society, education, and business while also providing opportunities for personal and professional advancement. Although a few international studies have addressed the technology use of individuals who are DHH, none exist that focus on the needs, preferences, and accessibility of current Internet- and mobile-based technologies.

The Math Gap: a description of the mathematics performance of preschool-aged deaf/hard-of-hearing children.

Over decades and across grade levels, deaf/hard-of-hearing (d/hh) student performance in mathematics has shown a gap in achievement. It is unclear, however, exactly when this gap begins to emerge and in what areas. This study describes preschool d/hh children's knowledge of early mathematics concepts.

An intervention for early mathematical success: outcomes from the hybrid version of the Building Math Readiness Parents as Partners (MRPP) project.

The Building Math Readiness in Young Deaf/Hard-of- Hearing Children: Parents as Partners (MRPP) Project works with parents to increase the understanding of foundational mathematics concepts in their preschool deaf/hard-of-hearing (d/hh) children in preparation for formal mathematics education. A multiple-case/single-unit case study incorporating descriptive statistics and grounded theory analysis was conducted on the hybrid version of the intervention. Results showed productive changes in parental behaviors indicating a possible positive effect on parent knowledge, recognition, and mediation of early matthematics concepts with their young d/hh children.

Deaf and hard of hearing students' problem-solving strategies with signed arithmetic story problems.

The use of problem-solving strategies by 59 deaf and hard of hearing children, grades K-3, was investigated. The children were asked to solve 9 arithmetic story problems presented to them in American Sign Language. The researchers found that while the children used the same general types of strategies that are used by hearing children (i.

Factors predicting recall of mathematics terms by deaf students: implications for teaching.

In this study of deaf high school students, imagery and familiarity were found to be the best predictors of geometry word recall, whereas neither concreteness nor signability of the terms was a significant predictor variable. Recall of high imagery terms was significantly better than for low imagery terms, and the same result was found for high- over low-familiarity and signability. Concrete terms were recalled significantly better than abstract terms.

The relative difficulty of signed arithmetic story problems for primary level deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

This study determines the relative difficulty and associated strategy use of arithmetic (addition and subtraction) story problems when presented in American Sign Language to primary level (K-3) deaf and hard-of-hearing students. Results showed that deaf and hard-of-hearing students may consider and respond to arithmetic story problems differently than their hearing peers, with the critical dimension in problem difficulty being based on the operation typically used to solve the problem, not the story within the problem. The types of strategies used by the students supported the order of problem difficulty.

Discrete mathematics in deaf education: a survey of teachers' knowledge and use.

The study documents what deaf education teachers know about discrete mathematics topics and determines if these topics are present in the mathematics curriculum. Survey data were collected from 290 mathematics teachers at center and public school programs serving a minimum of 120 students with hearing loss, grades K-8 or K-12, in the United States. Findings indicate that deaf education teachers are familiar with many discrete mathematics topics but do not include them in instruction because they consider the concepts too complicated for their students.

Story problems in the deaf education classroom: frequency and mode of presentation.

Over the past decade, curricular reform in mathematics education has emphasized the use of problem solving at all levels of instruction for all students, but adaptations for students with unique needs have not been specified. This study investigated the nature of problem solving in deaf education, focusing in particular on the use of story problems in the primary-level curriculum. Approximately 90% of the K-3 teachers from five schools for the deaf were asked with what frequency and in which communication mode they presented story problems to their students.

Mathematics word problem solving for deaf students: a survey of practices in grades 6-12.

One hundred and thirty-three mathematics teachers of deaf students from grades 6-12 responded to a survey on mathematics word problem-solving practices. Half the respondents were teachers from center schools and the other half from mainstream programs. The latter group represented both integrated and self-contained classes.