Australian Aboriginal children have higher hospitalization rates for otitis media but lower surgical procedures than non-Aboriginal children: A record linkage population-based cohort study.

Introduction: Otitis media (OM) is one of the most common infectious diseases affecting children globally and the most common reason for antibiotic prescription and paediatric surgery. Australian Aboriginal children have higher rates of OM than non-Aboriginal children; however, there are no data comparing OM hospitalization rates between them at the population level. We report temporal trends for OM hospitalizations and in-hospital tympanostomy tube insertion (TTI) in a cohort of 469,589 Western Australian children born between 1996 and 2012.

A protracted mumps outbreak in Western Australia despite high vaccine coverage: a population-based surveillance study.

Background: In 2007-08, a genotype J mumps outbreak occurred among Aboriginal people in northern Western Australia, despite high vaccine coverage. In March, 2015, a second protracted mumps outbreak occurred in northern Western Australia and spread widely across rural areas of the state. This time the outbreak was caused by a genotype G virus and again primarily affected Aboriginal people.

Continuous active surveillance of adverse events following immunisation using SMS technology.

Introduction: On-going post-licensure surveillance of adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) is critical to detecting and responding to potentially serious adverse events in a timely manner. SmartVax is a vaccine safety monitoring tool that uses automated data extraction from existing practice management software and short message service (SMS) technology to follow-up vaccinees in real-time. We report on childhood vaccine safety surveillance using SmartVax at a medical practice in Perth, Western Australia.

Talking About The Smokes: a large-scale, community-based participatory research project.

Objective: To describe the Talking About The Smokes (TATS) project according to the World Health Organization guiding principles for conducting community-based participatory research (PR) involving indigenous peoples, to assist others planning large-scale PR projects.

Design, Setting And Participants: The TATS project was initiated in Australia in 2010 as part of the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project, and surveyed a representative sample of 2522 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults to assess the impact of tobacco control policies. The PR process of the TATS project, which aimed to build partnerships to create equitable conditions for knowledge production, was mapped and summarised onto a framework adapted from the WHO principles.

Standardising and assessing digital images for use in clinical trials: a practical, reproducible method that blinds the assessor to treatment allocation.

With the increasing availability of high quality digital cameras that are easily operated by the non-professional photographer, the utility of using digital images to assess endpoints in clinical research of skin lesions has growing acceptance. However, rigorous protocols and description of experiences for digital image collection and assessment are not readily available, particularly for research conducted in remote settings. We describe the development and evaluation of a protocol for digital image collection by the non-professional photographer in a remote setting research trial, together with a novel methodology for assessment of clinical outcomes by an expert panel blinded to treatment allocation.

Reducing smoking among indigenous populations: new evidence from a review of trials.

Introduction: Previous reviews have concluded that to be effective, evidence-based tobacco control interventions should be culturally adapted to indigenous populations. We undertook a systematic review to critically examine this hitherto conclusion.

Methods: We searched MEDLINE, PsychInfo, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases from 1980 to May 2012 for controlled trials.

Starting to smoke: a qualitative study of the experiences of Australian indigenous youth.

Background: Adult smoking has its roots in adolescence. If individuals do not initiate smoking during this period it is unlikely they ever will. In high income countries, smoking rates among Indigenous youth are disproportionately high.