The Legal Needs of People Living with a Sexually Transmissible Infection or Blood-Borne Virus: Perspectives From a Sample of the Australian Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Workforce.

Law and the legal environment are important factors in the epidemiology and prevention of sexually transmissible infections (STIs) and blood-borne viruses (BBVs). However, there has been no sustained effort to monitor the legal environment surrounding STIs and BBVs. This article presents the first data on the incidence and impacts of unmet legal needs for those affected by an STI or BBV in Australia using a survey administered to a sample of the Australian sexual health and BBV workforce.

Regulating Health Care Safety: Enforcement and Responsibility Attribution in Response to Iatrogenic Harm.

The regulation of health care safety is undertaken in the name of the public and is motivated and justified by their protection. This regulatory action generates debate concerning the proper limits of responsibility attribution and enforcement, while the actions and opinion - both imagined and real - of the public loom large in this field. However, there exists limited knowledge of public opinion on key aspects of health care safety enforcement and responsibility attribution following iatrogenic harm.

Primary care experience of older Australians with chronic illness.

This large (>1000) cross-sectional study investigates patient-reported primary care experiences of older people with chronic illness. Previous research has found that approximately half of patients with chronic illness receive optimal chronic illness care and outcomes in Australian general practice. A survey was administered via a double opt-in panel method to people aged ≥55 years who have one or more self-reported major chronic diseases (diabetes and/or chronic heart, kidney, lung, mental health and/or musculoskeletal conditions).

Procedural sedation in children with autism spectrum disorders in the emergency department.

Background And Objectives: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) present more frequently to the emergency department (ED) than children with normal development, and frequently have injuries requiring procedural sedation. Our objective was to describe sedation practice and outcomes in children with ASD in the ED.

Methods: We performed a retrospective chart review of children with ASD who underwent sedation at two tertiary care EDs between January 2009-December 2016.

Chronic disease management support in Australian workplaces-low base, rising need.

Issue Addressed: This study investigates the current nature, levels and perceived need for workplace support among mature age Australian workers with chronic illness.

Methods: A cross-sectional population survey was conducted via a double opt-in panel sample of Australian workers aged 45 years and older with one or more of six major chronic diseases (diabetes and/or chronic heart, kidney, lung, mental health and/or musculoskeletal conditions).

Results: Three hundred and fourteen respondents reported being in the workforce and having at least one of the chronic conditions under investigation, of which almost one third reported having more than one of the conditions.

Strong Short-Range Cooperativity in Hydrogen-Bond Chains.

Chains of hydrogen bonds such as those found in water and proteins are often presumed to be more stable than the sum of the individual H bonds. However, the energetics of cooperativity are complicated by solvent effects and the dynamics of intermolecular interactions, meaning that information on cooperativity typically is derived from theory or indirect structural data. Herein, we present direct measurements of energetic cooperativity in an experimental system in which the geometry and the number of H bonds in a chain were systematically controlled.

HIV awareness in China among women of reproductive age (1997-2005): a decomposition analysis.

HIV prevalence in China is less than one per cent, but the absolute number of people living with HIV/AIDS is large and growing. Given the limited scope of any potential cure for HIV, prevention plays a crucial role in controlling the epidemic. This paper examines the evolution of HIV awareness among women in China between 1997 and 2005.

Reweighting the general household survey 1979-2007.

We have calculated two new sets of weights applicable to the General Household Survey (GHS) from 1979 to 2007. One of these is for use with any general analysis of GHS topics and the second is designed for analyses of data collected in the Family Information section. The methods used follow closely those employed by ONS from 1996 onwards.

A multilevel analysis of the effects of a reproductive health programme that encouraged informed choice of contraceptive method rather than use of officially preferred methods, China 2003-2005.

Historically, the Chinese government's family planning (FP) policy has emphasized post-partum IUD use after first birth and sterilization after subsequent births. Was the influence of this policy-driven programme on women's contraceptive choices weakened by a reproductive health intervention programme based on the idea of enabling and encouraging clients to make an informed choice? Multilevel analyses of cross-sectional data from baseline (2003) and endline (2005) surveys conducted as part of the evaluation of a large-scale UNFPA RH/FP programme show significant reductions in the uptake of methods emphasized by official policy between the two surveys. But county-level effects are highly significant, suggesting the continuation of a strong exogenous influence on women's choices.

Disentangling the complex association between female genital cutting and HIV among Kenyan women.

Female genital cutting (FGC) is a widespread cultural practice in Africa and the Middle East, with a number of potential adverse health consequences for women. It was hypothesized by Kun (1997) that FGC increases the risk of HIV transmission through a number of different mechanisms. Using the 2003 data from the Kenyan Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS), this study investigates the potential association between FGC and HIV.

On the spatial inequalities of institutional versus home births in Ghana: a multilevel analysis.

Spatial inequalities related to the choice of delivery care have not been studied systematically in Sub-Saharan Africa where maternal and perinatal health outcomes continue to worsen despite a range of safe motherhood interventions. Using retrospective data from the 1998 and 2003 Demographic and Health Surveys, this paper investigates the extent of changes in spatial inequalities associated with type of delivery care in Ghana with a focus on rural-urban differentials within and across the three ecological zones (Savannah, Forest and Coastal). More than one-half of births in Ghana continue to occur outside health institutions without any skilled obstetric care.

Delivery settings and caesarean section rates in China.

Objective: To quantify the influence of increasing use of health-care services on rising rates of caesarean section in China.

Methods: We used data from a population-based survey conducted by the United Nations Population Fund during September 2003 in 30 selected counties in three regions of China. The study sample (derived from birth history schedule) consisted of 3803 births to mothers aged less than 40 years between 1993 and 2002.

Dyspareunia, urinary sensory symptoms, and incontinence among young Chinese women.

This study examined the prevalence of dyspareunia, urinary sensory symptoms, and urinary incontinence and explored their associations among sexually active Chinese women aged 15-34 years. Data from 3,150 women were analyzed from a survey undertaken during 2003 in 30 counties in China as part of the United Nations Population Fund Country Program. The overall prevalence of dyspareunia was 4.