Change in Dental Visits Among Eligible Children Under the Impact of the Child Dental Benefits Schedule in Australia.

Objectives: In Australia, although there have been some improvements, child oral health continues to be a major public health issue. The Australian Government introduced the means-tested Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS) in 2014 to support access to dental services for children and adolescents aged 0-17 years from low-income families. There is a lack of evidence documenting whether the CDBS improved the dental attendance rate.

A mixed-methods study of staff perspectives on the barriers and facilitators to the implementation of patient-reported routine outcome measures and feedback in alcohol and other drug treatment.

Introduction: Preliminary evidence supports the use of patient-reported outcome measures (PROM) and feedback for enhancing client outcomes in alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment. However, successful implementation remains challenging. This mixed-methods study applied the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) framework to examine inner setting and staff characteristics that act as barriers and facilitators to the implementation of PROMs in AOD treatment.

Genetic kidney disease has a higher likelihood and cost of inpatient admissions compared to other aetiologies.

Purpose: There is increasing recognition of monogenic aetiologies for kidney disease. We sought to identify whether genetic kidney disease (GKD) has distinct hospitalization patterns compared to other forms of chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Methods: Health service utilization analysis was undertaken in a CKD cohort study across public hospital services in Queensland, Australia.

Origins and developmental paths of medical conditions from mid-childhood to mid-adolescence in Australia: Early-life adverse conditions and their lasting effects.

This study investigates various common medical conditions affecting Australian children aged 4-14 years and the impact of prenatal and early-life conditions on these health conditions using a large national data set (n = 4122) with 15 years of follow-up. Consistent with the developmental origins of health and diseases hypothesis and the life-course models of health, the environment and parental financial hardship during pregnancy and shortly after birth play a significant role and have a lasting impact on the medical conditions of children. These significant effects are not reduced by controlling for child, family, and neighbourhood characteristics.

Accuracy of self-reported private health insurance coverage.

Studies on health insurance coverage often rely on measures self-reported by respondents, but the accuracy of such measures has not been thoroughly validated. This paper is the first to use linked Australian National Health Survey and administrative population tax data to explore the accuracy of self-reported private health insurance (PHI) coverage in survey data. We find that 11.

Implementation of a risk-stratified, guideline-based clinical pathway of care to improve health outcomes following whiplash injury (Whiplash ImPaCT): a multicentre, randomized, controlled trial.

Current pathways of care for whiplash follow a "stepped care model," result in modest treatment outcomes and fail to offer efficient management solutions. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a risk-stratified clinical pathway of care (CPC) compared with usual care (UC) in people with acute whiplash. We conducted a multicentre, 2-arm, parallel, randomised, controlled trial in primary care in Australia.

Interventions for improving clinical outcomes and health-related quality-of-life for people living with skeletal dysplasias: an evidence gap map.

Purpose: Skeletal dysplasias are rare genetic disorders that are characterized by abnormal development of bone and cartilage. There are multiple medical and non-medical treatments for specific symptoms of skeletal dysplasias e.g.

Recommendations for a core outcome measurement set for clinical trials in whiplash associated disorders.

Inconsistent reporting of outcomes in clinical trials of treatments for whiplash associated disorders (WAD) hinders effective data pooling and conclusions about treatment effectiveness. A multidisciplinary International Steering Committee recently recommended 6 core outcome domains: Physical Functioning, Perceived Recovery, Work and Social Functioning, Psychological Functioning, Quality of Life and Pain. This study aimed to reach consensus and recommend a core outcome set (COS) representing each of the 6 domains.

The impact of posttraumatic stress disorder on upper gastrointestinal investigations in Australian Defence Force veterans: a retrospective review.

Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) commonly exhibit associated gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. We compared upper GI endoscopy and abdominal ultrasound rates in veterans with and without PTSD. Veterans with PTSD were 77-81% more likely to undergo these procedures than those without PTSD.

Post-traumatic stress disorder is associated with a higher rate of polypectomy independent of an increased frequency of colonoscopy in Australian veterans: a retrospective review.

Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with extensive physical comorbidities, including lower gastrointestinal symptoms. Diagnostic uncertainty and poor therapeutic responses may result in more frequent colonoscopies than clinically necessary. Polypectomy is standard practice when polyps are identified, and if PTSD is a risk factor for polyp formation, one would expect a higher rate of polyp detection and removal in veterans with PTSD than those without PTSD.

Supply-side solutions targeting demand-side characteristics: causal effects of a chronic disease management program on adherence and health outcomes.

We estimate the effects of a chronic disease management program (CDMP) which adapts various supply-side interventions to specific demand-side conditions (disease-staging) for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Using a unique dataset on the entire population of the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy with hospital-diagnosed CKD, we estimate the causal effects of the CDMP on adherence indicators and health outcomes. As CKD is a progressive disease with clearly-defined disease stages and a treatment regimen that can be titrated by disease severity, we calculate dynamic, severity-specific, indicators of adherence as well as several long-term health outcomes.

Implementation of a novel stratified PAthway of CarE for common musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions in primary care: protocol for a multicentre pragmatic randomised controlled trial (the PACE MSK trial).

Introduction: Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions constitute the highest burden of disease globally, with healthcare services often utilised inappropriately and overburdened. The aim of this trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of a novel clinical PAthway of CarE programme (PACE programme), where care is provided based on people's risk of poor outcome.

Methods And Analysis: Multicentre randomised controlled trial.

Identification of factors associated with high-cost use of inpatient care in chronic kidney disease: a registry study.

Objective: To explore factors behind inpatient admissions by high-cost users (HCUs) in pre-end-stage chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Design: Retrospective analysis of CKD.QLD Registry and hospital admissions of the Queensland Government Department of Health recorded between 1 July 2011 and 30 June 2016.

Impact of pharmacist and physician collaborations in primary care on reducing readmission to hospital: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Readmissions to hospital due to medication-related problems are common and may be preventable. Pharmacists act to optimise use of medicines during care transitions from hospital to community.

Objective: To assess the impact of pharmacist-led interventions, which include communication with a primary care physician (PCP) on reducing hospital readmissions.

A randomised controlled trial of implementation of a guideline-based clinical pathway of care to improve health outcomes following whiplash injury (Whiplash ImPaCT): Statistical analysis plan.

Background: Statistical analysis plans describe the processes of data handling and analysis in clinical trials; by doing so they increase the transparency of the analysis and reporting of studies. This paper reports the planned statistical analysis plan for the Whiplash ImPaCT study. For individuals with whiplash injury, Whiplash ImPaCT aims to assess the effectiveness of a guidelines-based clinical pathway of care compared with usual care.

Pregabalin vs placebo to prevent chronic pain after whiplash injury in at-risk individuals: results of a feasibility study for a large randomised controlled trial.

There are few effective treatments for acute whiplash-associated disorders (WADs). Early features of central sensitisation predict poor recovery. The effect of pregabalin on central sensitisation might prevent chronic pain after acute whiplash injury.

Weather and children's time allocation.

This paper presents the first causal estimates of the effect of weather on children's time allocation. It exploits exogenous variations in local weather observed during the random diary dates of two nationally representative cohorts of Australian children whose time-use diaries were surveyed biennially over 10 years. Unfavorable weather conditions, as represented by cold or hot temperature or rain, cause children to switch activities from outdoors to indoors, mainly by reducing the time allocated to active pursuits and travel and increasing the time allocated to media.

Reducing Medical Admissions and Presentations Into Hospital through Optimising Medicines (REMAIN HOME): a stepped wedge, cluster randomised controlled trial.

Objective: To investigate whether integrating pharmacists into general practices reduces the number of unplanned re-admissions of patients recently discharged from hospital.

Design, Setting: Stepped wedge, cluster randomised trial in 14 general practices in southeast Queensland.

Participants: Adults discharged from one of seven study hospitals during the seven days preceding recruitment (22 May 2017 - 14 March 2018) and prescribed five or more long term medicines, or having a primary discharge diagnosis of congestive heart failure or exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Who's declining the "free lunch"? New evidence from the uptake of public child dental benefits.

This study provides the first evidence on the determinants of uptake of two recent public dental benefit programs for Australian children and adolescents from disadvantaged families. Using longitudinal data from a nationally representative survey linked to administrative data with accurate information on eligibility and uptake, we find that only a third of all eligible families actually claim their benefits. We provide new and robust evidence consistent with the idea advanced by recent economic literature that cognitive biases and behavioral factors are barriers to uptake.

Sustainability of Publicly Funded Health Care Systems: What Does Behavioural Economics Offer?

There has been a rapid increase in the use of behavioural economics (BE) as a tool for policy makers to deploy, including in health-related applications. While this development has occurred over the past decade, health care systems have continued to struggle with escalating costs. We consider the potential role of BE for making improvements to health care system performance and the sustainability of publicly funded health care systems, in particular.

Answers in search of questions: what does the comparison of COVID19 data among regions in Northern Italy tell us?

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, discussions about the capabilities of health and social systems to control and contain infectious diseases have been reignited. In Resilient Managed Competition During Pandemics: Lessons from the Italian Experience, Costa-Font, Turatti and Levaggi ask whether or not institutional differences between the managed competition (MC) systems in three of Italy's regions may have affected their performance - and hence, population health outcomes - during the pandemic. Fuchs (2000) previously argued that institutional arrangements not only 'matter', but also sometimes 'matter a great deal' (p.