Changes in Pain and Mental Health Symptoms Associated with Prescribed Medicinal Cannabis Use: A One-Year Longitudinal Study.

Chronic pain and mental health issues like depression and anxiety significantly contribute to disease burden in Western countries. While cannabinoids are suggested to have analgesic, anxiolytic and antidepressant properties, evidence, especially for long-term use, is inconclusive. This 12-month observational study evaluated the effects of prescribed medicinal cannabis for 96 patients suffering from pain, as well as sleep disturbances, depression and anxiety.

Mental and neurodevelopmental health needs of Aboriginal children with experience of out-of-home care: a Western Australian data-linkage study.

Objective: To identify additional mental and neurodevelopmental health needs of Aboriginal children born in Western Australia, who are placed in out-of-home care (OOHC), relative to Aboriginal children born in Western Australia who were not placed.

Methods: Data-linkage of hospitalisations, health registries and child protective services data for all Aboriginal children born in WA between 2000 and 2013 was used. Children placed in out-of-home care between 2000 and 2019 were matched to children never placed and prevalence and cumulative incidence estimates of mental and neurodevelopmental health conditions were compared.

Intersectoral collaboration for supporting the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal families and children in out-of-home care: perspectives from Western Australian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations.

Introduction: Western Australia has one of the highest rates of Aboriginal children entering out-of-home care in Australia. Kinship care is the preferred culturally safe out-of-home care option for Aboriginal children, yet all jurisdictions, including Western Australia, are far from meeting best-practice national standards. Intersectoral collaboration is a key primary healthcare principle and internationally recognized for improving health systems and outcomes.

The impact of humanitarian emergencies on adolescent boys: Findings from the Rohingya refugee crisis.

Adolescent boys (age 9-19) are impacted differently by humanitarian emergencies. However, academic research on adolescent health and child protection has tended to focus on the direct impacts of an emergency rather than indirect impacts that may arise after a crisis. We sought to identify child protection concerns affecting adolescent boys in emergency settings and boys who are more vulnerable to harm through a case study of the humanitarian response to the 2017 Rohingya refugee crisis.

The health of people attending residential treatment for alcohol and other drug use: Prevalence of and risks for major lifestyle diseases.

Introduction: Cardiovascular disease and cancers are the leading cause of mortality amongst people accessing treatment for alcohol and other drug use. The current study aimed to examine risk factors for chronic disease amongst people attending residential alcohol and other drug treatment services.

Methods: Participants (N = 325) were attending residential alcohol and other drug treatment services across Australia.

Changes in mental health, wellbeing and personality following ayahuasca consumption: Results of a naturalistic longitudinal study.

Naturalistic and placebo-controlled studies suggest ayahuasca, a potent psychedelic beverage originating from Indigenous Amazonian tradition, may improve mental health, alter personality structure, and reduce alcohol and drug intake. To better understand ayahuasca's therapeutic potential and to identify factors that influence therapeutic efficacy, we conducted a naturalistic, longitudinal study of facilitated ayahuasca consumption in naïve participants using a comprehensive battery of self-report questionnaires. Ayahuasca naive individuals registering for ayahuasca ceremonies were asked to complete a range of validated questionnaires assessing mental health, alcohol/cannabis use, relationships, personality, and connection to self and spirituality, prior to and 1 month after attending an ayahuasca ceremony.

Perspectives, understandings of dementia and lived experiences from Australian Aboriginal people in Western Australia.

Objective: We explored understandings about dementia and lived experiences from carers among community-dwelling Aboriginal people in Western Australia (WA).

Methods: In partnership with Aboriginal medical services in WA, we conducted semi-structured interviews with Aboriginal people in Perth and Bunbury. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and coded thematically.

The internet as non-biomedical milieu: Production of alternative health techno-social spaces and the persistence of marginalised medical practices.

This paper describes how spatial understandings of the internet (i.e. the internet is a 'space') enable the persistence of marginalised medical practices.

Can public health policies on alcohol and tobacco reduce a cancer epidemic? Australia's experience.

Background: Although long-term alcohol and tobacco use have widely been recognised as important risk factors for cancer, the impacts of alcohol and tobacco health policies on cancer mortality have not been examined in previous studies. This study aims to estimate the association of key alcohol and tobacco policy or events in Australia with changes in overall and five specific types of cancer mortality between the 1950s and 2013.

Methods: Annual population-based time-series data between 1911 and 2013 on per capita alcohol and tobacco consumption and head and neck (lip, oral cavity, pharynx, larynx and oesophagus), lung, breast, colorectum and anus, liver and total cancer mortality data from the 1950s to 2013 were collected from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and Cancer Council Victoria, the WHO Cancer Mortality Database and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

Inequalities in the Age of Universal Health Coverage: Young Chileans with Diabetes Negotiating for Their Right to Health.

While universal health coverage (UHC) has been praised as a powerful means to reduce inequalities and improve access to health globally, little has been said about how patients experience and understand its implementation locally. In this article, we explore the experiences of young Chileans with type 1 diabetes when seeking care in Santiago, within Chile's UHC program, which sought to improve people's access to health care. We argue that the implementation of UHC, within a structurally fragmented health system, did not lead to the promised equitable health care delivery.

Young Thai People's Exposure to Alcohol Portrayals in Society and the Media: A Qualitative Study for Policy Implications.

Background: Although previous quantitative studies have documented the association between exposure to alcohol portrayals and drinking attitudes in Western countries, few qualitative studies have explored this matter in Thailand. A better understanding of the association in young Thais is required for a more efficient alcohol policy development. This study aims to explore the information young Thais have learnt from exposure to alcohol portrayals in society and the media, examine how this exposure shapes their drinking attitudes, and investigate the alignment of policy-makers' views on drinking with those of young people.

Brand advertising and brand sharing of alcoholic and non-alcoholic products, and the effects on young Thai people's attitudes towards alcohol use: A qualitative focus group study.

Introduction And Aims: The dominant Thai alcohol companies have strategically employed brand advertising and brand sharing (using a very similar branding for both alcoholic and non-alcoholic products) to circumvent restrictive alcohol advertising regulations. As empirical evidence confirms that exposure to alcohol advertisements increases youth drinking, young Thais could be at risk of constant and incidental exposure to alcohol advertising, hence leading to increased alcohol consumption. This study aims to explore young people's perceptions of these alcohol branding strategies and to examine how exposure to such advertising strategies affect their attitudes towards alcohol use.

Temporal Associations of Alcohol and Tobacco Consumption With Cancer Mortality.

Importance: Understanding whether the population-level consumption of alcohol and tobacco is associated with cancer mortality is a crucial question for public health policy that has not been answered by previous studies.

Objective: To examine temporal associations of alcohol and tobacco consumption with overall cancer mortality in the Australian population, looking across different sex and age groups.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This population-based cohort study conducted a time series analysis (autoregressive integrated moving average models) using aggregate-level annual time series data from multiple sources.

A qualitative exploration of the Thai alcohol policy in regulating alcohol industry's marketing strategies and commercial activities.

Introduction And Aims: The recognition of the association between the use of alcohol and negative health outcomes have led to the endorsement of the World Health Organization's global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol. Given the capacities, capabilities and sociocultural contexts of Thailand, this study aims to examine the Thai alcohol policy against the global strategy's recommended policy measures for marketing control and identify areas for further policy development.

Design And Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the stakeholders from three sectors: the government, academia and civil society.

Seeking Help for Harm from Others' Drinking in Five Asian Countries: Variation Between Societies, by Type of Harm and by Source of Help.

Aims: This study aims to measure the prevalence rates and patterns of help-seeking behavior as a consequence of being harmed by drinkers in five Asian countries (India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Lao PDR and Thailand).

Methods: A total of 9832 respondents aged 18-65 years from the WHO/ThaiHealth Collaborative Project were surveyed between 2012 and 2014 about their experiences of being negatively affected due to another's drinking, and whether and where they sought help, focusing on four adverse aspects of harms from others' drinking.

Results: The prevalence of seeking help from any source in the past year due to harm from others' drinking ranged from 7% to 20%.

Re-thinking the health benefits of outstations in remote Indigenous Australia.

The small, decentralised communities, known as outstations which satellite larger Indigenous Australian remote communities have often been conceptualised as places that are beneficial to health and well-being. This paper provides an exploration of the meaning of an outstation for one family and the benefits that this connection brings to them, which are expressed in a deep connection to the land, continuing relationships with ancestors and a safe refuge from the stresses of the larger community. We argue that the outstation provides a place for people to be in control of their lives and form hopes and plans for the future.

A qualitative exploration of Thai alcohol policy in regulating availability and access.

Background: Despite abundant alcohol control regulations and measures in Thailand, prevalence of alcohol consumption has been relatively steady for the past decade and alcohol-related harm remains high. This study aims to explore, through the perspectives of key public health stakeholders, the current performance of regulations controlling alcohol availability and access, and the future directions for the implementation of Thai alcohol policy.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with public health stakeholders from three sectors; the government, academia and civil society.

Harm from others' drinking-related aggression, violence and misconduct in five Asian countries and the implications.

Background: Harm from alcohol-attributable aggression and violence is linked to diminished personal safety and reduced physical and mental health and wellbeing in many countries. But there has been limited evidence on these harms in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This study measured harm from others' drinking-related aggression, violence and misconduct in five Asian LMICs (Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Vietnam, and Lao PDR), aiming to compare the magnitude and pattern of harm across countries by gender, age group, educational level, rurality, and country-level indicators.

Living the Social Determinants of Health: Assemblages in a Remote Aboriginal Community.

This article provides a critical discussion of the social determinants of health framework and compares it with theoretical perspectives, such as that offered by assemblage theory, offering an alternative view of the complex interplay between human relationships and the structures around us. We offer an ethnographic perspective, discussing the lived experiences of the social determinants in an Indigenous community in a remote part of northern Australia.

The involvement of patient organisations in rare disease research: a mixed methods study in Australia.

Background: We report here selected findings from a mixed-methods study investigating the role of Australian rare disease patient organisations (RDPOs) in research. Despite there being many examples of RDPOs that have initiated and supported significant scientific advances, there is little information - and none at all in Australia - about RDPOs generally, and their research-related goals, activities, and experiences. This information is a pre-requisite for understanding what RDPOs bring to research and how their involvement could be strengthened.

Developing a best practice pathway to support improvements in Indigenous Australians' mental health and well-being: a qualitative study.

Objective: There is a need to adapt pathways to care to promote access to mental health services for Indigenous people in Australia. This study explored Indigenous community and service provider perspectives of well-being and ways to promote access to care for Indigenous people at risk of depressive illness.

Design: A participatory action research framework was used to inform the development of an agreed early intervention pathway; thematic analysis

Setting: 2 remote communities in the Northern Territory.

Norwegian general practitioners' perspectives on implementation of a guided web-based cognitive behavioral therapy for depression: a qualitative study.

Background: Previous research suggests that Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (ICBT) has a positive effect on symptoms of depression. ICBT appears to be more effective with therapist support, but it is unclear what this support should comprise. General practitioners (GPs) have positive attitudes toward ICBT.

'Young clean and safe?' Young people's perceptions of risk from sexually transmitted infections in regional, rural and remote Australia.

This paper examines young people's perceived vulnerability to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and their efforts to create a sense of personal safety within an environment in which risks may be high and where STIs are highly stigmatised. The paper reports on findings from research involving both Indigenous and non-Indigenous 16- to 25-year-olds from remote, rural and regional Australia, including communities in the Northern Territory, Western Australia and South Australia. The study used qualitative methods, including body mapping and scenario based interviewing, to explore how young people made decisions about potential sexual partners and how STIs were understood within the context of young people's everyday social worlds.