"I Know How to Advocate": Parents' Experiences in Advocating for Children and Youth Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Background: Parental advocacy is a dynamic process that changes depending on the circumstances and needs of the child and parent. Communication deficits related to an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis often necessitate parental advocacy. This study describes how parents and caregivers of children and youth diagnosed with ASD engage in parental advocacy, the challenges they encounter and the advocacy skills they develop.

Cost analysis and critical success factors of the use of oxygen concentrators versus cylinders in sub-divisional hospitals in Fiji.

Background: Oxygen is vital in the treatment of illnesses in children and adults, yet is lacking in many low and middle-income countries health care settings. Oxygen concentrators (OCs) can increase access to oxygen, compared to conventional oxygen cylinders. We investigated the costs and critical success factors of OCs in three hospitals in Fiji, and extrapolated these to estimate the oxygen delivery cost to all Sub-Divisional hospitals (SDH) nationwide.

Identifying cases of chronic pain using health administrative data: A validation study.

Background: Most prevalence estimates of chronic pain are derived from surveys and vary widely, both globally (2%-54%) and in Canada (6.5%-44%). Health administrative data are increasingly used for chronic disease surveillance, but their validity as a source to ascertain chronic pain cases is understudied.

Longitudinal examination of youth readmission to mental health inpatient units.

Objective: Significant barriers exist for youth in obtaining mental health services. These barriers are exacerbated by growing demand, attributed partially to children and adolescents who have repeat hospital admissions. The purpose of this study was to identify demographic, socioeconomic and clinical predictors of readmission to inpatient psychiatric services in New Brunswick, Canada.

"Managing the Wait": Parents' Experiences in Accessing Diagnostic and Treatment Services for Children and Adolescents Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Background: Parents of children and adolescents diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) report delays in accessing timely diagnostic and treatment services for their children. Research has generally focused on parents' experiences in caring for a child diagnosed with ASD. This study describes the process of how parents access ASD services for their children and adolescents.

Associations of Prenatal and Childhood Antibiotic Exposure With Obesity at Age 4 Years.

Importance: Although antibiotics are associated with obesity in animal models, the evidence in humans is conflicting.

Objective: To assess whether antibiotic exposure during pregnancy and/or early childhood is associated with the development of childhood obesity, focusing particularly on siblings and twins.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cross-sectional national study included 284 211 participants (132 852 mothers and 151 359 children) in New Zealand.

A dynamic, multi-professional, needs-based simulation model to inform human resources for health planning.

Background: As population health needs become more complex, addressing those needs increasingly requires the knowledge, skills, and judgment of multiple types of human resources for health (HRH) working interdependently. A growing emphasis on team-delivered health care is evident in several jurisdictions, including those in Canada. However, the most commonly used HRH planning models across Canada and other countries lack the capacity to plan for more than one type of HRH in an integrated manner.

Child obesity prevalence across communities in New Zealand: 2010-2016.

Objective: To assess community-level differences in four-year-old obesity prevalence in New Zealand (NZ), trends over time, and the extent to which differences can be explained by ethnicity, deprivation and urbanicity.

Methods: Obesity measures from the Ministry of Health's B4 School Check were available for 72-92% of NZ four-year-olds for fiscal years 2010/11-2015/16. Ethnicity, deprivation and urbanicity data for the 78 communities were obtained by linking to administrative records.

An Evaluation of In-Person and Online Engagement in Central Newfoundland.

Background: This study evaluates the use of in-person focus groups and online engagement within the context of a large public engagement initiative conducted in rural Newfoundland.

Methods: Participants were surveyed about their engagement experience and demographic information. Pre and post key informant interviews were also conducted with organizers of the initiative.

Perceived economic burden associated with an inherited cardiac condition: a qualitative inquiry with families affected by arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy.

Purpose: Significant gaps remain in the literature on the economic burden of genetic illness. We explored perceived economic burden associated with one inherited cardiac condition, arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC).

Methods: Semistructured interviews were held with individuals from families affected by ARVC.

Hand sanitiser provision for reducing illness absences in primary school children: a cluster randomised trial.

Background: The potential for transmission of infectious diseases offered by the school environment are likely to be an important contributor to the rates of infectious disease experienced by children. This study aimed to test whether the addition of hand sanitiser in primary school classrooms compared with usual hand hygiene would reduce illness absences in primary school children in New Zealand.

Methods And Findings: This parallel-group cluster randomised trial took place in 68 primary schools, where schools were allocated using restricted randomisation (1:1 ratio) to the intervention or control group.

How are population-based funding formulae for healthcare composed? A comparative analysis of seven models.

Background: Population-based funding formulae act as an important means of promoting equitable health funding structures. To evaluate how policy makers in different jurisdictions construct health funding formulae and build an understanding of contextual influences underpinning formula construction we carried out a comparative analysis of key components of funding formulae across seven high-income and predominantly publically financed health systems: New Zealand, England, Scotland, the Netherlands, the state of New South Wales in Australia, the Canadian province of Ontario, and the city of Stockholm, Sweden.

Methods: Core components from each formula were summarised and key similarities and differences evaluated from a compositional perspective.

Do different types of financial support after illness or injury affect socio-economic outcomes? A natural experiment in New Zealand.

Background: In New Zealand, people unable to work due to an illness may be eligible for a means-tested benefit whereas injured people are eligible for a wide range of support including earnings-related compensation through the no-fault Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC). The effect of this difference on socio-economic outcomes has not been investigated before.

Methods: A comparative cohort study was undertaken of stroke versus injury.

Closing the policy-practice gap in the management of child contacts of tuberculosis cases in developing countries.

Philip Campbell Hill and colleagues propose using a health needs assessment framework, research tools, and a strategy for clinical evaluation to help better manage child contacts of adult TB cases.

Rural practice and retention in New Zealand: an examination of New Zealand-trained and foreign-trained doctors.

In this paper we examine the problems New Zealand faces with regards the identified shortage and uneven distribution of medical practitioners across urban and rural areas. In particular, we examine the extent to which the origin of training and location of practice affect the mobility of medical practitioners over the period 2000-2008. We find that foreign-trained doctors have a greater propensity to practice in minor urban and rural areas, and in less affluent communities, than New Zealand (domestic)-trained doctors.

Hand sanitisers for reducing illness absences in primary school children in New Zealand: a cluster randomised controlled trial study protocol.

Background: New Zealand has relatively high rates of morbidity and mortality from infectious disease compared with other OECD countries, with infectious disease being more prevalent in children compared with others in the population. Consequences of infectious disease in children may have significant economic and social impact beyond the direct effects of the disease on the health of the child; including absence from school, transmission of infectious disease to other pupils, staff, and family members, and time off work for parents/guardians. Reduction of the transmission of infectious disease between children at schools could be an effective way of reducing the community incidence of infectious disease.

Where did the doctors go? A study of retention and migration of provisionally licensed international medical graduates practising in Newfoundland and Labrador between 1995 and 2006.

Introduction: More than any other Canadian province, Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) relies on provisionally licensed international medical graduates (PLIMGs) to provide primary health care, particularly in rural communities. However, turnover among PLIMGs is high, and this is expensive and disruptive to the populations they serve.

Methods: We developed and analyzed a database that allowed us to quantify the turnover among PLIMGs and also to determine the Canadian destinations of PLIMGs who cease practising in NL.