Opioid-related harms and experiences of care among people in justice settings in New South Wales, Australia: evidence from the National Ambulance Surveillance System.

Background: People in justice settings experience higher rates of psychiatric morbidity, including alcohol and drug use disorders, compared with the general population. However, our understanding of opioid-related harms in justice settings is limited. This study used ambulance data to examine opioid-related harms and experiences of care in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, during periods of incarceration or detention.

Differences in ambulance attendances between children with and without an identified history of out-of-home-care.

Background: Children in out-of-home-care (OOHC) are a vulnerable population, typically with complex needs, however there is minimal research examining the behavioural presentations that lead to the increased use of acute emergency care by OOHC children.

Objective: This study aimed to describe differences in lifetime complexity factors identified during ambulance attendances between children with and without an identified history of OOHC. Further, this study aimed to describe whether having an identified history of being in OOHC was associated with increased utilisation of emergency care resources and increased likelihood of multiple ambulance attendances.

Factors affecting sleep quality in hospitalised patients.

Introduction: Hospitalised patients are at increased risk of poor sleep quality which can negatively impact on recovery and quality of life. This study aimed to assess sleep quality in hospitalised patients and explore the factors associated with poor sleep.

Methods: Prospective data were collected from 84 respiratory ward inpatients at time of discharge using a Likert scale questionnaire on contributing factors to sleep quality.

Trait anger as a predictor of dangerous driving behaviour amongst people who use methamphetamine.

Introduction: Despite increased prevalence of methamphetamine in road trauma, it remains unclear how its use translates to an increased risk of traffic-related harm. Exploration of psychosocial factors may thus help identify relevant predictors of dangerous driving behaviour among people who regularly consume methamphetamine.

Methods: Licenced individuals who report predominant and sustained methamphetamine use (at least 1-time/month for 6 months at heaviest use) were recruited from the Australian community and via targeted campaign (Eastern Health).

Using ambulance surveillance data to characterise blood-borne viral infection histories among patients presenting with acute alcohol and other drug-related harms.

Objective: Preventable transmission of blood-borne viruses (BBV), including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV), continue in at-risk populations, including people who use alcohol and drugs (AODs). To our knowledge, no studies have explored the use of ambulance data for surveillance of AOD harms in patients with BBV infections.

Methods: We used electronic patient care records from the National Ambulance Surveillance System for people who were attended by an ambulance in Victoria, Australia between July 2015 and July 2016 for AOD-related harms, and with identified history of a BBV infection.

Decisional style, sleepiness, and online responsiveness.

As sleep problems can impair quality of work, an online questionnaire was used to examine relationships between sleepiness and decision making while obtaining unobtrusive indices of performance. Participants ( = 344) completed the Insomnia Severity Index, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, and the Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire in a Qualtrics survey while reporting mobile phone use. Qualtrics recorded the time and the number of clicks required to complete each page of the survey.

Opioid-related ambulance attendances during the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic in Victoria, Australia.

Background And Aims: Public health measures introduced to contain the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus likely affected opioid supply and demand, as well as the patterns and contexts of opioid use. We measured opioid-related harms during the first 2 years of COVID-19 restrictions in Victoria, Australia.

Design: We adopted an interrupted time series analysis design using interventional autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models.

Description of Trends over the Week in Alcohol-Related Ambulance Attendance Data.

Alcohol harms are often determined using a proxy measure based on temporal patterns during the week when harms are most likely to occur. This study utilised coded Australian ambulance data from the Victorian arm of the National Ambulance Surveillance System (NASS) to investigate temporal patterns across the week for alcohol-related ambulance attendances in 2019. These patterns were examined by season, regionality, gender, and age group.

The relationship between sleep and appetitive conditioning: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

This systematic review and meta-analysis (PROSPERO registration animal/human studies: CRD42021234793/CRD42021234790) examined the relationship between sleep and appetitive conditioning. Inclusion criteria included: a) appetitive conditioning paradigm; b) measure of conditioning; c) sleep measurement and/or sleep loss; d) human and/etor non-human animal samples; and e) written in English. Searches of seven databases returned 3777 publications.

Adverse outcomes of GHB use: Analysis of ambulance attendances in metropolitan and regional Victoria.

Background: Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) use and attributable harms have been increasing in Australia, however changes over time, including the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions on harms requiring an ambulance attendance, are unknown. This study utilised a novel population-based surveillance system to identify the types of GHB-related harms between January 2018 and 31 December 2021 in Victoria, Australia.

Methods: A cross-sectional, retrospective analysis of all GHB-related ambulance attendances between January 2018 and 31 December 2021 in Victoria, Australia was undertaken.

Effect of shift work on frontline doctors' mood and sleep during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Purpose: Shift work has detrimental effects on healthcare workers, which may be further compounded by frontline work during the COVID-19 pandemic. We postulated that sleep would worsen and distress would increase during COVID-ward service.

Methods: Doctors ( = 18) were recruited from a tertiary centre during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Melbourne, Australia.

Remote detection of Cannabis-related impairments in performance?

Rationale: Researchers have traditionally studied the effects of psychoactive drugs such as Cannabis in controlled laboratory settings or relied on retrospective self-reports to measure impairment. However, advances in technology afford opportunities to conduct assessments remotely.

Objectives: We considered whether objective click-stream data (time and number of clicks spent on a webpage) during an online survey could supplement self-reports of substance use problems.

Changes in alcohol intoxication-related ambulance attendances during COVID-19: How have government announcements and policies affected ambulance call outs?

Background: In response to COVID-19, government-mandated health directives including widespread lockdowns were implemented. Changes in alcohol purchasing were reported, with growing concern that alcohol may be consumed as a way to cope with pandemic-associated stressors. Hitherto, there have been limited studies examining alcohol-related harms, including acute harms requiring an ambulance, and their relationship to government announcements or policies related to COVID-19.

Disclosures of harming others during their most recent drinking session: Findings from a large national study of heavy-drinking adolescents.

Introduction: The extant Alcohol's Harms to Others (AHTO) literature is largely comprised of reports from victims. We investigated AHTO from perpetrators' perspectives, including how harms were associated with individual characteristics, and alcohol quantities consumed during the perpetration incident.

Methods: Participants (N = 2932) were 14-19 years old, recruited primarily through social media and screened as risky drinkers.

Barriers to sleep in acute hospital settings.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the environmental and operational factors that disrupt sleep in the acute, non-ICU hospital setting.

Design, Setting And Participants: This was a prospective study of adult patients admitted to an acute tertiary hospital ward (shared versus single room) and sleep laboratory (single room conducive to sleep).

Main Outcome Measures: This study measured ambient light (lux) and sound (dB), number of operational interruptions, and questionnaires assessing sleep and mental health.

Alcohol Accessibility and Family Violence-related Ambulance Attendances.

There is substantial evidence supporting the association between alcohol license density and violent crime. However, the impact of different types of alcohol licenses on intimate partner and family violence is sparse. We explored the associations between access to alcohol outlets, and family and intimate partner violence using paramedic clinical records, given this service is often the first to respond to acute crises.

Psychoactive drug and medication use among patients referred to a tertiary sleep laboratory population.

Psychoactive drugs including alcohol, caffeine, and prescription medications are commonly consumed to alter sleep/wake states, however the prevalence and impact of these drugs among populations seeking assessment from sleep physicians are unknown. We investigated the prevalence of commonly used drugs (alcohol and caffeine), and medications in a population (N=120; 50 females and 70 males) attending a tertiary sleep clinic for diagnostic polysomnography (PSG) assessment. In addition to objective sleep assessment, participants completed questionnaires assessing sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, PSQI), daytime sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale, ESS), depression and anxiety (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, HADS), alcohol use (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, AUDIT), caffeine and medication use, as well as their experience of adverse events (motor vehicle accidents and near-miss crashes).