Complex early childhood experiences: Characteristics of Northern Territory children across health, education and child protection data.

Early identification of vulnerable children to protect them from harm and support them in achieving their long-term potential is a community priority. This is particularly important in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia, where Aboriginal children are about 40% of all children, and for whom the trauma and disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal Australians has ongoing intergenerational impacts. Given that shared social determinants influence child outcomes across the domains of health, education and welfare, there is growing interest in collaborative interventions that simultaneously respond to outcomes in all domains.

The extent of violence inflicted on adolescent Aboriginal girls in the Northern Territory.

Background: Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are at very high risk of violence but there is little evidence about the age at which their higher exposure to violence commences. The aim of this study was to investigate violence inflicted on Aboriginal girls during childhood and adolescence, relative to Aboriginal boys and non-Aboriginal girls.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study using de-identified administrative data for NT residents aged 0-17 years.

Incidence of treated first-episode psychosis amongst Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal youth in the Top End of the Northern Territory, Australia.

Objectives: This study aims to estimate the incidence rate of first episode of psychosis (FEP) in the Top End of the Northern Territory (NT), exploring how rates vary by age, sex, Aboriginal status and remoteness.

Method: Youths (ages 15-24) presenting with FEP to the two specialist mental health services in the Top End were identified through audit of the electronic health records between 2014-2018. Population demographic data were collected from the 2016 Australian National Census.

Pathways to school success: Self-regulation and executive function, preschool attendance and early academic achievement of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children in Australia's Northern Territory.

Background: With the pending implementation of the Closing the Gap 2020 recommendations, there is an urgent need to better understand the contributing factors of, and pathways to positive educational outcomes for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children. This deeper understanding is particularly important in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia, in which the majority of Aboriginal children lived in remote communities and have language backgrounds other than English (i.e.

Opportunities for prevention: a data-linkage study to inform a public health response to youth offending in the Northern Territory, Australia.

Background: Numerous studies have demonstrated a strong link between child maltreatment and subsequent youth offending, leading to calls for early intervention initiatives. However, there have been few whole-population studies into the dimensions of statutory child maltreatment responses that can inform these programs. The aim of this study was to investigate the sex-specific association between level and timing of child protection system (CPS) contact and youth offending.

The impact of hearing impairment on early academic achievement in Aboriginal children living in remote Australia: a data linkage study.

Background: The prevalence of otitis media (OM) and related hearing loss has remained persistently high among some groups of Australian Aboriginal children who are also reported to have poor academic outcomes. The general literature remains inconclusive about the association between OM-related hearing loss and academic performance in primary school. This study aimed to investigate this association in Aboriginal children living in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia.

Impact of hearing impairment on early childhood development in Australian Aboriginal children: A data linkage study.

Aim: To investigate the association between hearing impairment (HI) and measures of early childhood development in Aboriginal children at age 5 years.

Methods: An observational cohort study (n = 1037) of children aged 4.0-7.

The link between hearing impairment and child maltreatment among Aboriginal children in the Northern Territory of Australia: is there an opportunity for a public health approach in child protection?

Background: International studies provide evidence of an association between child disabilities, including hearing impairment (HI), and child maltreatment. There are high prevalences of ear disease with associated HI, and child maltreatment among Australian Aboriginal children, but the link between HI and child maltreatment is unknown. This study investigates the association between HI and child maltreatment for Aboriginal children living in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia.

The Impact of Hearing Impairment on the Life Trajectories of Aboriginal Children in Remote Australia: Protocol for the Hearing Loss in Kids Project.

Background: Previous studies have reported a high prevalence of chronic otitis media (OM) and hearing impairment (HI) in Aboriginal children in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia. Children affected by these disorders are believed to be at increased risk for adverse outcomes in early childhood development, school attendance, academic performance, and child maltreatment and youth offending. However, to date, there have been no studies quantifying the association between HI and these outcomes in this population.

The impact of hearing impairment on Aboriginal children's school attendance in remote Northern Territory: a data linkage study.

Objective: To investigate the association between hearing impairment (HI) and Year 1 school attendance in Aboriginal children in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia.

Methods: Observational cohort study (n=3,744) by analysing linked individual-level information for Aboriginal children from the NT Government school attendance records, NT Perinatal Register and Remote Hearing Assessment dataset, and community level data for relative remoteness, socioeconomic disadvantage and housing crowdedness.

Results: Children with unilateral hearing loss, mild HI and moderate or worse HI had significantly lower Year 1 attendance than those with normal hearing, attending 5.

Hearing and justice: The link between hearing impairment in early childhood and youth offending in Aboriginal children living in remote communities of the Northern Territory, Australia.

Background: High prevalence of chronic middle ear disease has persisted in Australian Aboriginal children, and the related hearing impairment (HI) has been implicated in a range of social outcomes. This study investigated the association between HI in early childhood and youth offending.

Method: This was a retrospective cohort study of 1533 Aboriginal children (born between 1996 and 2001) living in remote Northern Territory communities.

What birthweight percentile is associated with optimal perinatal mortality and childhood education outcomes?

Background: Small for gestational age, defined as birthweight <10th percentile for gestational age, is known to be associated with clinically meaningful impairments in health and development. The effects of variation within the normal range of birthweight percentile on perinatal mortality and childhood education remain less well defined.

Objective: We sought to quantify the association among birthweight percentile, perinatal mortality, and educational outcomes and to determine the optimal birthweight percentile for those outcomes in Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australian children.

Different survival analysis methods for measuring long-term outcomes of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian cancer patients in the presence and absence of competing risks.

Background: Net survival is the most common measure of cancer prognosis and has been used to study differentials in cancer survival between ethnic or racial population subgroups. However, net survival ignores competing risks of deaths and so provides incomplete prognostic information for cancer patients, and when comparing survival between populations with different all-cause mortality. Another prognosis measure, "crude probability of death", which takes competing risk of death into account, overcomes this limitation.

Adverse outcome after incident stroke hospitalization for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory.

Background: Survival after a stroke is lower for Indigenous than other stroke patients in Australia. It is not known whether recurrence is more common for Indigenous patients, or whether their higher prevalence of comorbidity affects their lower survival.

Aims: This study aimed to investigate the stroke recurrence and role of comorbidities in adverse stroke outcomes (recurrence and death) for Indigenous compared with other Australians.

Prevalence of Chronic Mental and Physical Disorders, Impact on Work Productivity and Correlates of Alcohol Use Disorders and Nicotine Dependence across Occupations.

Introduction: This study assessed occupational differences in the prevalence of mental and physical disorders in an employed general population sample in Singapore and investigated the impact of these disorders on work productivity losses in terms of work-loss days and work-cutback days. The association of occupation with alcohol use disorders (AUD) and nicotine dependence (ND) was also investigated.

Materials And Methods: Data from a population-based mental health survey of a representative sample of multi-ethnic residents aged 18 years and above were used.

Psychometric properties of an Australian supportive care needs assessment tool for Indigenous patients with cancer.

Background: There are significant disparities in cancer outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Identifying the unmet supportive care needs of Indigenous Australians with cancer is imperative to improve their cancer care. The purpose of the current study was to test the psychometric properties of a supportive cancer care needs assessment tool for Indigenous people (SCNAT-IP) with cancer.

Lifetime and twelve-month prevalence of heavy-drinking in Singapore: results from a representative cross-sectional study.

Background: The study aimed to establish the prevalence of heavy drinking, evaluate correlations between heavy drinking and socio-demographic factors, physical and psychiatric conditions, and assess the impact of heavy drinking on quality of life and days of work-loss.

Methods: Data from a nationally-representative cross-sectional sample were used. The sample comprised 6616 community-dwelling Singaporeans & Singapore Permanent Residents.

Body mass index, obesity, and psychopathology in patients with schizophrenia.

A number of studies have reported that patients with schizophrenia have a higher body mass index (BMI) than the general population. Few Asian studies have examined BMI in patients with schizophrenia. The aims of the current study were to evaluate the distribution of BMI and prevalence of obesity in a large sample of Chinese patients with schizophrenia (n = 973) and to examine the sociodemographic and clinical correlates of overweight (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m) and obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m).

Prevalence of and factors related to the use of antidepressants and benzodiazepines: results from the Singapore Mental Health Study.

Background: Prescription and use of antidepressants and benzodiazepines are common in the general population. Prescription of psychotropic drugs is a complex process: patient, physician and healthcare characteristics mediate, interact and influence it. The current study aimed to establish the prevalence and factors associated with the use of antidepressants (ADs) and benzodiazepines (BZDs) in Singapore.

"How much can I take?": predictors of perceived burden for relatives of people with chronic illness.

Introduction: Chronic illnesses are common and have detrimental effects not only on the affected individuals but also on their families. These negative consequences on the physical and psychological health of caregivers constitute the burden of care. We investigate the predictors of perceived burden of care among relatives of people with any chronic physical or mental illness using secondary data from a nationwide survey in Singapore.