Integrated Health-Social Hubs for Migrant Women and Infants.

Background And Objectives: Migrant families have reduced access to universal child and family health (CFH) services, including CFH nursing visits, wherein infant and maternal surveillance offers a key opportunity to identify maternal health and child developmental concerns. Evidence is emerging on the effectiveness of integrated health and social care hubs (Hubs) to improve access to CFH services. Our aim was to evaluate the impact of Hubs at 2 sites in Sydney, Australia for migrant women and their infants on attendance to CFH nursing visits until 12 months postpartum for infant and maternal surveillance.

Co-Producing Patient-Reported Experience Measures With People With Intellectual Disability to Improve Healthcare Quality and Outcomes: The 'Listen to Me' Project Protocol.

Introduction: Intellectual disability, defined by significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and adaptive behaviour with onset during the developmental period, affects an estimated 2% (108 million) of people worldwide. People with intellectual disability experience major health inequity, poor health outcomes and premature deaths, with mortality rates that are 7-12 times higher than the general population. Patient-reported experience measures (PREMs) are used worldwide to target improvements in healthcare delivery.

Telemedicine for Children With Cerebral Palsy Before, During, and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Australian Cohort Study.

To examine telemedicine use in children with cerebral palsy before, during and since the COVID-19 pandemic. A retrospective cohort study of 1162 children with cerebral palsy (40.3% female, birth years 2005-2017), attending specialist outpatient clinics at 2 pediatric hospitals in New South Wales, Australia.

Sensitivity and Specificity of Developmental Surveillance and Autism Screening in an Australian Multicultural Cohort: The Watch Me Grow Study.

To examine accuracy of two-tiered surveillance to detect developmental disability and autism in a multicultural birth cohort; a subset of the Watch Me Grow Study. Surveillance tools were used at or soon after 18 months of age, including the Parents' Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS), the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ-3), and the revised Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT-R/F). Children with and without identified concerns were assessed between 18 and 23 months using the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL) and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-2 (ADOS-2).

Improving Register Ascertainment of Children With Post-Neonatally Acquired Cerebral Palsy Through Health Service Partnerships.

Background: The New South Wales (NSW) and Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Cerebral Palsy (CP) Register is a database of clinical and demographic information from children with CP. A child with CP resulting from an insult to the developing brain sustained between 29 days and 2 years of age is classified as having post-neonatally acquired CP (PNN-CP). In clinical services, children may meet the criteria and timing for PNN-CP but have a singular diagnosis of acquired/traumatic brain injury.

The Building Blocks for Successful Hub Implementation for Migrant and Refugee Families and Their Children in the First 2000 Days of Life.

Background And Objective: Migrant and refugee women, families, and their children can experience significant language, cultural, and psychosocial barriers to engage with child and family services. Integrated child and family health Hubs are increasingly promoted as a potential solution to address access barriers; however, there is scant literature on how to best implement them with migrant and refugee populations. Our aim was to explore with service providers and consumers the barriers, enablers, and experiences with Hubs and the resulting building blocks required for acceptable Hub implementation for migrant and refugee families.

Identifying Service, Research and Policy priorities for preventing the impacts of family adversity on children's mental health: An Australian national resource allocation study with professional and lived experience experts.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to develop Service, Research and Policy priorities to prevent the impact of family adversity on child mental health and determine comparative priorities of diverse stakeholders to those with lived experience of adversity.

Methods: Value-weighting approach conducted in a staged process: (i) professionals and experts with lived experience from health, education, justice and social care sectors attended a national symposium to identify priorities for family adversity and mental health and (ii) a subsequent resource allocation survey gathered views from participants and external experts on symposium priorities.

Results: Consensus was reached on priorities.

A qualitative study investigating the experiences of unmet social needs for children with cerebral palsy and their families: perspectives of parents and clinicians.

Purpose: To explore (i) the impact of unmet social needs on children with cerebral palsy and their families; (ii) enablers-, and (iii) barriers to addressing unmet social needs.

Material And Methods: Eligible participants attended or worked at one of the three Paediatric Rehabilitation Departments including: children with a diagnosis of cerebral palsy; parents/carers; and clinicians. One-on-one interviews were conducted with parents/carers and focus groups with clinicians.

Sociodemographic and clinical indicators of children and young people with cerebral palsy and reported unmet social needs.

Aim: To determine the frequency, type, clinical, and sociodemographic associations of unmet social needs in children with cerebral palsy (CP).

Method: We conducted a cross-sectional study of parents and carers of children with CP attending a specialist hospital clinic between July and September 2022. Unmet social needs were self-identified using a survey, guided by the WE CARE survey instrument and adapted to the local context.

Asthma Care from Home: Study protocol for an effectiveness-implementation evaluation of a virtually enabled asthma care initiative in children in rural NSW.

Background: Asthma is the leading source of unscheduled hospitalisation in Australian children, with a high burden placed upon children, their parents/families, and the healthcare system. In Australia, there are widening disparities in paediatric asthma care including inequitable access to comprehensive ongoing and planned asthma care for children.

Methods: The Asthma Care from Home Project is a comprehensive virtually enabled asthma model of care that aims to a.

Mental health-related service and medicine use among a cohort of urban Aboriginal children and young people: Data linkage study.

Objective: The objective was to describe mental health service and psychotropic medicine use among a cohort of Aboriginal young people and quantify their relation to sociodemographic, family and health factors.

Methods: In a prospective cohort study with data linkage, 892 Aboriginal children aged 0-17 years living in urban and regional areas of New South Wales, Australia, were included. We assessed mental health-related service use, paediatric service use and psychotropic medicine dispensing claims covered by the Australian Government Medicare Benefits Schedule and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme from July 2012 to June 2017.

'High hopes for treatment': Australian stakeholder perspectives of the clinical translation of advanced neurotherapeutics for rare neurological diseases.

Introduction: Advanced therapies offer unprecedented opportunities for treating rare neurological disorders (RNDs) in children. However, health literacy, perceptions and understanding of novel therapies need elucidation across the RND community. This study explored healthcare professionals' and carers' perspectives of advanced therapies in childhood-onset RNDs.

Household income supplements in early childhood to reduce inequities in children's development.

Background: Early childhood interventions have the potential to reduce children's developmental inequities. We aimed to estimate the extent to which household income supplements for lower-income families in early childhood could close the gap in children's developmental outcomes and parental mental health.

Methods: Data were drawn from a nationally representative birth cohort, the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (N = 5107), which commenced in 2004 and conducted follow-ups every two years.

Identifying and responding to family adversity in Australian community and primary health settings: a multi-site cross sectional study.

Background: Unaddressed family adversity has potentially modifiable, negative biopsychosocial impacts across the life course. Little is known about how Australian health and social practitioners identify and respond to family adversity in community and primary health settings.

Objective: To describe, in two Australian community health services: (1) the number of adversities experienced by caregivers, (2) practitioner identification of caregivers experiencing adversity, (3) practitioner response to caregivers experiencing adversity, and (4) caregiver uptake of referrals.

General practitioners' perspectives regarding early developmental surveillance for autism within the australian primary healthcare setting: a qualitative study.

Background: Significant challenges remain in the early identification of child developmental disabilities in the community. Implementing supports and services early in the life course has been shown to promote positive developmental outcomes for children at high likelihood of developmental disabilities, including autism. As part of a cluster randomised controlled trial, this study seeks to examine and compare the perspectives and experiences of Australian general practitioners (GPs) in relation to a digital developmental surveillance program for autism and usual care pathway, in general practice clinics.

Social determinants of health for children with cerebral palsy and their families.

Social determinants of health (SDH) influence health and social outcomes in positive and negative ways. Understanding the impact of SDH on children with cerebral palsy (CP) is essential to improve health equity, optimize health outcomes, and support children with CP and their families to thrive in society. In this narrative review, we summarize the landscape of SDH impacting children with CP and their families worldwide.

Addressing Child Mental Health Inequities Through Parental Mental Health and Preschool Attendance.

Background: Prevention is key to reducing socioeconomic inequities in children's mental health problems, especially given limited availability and accessibility of services. We investigated the potential to reduce inequities for disadvantaged children by improving parental mental health and preschool attendance in early childhood.

Methods: Data from the nationally representative birth cohort, Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (N = 5107, commenced in 2004), were used to examine the impact of socioeconomic disadvantage (0-1 year) on children's mental health problems (10-11 years).

Identification of subgroups of children in the Australian Autism Biobank using latent class analysis.

Background: The identification of reproducible subtypes within autistic populations is a priority research area in the context of neurodevelopment, to pave the way for identification of biomarkers and targeted treatment recommendations. Few previous studies have considered medical comorbidity alongside behavioural, cognitive, and psychiatric data in subgrouping analyses. This study sought to determine whether differing behavioural, cognitive, medical, and psychiatric profiles could be used to distinguish subgroups of children on the autism spectrum in the Australian Autism Biobank (AAB).

Adapting the 'First 2000 Days maternal and child healthcare framework' in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic: ensuring equity in the new world.

The purpose of this perspective article is to emphasise the importance of the 'First 2000 Days' policy of life from conception to age five, and to propose new directions in which the policy's implementation could be extended for the benefit of children and families. The proposed approach highlights principles of responsiveness, integration, sustainability and equity, specifying initiatives that embody the kind of innovation each principle aspires to. The article also proposes innovations in data collection and linkages that would strengthen the implementation of first 2000 days policies and frameworks.

Screening for unmet social needs in paediatric speech-language pathology to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Purpose: To examine the need, feasibility and acceptability of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) implementing a systematic, routine, unmet social needs identification and referral pathway, as a means of promoting health equity and addressing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Method: Quality Improvement methodologies were used to adapt and pilot an unmet social needs identification and referral pathway for use with parents/carers of children with communication disabilities referred to an urban Australian speech-language pathology service. SLPs were surveyed about the acceptability and feasibility of this practice.

Delivering paediatric precision medicine: Genomic and environmental considerations along the causal pathway of childhood neurodevelopmental disorders.

Precision medicine refers to treatments that are targeted to an individual's unique characteristics. Precision medicine for neurodevelopmental disorders (such as cerebral palsy, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, Tourette syndrome, and autism spectrum disorder) in children has predominantly focused on advances in genomic sequencing technologies to increase our ability to identify single gene mutations, diagnose a multitude of rare neurodevelopmental disorders, and gain insights into pathogenesis. Although targeting specific gene variants with high penetrance will help some children with rare disease, this approach will not help most children with neurodevelopmental disorders.