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Background: Many offenders with intellectual disabilities have substance use issues. Offending behaviour may be associated with substance use. Materials and Methods: Prisoners with and without intellectual disabilities were compared in terms of their substance use prior to imprisonment, the influence of substance use on offending, and their participation in alcohol and drug treatment programmes. Results: Substance use was similar in prisoners with and without intellectual disabilities in the year prior to their current prison terms. Prisoners with intellectual disabilities were much less likely to report that substance use was an antecedent to the offences leading to their imprisonment. The completion rate of alcohol and drug treatment programmes was much lower for those with intellectual disabilities. Conclusions: Substance use may be as common in prisoners with intellectual disabilities as those without this condition. Services may need to reflect on whether their treatment programmes are meeting the needs of all prisoners.

Background: It has been increasingly recognised that many offenders with intellectual disability (ID) have substance use issues, yet surprisingly little is known about the treatment needs of this population. Method: In order to explore pre-sentence patterns of substance use, the role of substance use in offending behaviour, and experience with substance treatment programs, interviews were conducted with 33 sentenced prisoners. Results: The findings of this study identified hazardous and harmful rates of alcohol use and high rates of substance use among prisoners with ID. Most participants reported being intoxicated at the time of their offence. Participants' experience of substance intervention programs varied. Although many reported a positive experience, others reported significant participation barriers. Conclusions: This study supports the increasingly recognised link between substance use and offending behaviour among prisoners with ID and highlights the importance of tailored and coordinated treatment initiatives, both within corrections facilities and the community.

Violence is an ongoing concern for many people who live and work in correctional settings and yet relatively little is known about the effects of institutional violence prevention efforts. This paper reports the findings of a scoping review of recent research relevant to understanding the influence of one factor, contact with family, that potentially influences institutional violence in countries such as Aotearoa New Zealand where Indigenous peoples are over-represented in prison settings. A total of 15 different studies were identified that provided consistent evidence of an association between family contact and prison violence. The implications of this work for the development of evidence-based prison violence prevention strategies are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9566.2009.01228.x Byline: Renata Kokanovic (1), Carl May (2), Christopher Dowrick (3), John Furler (4), Danielle Newton (4), Jane Gunn (4) Keywords: depression; East Timorese; Vietnamese; family doctors; Australia Abstract: Abstract Recent critiques of depression have contested its coherence as a concept and highlighted its performance in medicalising distress. Studies of depression in a cross-cultural context have focused on language and belief systems as technical barriers to practice that need to be overcome in enacting depression work. This paper seeks to locate culture within the broader socio-structural context of depression care in general practice. The paper draws on interviews with five general practitioners (GPs), and 24 patients from Vietnamese and East Timorese backgrounds who predominantly have left their home as refugees. Each had been diagnosed with depression or prescribed antidepressants. These patients gave accounts of distress deeply embedded within, and inseparable from, lives fraught with frightening pre-migration experiences, traumatic escape and profound dislocation and alienation in their new 'home'. Fragmented lives were contrasted with the nourishing social fabric of homes left behind. GP participants were involved in a process of engaging with a profoundly communal and structural account of emotional distress while defending and drawing on an individualised notion of depression in performing their work and accounting for the pain presented to them. Author Affiliation: (1)Department of Sociology, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia (2)Institute of Health and Society, Newcastle University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne (3)Division of Primary Care, University of Liverpool (4)Primary Care Research Unit, Department of General Practice, The University of Melbourne, Australia Article note: Address for correspondence: Renata Kokanovic, Department of Sociology, School of Political and Social Inquiry (PSI), Faculty of Arts, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia, e-mail: renata.kokanovic@arts.monash.edu.au

Background: Remote assessment of essential tremor (ET) is unverified. Objectives: To compare assigned tremor scores from a remote videotaped research protocol with those from an in‐person videotaped research protocol and assess the validity of remote and in‐person videotape‐based diagnoses when compared against the intake diagnosis (ET vs. control). Methods: Participants with intake diagnoses of ET (11) or controls (15) completed a tremor examination that was filmed both remotely and in person. Results: Agreement between the tremor ratings assigned during remote and in‐person videos was substantial (composite κw, 0.67; mean Gwet's AC2 score, 0.92; mean percent agreement, 63.7%). In ET cases with less severe tremor, agreement was lower (p = 0.008). Diagnostic validity was high for both remote and in‐person videos compared to the intake diagnosis. Conclusions: Remote video is a reasonable alternative to in‐person video for the assessment of tremor severity and assignment of ET diagnoses. However, at low tremor amplitudes, agreement declines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Chlamydia trachomatis is a common sexually transmitted infection in Australia. This report aims to measure the burden of chlamydia infection by systematically reviewing reports on prevalence in Australian populations. Methods Electronic databases and conference websites were searched from 1997–2011 using the terms ‘Chlamydia trachomatis’ OR ‘chlamydia’ AND ‘prevalence’ OR ‘epidemiology’ AND ‘Australia’. Reference lists were checked and researchers contacted for additional literature. Studies were categorised by setting and participants, and meta-analysis conducted to determine pooled prevalence estimates for each category. Results Seventy-six studies met the inclusion criteria for the review. There was a high level of heterogeneity between studies; however, there was a trend towards higher chlamydia prevalence in younger populations, Indigenous Australians, and those attending sexual health centres. In community or general practice settings, pooled prevalence for women Conclusions Chlamydia trachomatis infections are a significant health burden in Australia; however, accurate estimation of chlamydia prevalence in Australian sub-populations is limited by heterogeneity within surveyed populations, and variations in sampling methodologies and data reporting. There is a need for more large, population-based studies and prospective cohort studies to compliment mandatory notification data.

There are growing concerns about the mental health of university students, with particular concerns for international students studying in countries with different language and culture from the country of origin. We sought to explore the challenges and opportunities for supporting and improving the health and wellbeing of international students through interviews with health and other support services staff at an Australian University. Semi-structured interviews with a range of health and support services staff were conducted in person or by telephone in late 2018. Staff were asked about their perceptions of 1) health and wellbeing issues for international students, 2) barriers to international students accessing campus-based services for health and wellbeing concerns, and 3) strategies to improve international students' health and wellbeing. Transcribed interviews were analysed thematically. Mental health/illness was identified as the most important health and wellbeing concern for international students. Barriers to help-seeking included fear of repercussions for coming forward, lack of problem and symptom recognition, poor understanding of health information, cultural stigma associated with counselling and language barriers. A tendency among international students to delay help-seeking until problems reached crisis-point was also identified as a concern. Suggested strategies to improve wellbeing included pre-departure education/orientation to life in Australia, the integration of health and wellbeing education with other university programs, education about confidentiality, better supporting students in how to access services, and skill building to promote social connection. Addressing the identified issues and opportunities would support international student health and wellbeing and may assist in attracting international students back to Australia post-COVID. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study sought to explore the challenges and opportunities for improving the health and wellbeing of international students through in-depth interviews with 21 international students at an Australian University. Interviews explored 1) conceptualisation of health and wellbeing, 2) perceptions of the most significant health and wellbeing issues for international students, and 3) the barriers to international students accessing campus-based services for health and wellbeing concerns. Almost all international students viewed health and wellbeing as a state encompassing both physical and mental/emotional health. Key challenges included mental health, lack of social support, academic stressors, financial pressures, and accommodation concerns. Barriers to accessing university support services included cultural stigma, language barriers, waiting periods to access services, and not knowing how or where to access support within the university. The implications of these findings and suggested strategies for improving the health and wellbeing of international students are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the association between unemployment and offending is well established, relatively little is known about the impact of vocational education and training programs on re-offending, with much of the previous work in this area failing to control for, or correct, selection bias. This article reports the findings of a systematic review, which considers the findings of only those studies that have used experimental or quasi-experimental designs to evaluate vocational training and employment program outcomes for adult offenders. The analysis identifies key features, based on these studies, of those programs associated with the best outcomes and recommends selection criteria for those who are most likely to benefit from prison vocational education and training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]