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Aims: Children with neuro‐developmental disorders faced significant challenges in accessing services during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Telehealth has been adopted by health services globally to facilitate access to clinical services. Our aims were to evaluate the utility of the telehealth modality for providing developmental assessment services and explore enablers and barriers to using telehealth, in a culturally diverse and socioeconomically disadvantaged population in Sydney. Methods: We reviewed telehealth developmental assessments in South Western Sydney conducted between 1 April and 30 June 2020. Data were collated on demographics; telehealth modality; diagnostic formulation; recommendations; and requested follow up. We conducted retrospective semi‐structured telephone interviews with 79 families and 11 clinicians about their telehealth experience. Thematic analysis was carried out on the open text responses. Results: Of 205 children assessed across six sites, median age was 48 months; 45% were assessed with video and 55% with telephone only. Diagnostic formulation and therapeutic recommendations were provided for 203 (99%) children and 138 (67%) were asked to come for face‐to‐face follow‐up. The majority of families (76%) were satisfied or extremely satisfied with telehealth. Median clinician satisfaction was 3.5 out of 5, whilst clinician confidence with diagnostic formulation was 4 out of 5. Qualitative data revealed a range of barriers and enablers. Conclusion: Telehealth was a successful modality for contributing to the assessment journey for children with neuro‐developmental disorders in our culturally, linguistically and socioeconomically diverse clinical population in the context of a pandemic lockdown. We discuss the potential for telehealth modalities in child developmental assessments beyond the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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A 2012 change in Australia's immigration policy saw increased resettlement of refugees with disability, with a large number fleeing political instability in Iraq and Syria. The evidence on service disparities for resettled refugees with disability and their families is sparse. The study aim was to explore, from multiple stakeholder perspectives, the experiences of people with disability from Iraqi and Syrian refugee backgrounds resettled in Australia, with a view to informing future services and supports. Interviews with nine family members of 11 people with disability from Iraqi and Syrian refugee backgrounds and seven practitioners working in refugee specific services. Persons with disability had a range of disabilities including intellectual or developmental, physical and sensory. Interviews were translated from Arabic to English as required and analysed using thematic analysis. Two themes described the practices and service interventions that addressed disparities: (1) Getting the basics right: Refugee specific services played a crucial role during early settlement in ensuring access to medical, health and social care including diagnosis, medication, equipment, housing and financial support. (2) Ongoing access to disability supports: Refugee specific services assisted families with longer‐term supports once immediate needs were met, including accessing services through the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Participants described benefits such as having access to interpreters and Arabic‐speaking staff, demonstrating services' attention to cultural sensitivity and safety, and problems including waiting times, bureaucratic processes and housing needs. Refugee specific services, disability services and health services should collaboratively develop and implement strategies to tackle the intersectional nature of issues resettled refugees with disability and their families encounter in Australia. These should be informed by the experiences of people with disability and family members from refugee backgrounds and privilege holistic practices that avoid reliance on one sector alone to address the complex needs of refugees with disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To document the health needs of refugee children accessing comprehensive refugee health services in New South Wales (NSW), to match needs with available services and establish gaps in services. Methods: We collated clinical data on all children aged under 14 years attending the three refugee specific clinics seeing children in NSW in 2005. We compared these data to the number of refugee children settling in NSW in 2005. Results: NSW received 1,557 refugee children ( Of those tested, 25% had anaemia, 27% were serology positive for schistosomiasis, 16% had evidence of current or recent malaria, 25% were tuberculin skin test positive, 69% were hepatitis B non-immune and 20% had low vitamin D levels. Most children needed catch up immunisation. Other problems included chronic health, developmental and behavioural problems. Screening tests varied across sites. Follow up was problematic for most. Conclusions: A small proportion of refugee children arriving in NSW have access to comprehensive screening and assessment, in spite of significant health needs. There is variation in screening practices, and follow up is poor. There is a high pick up rate for diseases of personal and public health significance. Implications: There is a strong moral and public health imperative to provide appropriately resourced, culturally competent and comprehensive health care to optimise refugee children's wellbeing. Key words: Refugee health, screening, comprehensive health assessments, health needs of refugee children. doi: 10.1111/j.1753-6405.2009.00431.x