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Mental Health Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Australian Children and Adolescents with a Medical Condition: Longitudinal Findings
No full textIn Melbourne, Australia, strict ‘lockdowns’ were implemented in 2020 to suppress COVID-19, significantly disrupting daily life. Young people (<18 years) with medical conditions have an elevated risk of mental health problems and may have been disproportionately affected by the distress associated with the COVID-19 restrictions. To investigate this, we conducted a single-site, longitudinal cohort study involving the parents of 135 children and adolescents with medical conditions. Using an adapted version of the CoRonavIruS Health Impact Survey (CRISIS), parents rated their child’s mental health, activities and healthcare experiences pre-COVID-19 (retrospectively), during lockdown and 6 months post-lockdown. General linear mixed models revealed that mental health symptoms, including anxiety, fatigue, distractibility, sadness, irritability, loneliness and worry, were higher during lockdown compared to pre-COVID-19. Notably, anxiety, sadness and loneliness remained elevated 6 months post-lockdown. Covariates such as older child age, increased parent stress and child screen time contributed to greater mental health difficulties. While most mental health symptoms resolved post-lockdown, the persistence of anxiety, sadness and loneliness highlights the need for ongoing clinical monitoring for young people with medical conditions during periods of community stress and restrictions
Corrigendum to: Melting of Peridotites through to Granites: a Simple Thermodynamic Model in the System KNCFMASHTOCr, and, a Thermodynamic Model for the Subsolidus Evolution and Melting of Peridotite.
No full textAbstract
We have identified and corrected an algebraic error originally made in the formulation of the thermodynamic model for silicate melt in Holland et al. (2018), J. Petrol., 59, 881–900, article egy048. The error was propagated subsequently in Tomlinson & Holland (2021), J. Petrol., 62, 1–23, article egab012. Below we explain the algebraic correction, and describe the scale of its impact on typical calculations, which in many systems is likely to be within model uncertainty at worst, and negligible at best. We provide a correctly formulated re-calibration of the Holland et al. (2018) silicate melt model. In presenting illustrative calculations with this melt model, we take the opportunity to summarise the changes to the accompanying thermodynamic models for minerals that we have implemented over several publications since 2018
All-cause and cause-specific mortality inequalities between people with and without disability: a nationwide data linkage study in Australia
No full textBACKGROUND: Without high-quality statistics on mortality inequalities, designing policies to improve the health of people with disability is challenging. We aim to quantify mortality inequalities experienced by people with disability in Australia. METHODS: In this nationwide, data linkage study we used Census mortality linked data (2011-20) to construct a cohort of Australians aged 0-74 years. Disability was measured as requiring assistance or supervision in core daily activities. We estimated age-standardised and age-specific mortality rates, and absolute and relative mortality inequalities between people with and without disability. FINDINGS: 15 216 195 people were included in the study, comprising 7 763 047 females and 7 453 148 males. Of the participants, 258 109 (3·5%) males and 228 658 (2·9%) females reported disability, with 462 990 deaths occurring over 138 540 359 person-years of follow-up. Per 100 000 person-years, there were 2067 (95% CI 2043-2091) more deaths in males and 1697 (1677-1718) more deaths in females with disability (3·69 and 4·64 times higher, respectively) than those without disability. Cancer and cardiovascular disease had the highest absolute inequalities, with rate differences of 462 (95% CI 449-476) for males and 368 (356-379) for females for cancer, and 471 (95% CI 459-483) for males and 333 (324-342) for females for cardiovascular disease. Less common causes among people without disability-neurological conditions, chronic lung diseases, endocrine diseases, and digestive diseases-are relatively common among people with disability, translating to high relative mortality inequalities. The largest relative inequalities were from neurological conditions, with rate ratios of 9·66 (95% CI 9·31-10·02) for males and 11·61 (11·13-12·10) for females. Relative and absolute inequalities were also substantial for unintentional injury and for suicide mortality. Age-specific mortality was consistently higher in people with disability. The leading contributors to absolute inequalities shifted from neurological conditions in younger ages to cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and chronic lung diseases in older ages. INTERPRETATION: People with disability experience large mortality inequalities. Identifying intervention-amenable factors contributing to these inequalities should be a priority. Targeted interventions and policy reforms to create a more inclusive social and health-care environment for people with disability might be necessary. FUNDING: The University of Melbourne
Personalized, Accessible, but Imperfect:Why Students Turn to GenAI for Academic Help
No full textThe rapid emergence of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is reshaping how students seek academic help. While much research has focused on AI as a stand-alone support, its influence on students’ choices among a broader range of support options remains less understood. This study investigates the factors influencing students’ help sources selection in a learning environment where GenAI tools are readily available. Using a convergent mixed-methods approach, this research surveyed 52 postgraduate computing and information systems students and conducted interviews with seven students to capture both patterns and reasoning. The study is theoretically grounded in Giblin et al.’s Source Selection Model, the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2), and
Cognitive Load Theory (CLT). Findings show that while traditional factors like accessibility, availability,
and quality remain important, their meanings are evolving in the context of GenAI. In addition, three
new dimensions emerged: habitual use, concerns about dependency, and the desire to minimize cognitive effort. Together, these factors help explain students’ preference for GenAI, which were valued for their immediacy, personalized responses, and streamlined cognitive demands. At the same time, students approached GenAI cautiously, reflecting its dual role as both an attractive and a potentially problematic support option. This research extends existing models of help source selection to account for the specific dynamics of GenAI, highlighting both its appeal and its risks as an academic support, and underscoring the need for institutions to equip students with AI-era information literacy to ensure critical and reflective use of academic support
Long-term mental health trajectories across multiple exposures to climate disasters in Australia: a population-based cohort study
No full textBACKGROUND: Tracking populations through increasingly frequent climate disasters and understanding what contributes to mental health risks is crucial for adaption and planning for a climate changed world. We aimed to examine mental health trajectories after consecutive climate-related disasters and assess differences in mental health outcomes by temporal proximity to previous disasters and risk profiles. METHODS: Using longitudinal population-based Australian data from 2009 to 2019, people who experienced home damage from at least one disaster (flood, bushfire, or cyclone) were included in the exposure population and tracked from pre-disaster to post-disaster years after each exposure. Cumulative mental health effects of each sequential exposure were estimated through various mental health measures using a panel event study design with linear models in comparison to unexposed matched controls, pre-disaster baselines, and across stratified risk groups. The main mental health outcome was measured with the 5-item mental health inventory (MHI-5). FINDINGS: Mental health effects became more severe with successive disasters. MHI-5 scores declined by 1·61 (95% CI -2·69 to -0·52) and 3·37 (-6·45 to -0·29) during the first and repeat disaster exposures, respectively, compared with the year preceding the first disaster. Recovery to a pre-disaster baseline was more delayed with repeat disaster exposures. There were greater declines in mental health when disasters were closer to the previous exposure (1-2 years apart) than further away (3 or more years). Risk factors that shape mental health trajectories either remained consistent across multiple exposures (social support as protective and long-term health conditions as risks) or became more salient during subsequent exposures (lower household income and rural areas more vulnerable to the mental health effects of repeat disasters). INTERPRETATION: Additional disaster exposures were associated with greater declines in mental health and shifts in some risk factors. Multiple disaster exposures must be urgently considered in public health, welfare, and disaster services. FUNDING: Australian Research Council
The unifying power of live music events: A systematic review of social outcomes for audience members
No full textLive music events (including concerts, shows, and festivals) have been central to community gatherings for many years, but the extent to which audience members experience social benefits during these events is not yet clear. In this systematic review, we review research on shared live music experiences to understand the scope of these initiatives, the quality of the research, and their social impact across different genres and types of live music events. The pre-registered review was conducted using eight search engines, selecting for peer-reviewed papers published in English between 1990 and 2023. The 56 papers included in the review (comprising 59 studies) represented a range of live music event types and incorporated qualitative and quantitative methods. The studies represented data from over 17,991 participants and most were conducted in Western countries. The Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) Checklist for qualitative research quality assessment showed that most studies were of high quality. The social impact of live music event participation was rich and diverse and could be broadly categorized into four broad themes: Opportunities for Connection; Shared Experiences and Values; An Empowering Community; and A Sustained Sense of Community. Live music was associated with an extensive range of social benefits, broadly independent of the event’s type or genre. The impact of live music events is interpreted through various theoretical lenses including Self-determination, Social capital, Social identity, Collective effervescence, Third place, and Belongingness theories. The evidence reviewed here demonstrates that live music events produce a range of important social benefits for participants and offer great potential for a community-based non-clinical solution to loneliness. Future studies should aim to include a diverse range of participants, ensuring the representation and inclusion of various equity-seeking or marginalized groups, to understand how they can also experience the social and community-building benefits of live music events
Bandung from Below: Australian non-state engagement with the People's Republic of China in an Age of Afro-Asian Internationalism (1952-1958)
No full text© 2025 Patrick DayThis thesis examines Australian responses to the People's Republic of China's role in the Bandung Conference and the longer "Bandung era" of Afro-Asian internationalism. Rather than focusing on lost opportunities for official diplomacy, it highlights the substantial record of actual engagement - cultural, intellectual and political between Australians and the PRC. The thesis analyses how Australian non-state actors - artists, China scholars, unionists and activists - engaged with the PRC during the long Bandung era, focusing on exchanges below the level of elite diplomacy and interstate Cold War tension in the period 1952-58. This thesis identifies that the wider Bandung moment enabled unforeseen opportunities for Australia-PRC linkages at the level of both official and civil society. Smaller Afro-Asian gatherings and media coverage of the 1955 Bandung conference provided the context for Australian activists and artists to engage with the PRC's cultural diplomacy and forge closer Australia-PRC ties in the absence of diplomatic relations. Drawing upon a diverse array of sources, including Australian archival material and Chinese language newspaper reports, it explores the Australia-China relationship in the 1950s through the lens of Australian responses to the PRC's role in the Bandung Conference and the longer "Bandung era" of Afro-Asian internationalism. The thesis attempts to do justice to the memory of the Bandung era and its emancipatory potential by showing that Afro-Asian internationalisms provided an important context for Australia-China exchanges below the level of interstate Cold War tension
Get Involved Reach Top Health (GIRTH): A community-based, peer-led group lifestyle modification program for men – A quasi-randomised trial
No full textMen are underrepresented in community-based lifestyle modification programs (LMP). A quasi-randomised trial was undertaken to assess the efficacy of GIRTH, a peer-led, group-based LMP for men, in reducing cardiometabolic risk factors. One-hundred-seventy-eight men (mean age 58 yrs, waist circumference 110 cm) in 11 groups, were allocated 1:3 to either a control group receiving healthy lifestyle information only (n = 45) or a GIRTH group involving 12, weekly, face-to-face sessions focused on health literacy, goal setting, problem solving and self-monitoring (n = 133). The primary outcome was waist circumference (WC) change over 12-weeks. Secondary outcomes included changes in body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, grip strength, lipid profile and glucose, diet, physical activity, and diet, exercise, coping, and sleep self-efficacy scores. The retention was 68 % and 88 % for the control and GIRTH groups respectively. WC decreased in both groups (p < 0.001), but the decrease was greater in the GIRTH group (intention-to-treat: -4.2 cm, -5.1 to -3.3 vs -1.9 cm, -3.1 to -0.7; p = 0.002; as-treated: -5.3 cm, -6.1 to -4.4 vs -3.0 cm, -4.6 to -1; p = 0.009). Men in both groups had improvements in weight, BMI, blood pressure, in coping, sleep and regulate eating self-efficacy scores, and physical activity (p < 0.05). Men in the GIRTH group also had improvements in high density lipoprotein (HDL), triglyceride (TC)/HDL ratio, and exercise self-efficacy score (p < 0.05). Reduction in WC correlated with changes in weight, BMI, systolic blood pressure, lipids, and increased fruit and vegetable consumption (p < 0.05). The GIRTH program was more effective than information alone in reducing WC and cardiometabolic disease risk factors in men
Criteria for Commencing and Continuing Subsidised Janus Kinase Inhibitor Therapy in Australian Alopecia Areata Patients—Results From an Australian Expert Consensus Exercise
No full textBACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKis) have been approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration for severe alopecia areata (AA) in Australia. However, access is limited as JAKis are not currently subsidised on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme for this indication. This study aimed to establish expert consensus on criteria for initiating and continuing subsidised JAKi therapy for AA. METHODS: An eDelphi study was conducted with 26 Australian specialists in hair and scalp disorders, who participated in two online survey rounds. A third round, held as a virtual meeting, facilitated discussion. Consensus was defined as ≥ 75% agreement or disagreement. RESULTS: Twenty-six, twenty-two, and twenty-five experts completed the first, second, and third rounds, respectively. Experts agreed that JAKis were nearly always the best treatment for cases with ≥ 50% scalp hair loss and usually the best treatment for 21%-49% scalp hair loss. The most important additional factors when assessing eligibility for JAKis were refractory disease, rapid progression, psychosocial morbidity, poorly camouflaged hair loss, ophiasis pattern, and impaired quality of life. Treatment failure was defined as < 50% improvement in scalp hair loss after 12 months of therapy. Indicators of remission included achieving SALT 0, regrowth of facial hair, improved DLQI scores, patient satisfaction, negative hair pull test, and reduced psychosocial impairment. CONCLUSIONS: This expert consensus provides a framework for determining eligibility for subsidised JAKi therapy in Australian AA patients. Future research, supported by patient registries, should incorporate patient perspectives to further refine these criteria, ensure equitable access to treatment, and assess real-world impact, safety, and effectiveness
