Changing landscape of paediatric refugee health in South Western Sydney, Australia: a retrospective observational study.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the changing health needs of refugee children and young people (CYP) entering Australia, in relation to key government policy changes. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of health service use data over 11 years. SETTING: Paediatric refugee clinics in South Western Sydney (SWS), the Australian region with the largest annual resettlement of refugees. PARTICIPANTS: Refugee CYP (≤25 years) attending the SWS paediatric refugee clinics for their first visit between 2009 and 2019. MEASURES: Clinician defined health conditions categorised as communicable and non-communicable disease (NCD). RESULTS: Data were analysed for 359 CYP, mean age 9.3 years; 212 male (59.1%). Most CYP (n=331, 92.2%) had health problems identified; 292 (81.3%) had ≥1 NCD and 24 (6.7%) had ≥1 communicable disease. The most frequent individual NCDs were dental disease (n=128, 35.7%) and vitamin D deficiency (n=72, 20.1%). Trend analysis showed increased odds of identifying an NCD from 2013 onwards (crude OR 1.77, 95% CI 1.06 to 2.96). Neurodevelopmental problems, especially Global Developmental Delay (n=31, 8.6%), emerged as more prevalent issues in the latter half of the decade. There were significantly increased odds of identifying a neurodevelopmental problem in 2016-2019, especially in 2016-2017 (adjusted OR 2.93, 95% CI 1.34 to 6.40). Key policy changes during this period included acceptance of refugees with disabilities from 2012, additional Australian Humanitarian Programme intake from the Eastern Mediterranean region and mandatory offshore processing for those seeking asylum by boat from 2013. In response to the changing needs, local health services adopted nurse-led primary healthcare screening, early childhood services, youth and disability clinics. CONCLUSIONS: Refugee CYP in Australia are presenting with a growing burden of NCDs, with neurodevelopmental problems contributing. Government policy changes affect the sociodemographics of resettled populations, influencing health profiles. Paediatric refugee health services need to be responsive to the changing needs of these populations to optimise well-being.

Offshore detention: cross-sectional analysis of the health of children and young people seeking asylum in Australia.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the health and well-being of children and young people (CYP) seeking asylum subjected to Australia's immigration policy of indefinite mandatory detention on Nauru. DESIGN: Cross-sectional analysis of a cohort of CYP seeking asylum. SETTING: Australian paediatric clinicians from 10 health services completed detailed health assessments around the time of transfer from Nauru, mostly to Australia. PARTICIPANTS: Sixty-two CYP who were ≤18 years on entry into offshore immigration detention on Nauru between 2013 and 2019. Mean age at health assessment was 9 years. MAIN MEASURES: Health outcomes were categorised as physical, mental or neurodevelopmental concerns/conditions. Risk and protective factor data were collected using the adverse childhood experiences and refugee-specific adverse childhood experiences tools. RESULTS: Over half of the CYP (n=32, 52%) were held on Nauru for ≥4 years. The vast majority of CYP had physical health (n=55, 89%) and mental health (n=49, 79%) concerns including self-harm or suicidal ideation/attempt (n=28, 45%). Mental health concerns were more likely in CYP who were school-aged (p=0.001), had been held on Nauru for ≥1 year (p=0.01); originated from the Eastern Mediterranean region (p<0.05); witnessed trauma (p<0.05) or had exposure to ≥4 refugee-specific adverse childhood experiences (p<0.05). Neurodevelopmental concerns were seen in eight children (13%). CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the almost universal physical and mental health difficulties in a sample of CYP who experienced forced migration and were subjected to Australia's offshore immigration detention policy. Immigration detention in recipient countries, a known adverse childhood experience, may contribute to or exacerbate harmful outcomes in CYP seeking asylum.

Ethics and governance for a multi-site study in Australia: Navigating the snakes and ladders.

Multi-site research studies are essential if we are to conduct national research across all Australian jurisdictions. There is widespread agreement among clinicians and researchers that obtaining essential approvals to conduct multi-site research studies in Australia can be complex, bureaucratic and time consuming. Although there is inherent value in the review process, resources and months of valuable research time are often expended long before the study has begun. Using our recent experience for a multi-site, longitudinal paediatric cohort study of children and adolescents who were detained in offshore immigration detention on Nauru, we describe the process of navigating the ethics and governance approval systems. We identify tips for researchers and clinicians conducting multi-site studies, including early consultation with ethics and governance committees, using their recommended templates, anticipating time delays, and commencing time consuming processes as early as permissible. Our recommendations at the systemic level include streamlined and integrated ethics and governance review processes for all Australian jurisdictions, with co-ordinated requests for further information, a standardised approach across all Research Governance Offices, a rapid system for addressing amendments and individualised study support and consultations. Above all, a nationally agreed framework whereby ethics and governance committees across jurisdictions communicate with each other, use the same electronic platform and present a unified process whilst protecting the welfare, rights, dignity and safety of research participants is required. The complexity of the current ethics and governance processes may inadvertently and unintentionally be a barrier to conducting ethical research.

The role of Kingella kingae in pre-school aged children with bone and joint infections.

OBJECTIVES: The Pre-school Osteoarticular Infection (POI) study aimed to describe the burden of disease, epidemiology, microbiology and treatment of acute osteoarticular infections (OAI) and the role of Kingella kingae in these infections. METHODS: Information about children 3-60 months of age who were hospitalized with an OAI to 11 different hospitals across Australia and New Zealand between January 2012 and December 2016 was collected retrospectively. RESULTS: A total of 907 cases (73%) were included. Blood cultures grew a likely pathogen in only 18% (140/781). The peak age of presentation was 12 to 24 months (466/907, 51%) and Kingella kingae was the most frequently detected microorganism in this age group (60/466, 13%). In the majority of cases, no microorganism was detected (517/907, 57%). Addition of PCR to culture increased detection rates of K. kingae. However, PCR was performed infrequently (63/907, 7%). CONCLUSIONS: This large multi-national study highlights the need for more widespread use of molecular diagnostic techniques for accurate microbiological diagnosis of OAI in pre-school aged children. The data from this study supports the hypothesis that a substantial proportion of pre-school aged children with OAI and no organism identified may in fact have undiagnosed K. kingae infection. Improved detection of Kingella cases is likely to reduce the average length of antimicrobial treatment.