Utilising survey data to inform public policy: Comparison of the cost-effectiveness of treatment of ten mental disorders

Background Mental health survey data are now being used proactively to decide how the burden of disease might best be reduced. Aims To study the cost-effectiveness of current and optimal treatments for mental disorders and the proportion of burden avertable by each. Method Data for three affective, four anxiety and two alcohol use disorders and for schizophrenia were compared in terms of cost, burden averted and efficiency of current and optimal treatment. We then calculated the burden unavertable given current knowledge. The unit of health gain was a reduction in the years lived with disability (YLDs). Results Summing across all disorders, current treatment averted 13% of the burden, at an average cost of AUS$30 000 per YLD gained. Optimal treatment at current coverage could avert 20% of the burden, at an average cost of AUS$18 000 per YLD gained. Optimal treatment at optimal coverage could avert 28% of the burden, at AUS$16 000 per YLD gained. Sixty per cent of the burden of mental disorders was deemed to be unavertable. Conclusions The efficiency of treatment varied more than tenfold across disorders. Although coverage of some of the more efficient treatments should be extended, other factors justify continued use of less-efficient treatments for some disorders. Declaration of interest None. Funding detailed in Acknowledgements.

The public's knowledge of and support for conservation of Australia's tree-kangaroos and other animals

After providing background on Dendrolagus species in Australia, two consecutive surveys of Brisbane's residents are used to assess public knowledge of tree-kangaroos and the stated degree of support for their conservation in Australia. The responses of participants in Survey I are based on their pre-survey knowledge of wildlife. The same set of participants completed Survey II after being provided with additional information on all the wildlife species mentioned in Survey I. Changes in the attitudes of respondents and their degree of support for the protection and conservation of Australia's tree-kangaroos are measured, including changes in their contingent valuations and stated willingness to provide financial support for such conservation. Reasons for wanting to protect tree-kangaroos are specified and analysed. Furthermore, changes that occur in the relative importance of these reasons with increased knowledge are also examined. Support for the conservation of tree-kangaroos is found to rise with the additional knowledge supplied about all species and is compared with variations in support for protection of other mammals. Support for the conservation of Australia's less well known tropical mammals is found to increase relative to better known mammals (icons) present in temperate areas, such as koalas and red kangaroos. Possible implications of the results for government conservation policies in Australia are examined.

A new estimate for the composition of weathered young upper continental crust from alluvial sediments, Queensland, Australia

We present new major element, trace element and Nd-isotope data for 30 alluvial sediments collected from 25 rivers in Queensland, E Australia. Samples were chosen to represent drainage from the region's most important lithologies, including Tertiary intraplate volcanic rocks, a Cretaceous igneous province (and sedimentary rocks derived thereof) as well as Proterozoic blocks. In most chemical and isotopic aspects, the alluvial sediments represent binary or ternary mixing relationships, with absolute abundances implied to reflect the proportion of lithologies in the catchments. When averaged, the studied sediments differ from other proxies of upper continental crust (UCC) mainly in their relative middle rare earth element enrichment (including an elevated Sm/Nd ratio), higher relative Eu abundance and higher Nb/Ta ratio. These features are inherited from eroded Tertiary intraplate basalts, which commonly form topographic highs in the studied region. Despite the high degree of weathering strong to excellent coherence between similarly incompatible elements is found for all samples. From this coherence, we suggest revisions of the following upper crustal element ratios: Y/Ho = 26.2, Yb/Tm = 6.37, Th/W = 7.14, Th/Tl = 24 and Zr/Hf = 36.9. Lithium, Rb, Cs and Be contents do not seem depleted relative to UCC, which may reflect paucity of K-feldspar in the eroded catchments. Nickel, Cr, Pb, Cu and Zn concentrations are elevated in polluted rivers surrounding the state capital. River sediments in the Proterozoic Georgetown Inlier are elevated in Pb, Cu and Zn but this could be a natural phenomenon reflecting abundant sulphide mineralisation in the area. Except for relative Sr concentrations, which broadly anticorrelate with mean annual rainfall in catchments, there is no obvious relationship between the extent of weathering and climate types, which range from and to tropical. The most likely explanation for this observation is that the weathering profiles in many catchments are several Myr old, established during the much wetter Miocene period. The studied sediment compositions (excluding those from the Proterozoic catchments) are used to propose a new trace element normalisation termed MUQ (MUd from Queensland), which serves as an alternative to UCC proxies derived from sedimentary rocks. Copyright (C) 2005 Elsevier Ltd

Factor structure and internal consistency of the Young Schema Questionnaire (Short Form) in Korean and Australian samples

We investigated cross-cultural differences in the factor structure and psychometric properties of the 75-item Young Schema Questionnaire-Short Form (YSQ-SF). Participants were 833 South Korean and 271 Australian undergraduate students. The South Korean sample was randomly divided into two sub-samples. Sample A was used for Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and sample B was used for Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). EFA for the South Korean sample revealed a 13-factor solution to be the best fit for the data, and CFA on the data from sample B confirmed this result. CFA on the data from the Australian sample also revealed a 13-factor solution. The overall scale of the YSQ-SF demonstrated a high level of internal consistency in the South Korean and Australian groups. Furthermore, adequate internal consistencies for all subscales in the South Korean and Australian samples were demonstrated. In conclusion, the results showed that YSQ-SF with 13 factors has good psychometric properties and reliability for South Korean and Australian University students. Korean samples had significantly higher YSD scores on most of the 13 subscales than the Australian sample. However, limitations of the current study preclude the generalisability of the findings to beyond undergraduate student populations. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Factors affecting female reproductive success and the survival of pouch young in the threatened brush-tailed rock-wallaby, Petrogale penicillata

Knowledge of factors affecting the survival of individuals and their reproductive success is essential for threatened species management, but studies assessing these factors are lacking for many threatened rock-wallaby species. In this study we investigated the factors influencing the breeding performance of females and the survival of pouch young in a wild colony of the threatened brush-tailed rock-wallaby. Individuals were trapped between October 2000 and April 2004. More than 50% of the females in the colony were breeding below their full potential and giving birth to only one offspring per year. Most females within the colony bred in synchrony, with a substantial birth peak evident during autumn. Pouch young born in autumn left the pouch during spring and were weaned during summer and autumn when forage was most abundant. Pouch young born during the autumn birth peak or in winter had a substantially higher probability of surviving through to pouch emergence than those born during spring or summer. This study provides demographic parameters that may be used in population models and for comparison with other populations, particularly those that are small and declining. To optimise reproductive success in reintroduction programs, females in good condition and with small pouch young should be released at the end of the wettest season.

International symposium on career development and public policy: Synthesis of country papers

During the conference, country teams were asked to select and address selection of six themes: human capital, labour supply, employability skills, carer development services for workforce development, older workers or evidence based research. This synthesis of country papers covers the conceptual links between these themes. It then goes on to cover three reframed themes focusing on career development policies and services, but distinguishing three levels of such policies and services: workforce preparation, workforce adaptability and workforce re-integration.