Childhood mental and developmental disorders

Childhood mental and developmental disordersencompass neurodevelopmental, emotional, and behavioraldisorders that have broad and serious adverseimpacts on psychological and social well-being. Childrenwith these disorders require significant additional supportfrom families and educational systems; the disordersfrequently persist into adulthood (Nevo and Manassis2009; Polanczyk and Rohde 2007; Shaw and others 2012).These children are more likely to experience a compromiseddevelopmental trajectory, with increased need formedical and disability services, as well as increased riskof contact with law enforcement agencies (Fergusson,Horwood, and Lynskey 1993).

Randomised controlled trials in child health in developing countries: trends and lessons over 11 years.

Using a uniform systematic approach annually, we reviewed 1553 publications from randomised controlled trials in child health in developing countries published between July 2002 and June 2013. There were annual increases in such publications, from 38 in the 12 months to July 2003 to over 200 in each of 2012 and 2013. These trials involved children in 76 developing countries. Studies of nutrition (366 publications, 23.6%) and malaria (336 publications, 21%) predominated. 79% of nutrition trials have been of micronutrients (288 publications), with comparatively few publications related to macronutrient interventions or complimentary feeding (48 publications) or measures to improve breast feeding (20 publications). Trials of malaria have involved a comprehensive range of treatment and preventive strategies and have heralded the implementation of new interventions as routine health strategies, and reductions in malaria in each affected country in the world in the last decade. There have been a relatively small number of trials of interventions for treatment or prevention of acute respiratory infection (98 publications, 6.3%), neonatal health (64 publications, 4.1%) and tuberculosis in children (26 publications, 1.7%). In the last 5 years there has been increasing focus on non-communicable diseases such as asthma and allergy, obesity, diabetes and cardiac disease, and behavioural-developmental disorders. Mental health conditions have received little attention (21 publications, 1.4% of publications). There is increasing research activity and capacity in child health in developing countries. Some areas have been the subject of a large amount of research, and have led to the design and implementation of effective public health interventions and reduced disease burdens, while in other areas comprehensive approaches and the systematic application of research findings have been lacking.

New money for mental health : will it make things better for rural and remote Australia?

New Australian government funding for the Better Outcomes in Mental Health Care initiative is a significant step forward for mental health, with general practitioners now able to offer direct referrals to psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists and Aboriginal health workers. Incentives for better teamwork between GPs and other mental health professionals have been introduced, but may have unintended consequences, including an exacerbation of workforce shortages in rural and remote areas. Possible solutions to these shortages include rural scholarships for students in the mental health professions; recruitment and retention of students coordinated by university departments of rural health; better access to continuing professional development; and federally funded rural positions and additional financial incentives for rural mental health practitioners.

Oiling the brain : a review of randomized controlled trials of omega-3 fatty acids in psychopathology across the lifespan

Around one in four people suffer from mental illness at some stage in their lifetime. There is increasing awareness of the importance of nutrition, particularly omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA), for optimal brain development and function. Hence in recent decades, researchers have explored effects of n-3 PUFA on mental health problems over the lifespan, from developmental disorders in childhood, to depression, aggression, and schizophrenia in adulthood, and cognitive decline, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in late adulthood. This review provides an updated overview of the published and the registered clinical trials that investigate effects of n-3 PUFA supplementation on mental health and behavior, highlighting methodological differences and issues.

Applied machine learning for personalised early intervention in autism

This thesis is the first to address the problems of early intervention in Autism Spectrum Disorder through the lens of machine learning and data analytics. The key contribution is the establishment of large datasets in this domain for the first time together with a systematic data-based approach to extract knowledge relevant to Autism.

Developmental language disorders and adolescent risk: a public-health advocacy role for speech pathologists?

Within the multi-disciplinary team concerned with child and adolescent development, speech pathologists are uniquely positioned to understand the nature and overall developmental significance of language acquisition in childhood and adolescence. Other disciplines contribute valuable insights about psychosocial development during the childhood and adolescent years. The field of developmental psychology, for example provides a large and convincing body of evidence about the role of academic success as a protective factor against a range of psychosocial harms, in particular substance misuse, truancy, early school leaving, and juvenile offending. In this paper, we argue that juvenile offending embodies the notion of "adolescent risk", but in Australia in particular, has been under-investigated with respect to possible associations with developmental language disorders and subsequent academic failure. We present findings pertaining to a sample of 30 male juvenile offenders completing community based orders. Performance on a range of oral language processing and production skills was poorer than that of a demographically similar comparison group. Our results confirm the need to conceptualize language within a broader risk and protective framework. We therefore emphasize the public health importance of early language competence, by virtue of the psychosocial protection it confers on young people with respect to the development of prosocial skills, transition to literacy and overall academic achievement. We argue that speech pathologists are best positioned to advocate at a policy level about the broader public health importance of oral language competence.