On ‘Activation Workers' Perceptions’ : a reply to Dunn (1)

Andrew Dunn challenges us to include the perspectives of other policy actors in the debate about the merits and limits of activation policies that emphasise greater conditionality for those in receipt of benefits. In his provocative article he focuses on the views and experiences of people who work with unemployed people...

Front-line workers as intermediaries : the changing landscape of disability and employment services in Australia

Recent welfare reform in Australia has been constructed around the now-familiar principle of paid work and willingness to work as the fundamental marker of social citizenship. Beginning with the long-term unemployed in Australia in the mid 1990s, the scope of welfare reform has now extended to include people with a disability – which is a category of income support that has been growing in Australia. From the national government’s point of view this growth is a financial concern as it seeks to move as many people as possible into paid work to support the costs of an ageing population (DEWR, 2005). In doing so, the government has changed the meaning of disability in terms of eligibility for financial support from the state, and at the same time redefined the role of people with a disability with regard to work, and the role of the state with regard to the disabled. This has been a matter of some political contention in Australia.

Theatre-arts pedagogy for social justice : case study of the area youth foundation in Jamaica

In this paper I describe and analyse the socio-educational significance of a theatre arts approach to learning for young adults in Jamaica, implemented by the Area Youth Foundation (AYF). Briefly outlining the genesis and development of the AYF, I provide snapshots of the experiences and destinations of some of its young participants. The paper discusses AYF workshops to show how the pedagogy was shaped by the expressive arts and based on the critical praxis approach systematized by Paulo Freire in adult education and Augusto Boal in theatre. Based on interviews with AYF’s leader and some of the learners, I discuss how the foundation’s motto, “Youth Empowerment Through the Arts,” is played out in workshops and creative productions that are simultaneously learner-driven and teacher-guided, with the powerful impact of inspiring politically thoughtful creativity and skills in youths from less-privileged communities.

Re-visioning the Queensland Youth Sector : principles to inform the Queensland Government's youth strategy and review process

This discussion paper has been provided to assist the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services (DOCCSDS) in developing the Queensland Government’s Youth Strategy and inform the review of state government funded youth services. The paper lists a number of key concepts and social determinants which need to be considered in this undertaking. Additionally, it proposes a number key concepts and principles pertinent to understanding and working with young people, and for quality youth service provision.

The Child Behavior Checklist and Youth Self-Report in adolescents with epilepsy : testing measurement invariance of the Attention and Thought Problems subscales

The objective of this study was to test for the measurement invariance of the Attention and Thought Problems subscales of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and Youth Self-Report (YSR) in a population-based sample of adolescents with and without epilepsy. Data were obtained from the 14-year follow-up of the Mater University Study of Pregnancy in which 33 adolescents with epilepsy and 1068 healthy controls were included for analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test for measurement invariance between adolescents with and without epilepsy. Structural equation modeling was used to test for group differences in attention and thought problems as measured with the CBCL and YSR. Measurement invariance was demonstrated for the original CBCL Attention Problems and YSR Thought Problems. After the removal of ambiguous items (“confused” and “daydreams”),measurement invariance was established for the YSR Attention Problems. The original and reduced CBCL Thought Problems were noninvariant. Adolescents with epilepsy had significantly more symptoms of behavioral problems on the CBCL Attention Problems, β = 0.51, p = 0.002, compared with healthy controls. In contrast, no significant differences were found for the YSR Attention and Thought Problems, β = −0.11, p = 0.417 and β = −0.20, p = 0.116, respectively. In this population-based sample of adolescents with epilepsy, the CBCL Attention Problems and YSR Thought Problems appear to be valid measures of behavioral problems, whereas the YSR Attention Problems was valid only after the removal of ambiguous items. Replication of these findings in clinical samples of adolescents with epilepsy that overcome the limitations of the current study is warranted.

Submission : Proposed reforms to youth justice in Queensland

The proposed reforms to the youth justice system in Queensland are premised on the assumption that offending by young people is increasing. We noted (Carrington, Dwyer, Hutchinson and Richards 2012, 8) in a recent submission about the boot camps legislation that: "Statistics suggest that this concern is not warranted. Certainly studies show that ‘rates per 100,000 juveniles in detention in Queensland have been relatively stable compared with the national trend’ (Richards 2011) and that rates of detention of child offenders have declined generally in Australia over the last three decades. Youth offending statistics are affected by the diversion options used by the police, as well as by the numbers and levels of policing, and any special strategies such as Operation Colossus in the northern part of the state. ‘Community concern’ about crime does not always reflect the true rates of crime across Queensland. Policy should be based on valid evidence, not on ‘community concern’. With stable numbers of young people being detained in Australia, the research clearly suggests that youth offending is not escalating."...

The CLIMATE schools combined study : a cluster randomised controlled trial of a universal Internet-based prevention program for youth substance misuse, depression and anxiety

Background Anxiety, depressive and substance use disorders account for three quarters of the disability attributed to mental disorders and frequently co-occur. While programs for the prevention and reduction of symptoms associated with (i) substance use and (ii) mental health disorders exist, research is yet to determine if a combined approach is more effective. This paper describes the study protocol of a cluster randomised controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of the CLIMATE Schools Combined intervention, a universal approach to preventing substance use and mental health problems among adolescents. Methods/design Participants will consist of approximately 8400 students aged 13 to 14-years-old from 84 secondary schools in New South Wales, Western Australia and Queensland, Australia. The schools will be cluster randomised to one of four groups; (i) CLIMATE Schools Combined intervention; (ii) CLIMATE Schools - Substance Use; (iii) CLIMATE Schools - Mental Health, or (iv) Control (Health and Physical Education as usual). The primary outcomes of the trial will be the uptake and harmful use of alcohol and other drugs, mental health symptomatology and anxiety, depression and substance use knowledge. Secondary outcomes include substance use related harms, self-efficacy to resist peer pressure, general disability, and truancy. The link between personality and substance use will also be examined. Discussion Compared to students who receive the universal CLIMATE Schools - Substance Use, or CLIMATE Schools - Mental Health or the Control condition (who received usual Health and Physical Education), we expect students who receive the CLIMATE Schools Combined intervention to show greater delays to the initiation of substance use, reductions in substance use and mental health symptoms, and increased substance use and mental health knowledge

A comparison of methods to identify alcohol involvement in youth injury-related emergency department presentation data

Aims: To compare different methods for identifying alcohol involvement in injury-related emergency department presentation in Queensland youth, and to explore the alcohol terminology used in triage text. Methods: Emergency Department Information System data were provided for patients aged 12-24 years with an injury-related diagnosis code for a 5 year period 2006-2010 presenting to a Queensland emergency department (N=348895). Three approaches were used to estimate alcohol involvement: 1) analysis of coded data, 2) mining of triage text, and 3) estimation using an adaptation of alcohol attributable fractions (AAF). Cases were identified as ‘alcohol-involved’ by code and text, as well as AAF weighted. Results: Around 6.4% of these injury presentations overall had some documentation of alcohol involvement, with higher proportions of alcohol involvement documented for 18-24 year olds, females, indigenous youth, where presentations occurred on a Saturday or Sunday, and where presentations occurred between midnight and 5am. The most common alcohol terms identified for all subgroups were generic alcohol terms (eg. ETOH or alcohol) with almost half of the cases where alcohol involvement was documented having a generic alcohol term recorded in the triage text. Conclusions: Emergency department data is a useful source of information for identification of high risk sub-groups to target intervention opportunities, though it is not a reliable source of data for incidence or trend estimation in its current unstandardised form. Improving the accuracy and consistency of identification, documenting and coding of alcohol-involvement at the point of data capture in the emergency department is the most desirable long term approach to produce a more solid evidence base to support policy and practice in this field.

Health and safety for clean-up and recovery workers

This paper will identify and discuss the major occupational health and safety (OHS) hazards and risks for clean-up and recovery workers. The lessons learned from previous disasters including; the Exxon Valdez oil spill, World Trade Centre (WTC) terrorist attack, Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon Gulf of Mexico oil spill will be discussed. The case for an increased level of preparation and planning to mitigate the health risks for clean-up and recovery workers will be presented, based on recurring themes identified in the peer reviewed literature. There are a number of important issues pertaining to the occupational health and safety of workers who are engaged in clean-up and recovery operations following natural and technological disasters. These workers are often exposed to a wide range of occupational health and safety hazards, some of which may be unknown at the time. It is well established that clean-up and recovery operations involve risks of physical injury, for example, from manual handling, mechanical equipment, extreme temperatures, slips, trips and falls. In addition to these well established physical injury risks there are now an increasing number of studies which highlight the risks of longer term or chronic health effects arising from clean-up and recovery work. In particular, follow up studies from the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Hurricane Katrina and the World Trade Centre (WTC) terrorism attack have documented the longer term health consequences of these events. These health effects include respiratory symptoms and musculoskeletal disorders, as well as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In large scale operations many of those workers and supervisors involved have not had any specific occupational health and safety (OHS) training and may not have access to the necessary instruction, personal protective equipment or other appropriate equipment, this is especially true when volunteers are used to form part of the clean-up and recovery workforce. In general, first responders are better equipped and trained than clean-up and recovery workers and some of the training approaches used for the traditional first responders would be relevant for clean-up and recovery workers.

Exploring functional concerns in help-seeking youth : a qualitative study

Aim This study aimed to explore the functional concerns of help-seeking young people 12-25 years of age. Method Semistructured interviews with n=10 young people seeking help from a youth mental health clinic were conducted. Data were transcribed verbatim and analysed using content analysis. Results were verified by member checking. Results Participants identified reasons for seeking help, with the main themes being relationships, emotional management, risk-taking behaviour and difficulties with employment. There appeared to be a difference between the concerns of the older, post-school-age group and the younger participants. Conclusion Young people are able to identify their functional concerns and reasons for seeking help from mental health services. Understanding the concerns of these young people provides weight to the model of youth-specific mental health services. Future work examining concerns of 12-25 year olds should ensure adequate representation of the older group as their needs and concerns seem to differ from those of younger participants in this study. Post-school-age youth seem to be under-represented in existing literature in this field. However, a limitation with this study is the small sample sizes once the cohort is divided by age. Future studies with a larger, more detailed examination of the needs and concerns of this population are warranted to inform service delivery advancements and clarify the difference in needs between the post-school and current school attendee groups.

Blurred lines : reconsidering the concept of ‘diversion’ in youth justice systems in Australia

This article revisits ‘diversion’ in the context of youth justice in Australia. Although ‘diversion’ is omnipresent in youth justice, it is rarely subject to critical examination. This article raises four interrelated questions: what young people are to be ‘diverted’ from and to; whether young people are to be ‘diverted’ from the criminal justice system or from offending; whether young people are to be ‘diverted’ from criminal justice processes or outcomes; and whether ‘diversion’ should be considered distinct from crime prevention and early intervention. The article concludes that the confusion about youth ‘diversion’ may foster individualised interventions in young people’s lives.

Heat strain and hydration status of surface mine blast crew workers

Objective Dehydration and symptoms of heat illness are common among the surface mining workforce. This investigation aimed to determine whether heat strain and hydration status exceeded recommended limits. Methods Fifteen blast crew personnel operating in the tropics were monitored across a 12-hour shift. Heart rate, core body temperature, and urine-specific gravity were continuously recorded. Participants self-reported fluid consumption and completed a heat illness symptom inventory. Results Core body temperature averaged 37.46 +/- 0.13[degrees]C, with the group maximum 37.98 +/- 0.19[degrees]C. Mean urine-specific gravity was 1.024 +/- 0.007, with 78.6% of samples 1.020 or more. Seventy-three percent of workers reported at least one symptom of heat illness during the shift. Conclusions Core body temperature remained within the recommended limits; however, more than 80% of workers were dehydrated before commencing the shift, and tended to remain so for the duration.

School-based youth health nurses and adolescent decision-making concerning reproductive and sexual health advice : how can the law guide healthcare practitioners in this context?

This paper outlines some of the issues faced by School-Based Youth Health Nurses working in Queensland, in relation to the legal principles surrounding the provision of reproductive and sexual health advice. The paper outlines a number of specific issues faced by nurses working within this setting and considers the legal principles underpinning the issues concerning consent and confidentiality. The discussion in this paper demonstrates how the legal principles – which are often viewed as complex and uncertain by nurses working within this field – may be used as a guide to underpin good practice and compliance with the law. Although this paper is considered in the context of nurses working within Queensland, the principles and factors outlined are relevant to healthcare practitioners working within all Australian jurisdictions.

Good Starts for refugee youth

Good Starts Study for Refugee Youth is a Melbourne-based longitudinal study of 120 young refugee people. The study sought evidence about their experiences, attitudes and social supports, to inform efforts to support their well-being in Australia. The Good Starts study was a collaboration between the La Trobe Refugee Research Centre, La Trobe University (LARRC) and The Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture (Foundation House). The study was funded by VicHealth.

Good Starts for recently arrived youth with refugee backgrounds : promoting wellbeing in the first three years of settlement in Melbourne, Australia

This report describes the key findings of a longitudinal study (2004—2008) investigating the experiences of settlement among a group of 120 recently arrived young people with refugee backgrounds settling in Melbourne, Australia. Each year, less than one per cent of the world’s refugees are offered resettlement in one of 18 countries participating in The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) resettlement programme. Australia offers places to around 13,500 people per year, of whom about 26 per cent are between the ages of 10 and 19. What are the experiences of these young people in their early settlement years? How do they negotiate the transition from childhood to adulthood given the traumas of their past and the challenges of their present and future in Australia? What are the key social determinants of wellbeing and good settlement and what can we learn from these young people about what social policies and services will most effectively support them to make successful lives in their new home? This study explores these questions, the overall aim being to identify the key social determinants of wellbeing and settlement and to describe the lived experiences of these young people as they shape their lives in Australia.