Public health

Community consultation has become a widely accepted part of policy development in Australia. In this article, we consider how, in an Australian context, consultation can be incorporated within gender analysis processes. Gender analysis refers to systematic procedures to detect and correct gender bias in the full range of government programs, projects and policies. We draw upon insights from a qualitative case study to argue that policy workers located within women's policy units could play a key role in designing and coordinating meaningful and inclusive consultation. We conclude that well-resourced women's policy offices within Australian governments are essential to ensuring effective, equitable consultation exercises are included within gender analysis processes.

Objective: Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) has the potential to place an enormous burden on families in resource-poor countries, and the aim of this survey was to provide more specific insights into the difficulties faced by families living with CAH in Vietnam. It is hoped that this information will be used to ensure that future efforts to reduce the burden of CAH are as effective, sustainable and appropriate as possible. Design and Methods: A questionnaire-based needs assessment survey was offered to parents of children with CAH who were attending the Annual CAH Support Group Meeting held at the National Hospital of Pediatrics (NHP) in Hanoi, Vietnam, on 10 th June 2005. Results: Fifty-three families responded to the questionnaire. Information pertaining to the purchase and use of medication to treat CAH, access to medical care, surgical treatment for girls, and a wide range of parental concerns was collected. Conclusions: This survey highlights the heavy burden that CAH places on families in Vietnam, and provides significant insights into various initiatives that could well help ease this 0 0 1 F suffer ing. In particular, efforts must be made 0 0 1 F to en sure essential medication is affordably available, communication of important messages to parents is enhanced, local support groups encouraged, and early diagnosis and medical treatment of CAH optimized so as to reduce morbidity and mortality.

CLAN (Caring and Living as Neighbours) is an Australian-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) committed to equity for children living with chronic health conditions in resource-poor settings. Since 2004, CLAN has collaborated with a broad range of partners across the Asia Pacific region to improve quality of life for children living with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). This exploratory case study uses the Knowledge to Action (KTA) framework to analyse CLAN’s activities for children living with CAH in the Asia Pacific. The seven stages of the KTA action cycle inform a systematic examination of comprehensive, collaborative, sustained actions to address a complex health challenge. The KTA framework demonstrates the “how” of CLAN’s approach to knowledge creation and exchange, and the centrality of community development to multisectoral collaborative action across a range of conditions, cultures and countries to redressing child health inequities. This includes a commitment to:...

Background and aims: The global inequity confronting children and adolescents living with chronic health conditions in LMICs results in large-scale preventable morbidity, disability and mortality. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRoC) clearly outlines the accountability of governments and other organisations in upholding and protecting the rights of children. Since 2004 CLAN (Caring & Living as Neighbours) has been utilising a collaborative community development framework to stimulate progressive and sustainable change for children and adolescents living with chronic conditions in the Asia Pacific region. Methods: Identifying all children living with the same chronic conditions as members of a “community”, CLAN seeks to engage these communities and local health professionals to participate in community events, action research, health and quality of life surveys, research projects and health needs assessments with the objective of focusing local, national ...

convened on matters specifically related to public health: First, in 2001, the UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS agreed on a comprehensive statement of intent to address the global HIV pandemic; second, in 2011, a High Level Meeting convened by the UN General Assembly agreed on a Political Declaration that outlined a response to the global rise in noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). This specific focus stemmed from the recognition that preventing and treating these diseases is critical to social and economic development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). NCDs alone accounted for 63 per cent of global deaths in 2008, with approximately 9 million of these deaths in people under 60 years of age and 80 per cent occurring in lowand middle-income countries.

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a heterogeneous genetic disorder, with features that include increased bone fragility, pathological fractures, blue sclera, dentinogenesis imperfecta and conductive or mixed hearing loss. Clinical variability is wide from children with few fractures and normal stature to children with multiple fractures, long bone deformity, scoliosis and extreme short stature. Although there is no curative treatment, there are several therapeutic tools capable of improving the course of the condition and patient quality of life. We aim to evaluate the effect of OI on the well-being of children with the disorder and their families through a family-centered questionnaire. Sixty children with OI from the Vietnam National Hospital of Pediatrics and/or their parent(s), who attended the first annual family support group in 2011, completed a child and parent questionnaire. Sixty patients participated, 26 female and 34 male. The median age was 6.0 years [interquartile range ...

in some Asian countries is far higher than in Australia, (eg 1:6000 as per the Filipino Newborn Screening Pro-gram). For many families in low and middle-income countries in Asia resources are limited, affordable and reliable access to essential medicines is problematic, and families living remotely are required to travel long dis-tances for medical care [1]. CAH is associated with sig-nificant physical & psychosocial consequences for affected children & their families where treatment is suboptimal, so there are important equity implications for the global CAH and paediatric endocrinology com-munities to consider. Health education is an integral component of health care in any setting. “CAHPepTalk ” is an educational resource that was developed initially for CAH families in