Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, around the middle of March 2020, in-clinic intervention services based in applied behavior analysis provided to children had to be stopped abruptly in India. This qualitative and quantitative case study details how Behavior Momentum India (BMI), an organisation providing ABA-based interventions, transitioned services from in clinic to telehealth while continuing to target each student’s skill acquisition goals in language and communication domains. A cohort of 92 students diagnosed with autism or other learning disabilities participated in this study; 51 therapists, 9 behavior supervisors, and a doctoral-level Board Certified Behavior Analyst collaborated with parents; 78% of the students and 82% of the therapists used smartphones; and only a few used iPads and laptops. Therapists conducted direct sessions and parent-mediated sessions with 82 students. With 10 students, behavior supervisors trained parents to implement interventions with their children. The critical transition decisions, logistics, and ethical challenges were identified using qualitative methods. Despite significantly reduced session durations, all students continued to acquire targeted skills, and 52% of the students acquired more skills in telehealth compared to in clinic. A parent satisfaction survey returned high ratings onour organization’s initiative, and 72% of the parents reported that their familiarity and confidence with the science of applied behavior analysis had increased.
This research aimed to explore the family planning perspectives and experiences of Afghan women and men living in Melbourne. A total of 57 Afghan women and men participated in six focus groups and 20 semi-structured interviews. The majority of participants indicated a preference for two or three children and were open to using modern contraception. However, many women described experiencing negative side effects when using hormone-based contraception and expressed difficulty negotiating condom use with their husbands as an alternative. Some women described how these difficulties resulted in inconsistent contraceptive practices and, at times, unintended pregnancy. Participants recognised that health professionals have an important role in addressing their family planning needs. This study highlights the ways in which Afghan women and men are changing in relation to their family planning beliefs and practices, and the opportunities, challenges and transcultural tensions they experience as they navigate these issues in Australia. ARTICLE HISTORY
Erectile dysfunction is an under-reported complication of diabetes mellitus affecting over half of male patients [1]. Although many men with diabetes consider that erectile dysfunction has a negative influence on their quality of life, they are reluctant to report it; and while most would like treatment, they prefer physicians to start the conversation [2][3][4]. Erectile dysfunction predicts future cardiovascular disease, and screening for erectile dysfunction is advocated in several cardiovascular risk assessment algorithms [5]. Despite these facts, physicians surveyed in different cultures were found to be reluctant to broach the subject of erectile dysfunction with patients [6,7].We assessed the prevalence, causes and barriers to reporting erectile dysfunction in patients with diabetes attending routine outpatient visits at a teaching hospital in Dublin, Ireland. Men attending the clinics were invited to complete a questionnaire, and to undergo a physical examination and blood testing where indicated.Of 124 men attending during the study period, 73 (59%) were screened for erectile dysfunction, 66 completed the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) and other questionnaires, 46 agreed to a genital examination and 36 attended for blood testing [8].The majority of patients (51 of 73 screened, 70%) repor-
An evaluation of accessibility, appropriateness, acceptability and efficiency of telephone consultations, implemented at Monash Health Refugee Health and Wellbeing (MH RHW) throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, was conducted. A convergent mix-methods design was used, with both patients (n = 50) and clinicians (n = 11) participating in a survey, and two focus groups (n = 14) involving clinicians being conducted. Service utilization data was sourced from the MH RHW database. During May to December 2020, 61% (n = 3012) of the consultations were conducted by telephone, 42% (n = 11) of these required interpreters in a 3-way conversation Most patients were satisfied with telephone as a medium for providing care and with the quality of telephone-based care. Similarly, clinicians considered telephone consultations to be an acceptable mode-of-care for most patients during the pandemic, however, expressed caution in relation to certain patient cohort. Finally, the provision of care by telephone was considered no more efficient than face-to-face service provision, as reflected in the time required for each consultation, with some clinicians reporting adverse workload outcomes. This study highlighted the benefits and challenges of telephone consultations from patient and clinician perspectives. It also highlighted the types of patients that may not be suited to telephone consultations. Overall, this study showed that telephone service delivery is a feasible option in providing care to people of refugee background and should be considered in future decisions as an ongoing Medicare (Australia’s universal healthcare insurance scheme) billing item. However, clinical discretion should prevail in determining the most appropriate means of delivering care.
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