The Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI) has launched SPARKForAutism.org, a dynamic platform that is engaging thousands of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and connecting them to researchers. By making all data accessible, SPARK seeks to increase our understanding of ASD and accelerate new supports and treatments for ASD.

One of the key public health challenges facing indigenous and other minority communities is how to develop and implement effective, acceptable, and sustainable strategies for the prevention of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). In this article, the authors describe how an ethnographic approach was used to contextualize the behavioral risk factors for NIDDM and applied to the development of a more meaningful and appropriate epidemiological risk factor survey instrument for an urban Aboriginal population in Australia. The overall research design comprised a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods. The ethnographic study showed that the complex web of meanings that tie people to their family and community can and should be taken into account in any social epidemiology of health and illness if the findings are to have any effective and long-term potential to contribute to successful public health interventions targeting these behavioral risk factors.

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This understanding of meaning and context of mental health and its risk factors in migrants is important for informing public health and clinical practice and for the improvement of quantitative research instruments.

The level of mental distress among Filipinas in Queensland appears to be slightly higher than the levels reported in the general population but lower than other migrant groups. The determinants of mental distress in this population contrast with those in the general Australian population and other migrant groups. The social context of these determinants in Filipinas needs to be elicited for an understanding of these differences.

This article describes how the principles of participatory research were applied to the study of non-insulin dependent diabetes (NIDDM) in an urban Aboriginal community in Melbourne, Australia. The process of developing an appropriate questionnaire and method for the epidemiological study of diabetes was combined with community-controlled initiatives for diabetes management and prevention. A close to full time presence in the community and the flexibility of qualitative methods facilitated the development of a quality working relationship between the researcher and community members and the modification of the research to increase direct community benefit. Creating a balance between the priorities of research and action proved one of the major challenges during the collection of data. Flexibility and communication beyond the completion of the research component were crucial for the development of community-owned diabetes education materials and for consultation and collaboration in the publication of the research results.

 Abstracts should be structured and have the following headings: Objectives; Methods; Results; Conclusions; Practice implications MAIN TEXT  All Original Articles must contain a first order heading section Discussion and conclusion and 3 second order headings 1) Discussion 2) Conclusion 3) Practice implications. Only within Discussion there may be subheadings. REFERENCES  Abbreviations for the names of journals in the reference list should follow Index Medicus (e.g. JAMA should read J Amer Med Assoc, BMJ should read Brit Med J). The abbreviation for Patient Education and Counseling is Patient Educ Couns  Issue numbers and months must not be included in the reference list (only year, volume numbers and page range required)  Page ranges in the reference list should appear as follows e.g. 310-5  Titles of non English publications should be given in English language, between [ ] Checklist for New Submissions For further details see the extended guidelines Highlights  A conceptual framework for communication about sexual wellbeing in routine prostate cancer care was developed.  This was based on data from evidence reviews, semi-structured interviews and testing using 'think-aloud' methods.  The framework consisted of 'Engagement' (E), 'Assessment' (A), 'Support' (S) and 'Sign-posting' (Si) sections.  The EASSi framework can facilitate and structure conversations, ensuring fundamental, individualised support is provided.

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