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A 2012 change in Australia's immigration policy saw increased resettlement of refugees with disability, with a large number fleeing political instability in Iraq and Syria. The evidence on service disparities for resettled refugees with disability and their families is sparse. The study aim was to explore, from multiple stakeholder perspectives, the experiences of people with disability from Iraqi and Syrian refugee backgrounds resettled in Australia, with a view to informing future services and supports. Interviews with nine family members of 11 people with disability from Iraqi and Syrian refugee backgrounds and seven practitioners working in refugee specific services. Persons with disability had a range of disabilities including intellectual or developmental, physical and sensory. Interviews were translated from Arabic to English as required and analysed using thematic analysis. Two themes described the practices and service interventions that addressed disparities: (1) Getting the basics right: Refugee specific services played a crucial role during early settlement in ensuring access to medical, health and social care including diagnosis, medication, equipment, housing and financial support. (2) Ongoing access to disability supports: Refugee specific services assisted families with longer‐term supports once immediate needs were met, including accessing services through the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Participants described benefits such as having access to interpreters and Arabic‐speaking staff, demonstrating services' attention to cultural sensitivity and safety, and problems including waiting times, bureaucratic processes and housing needs. Refugee specific services, disability services and health services should collaboratively develop and implement strategies to tackle the intersectional nature of issues resettled refugees with disability and their families encounter in Australia. These should be informed by the experiences of people with disability and family members from refugee backgrounds and privilege holistic practices that avoid reliance on one sector alone to address the complex needs of refugees with disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) diagnosed with cancer commonly experience elevated psychological distress and need appropriate detection and management of the psychosocial impact of their illness and treatment. This paper describes the multinational validation of the Distress Thermometer (DT) for AYAs recently diagnosed with cancer and the relationship between distress and patient concerns on the AYA‐Needs Assessment (AYA‐NA). Methods: AYA patients (N = 288; 15–29 years, Mage = 21.5 years, SDage = 3.8) from Australia (n = 111), Canada (n = 67), the UK (n = 85) and the USA (n = 25) completed the DT, AYA‐NA, Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS) and demographic measures within 3 months of diagnosis. Using the HADS as a criterion, receiver operating characteristics analysis was used to determine the optimal cut‐off score and meet the acceptable level of 0.70 for sensitivity and specificity. Correlations between the DT and HADS scores, prevalence of distress and AYA‐NA scores were reported. Results: The DT correlated strongly with the HADS‐Total, providing construct validity evidence (r = 0.65, p < 0.001). A score of 5 resulted in the best clinical screening cut‐off on the DT (sensitivity = 82%, specificity = 75%, Youden Index = 0.57). Forty‐two percent of AYAs scored at or above 5. 'Loss of meaning or purpose' was the AYA‐NA item most likely to differentiate distressed AYAs. Conclusions: The DT is a valid distress screening instrument for AYAs with cancer. The AYA‐POST (DT and AYA‐NA) provides clinicians with a critical tool to assess the psychosocial well‐being of this group, allowing for the provision of personalised support and care responsive to individuals' specific needs and concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2015, the Australian government committed to take an additional 12,000 refugees from Syria and Iraq prioritizing those considered most vulnerable including people with disability. The aim of this preliminary study was to understand, from multiple stakeholder perspectives, the experiences of settling in Australia for people with disability from Syrian and Iraqi refugee backgrounds living in Sydney. Interviews were conducted with nine family members of 11 people with disability from Iraqi and Syrian refugee backgrounds; eight Iraqi and Syrian community organization leaders; and seven community and health refugee service practitioners. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using the thematic analysis. Three themes were identified that contribute to understandings of disability based on the perceptions of the multiple stakeholders interviewed: Iraqi and Syrian perceptions of 'disability'; beliefs about who is 'responsible for' the disability; and comparisons between Iraqi/Syrian and Australian views, attitudes, and approaches to disability. Understandings of disability are shaped by fluid and dynamic factors, including culture. It is essential that services are offered to people with disability and their family members using a whole-of-person, culturally informed approach to community support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a meeting to produce international partnerships for the promotion of the Adolescent and Young Adults (AYA) activities sponsored by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research American Health Association that was held in Melbourne, Australia on December 7-8, 2015.

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The article offers information on 'The Active People Survey' (APS) and 'The Satisfaction with the Quality of the Sporting Experience Survey' (SQSE) to support improved performance management frameworks and strategic decision making in sports. It discusses several key characteristics of APS including the large sample size, stratified random sampling and telephonic interviews to address the issues of seasonality in sports participation. It reports that the results of the survey are ground breaking and reveals that why people take part in sports and the fundamental building blocks of sports participation.