J Stephens

NEW PUBLICATION: Infectious disease #outbreaks remain the dominant public health threat at multi-day, youth-focused #massgathering events. Importantly, standardised minimum datasets are required to ensure consistency in incident reporting. doi.org/10.1016/j.pu...

NEW PUBLICATION: Our state-wide analysis of childhood #myringotomy showed children with more socioeconomic advantage were less likely to have surgery. Living closer to an ENT health service was associated with a greater likelihood of surgery. bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/1...

Managing youth mental health at a 10-day live-in mass-gathering event Scout jamborees provide an opportunity for younger youth to attend a ten-day live-in mass gathering event. However, young people may experience distre…

RECENT PUBLICATION: Our qualitative study at a 10-day youth #MassGathering event explored #mentalhealth support for young attendees. Recommendation: mental health first aid training for all adults accompanying youth attendees at long duration mass gatherings.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Exploring Parental Experiences of Childhood Ear Health Clinics and Their Acceptability of AI‐Based Diagnostic Tools: A Qualitative Study Objective Artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) algorithms will transform the childhood otitis media (OM) diagnostic experience. However, there is limited data on parents' current exp...

PUBLISHED TODAY: Parents have concerns about artificial intelligence / machine learning tools, but acknowledge potential benefits for ear & hearing healthcare. Implementation must enhance—not replace—human connection & trust that are central to paediatric healthcare. dx.doi.org/10.1111/hex....

Health system responsiveness for maternal healthcare services in East Africa: a mixed-methods systematic review - BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth Background Health system responsiveness (HSR) is the ability to respond to universal legitimate expectations of service consumers. This contributes to achieving short and long-term health sector goals...

PUBLISHED TODAY: Our mixed-methods #SystematicReview assessed health system responsiveness across East Africa. Women experience limited decision-making autonomy, breaches of confidentiality, undignified care, poor communication, and unhygienic #maternity care. Read it here: doi.org/10.1186/s128...

Socioeconomic inequities impacting complete continuum of maternal healthcare service utilisation over time in Ethiopia - International Journal of Health Economics and Management Objective To quantify socioeconomic inequities of complete continuity of maternal healthcare service over time using Ethiopian Demography and Health Survey data from 2011 to 2019. Methods A total of 1...

PUBLISHED TODAY: Our study found progress toward universal maternity care in Ethiopia remains insufficient to achieve the UN SDG 2030 targets. Continuity of maternity care had pro-rich distribution through 2011 to 2019, with highest inequity observed in 2019. doi.org/10.1007/s107...

What is chikungunya virus, and should we be worried about it in Australia? The main symptoms include fever, joint pain and joint swelling. Here’s what else to know.

An outbreak of #chikungunya is ongoing on the Indian Pacific islands of La Reunion and Mayotte ... What is chikungunya? I wrote an explainer Conversation article. #epidemic #mosquito #vectorborne

theconversation.com/what-is-chik...

Facilitators and barriers of healthcare financing modalities for universal maternal healthcare services in East Africa: a qualitative systematic review - BMC Health Services Research Background Universal health coverage is an approach that ensures all people have access to quality essential health services without facing financial hardship. Despite all United Nations Member States...

NEW PUBLICATION: Our sys review found high out-of-pocket healthcare expense is a critical challenge for universal #maternalhealth service delivery in East African countries. We recommend non-medical costs be covered within free maternal healthcare policy & insurance schemes. doi.org/10.1186/s129...

Healthcare-Seeking Behaviour for Obstetric Complications in Ethiopia: A Multilevel Mixed-Effect Analysis - Alehegn Bishaw Geremew, Claire T. Roberts, Shahid Ullah, Jacqueline H. Stephens, 2025 Background: Healthcare-seeking behaviour, and its associated factors, for obstetric complications are an important determinant of maternal deaths and adverse fo...

PUBLISHED TODAY: Our analysis showed healthcare-seeking behaviour by Ethiopian women in response to obstetric complication symptoms was low & varied across the different stages of the maternity continuum. @flindersuniversity.bsky.social doi.org/10.1177/1178...

Outcomes in Transplant Recipients With Advanced Cancers Receiving Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors This systematic review and individual participant data met-analysis assesses the cancer-related and survival outcomes in solid organ transplant recipients with advanced-stage cancer treated with immun...

PUBLISHED TODAY: Our meta-analysis showed immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) may be useful for treating solid organ transplant recipients with advanced cancers, especially people with cutaneous SCC. Read the full paper: jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Exploring evidence of healthcare-seeking pathways for maternal complications in Sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review - BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth Background Maternal mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) accounted for 70% of global maternal deaths in 2020. Delay/failure in care-seeking is linked with a high proportion of maternal deaths. Howeve...

PUBLISHED TODAY: Our systematic review highlights the complex care-seeking pathways for women living in Sub-Saharan Africa when they experience maternal complications. @flindersuniversity.bsky.social

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

The first Australian National Climate Risk Assessment has a qualitative assessment of health & well-being risks - mental health is also a large factor - and will be publishing its quantitative assessment later this year. First pass health risks at: www.acs.gov.au/pages/ncra-f...

This is concerning ....

Travelling overseas? You could be at risk of measles. Here’s how to ensure you’re protected On March 26 NSW Health issued an alert advising people to be vigilant for signs

Travelling overseas? You could be at risk of measles. Here’s how to ensure you’re protected

buff.ly/M1Q5iIt

Twenty Lessons, read by John Lithgow Key selections from On Tyranny, for viewing and sharing

"On Tyranny" is a #1 NYT bestseller again. I wish the moment were different. But I’m glad the book is useful. And grateful for all the kind words about putting the 20 lessons to work.
snyder.substack.com/p/twenty-les...

This happened overnight.

How scientists can drive climate action: celebrate nature and promote hope Nature - After years of storytelling and running classes and festivals, I’ve seen first-hand how a love of nature makes people want to protect it.

Science is necessary, but clearly not sufficient, for conveying the climate crisis

https://go.nature.com/3XjoJCU

Recommendations announced for influenza vaccine composition for the 2025–2026 northern hemisphere influenza season The World Health Organization (WHO) today announced the recommendations for the viral composition of influenza vaccines for the 2025–2026 influenza season in the northern hemisphere. The announcement ...

New recommendations for the viral composition of #influenza vaccines for the 2025-2026 northern hemisphere flu season 🔗 bit.ly/3Xmt4VM

Trump team orders huge government layoffs: how science could fare Nature talks with scientists inside US agencies about what the latest directive could mean for their staff members and budgets.

Agencies across the US government have been ordered to initiate another punishing round of layoffs at the same time Congress is moving forward with a plan to slash their budgets — a potential blow to science.


https://go.nature.com/3QCaFAP

A multimodal machine learning algorithm improved diagnostic accuracy for otitis media in a school aged Aboriginal population Otitis Media (OM) – ear infection – can lead to hearing loss and associated developmental delay. There are several subgroups of OM which can be diffic…

RECENT PUBLICATION: We showed combining otoscopy and tympanometry data together is possible and can increase the diagnostic accuracy of an machine learning algorithm, compared to diagnosis based solely on otoscopy data. Read the paper: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Factors associated with preeclampsia and the hypertensive disorders of pregnancy amongst Indigenous women of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States: A systematic review and meta-analysi... Purpose of the Review Preeclampsia and the Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy (HDP) occur more frequently amongst Indigenous women and can have short- and long-term impacts on maternal and infant hea...

PUBLISHED TODAY: Our systematic review & meta-analysis identified factors associated with increased #preeclampsia risk amongst Indigenous women & the gaps in the evidence for social, economic, and environmental factors. Read the paper: doi.org/10.1007/s119...

What factors do health professionals view as influencing the success of otitis media detection programs for First Nations children? A scoping review and synthesis of qualitative research Targeted early detection programs for otitis media exist for First Nations populations across several countries, with variable success reported. Health professionals are in a unique position to eva...

PUBLISHED TODAY: A scoping review on the factors health professionals view as influencing the success of otitis media detection programs for First Nations children. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Trends and contributors of complete continuum of maternal healthcare service utilization in Ethiopia: a multivariate decomposition analyses - Reproductive Health Background Most maternal deaths are preventable by accessing essential maternity healthcare services. However, maternal mortality rates remain high in Ethiopia partly due to only a few women using a c...

PUBLISHED TODAY: Changes in the demographics of women have been a major contributor to improvements in maternal healthcare utilization in Ethiopia between 2011 and 2019. Read the decomposition analysis here:
doi.org/10.1186/s129...

Long-term outcomes of childhood otitis media and hearing loss: a systematic review Otitis media (OM) is a common childhood illness which can cause hearing loss and developmental delays. This is the first systematic review to investigate the long-term, longitudinal health and soci...

RECENT PUBLICATION: Long-term outcomes of childhood otitis media and hearing loss: a systematic review. @flindersuniversity.bsky.social www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Frontiers Publishing Partnerships | A Global Survey of Self-Reported Cancer Screening Practices by Health Professionals for Kidney Transplant Candidates and Recipients Cancer is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in kidney transplant recipients. Health professionals have a critical role in promoting cancer screening p...

PUBLISHED TODAY: Health professionals recommend cancer screening for kidney transplant candidates and recipients; but this is influenced by costs and service delivery gaps. doi.org/10.3389/ti.2...

Consumer opinion on the use of machine learning in healthcare settings: A qualitative systematic review - Jacqueline H Stephens, Celine Northcott, Brianna F Poirier, Trent Lewis, 2025 Introduction Given the increasing number of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) tools in healthcare, we aimed to gain an understanding of consu...

PUBLISHED TODAY: Consumers’ understandings of AI/ML for medical diagnosis are complex; they express both hesitancy of, and support for, AI/ML in healthcare diagnosis. @flindersuniversity.bsky.social journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

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