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AbstractEvidence suggests that children in out‐of‐home care function better when placed in kinship compared with foster care. Less is known about the functioning of children in the unique form of kinship care where grandparents are caring full‐time for their grandchildren in informal care arrangements. As grandparent carers are increasingly taking on this role, it is timely to investigate the functioning of the children in this form of care and the characteristics of the grandparents themselves. We compared the functioning of children in the two types of care. We also investigated carer characteristics, including the relationship between child functioning, social support and daily hassles on carer stress. One hundred fourteen cares and 180 children were assessed on a range of demographic and clinical measures. Children in grandparent care were displaying better behavioural and adaptive functioning than children living with foster carers. Grandparent carers reported higher levels of distress in the carer role. Predictors of carer stress included severity of child behaviour problems and daily hassles. Both group of carers and the children in their care would benefit from increased support from treatment services.

INTRODUCTION: Australia is traditionally an early adopter of vaccines, therefore comprehensive and effective post-licensure vaccine pharmacovigilance is critical to maintain confidence in immunisation, both nationally and internationally. With adverse event following immunisation (AEFI) surveillance the responsibility of Australian jurisdictions, Victoria operates an enhanced passive AEFI surveillance system integrated with clinical services, called 'SAEFVIC' (Surveillance of Adverse Events Following Vaccination In the Community). OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate Victoria's current AEFI surveillance system 'SAEFVIC' and inform ongoing quality improvement of vaccine pharmacovigilance in Victoria and Australia. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective structured desktop evaluation of AEFI reporting received by SAEFVIC from 2007 to 2014, to evaluate the system according to its stated objectives, i.e. to improve AEFI reporting; provide AEFI signal detection; and to maintain consumer confidence in vaccination. RESULTS: AEFI reporting has tripled since SAEFVIC commenced (incidence risk ratio [IRR] 3.04, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.35-3.93), raising Victoria to be the lead jurisdiction by AEFI reporting volume and to rank third by population reporting rate nationally. The largest increase was observed in children. Data were utilised to investigate potential signal events and inform vaccine policy. Signal detection required clinical suspicion by surveillance nurses, or prior vaccine-specific concerns. Subsequent vaccination post-AEFI was documented for 56.2% (95% CI 54.1-58.4) of reports, and the proportion of children due or overdue for vaccination was 2.3% higher for those reporting AEFI compared with the general population. CONCLUSION: SAEFVIC has improved AEFI surveillance, facilitates signal investigation and validation, and supports consumer confidence in immunisation. Expansion of the system nationally has the potential to improve capacity and capability of vaccine pharmacovigilance, particularly through data consistency and jurisdictional comparability in Australia. ; SAEFVIC is funded by the Department of Health and Human Services, Melbourne, VIC, Australia. Hazel Clothier is the recipient of an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship.

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked Files ; We assessed associations between physical activity and lung function, and its decline, in the prospective population-based European Community Respiratory Health Survey cohort. ; FEV1 and FVC were measured in 3912 participants at 27-57 years and 39-67 years (mean time between examinations=11.1 years). Physical activity frequency and duration were assessed using questionnaires and used to identify active individuals (physical activity ≥2 times and ≥1 hour per week) at each examination. Adjusted mixed linear regression models assessed associations of regular physical activity with FEV1 and FVC. ; Physical activity frequency and duration increased over the study period. In adjusted models, active individuals at the first examination had higher FEV1 (43.6 mL (95% CI 12.0 to 75.1)) and FVC (53.9 mL (95% CI 17.8 to 89.9)) at both examinations than their non-active counterparts. These associations appeared restricted to current smokers. In the whole population, FEV1 and FVC were higher among those who changed from inactive to active during the follow-up (38.0 mL (95% CI 15.8 to 60.3) and 54.2 mL (95% CI 25.1 to 83.3), respectively) and who were consistently active, compared with those consistently non-active. No associations were found for lung function decline. ; Leisure-time vigorous physical activity was associated with higher FEV1 and FVC over a 10-year period among current smokers, but not with FEV1 and FVC decline. ; European Union