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The Monte Carlo method, largely the brainchild of Stanislaw Ulam and first implemented by John von Neumann , depends upon the use of digital computers and is therefore very much a product of post-WW2 technological developments; even though one could argue that the Buffon's Needle estimate was an ancestor of the technique. The probabilistic nature of the method makes it a good choice for modeling those physical phenomena which involve similarly random motions at the atomic scale; a particularly good example being that of mass diffusion. The present volume comprises a compilation of selected Mon

The Northern Territory Health Service implemented a casemix system of hospital funding in 1996 using national averages and national cost weights as benchmarks for length of stay and funding. Clinicians and health administrators were concerned about the potential of this model to impair health service delivery, especially to children of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) descent, whose current poor health has been well described. Data were collected on children aged under 10 years who were discharged from the Royal Darwin Hospital between 1 July 1991 and 30 June 1996 and assigned one of four DRGs (simple pneumonia, bronchitis and asthma, gastroenteritis, nutritional and metabolic disorders). Data collected included age, sex, ethnicity, duration of hospital stay, location of residence and presence of comorbidities. There were significant differences in the proportion of children with multiple comorbidities between ATSI and non-ATSI children, as well as between rural- and urban-dwelling ATSI children. A higher proportion of ATSI compared with non-ATSI children had prolonged hospital stays (22.6% v. 1.5%), with the variables influencing length of stay in ATSI children including "age < 2 years", "living in a remote area", and "presence of two or more comorbidities". These results confirm clinical impressions about disease patterns and length of hospital stay in ATSI children, and highlight the problems of imposing a casemix classification system for a "typical" Australian population on a region with a high proportion of people of ATSI descent.

SETTING: Adverse social determinants of health for people who are foreign-born are key drivers of TB-related disparity, particularly in low-incidence countries. Patients diagnosed with infectious TB and their family members must confront psychosocial challenges which may deepen pre-existing health inequities. However, little is known about patient and family members' perspective on these experiences. OBJECTIVE: To explore the infectious TB experience of patients and family members who are foreign-born. DESIGN: This study formed one component of an ecologically framed, qualitative case study conducted in Calgary, AB, Canada. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews, chart review and field notes, and analysed thematically. RESULTS: Eight families were represented in the sample comprised of six patients and 13 family members. Many patients and family members experienced high levels of fear and stress for months following the patient's diagnosis. Isolation was pervasive and multifaceted for both patients and family members. Intra-family support was critical for managing during early stages when the situation was most challenging. Support from outside the family was not prominent and attempts to obtain support from government programmes for paid sick leave and health insurance were mostly unsuccessful. CONCLUSION: Patients and family members who are foreign-born experience multidimensional isolation as a result of TB stigma, language barriers and poor access to government programmes. TB programmes cannot meet family needs alone and systems of support should be created through collaboration with government institutions, and organisations serving ethnocultural communities.

With increasing implementation of casemix-based funding for hospitals, quantitative data were needed to confirm the clinical impression that treating Aboriginal (compared with non-Aboriginal) inpatients consumes significantly more resources. Utilisation data, collected over a three-month period in 10 hospitals, were used to determine a cost per inpatient episode, which was grouped according to AN-DRG-3 to give a cost per AN-DRG for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) patients and non-ATSI patients. ATSI patients had consistently longer average length of stay and significant variation in relative frequency of admissions, compared with non-ATSI patients, with higher prevalences of infectious diseases. Degenerative and neoplastic conditions were more common in non-ATSI patients. There were significant differences in casemix-adjusted costs per patient episode (ATSI, $1856; non-ATSI, $1558; P < 0.001). Our study has quantified differential resource consumption between two Australian populations, and highlights the need for recognition of some hospitals' atypical populations and special funding requirements.