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N Davidson

Publications and source records attributed to N Davidson.

395 records · Page 22Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Comprehensive health assessment for newly arrived refugee children in Australia.

Providing appropriate and responsive care to refugees from diverse backgrounds and with unique health needs is challenging. Refugee children may present with a wide range of conditions, which may be unfamiliar to health professionals in developed countries. Additionally, refugees may experience unfamiliarity with the Australian health system and distrust of authority figures and/or medical practitioners. This article provides an overview of the priority areas in health and health management for paediatric refugee patients for paediatricians as well as other relevant health care providers caring for this group. Specific issues covered include general health assessment, infectious diseases, immunization, growth and nutrition, oral health, development and disability, mental health and child protection. Comprehensive health assessment can assist in identifying children at risk of poor health and to provide them with timely and effective care, advocacy and appropriate referral.

Australia↗
PubMedDate not supplied

An issue of access: delivering equitable health care for newly arrived refugee children in Australia.

Newly arrived refugees and asylum seekers are faced with many difficulties in accessing effective health care when settling in Australia. Cultural, language and financial constraints, lack of awareness of available services, and lack of health provider understanding of the complex health concerns of refugees can all contribute to limiting access to health care. Understanding the complexities of a new health care system under these circumstances and finding a regular health provider may be difficult. In some cases there may be a fundamental distrust of government services. The different levels of health entitlements by visa category and (for some) detention on arrival in Australia may further complicate the provision and use of health services for providers and patients. Children are particularly at risk of suboptimal health care due to the impact of these factors combined with the effect of resettlement stresses on parents' ability to care for their children. Unaccompanied and separated children, and those in detention experience additional challenges in accessing care. This article aims to increase awareness among health professionals caring for refugee children of the challenges faced by this group in accessing and receiving effective health care in Australia. Particular consideration is given to the issues of equity, rights of asylum seekers, communication and cultural sensitivities in health care provision, and addressing barriers to health care. The aim of the paper is to alert practitioners to the complex issues surrounding the delivery of health care to refugee children and provide realistic recommendations to guide practice.

Australia↗
PubMedDate not supplied

GABA uptake and release by a mammalian cell line stably expressing a cloned rat brain GABA transporter.

In order to facilitate study of the neuronal GABA transporter and provide a convenient system for potential drug screening, we have established a CHO cell line, designated 1F9, which stably expresses the cloned GABA transporter from rat brain (GAT-1). 1F9 cells transport GABA at levels approximately 300-fold higher than untransfected CHO cells, and GABA transport in these cells has the following properties: (1) a dependence on sodium and chloride ions; (2) higher sensitivity to neuronal subtype uptake inhibitors (DABA and ACHC) than to glial subtype inhibitors (beta-alanine and THPO); and (3) Km (2.5 microM) and IC50 values for various competitive ligands that are comparable with values determined in synaptosomes and brain slices. Given the fidelity with which the 1F9 cell line expresses these characteristics of the native neuronal GABA transporter, we have used it to further address GABA transporter activity. [3H]GABA uptake by 1F9 cells is inhibited approximately 50% by the chloride transport blockers DIDS and SITS. The GABA receptor agonists muscimol and baclofen also inhibit GABA transport; however, the receptor antagonists bicuculline and phaclofen have no effect. 1F9 cells also show release of [3H]GABA release is calcium independent, and is differentially affected by changes in the ion gradient, as well as by the presence of external substrates and uptake blockers. These experiments indicate that 1F9 cells provide a convenient system for the screening of GABA transport inhibitors.

Animals↗