Y-STR haplotypes from eight south Indian groups based on five loci

Five Y-chromosome short tandem repeat (STR) loci (DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, and DYS393) were typed in 81 males from seven tribal populations of south India, including 30 Koragas, 23 Yeravas, 5 Mullukurunan, 2 Mullukurumba, 4 Paniya, 3 Kuruchian and 3 Bettakurumba; and 11 south Indian caste individuals of mixed origins.     

HealthConnect and privacy: a policy conundrum

A shared electronic health record is intrinsically privacy-invasive because it creates a comprehensive record for information-sharing. The author explains the significance of information privacy and why it is that health information warrants special protection. She also provides an overview of the existing regulatory framework and an evaluation of suggested options and proposals for addressing privacy-related issues. Her analysis of suggested consent models suggests that they ultimately involve a trade-off between privacy and the broader benefits promised by HealthConnect and that obtaining the right balance is essential if HealthConnect is to achieve optimal health outcomes.     

Disclosing health information breaches of confidence,privacy and the notion of the "treating team"

The authors utilise cases collected during a randomised population survey to illustrate some of the legal and policy issues concerning routine transfers of information between treating practitioners. Their analysis suggests that implied consent for many routine uses of health information should not be assumed. An important part of consent to health information disclosure is the patients' ability to tailor its scope and content. This requires that they should be provided with additional information. Introducing the measures advised into the clinical setting would bring health information-gathering practices closer to compliance with the collection principles contained in Australian information privacy legislation.     

Medico-legal secrecy in New Zealand

In the absence of the right to sue for medical negligence, the New Zealand Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC) and the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal (HPDT) have become the centrepieces of New Zealand's medico-legal system. This article examines the claim that for both bodies secrecy, by name suppression, is the default position and that the private interests of doctors are elevated above the legitimate public interest in the performance of medical professionals. In particular, it examines HDC's blanket policy of suppressing the names of complainants, practitioners, hospitals, District Health Boards and geographical locations, and HPDT's stated but wavering commitment to openness. The authors conclude that both bodies may have failed, albeit in different ways, to recognise the legitimate and significant public interest in the names of those few practitioners found in breach of professional standards.     

Exploring the relationships of women's sexual assault disclosure, social reactions, and problem drinking

The goal of this exploratory study was to examine correlates of sexual assault disclosure and social reactions in female victims with and without drinking problems. An ethnically diverse sample of sexual assault survivors was recruited from college, community, and mental health agencies. Ethnic minority women were less likely to disclose assault, and women with a greater number of traumatic life events disclosed assault more often. Although there were no differences in disclosure likelihood by drinking status; of those disclosing, problem drinkers told more support sources and received more negative and positive social reactions than nonproblem drinkers. Correlates of receiving negative social reactions were similar for normal and problem drinkers; however, negative social reactions to assault disclosure were related to more problem drinking for women with less frequent social interaction. Implications for future research and possible support interventions with problem-drinking victims are provided.     

Intimate partner violence, social support, and employment in the post-welfare reform era

This prospective study used 3 years of longitudinal data to explore relationships among intimate partner violence (IPV), perceived emotional and material social support, employment stability, and job turnover among current and former female welfare recipients in the immediate post-welfare reform era. Higher levels of current IPV and lower levels of current social support predicted less stable future employment; however, current employment stability did not predict either future IPV or future social support. Current social support did not predict future IPV, and perceived social support did not mediate the relationship between IPV and employment stability during a 3-year period.     

A systematic review of effective therapeutic interventions and management strategies for challenging behaviour in women in forensic mental health settings

Women in secure forensic mental health care require therapy and care that is responsive to their specific needs. Despite the policy recognition that women require a distinct service, evidence based practice is not available for this population. This review was undertaken in response to a clinical need within a medium secure unit in Glasgow that was experiencing high levels of challenging behaviour, in a female ward. The review aimed to identify effective strategies or interventions for the management of challenging behaviour in women in secure services and, therefore, improve practice and patient care. A synthesis of the findings from the 11 identified studies revealed variability in the approaches used to support women in forensic services, including: behavioural programmes; organisational change with a focus on staff training and support; medication; ECT and mechanical restraint. The challenging behaviours assessed included self-harm; physical and verbal aggression; suicide attempts and arson/fire setting. The majority of articles suggested some improvement in aspects of challenging behaviour, however this was limited by the lack of control groups and small sample sizes. Further investigation is required to find out whether interventions identified in this review can sustain a reduction in challenging behaviours in the long-term.     

The EDNAP mitochondrial DNA population database (EMPOP) collaborative exercises: organisation, results and perspectives

This paper presents an overview of the organisation and the results of the collaborative exercises (CE) of the European DNA Profiling (EDNAP) Group's mitochondrial DNA population database project (EMPOP). The aim of the collaborative exercises was to determine whether uniformity of mtDNA sequencing results could be achieved among different laboratories. These were asked to sequence either the complete mtDNA control region or the two hypervariable regions HVI (16024-16365) and HVII (73-340) from DNA extracts, buccal swabs or bloodstains, proceeding in accordance with the protocol and strategies used in each individual laboratory. The results of the collaborative exercises were employed to identify possible sources of errors that could arise during the analysis and interpretation of mtDNA profiles. These findings were taken as a basis to tentatively make suitable arrangements for the construction of a high quality mtDNA database. One hundred fifty mtDNA profiles were submitted to the evaluating laboratory, and disaccording profiles were classified into four groups corresponding to the source of error: clerical errors, sample mix-ups, contaminations and discrepancies with respect to the mtDNA nomenclature. Overall, 14 disaccording haplotypes (16 individual errors) were observed. The errors included 10 clerical errors, 3 interpretation problems, 2 cases of sample mix-up and 1 case of point heteroplasmic mixture, where the 2 sequencing reactions brought inconsistent base calls. This corresponds to an error rate of 10.7% in a virtual mtDNA database consisting of the collaborative exercise results. However, this estimate is still conservative compared to conclusions drawn by authors of meanwhile numerous publications critically reviewing published mtDNA population databases. Our results and earlier published concerns strongly emphasize the need for appropriate safety regulations when mtDNA profiles are compiled for database purposes in order to accomplish the high standard required for mtDNA databases that are used in the forensic context.     

Intimate partner violence within a cohort of Pacific mothers living in New Zealand

Maternal reports of intimate partner violence (IPV) were obtained from a cohort of Pacific mothers living in New Zealand. The Conflict Tactics Scale was completed by 1,095 women who had given birth in the past 12 months, and who were married or living with a partner as married. The 12-month prevalence of "victimization" through verbal aggression was 77%, 21% for "minor" physical violence, and 11% for "severe" physical violence. The 12-month prevalence of "perpetration" of verbal aggression against a partner was 90%, 35% for "minor" physical violence, and 19% for "severe" violence towards their partner. The experience of social inequality and acculturation are associated with IPV, albeit differentially across the experience of victimization and perpetration. Factors significantly associated with victimization are ethnicity, maternal education, social marital status and household income. Factors significantly associated with perpetration are ethnicity, cultural alignment, maternal birthplace and alcohol consumption since the birth of the child.