scholarly journals The impact of ongoing COVID-19 lockdown on family finances and mental health

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Price ◽  
Diana Contreras-Suárez ◽  
Anna Zhu ◽  
Natalie Schreurs ◽  
Mary-Anne Measey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Material Deprivation ◽  
Income Poverty ◽  
Income Loss ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Family Finances ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
The Impact

Objectives: Australia's public health restrictions ('lockdown') in 2020 successfully contained the spread of COVID-19. These included a national 'initial' lockdown (March-May), and 'ongoing' lockdown (July-November) for metropolitan Victorian residents only. Australia's experience offers an opportunity to assess impacts of lockdown on families with children, in the relative absence of disease morbidity and mortality. This study (1) described the experience of initial lockdown and (2) evaluated the impact of ongoing lockdown, on family finances and mental health. Methods: Data were drawn from the June and September 2020 Royal Children's Hospital National Child Health Polls. Caregivers of children from the states of Victoria and New South Wales reported on job/income loss; material deprivation (inability to pay for essential items); income-poverty; mental health (Kessler-6); impact on caregiver/child mental health; and caregiver/child coping. Data from N=1207/902 caregivers in June/September were analyzed; Aim (1) with weighted descriptives; Aim (2) with Difference-in-Difference adjusted linear regression models (New South Wales provided the comparator). Results: Following initial lockdown, one-quarter of families reported job/income loss; one-third reported material deprivation. Negative impacts on mental health were reported for half the caregivers and one-third of children. Few caregivers or children had difficulties coping. During Victoria's ongoing lockdown, job/income loss increased by 11% (95%CI: 3-18%); Kessler-6 poor mental health by 6% (95%CI: 0.3-12%) and negative mental health impacts by 12% for caregivers (95%CI: 6-23%) and 14% for children (95%CI: 4-20%). Female (versus male) caregivers, metropolitan (versus regional/rural) families, and families with elementary school-aged children (versus pre-/high-school) were most affected. Conclusions: Ongoing lockdown had negative impacts on mental health, employment, and income, but not deprivation or poverty, likely because of the government income supplements introduced early in the pandemic. Balancing the benefits and harms of lockdown requires planned responses to outbreaks, and evidence-informed financial and mental health supports.

Seed production and seedling emergence of Giant Parramatta grass on the north coast of New South Wales

1996 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 299 ◽  
Author(s):  
TS Andrews ◽  
RDB Whalley ◽  
CE Jones
Keyword(s):  
Seed Production ◽  
Seed Bank ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Seed Banks ◽  
North Coast ◽  
The North ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Seed Fall ◽  
The Impact

Inputs and losses from Giant Parramatta grass [GPG, Sporobolus indicus (L.) R. Br. var. major (Buse) Baaijens] soil seed banks were quantified on the North Coast of New South Wales. Monthly potential seed production and actual seed fall was estimated at Valla during 1991-92. Total potential production was >668 000 seeds/m2 for the season, while seed fall was >146000 seeds/m2. Seed fall >10000 seeds/m2.month was recorded from January until May, with further seed falls recorded in June and July. The impact of seed production on seed banks was assessed by estimating seed banks in the seed production quadrats before and after seed fall. Seed banks in 4 of the 6 sites decreased in year 2, although seed numbers at 1 damp site increased markedly. Defoliation from mid-December until February, April or June prevented seed production, reducing seed banks by 34% over 7 months. Seed banks in undefoliated plots increased by 3300 seeds/m2, although seed fall was estimated at >114 000 seeds/m2. Emergence of GPG seedlings from artificially established and naturally occurring, persistent seed banks was recorded for 3 years from bare and vegetated treatment plots. Sown seeds showed high levels of innate dormancy and only 4% of seeds emerged when sown immediately after collection. Longer storage of seeds after collection resulted in more seedlings emerging. Estimates of persistent seed banks ranged from 1650 to about 21260 seeds/m2. Most seedlings emerged in spring or autumn and this was correlated with rainfall but not with ambient temperatures. Rates of seed bank decline in both bare and vegetated treatment plots was estimated by fitting exponential decay curves to seed bank estimates. Assuming no further seed inputs, it was estimated that it would take about 3 and 5 years, respectively, for seed banks to decline to 150 seeds/m2 in bare and vegetated treatments.

Up the Garden Path? Enterprise Bargaining and Decentralization in the NSW Public Sector

1995 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael O'Donnell
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
New South ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Green Paper ◽  
Garden Path ◽  
Reform Agenda ◽  
The Public ◽  
South Wales ◽  
The Impact

Decentralizing industrial relations within New South Wales is a central recom mendation of the Niland Green Paper (1989). Decentralism also represents the cornerstone of the New South Wales government's industrial relations reform agenda enshrined in the New South Wales Industrial Relations Act 1991. To date there has been little analysis of the impact o f this legislative change on industrial relations in the New South Wales public sector. This paper provides a case study that examines the degree to which responsibility for bargaining has been devolved within the Parks and Gardens of the New South Wales Ministry for the Environ ment. It argues that, in contrast to the rhetoric of the New South Wales Act, the central agency presiding over the introduction of enterprise bargaining in the public sector, the Public Employment and Industrial Relations Authority; has been reluctant to delegate responsibility to parties in the workplace.

Mental health data: A case for the African communities in New South Wales

2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-80
Author(s):  
Daniel Kwai Apat ◽  
Wellington Digwa
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Health Services ◽  
New South ◽  
Mental Health Policy ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Community Members ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Health Related

This paper examines mental health policies in relation to African communities residing in New South Wales, Australia and the attitudes of African communities toward mental disorders and mental health services. Current mental health policy frameworks have shown an inadequate inclusion of African communities. This may negatively affect the design of mental health interventions and how African communities engage with mental health services. The available mental health literature on African communities showed disjointed and uncoordinated data which focuses on specific community-groups within African communities. Insufficient mental health or suicide data, combined with African community members’ perception toward mental disorders and mental health services, makes it very difficult to progress engagement and interventions. There is a need for proper and sizable data on mental health related to people of African descent in NSW and Australia wide, if positive outcomes are to be realised.

scholarly journals Municipal Responses to COVID-19: the case of library closures in New South Wales local government

2021 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-94
Author(s):  
Andrea Wallace ◽  
Brian Dollery
Keyword(s):  
Local Community ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Community Wellbeing ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Library Use ◽  
The Impact

Abstract In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the New South Wales (NSW) government ordered the closure of all municipal libraries in order to limit the impact of the contagion. As a result, 372 public libraries in NSW ceased operation on the 23rd March 2020. While the closure of public libraries will undoubtedly contribute to restricting the spread of the coronavirus, given the pivotal role played by municipal libraries in local communities, as well as the special characteristics of library patrons, it will have other negative consequences. In this paper we consider the impact of the closure of municipal libraries in NSW from two perspectives: (a) its effect on the fiscal circumstances of local authorities and (b) its impact on the spread of the corona contagion as well as its broader effects on local community wellbeing. We conclude that rather than complete closure, partial constraints on library use should have been considered.

scholarly journals Involuntary community treatment in New South Wales, Australia

1995 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Hambridge ◽  
Nicola Watt
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Community Treatment ◽  
Compulsory Treatment ◽  
Perceived Benefits ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Mental Health Legislation ◽  
Health Legislation

The New South Wales Mental Health Act (1990) heralded a number of important changes to mental health legislation in the state. One of these was the option to give compulsory treatment to mentally ill clients living in the community. This article briefly explains community treatment under the Act, and the perceived benefits and the limitations of such legislation. A case example is used to illustrate some of these points. Involuntary community treatment is seen as a less restrictive alternative to hospitalisation for a number of mentally ill clients, but the use of such provisions demands significant resources from the supervising agency.

Impacts of wildfires on the 2020 floods in southeast Australia: A vegetation data-assimilation case study  using the NASA coupled LIS/WRF-Hydro system

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Lahmers ◽  
Sujay Kumar ◽  
Aubrey Dugger ◽  
David Gochis ◽  
Joseph Santanello
Keyword(s):  
Data Assimilation ◽  
Hydrological Modeling ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Extreme Rainfall ◽  
Surface Energy Budget ◽  
Area Index ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Land Information System ◽  
The Impact

<div> <p>In late 2019 widespread wildfires impacted much of the New South Wales province in south east Australia, and this loss of vegetation contributed to increased surface runoff and consequently major flooding caused by extreme rainfall by early 2020. The recently developed NASA LIS/WRF-Hydro system enables the data assimilation (DA) capabilities of the NASA Land Information System (LIS) and the surface hydrological modeling capabilities of the WRF-Hydro model to be combined in a single model architecture. Combining the DA capabilities of the LIS system with WRF-Hydro, which has been used for both research and operational hydrologic simulations, we investigate the impacts of vegetation DA on the simulated floods in several basins across New South Wales, with varying degrees of burn severity from the 2019 fires. We also consider the impacts of the wildfires, as realized through vegetation DA on water partitioning and the surface energy budget, which both have implications for L-A interactions. For DA, we utilize the leaf area index retrievals from MODIS and vegetation optical depth from SMAP. For the present study, we will quantify the impact of the changes to the landscape brought about by the wildfires on hydrologic response, including flood severity, which would not be possible without the DA capabilities of the LIS/WRF-Hydro system.</p> </div>

Emerging themes in Aboriginal child and adolescent mental health: findings from a qualitative study in Sydney, New South Wales

2010 ◽  
Vol 192 (10) ◽  
pp. 603-605 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna B Williamson ◽  
Beverley Raphael ◽  
Sally Redman ◽  
John Daniels ◽  
Sandra J Eades ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Adolescent Mental Health ◽  
Child And Adolescent ◽  
Aboriginal Child ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Emerging Themes
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document