Rohan Borschmann

University of Melbourne | MSD · Melbourne School of Population Health

Background Identify risk factors for repeat hospitalisation involving self-harm by Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory (NT), Australia. Methods A retrospective cohort study of hospitalisations involving suicidal ideation and/or self-harm between 1 July 2001 and 31 December 2013 followed up to 31 December 2018. Survival a...

Background: Young people who have had contact with the criminal justice system are at increased risk of early death, especially from injuries. However, deaths due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in this population remain poorly described. We aimed to estimate mortality due to NCDs in people with a history of involvement with the youth justice...

Background: A comprehensive understanding of temporal trends in the disease burden in Australia is lacking, and these trends are required to inform health service planning and improve population health. We explored the burden and trends of diseases and their risk factors in Australia from 1990 to 2019 through a comprehensive analysis of the Global...

Introduction Little is known about the perceived acceptability and usefulness of supports that adolescents have accessed following self-harm, especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Objectives We aimed to examine the utilisation and acceptability of formal, informal, and online support accessed by adolescents following self-harm befor...

The use of administrative health data for research, monitoring, and quality improvement has proliferated in recent decades, leading to improvements in health across many disease areas and across the life course. However, not all populations are equally visible in administrative health data, and those that are less visible may be excluded from the b...

Abstract Introduction Asylum seekers and refugees are at an elevated risk of self-harm, with younger age and traumatic experiences found to further increase such risk. Despite this, evidence regarding self-harm among unaccompanied asylum seekers and refugee minors has not been synthesised. As self-harm among minors is a risk factor for a range of a...

Justice-involved young people experience greater rates of mental illness than their peers in the general population. They also commonly belong to marginalised and disadvantaged groups and/or have histories of significant developmental adversity, amplifying their needs and increasing the likelihood of multi-agency involvement. While most mental diso...

Little is known outside of the United States about the risk of violence-related death among young people who have had contact with the youth justice system (justice-involved young people). We examined violence-related deaths among justice-involved young people in Queensland, Australia. In this study, youth justice records for 48,647 young people (1...

Introduction Homelessness is a major contributor to health inequalities. People who experience homelessness are at markedly increased risk of multiple and complex health morbidities which likely increase their susceptibility to early, preventable death. Despite this, the mortality burden in this group remains poorly understood, limited in part by i...

Purpose People released from incarceration are at increased risk of suicide compared to the general population. We aimed to synthesise evidence on the incidence of and sex differences in suicide, suicidal ideation, and self-harm after release from incarceration. Methods We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Web of Science and PubMed between 1 Jan...

Background: People diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) frequently present to healthcare services in crisis, often with suicidal thoughts or actions. Despite this, little is known about what constitutes effective management of acute crises in this population and what type of interventions are helpful at times of crisis. In this rev...

Objectives People released from incarceration are at increased risk of death from diverse causes. We aimed to calculate the incidence of all-cause and cause-specific death after release from incarceration and identify individual-level risk factors for death. ApproachWe conducted a series of individual participant data meta-analyses using data from...

Little is known about the degree to which social factors interact with COVID-19-related adversity to increase the risk of self-harm thoughts and behaviours. Using data derived from a UK cohort study, Paul & Fancourt found that loneliness was associated with an increase in the odds of self-harm thoughts and behaviours, whereas high-quality social su...

Objectives: Guided by minority stress theory, we explored the association between sexual identity, justice system involvement, self-harm and suicide attempts, among a cohort of incarcerated adults in Australia. Methods: A sample of 2698 adults incarcerated in Queensland and Western Australia were surveyed between 1 August 2008 and 12 August 2016...

Purpose This study aimed to explore risk factors for suicide in Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people following hospital admission for suicidal ideation and self-harm in the Northern Territory, Australia to help clarify opportunities for improved care and intervention for these population groups. Methods Individuals with at least one hospital admis...

Background Little is known about the perceived acceptability and usefulness of supports that adolescents have accessed following self-harm, especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.AimsTo examine the utilization and acceptability of formal, informal, and online support accessed by adolescents following self-harm before and during the pan...

Introduction Asylum seekers are at increased risk of self-harm compared with the general population, and the experience of detention may further exacerbate this risk. Despite this, evidence regarding the prevalence, methods and characteristics of self-harm among asylum seekers in Australia (including those detained in onshore and offshore immigrati...

Background Approximately one in ten men experience mental health difficulties during the early years of fatherhood, and these can have negative impacts on children and families. However, few evidence-based interventions targeting fathers’ mental health are available. The aim of the trial is to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of Wo...

Background People who experience incarceration die by suicide at a higher rate than those who have no prior criminal justice system contact, but little is known about the effectiveness of interventions in other criminal justice settings. We aimed to synthesise evidence regarding the effectiveness of interventions to reduce suicide and suicide-relat...

Introduction Amphetamine type stimulant (ATS) use and self-harm are both major public health concerns globally. Use of ATS is associated with a range of health and social problems, and has been increasing internationally in the last decade. Self-harm and ATS use share a number of underlying risk factors and occur at elevated rates in marginalised g...

Abstract Background Young people who have had contact with the youth justice system have an increased risk of dying from violence. Examining the context of violence-related deaths is essential in informing prevention strategies. We examined the circumstances and toxicology of violence-related deaths among young people who have had contact with the...

Objective Individuals with mental illness and addiction are overrepresented in prisons. Few studies have assessed mental health and addiction (MHA)-related service use among individuals experiencing incarceration using health administrative data and most focus on service use after prison release. The objective of this study was to determine the pre...

Background: People released from incarceration have an increased risk of violence-related death. As deaths from violence are a rare event, meta-analysis is needed to calculate reliable estimates of this risk. We examined the crude mortality rates (CMRs), standardised mortality ratios (SMRs), and predictive factors for violence-related deaths among...

Background With over 11 million people incarcerated globally, prevention and control of COVID-19 in custodial settings is a critical component of the public health response. Given the risk of rapid transmission in these settings, it is important to know what guidance existed for responding to COVID-19 in the early stages of the pandemic. We sought...

Introduction People released from prison have an increased risk of morbidity, including from nonfatal violence. We examined the incidence and predictors of violence-related morbidity after release from prison and investigated whether there are differences according to sex and Indigenous status. Methods Baseline data were collected from 1325 people...

Background Self-harm in very young people can be a clinically ominous event. While most studies to date have focused on self-harm during the teenage years, fewer studies have examined children aged 12 years or under. We aimed to estimate the incidence and correlates of recent self-harm in a population-based, non-treatment-seeking sample of primary...

Background More than 30 million adults are released from incarceration globally each year. Many experience complex physical and mental health problems, and are at markedly increased risk of preventable mortality. Despite this, evidence regarding the global epidemiology of mortality following release from incarceration is insufficient to inform the...

Purpose People in prison are at a higher risk of preventable mortality from infectious disease such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis C (HCV) and tuberculosis (TB) than those in the community. The extent of infectious disease-related mortality within the prison setting rema...

Over the last half-century, the women's health movement has been a powerful driver in health policy linking gender norms to sex differences in health and wellbeing. Even though gender norms also affect males, there has been little emphasis on gender in health policies for males, especially in relation to the mental health of boys and young men. Gen...

Background: The transition from prison to the community can be a difficult process and may present different challenges for adolescents (aged < 25 years) compared with their older peers. Methods: Using data from a prospective cohort study in Australia, we compared the health and welfare outcomes of adolescents (aged < 25 years) and adults (aged ≥ 2...

This study aimed to investigate health service utilization among women with mental state disorder only (MSD-PD), mental state disorder plus personality disorder (MSD+PD), and controls in a population-based sample. Women ( n = 635) from the Geelong Osteoporosis Study completed mental health assessments and were categorized into groups (MSD-PD, MSD+P...

Introduction Young people and adults released from incarceration have a risk of dying from violence that far exceeds that in the general population. Despite this, evidence regarding the incidence, elevated risk and predictive factors for violence-related deaths after release have not yet been synthesised. This information is important to inform the...

Introduction There are conflicting perspectives as to whether antidepressant medication increases, decreases or has no effect on violence perpetration, impulsivity and aggressive behaviour. This is an important question given the widespread use of antidepressant medication and the significant medical, social, legal and health consequences of violen...

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally, with the burden largely borne by people living in low- and middle-income countries. Adolescents are central to NCD control through the potential to modify risks and alter the trajectory of these diseases across the life-course. However, an absence of epidemi...

Introduction More than 30 million adults are released from incarceration globally each year. Many experience complex physical and mental health problems, and are at markedly increased risk of preventable mortality. Despite this, evidence regarding the global epidemiology of mortality following release from incarceration is insufficient to inform th...

Introduction Drug-related death is substantially higher in formerly incarcerated adults compared to the general population. Despite this, remarkably little is known about the epidemiology of drug-related death among justice-involved adolescents. A richer understanding of drug-related mortality in justice-involved young people is essential for the d...

Introduction No prospective studies have examined the prevalence, antecedents or concurrent characteristics associated with self-harm in non-treatment-seeking primary school-aged children. Methods In this cohort study from Melbourne, Australia we assessed 1239 children annually from age 8–9 years (wave 1) to 11–12 years (wave 4) on a range of heal...

To the Editor Dr Figueroa and colleagues¹ recognized the importance of social determinants in shaping health outcomes. Echoing a recommendation to study marginalized populations,² they recommended multisectoral data linkage as a promising means of examining these complex relationships. We agree with this recommendation but urge caution in pursuing...

New data shows self-harm incidents in immigration detention have spiked his year amid concerns over the pandemic. We must take steps to reduce asylum seekers' vulnerability and prevent further harm. https://theconversation.com/self-harm-in-immigration-detention-has-risen-sharply-here-are-6-ways-to-address-this-health-crisis-146679

PurposeTo estimate the prevalence of dual diagnosis and identify health, social and criminal justice factors associated with dual diagnosis among incarcerated adults in Australia and Brazil.Methods We compared data from cross-sectional surveys of incarcerated adults (aged ≥ 18 years) in Australia and Brazil. Using data from linked emergency departm...

BACKGROUND: While there is a long history of measuring death and disability from injuries, modern research methods must account for the wide spectrum of disability that can occur in an injury, and must provide estimates with sufficient demographic, geographical and temporal detail to be useful for policy makers. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2...

Suicide among adolescents has become a major public health problem worldwide. Our study sought to describe the most commonly used methods of suicide among adolescents aged 10 to 19 years in Brazil between 2006 and 2015. Complete data were obtained from the Brazilian Health Informatics Department (DATASUS) and coded into seven categories of suicide...

Background While there is a long history of measuring death and disability from injuries, modern research methods must account for the wide spectrum of disability that can occur in an injury, and must provide estimates with sufficient demographic, geographical and temporal detail to be useful for policy makers. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 20...

Background Temporal patterns in the frequency and characteristics of self-harm episodes across the Australian asylum seeker population may have implications for self-harm prevention and public health policy. The aim of this study was to examine how the distribution of self-harm episodes and method(s) of self-harm used across the Australian asylum s...

Background: The epidemiological transition of non-communicable diseases replacing infectious diseases as the main contributors to disease burden has been well documented in global health literature. Less focus, however, has been given to the relationship between sociodemographic changes and injury. The aim of this study was to examine the associati...

Background: Asylum seekers are at elevated risk of self-harm, and the personal and public health costs of self-harm are high; yet the monitoring and reporting of self-harm has been limited and lacking in transparency. This study aims to evaluate the quality of self-harm incident reporting across the Australian asylum seeker population, including b...

Background: In population studies, the risk of injury declines after early adulthood. It is unclear if a similar age difference in the risk of injury exists among people released from prison. Methods: Prerelease survey data collected between 1 August 2008 and 31 July 2010, from a representative cohort of sentenced adults (≥18 years) in Queenslan...

Links between crystalline methamphetamine (CM) use and criminal offending are often drawn in the media; however, there has been little scientific research into this relationship. The aim of this study was to ascertain the prevalence and correlates of lifetime CM use among a sample of young people in detention in Australia and to examine whether an...

Objective To determine the care pathway and rate and predictors of mental health care contact within seven days of discharge from acute care following self‐harm. Method In a representative cohort of adults released from prisons in Queensland, Australia, we probabilistically linked person‐level, statewide ambulance, emergency department, and hospit...

Background: Detained asylum seekers are at increased risk of self-harm, and the type of detention in which they are held may further exacerbate this risk. In Australia, there are four types of closed (or held) immigration detention for people seeking asylum, with varying levels of security and supports: Immigration Detention Centres [IDCs], Immigra...

Background: Rates of hospital admission for suicide-related thoughts and behaviors (SRTBs) are elevated in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia, especially by Aboriginal people, but very little is known about emergency department (ED) presentations. Aim: We aimed to profile ED presentations in the NT involving SRTBs by Indigenous status and com...

Objective: To examine re-presentation rates for self-harm in patients aged 0-18 years to the ED of a tertiary paediatric hospital in Melbourne, Australia, and associated patient, family and hospital presentation factors. Methods: Data for presentations from 1 July 2016 to 31 December 2018 were extracted from the hospital's electronic medical rec...

IntroductionMore than 30 million adults are released from incarceration globally each year. Many experience complex physical and mental health problems, and are at markedly increased risk of preventable mortality. Despite this, evidence regarding the global epidemiology of mortality following release from incarceration is insufficient to inform the...

Background The epidemiological transition of non-communicable diseases replacing infectious diseases as the main contributors to disease burden has been well documented in global health literature. Less focus, however, has been given to the relationship between sociodemographic changes and injury. The aim of this study was to examine the associatio...

People released from prison are a socially marginalized group and are at high risk of death from preventable causes, including violence. Despite this, little is known about the epidemiology of violence-related death (VRD) after release from prison. This knowledge is essential for developing targeted, evidence-informed violence prevention strategies...

Background: There is increasing evidence that parental determinants of offspring early life development begin well before pregnancy. Objectives: We established the Victorian Intergenerational Health Cohort Study (VIHCS) to examine the contributions of parental mental health, substance use, and socio-economic characteristics before pregnancy to c...

Adolescents detained within the criminal justice system are affected by complex health problems, health-risk behaviours, and high rates of premature death. We did a global synthesis of the evidence regarding the health of this population. We searched Embase, PsycINFO, Education Resources Information Center, PubMed, Web of Science, CINCH, Global Hea...

The large and growing population of people who experience incarceration makes prison health an essential component of public health and a critical setting for reducing health inequities. People who experience incarceration have a high burden of physical and mental health care needs and have poor health outcomes. Addressing these health disparities...

background The epidemiological transition of non-communicable diseases replacing infectious diseases as the main contributors to disease burden has been well documented in global health literature. Less focus, however, has been given to the relationship between sociodemographic changes and injury. The aim of this study was to examine the associatio...

Background The epidemiological transition of non-communicable diseases replacing infectious diseases as the main contributors to disease burden has been well documented in global health literature. Less focus, however, has been given to the relationship between sociodemographic changes and injury. The aim of this study was to examine the associatio...

BACKGROUND: The epidemiological transition of non-communicable diseases replacing infectious diseases as the main contributors to disease burden has been well documented in global health literature. Less focus, however, has been given to the relationship between sociodemographic changes and injury. The aim of this study was to examine the associati...

The Lancet Public Health

Background: Adults released from prison are at increased risk of poor health outcomes and preventable mortality, including from overdose. Non-fatal overdose (NFOD) is a strong predictor of future overdose and associated with considerable morbidity. This study aims to the determine the incidence, predictors and clinical characteristics of NFOD foll...

Background: Self-reported non-fatal overdose (NFOD) is a predictor of future overdose and is often used to target overdose prevention for people released from prison. However, the level of agreement between self-reported and medically-verified NFOD history remains unknown. This study aimed to determine the agreement between, and predictive value o...

Trafficked people require timely and ongoing access to healthcare services. Yet, many encounter difficulties accessing and utilising healthcare services, both while in situations of exploitation and after their escape. This research investigated barriers that hinder healthcare providers from identifying, providing care and making necessary referral...