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The purpose of this paper is to describe the structure and impact of a Queensland Research Support Network (RSN) in emergency medicine (EM).

This paper presents a descriptive summary of EM networks, network evaluations and the structure and development of the Emergency Medicine Foundation’s (EMF) RSN in Queensland, including an observational pre- and post-study of research metrics.

In two years, the RSN supported 33 Queensland emergency departments (EDs), of which 14 developed research strategies. There was an increase in research active clinicians, from 23 in 2015 to 181 in 2017. Collaborator engagement increased from 9 in 2015 to 276 in 2017 as did the number of research presentations, from 6 in 2015 to 61 in 2017. EMF experienced a growth in new researchers, with new investigators submitting approximately 60 per cent of grant applications in 2016 and 2017. EMF also received new applications from a further three HHS (taking EMF-funded research activity from 8 to 11 HHS).

This paper describes changes in KPIs and research metrics, which the authors attribute to the establishment of the RSN. However, it is possible that attribution bias plays a role in the KPI improvements.

This network has actively boosted and expanded EM research capacity and capability in Queensland. It provides services, in the form of on-the-ground managers, to develop novice clinician-researchers, new projects and engage entire EDs. This model may be replicated nationwide but requires funding commitment.

The RSN improves front-line clinician research capacity and capability and increases research activity and collaborations with clear community outcomes. Collaborations were extended to community, primary health networks, non-government organisations, national and international researchers and academic institutions. Evaluating and measuring a network’s benefits are difficult, but it is likely that evaluations will help networks obtain funding.

Autistic young people have health and care needs that may benefit from a multi-agency intervention. The “Current View” tool is routinely used in England to profile the needs of young people referred to mental health services. This study aims to examine associations between comorbidities and complex needs in autistic and non-autistic young people to assess the multifaceted needs of autistic young people.

A cohort study was conducted using data from the electronic patient record, comparing autistic and non-autistic young people to see which items in the four “Current View” tool categories were associated with autistic young people.

Issues associated with autistic young people were: “community issues”, “attainment issues” and “deemed child in need” (all p < 0.001). Autistic young people scored significantly more items (p < 0.05) in the categories complexity/contextual/educational factors. Comorbidities associated with autistic young people included anxiety, “behavioural difficulties”, “peer relationship difficulties” and “self-care issues” (all p < 0.001). There was an association with increased comorbidities and complexity factors in autistic young people which suggests increased support from agencies may be beneficial.

Few studies have used data in the “Current View” tool to assess young people referred to services. More use could be made of this data for planning and delivering services.

This study aims to evaluate the quality of transition from child and adolescent services to adult intellectual disability services, using the relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) standard (QS140). In addition, this study also identifies any differences in transition quality between those young people with intellectual disability with and without autism.

Using routinely collected clinical data, this study identifies demographic and clinical characteristics of, and contextual complexities experienced by, young people in transition between 2017 and 2020. Compliance with the quality standard was assessed by applying dedicated search terms to the records.

The study highlighted poor recording of data with only 22% of 306 eligible cases having sufficient data recorded to determine compliance with the NICE quality standard. Available data indicated poor compliance with the standard. Child and adolescent mental health services, generally, did not record mental health co-morbidities. Compliance with three out of the five quality statements was higher for autistic young people, but this only reached statistical significance for one of those statements (i.e. having a named worker, p = 0.02).

Missing data included basic clinical characteristics such as the level of intellectual disability and the presence of autism. This required adult services to duplicate assessment procedures that potentially delayed clinical outcomes. This study highlights that poor compliance may reflect inaccurate recording that needs addressing through training and introduction of shared protocols.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine the transition process between children’s and adults’ intellectual disability health services using NICE quality standard 140.

The surge in the older population has gained significant interest within the tourism sector worldwide. Little empirical research has been conducted to examine the role of tourism experiences on older adults’ healthy aging. Based on Rowe and Kahn’s (1987) successful aging model, this study utilized a qualitative approach to examine the health benefits that tourism can play for seniors.

A total of 19 interviews were conducted with senior adults living in Macau aged over 60. Thematic analysis was employed for data analysis.

The results demonstrate that the tourism experience contributes to healthy aging in three ways: first, nature-based tourism benefits seniors’ physical health; second, the social interactions with friends, relatives, locals and fellow travelers during tourism activities benefit seniors' emotional well-being and third, transcendent tourism experiences can exhibit positive spirituality among seniors.

This paper not only enriches the theoretical and empirical studies on tourism and healthy aging but also puts forward relevant empirical suggestions to destination marketing organizations that target the senior tourist market.