Perth's The Kids for Child Health Research has been awarded a major national grant to continue its ground-breaking work on child health and development.
The National Health and Medical Research Council today announced that it would fund the research program for the next five years at a cost of more than $7 million.
Institute Director, Professor Fiona Stanley, said the support for this on-going research program from the National Health and Medical Research Council was essential for researchers to tackle the pressing issues in child health and development.
"This research program is unique in bringing together a range of specialist researchers from the Institute, UWA and Curtin University of Technology with the common goals of preventing the major problems facing Australian children and youth today and enhancing their development, health and wellbeing," she said.
"The project will develop new ways of measuring and analysing the complex and interacting factors that determine child health.
"Its focus is on both the most common and the most serious problems affecting children, many of which have long term consequences in terms of adult health."
The program is organised into five inter-related and overlapping themes:
- Social, economic and psychological and social determinants of health.
- Developmental disorders
- Growth and nutrition
- Infection
- Aboriginal health
"Our Institute was founded with the aim of preventing major childhood diseases and disorders. To do that, it's essential that we better understand the complex pathways that lead to problems so that we can find opportunities for positive intervention," Professor Stanley said.
"We firmly believe that there is both great economic and social benefits in focusing on early intervention strategies."
The grant will fund on-going research and existing staff at the Institute for the next five years. The Kids will continue to seek corporate and community support for increasing infrastructure costs associated with such research.
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