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CoLab has released the first in a series of policy papers on early childhood in Western Australia.

Research

In Australia’s north, Aboriginal peoples live with world-high rates of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) and its precursor, acute rheumatic fever (ARF); driven by social and environmental determinants of health. We undertook a program of work to strengthen RHD primordial and primary prevention using a model addressing six domains: housing and environmental support, community awareness and empowerment, health literacy, health and education service integration, health navigation and health provider education.

Research

The goal of a clinical quality registry is to deliver immediate gains in survival and quality of life by delivering timely feedback to practitioners, thereby ensuring every patient receives the best existing treatment. We are developing an Australian Brain Cancer Registry (ABCR) to identify, describe, and measure the impact of the variation and gaps in brain cancer care from the time of diagnosis to the end of life.

Research

COVID-19 is a new multi-organ disease causing considerable worldwide morbidity and mortality. While many recognized pathophysiological mechanisms are involved, their exact causal relationships remain opaque. Better understanding is needed for predicting their progression, targeting therapeutic approaches, and improving patient outcomes. While many mathematical causal models describe COVID-19 epidemiology, none have described its pathophysiology.

Research

Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are recommended for capturing meaningful outcomes in clinical trials. The use of PROMs for children with acute lower respiratory infections (ALRIs) has not been systematically reported. We aimed to identify and characterise patient-reported outcomes and PROMs used in paediatric ALRI studies and summarise their measurement properties.

Research

Physical inactivity in childhood is a major public health issue. Dog ownership has been widely reported to lead to greater physical activity in adults and school-aged children. We examined if dog ownership and dog-facilitated physical activity were associated with higher physical activity in preschoolers. Secondary analysis of the 'Play Spaces & Environments for Children's Physical Activity' (PLAYCE, 2015-2018) study involving 1366, 2-5-year-olds from 122 long day-care centres in Perth, Australia was conducted.

Research

Maternal influenza and pertussis vaccination is an important strategy to reduce morbidity and mortality in infants. Previous vaccine safety studies have mostly focused on the association between maternal vaccination and fetal death.

Research

Transgender and gender diverse (“trans”) people are more likely to experience adverse mental health outcomes due to the social adversities that are commonly experienced. One ameliorating factor for poor mental health outcomes can be connection to community, often facilitated in online spaces such as TikTok.

Research

Physically locating liquor stores near schools can strongly influence the chances of youth accessing and consuming alcohol, and may also increase children's exposure to alcohol advertising. Investigating the association between the presence of a liquor store near a school and the prevalence of outdoor alcohol advertising is crucial from a policy perspective, as it can inform future regulations on the placement of liquor stores and outdoor advertising near educational institutions. 

Research

During 2013–2017, the mortality rate ratio for rheumatic heart disease among Indigenous versus non-Indigenous persons in Australia was 15.9, reflecting health inequity. Using excess mortality methods, we found that deaths associated with rheumatic heart disease among Indigenous Australians were probably substantially undercounted, affecting accuracy of calculations based solely on Australian Bureau of Statistics data.