Search
Tools that can be used to collect behavioural data during pandemics are needed to inform policy and practice. The objective of this project was to develop the Your COVID-19 Risk tool in response to the global spread of COVID-19, aiming to promote health behaviour change. We developed an online resource based on key behavioural evidence-based risk factors related to contracting and spreading COVID-19. This tool allows for assessing risk and provides instant support to protect individuals from infection.
Nirsevimab is a long-acting monoclonal antibody used to prevent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in infants and high-risk children. During the 2024 RSV season in Western Australia, 21 922 doses were administered to infants entering their first season and 1221 doses to at-risk children. In this context, the selection and spread of escape variants are a potential concern. This study aimed to investigate nirsevimab binding site mutations using clinical and wastewater data.
Rates of several vaccine preventable diseases, and associated hospitalisation, are higher among Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children than non-Indigenous children. Western Australia has among the lowest childhood vaccine coverage in Australia, particularly among Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children. Delayed vaccination is also more common in this population. This project aimed to understand the barriers and facilitators to vaccine uptake and timeliness among Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children aged under five years in Boorloo (Perth).
Influenza and COVID-19 infections during pregnancy may have serious adverse consequences for women as well as their infants. However, uptake of influenza and COVID-19 vaccines during pregnancy remains suboptimal. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of a multi-component nudge intervention to improve influenza and COVID-19 vaccine uptake among pregnant women.
Pneumonia remains a leading cause of hospitalization and death among young children worldwide, and the diagnostic challenge of differentiating bacterial from non-bacterial pneumonia is the main driver of antibiotic use for treating pneumonia in children. Causal Bayesian networks (BNs) serve as powerful tools for this problem as they provide clear maps of probabilistic relationships between variables and produce results in an explainable way by incorporating both domain expert knowledge and numerical data.
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.
The need for coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination in different age groups and populations is a subject of great uncertainty and an ongoing global debate. Critical knowledge gaps regarding COVID-19 vaccination include the duration of protection offered by different priming and booster vaccination regimens in different populations, including homologous or heterologous schedules.
Group A Streptococcus causes a wide range of diseases from relatively mild infections including pharyngitis to more severe illnesses such as invasive diseases and rheumatic heart disease (RHD). Our aim is to estimate the cost-effectiveness of a hypothetical Strep A vaccine on multiple disease manifestations at the global-level.
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.
Environmental chemical contamination is a recognised risk factor for psychological distress, but has been seldom studied in the context of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination. We examined psychological distress in a cross-sectional study of three Australian communities exposed to PFAS from the historical use of aqueous film-forming foam in firefighting activities, and three comparison communities without environmental contamination.