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News & Events

Major grants fuel child health research

Six researchers from The Kids Research Institute Australia have been awarded $8.9 million in prestigious Investigator Grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council.

News & Events

Five researchers from The Kids awarded Early Career Child Health Researcher Fellowships

Five researchers from The Kids Research Institute Australia have been awarded three-year fellowships with the aim of keeping more WA-based PhD graduates involved in child health research.

Research

The global, regional, and national burden of cancer, 1990–2023, with forecasts to 2050: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023

Cancer is a leading cause of death globally. Accurate cancer burden information is crucial for policy planning, but many countries do not have up-to-date cancer surveillance data. To inform global cancer-control efforts, we used the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2023 framework to generate and analyse estimates of cancer burden for 47 cancer types or groupings by age, sex, and 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2023, cancer burden attributable to selected risk factors from 1990 to 2023, and forecasted cancer burden up to 2050.

Research

What I Wish I Had Known: Examining Parent Accounts of Managing the Health of Their Child With Intellectual Disability

Appropriate support for the health of children with an intellectual disability by parents and healthcare professionals is pivotal, given the high risk of chronic conditions. However, there is limited research that has collected important insights from parents on their learnings for supporting their child's evolving healthcare needs.

Research

Exploring Oral Health Related Quality of Life in Rett Syndrome Using Directed Content Analysis

No validated oral health-related quality of life (OHRQOL) instrument currently exists for those with severe intellectual and developmental disabilities and who communicate non-verbally. This qualitative study aimed to explore the domains that were important to the oral health-related quality of life in individuals with Rett syndrome.

Research

Diagnostic services for developmental coordination disorder: Gaps and opportunities identified by parents

Affecting one in 20 children, Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder impacting a child's ability to learn motor skills. Despite its high prevalence, DCD is under-recognized and under-diagnosed, causing unnecessary frustration and stress for families who are seeking help for their child. This study aimed to understand how parents procure diagnostic services and their perspectives on needed supports and services to improve early identification and diagnosis of DCD. 

Research

Does somatosensory discrimination therapy alter sensorimotor upper limb function differently compared to motor therapy in children and adolescents with unilateral cerebral palsy: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Besides motor impairments, up to 90% of the children and adolescents with unilateral cerebral palsy (uCP) present with somatosensory impairments in the upper limb. As somatosensory information is of utmost importance for coordinated movements and motor learning, somatosensory impairments can further compromise the effective use of the impaired upper limb in daily life activities. 

Research

Priority setting for children and young people with chronic conditions and disabilities

The aim of this project was to identify the top 10 priorities for childhood chronic conditions and disability (CCD) research from the perspectives of children and young people with lived experience, their parents and caregivers and the professionals who work with them.

Research

Cerebral palsy: Epidemiology

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a lifelong physical disability, resulting from maldevelopment or damage to the developing brain. All children with CP have a disorder of movement and posture, but this is often accompanied by disorders of intellect, sensation, behaviour and epilepsy. Long-standing CP registers and surveillance systems estimate the prevalence of CP as approximately 2 per 1000 live births; however variations are seen over time and in different regions of the world.

Research

The development, content and response process validation of a caregiver-reported severity measure for CDKL5 deficiency disorder

CDKL5 Deficiency Disorder (CDD) is a severe X-linked developmental and epileptic encephalopathy. Existing developmental outcome measures have floor effects and cannot capture incremental changes in symptoms. We modified the caregiver portion of a CDD clinical severity assessment (CCSA) and assessed content and response-process validity.