Today, 80% of children treated for cancer will survive. However, a significant proportion of survivors are at risk of infertility, due to toxicity of their treatment. The Royal Children’s Hospital is a leader worldwide in promoting discussion of fertility issues at the time of treatment, and offering options that might be able to preserve fertility for the future.
Seizures are more common in the neonatal period than at any other time of life. Recognition of seizures in the NICU has changed in recent years with the introduction of bedside EEG tools. Increased recognition has raised the sceptre of whether all subclinical seizures need treatment with anticonvulsants.
Perioperative medicine (POM) is the multidisciplinary, integrated care of patients from the moment surgery is contemplated through to recovery. Perioperative Medicine is a key strategic focus of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA).
Can men who are abusive to their intimate partners still be good fathers? This is a question the family violence team at RCH are asked almost daily. As a children’s hospital, the RCH is in a unique position to help children experiencing family violence and the best interests of the child are our priority as we work alongside families.
Social media holds considerable potential for health promotion activities, as it addresses some of the barriers in traditional methods of health communication by increasing accessibility, interaction and engagement with the community. Now in its fourth year, the RCH National Child Health Poll has evolved to increasingly use novel and innovative strategies to engage parents and carers via RCH digital channels.
For the last quarter of a century the Centre for Community Child Health has been working with families, communities and government to improve outcomes of all children by focusing on how to provide great care everywhere. This has included clinical services through to place-based service innovation across health and education.
The current Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System is providing a focus of attention on mental health service provision. Whilst recognising the shortcomings of current services for people with mental disorders, the Commission will be able to offer deep and wide-ranging recommendations for improvements, and influence profoundly the design and delivery of mental health services into the future. Provision of mental health services for children and adolescents are a key part of their work.
GenV’s vision is to help solve complex issues affecting today’s children and adults through an entire Australian state becoming a single platform that enhances research speed, capacity and translation. Led from the Melbourne Children’s Campus, the GenV Cohort will be open to the families of all 170,000 Victorian newborns over 2021-2. At its foundation are consent; existing geospatial, clinical and administrative data; biosamples; GenV-specific data; and melding observational and intervention design
Widening health inequities, emerging disease threats, and shortfalls in financing for health are challenging the gains made in global health over the past 20 years. Many countries face a ‘triple transition’: Epidemiologically – from infectious to chronic diseases; Financially – from donor to domestic financing of health, and Structurally – as health systems reorganise to achieve universal health coverage. Dr Stephanie Williams will provide an overview of Australia’s global health contribution with practical examples of how the aid program is adapting to these changes.
Kidney transplantation is the best treatment for children with end-stage kidney disease. However, the typical transplanted kidney fails substantially short of recipient life expectancy, due largely to chronic rejection. At the same time, the immunosuppressant drugs needed to prevent rejection sometimes cause morbidity and even mortality, from infection, cardiovascular disease and malignancy. Achieving the optimal balance between rejection risk and immunosuppressant toxicity is a critical challenge. Patients vary in how they respond to immunosuppressant drugs, so it’s very hard to get it right every time.
