Adolescents

Working together to optimise children’s mental health: The Campus Mental Health Strategy

Mental Health is an issue of growing concern across the community. This has been amplified through the COVID-19 pandemic. Child mental health is also an ongoing priority for the Melbourne Children’s Campus (MCC) and its three partners. The RCH treats many vulnerable patient groups (e.g., children with chronic illness, neurodevelopmental disorders, psychosocial challenges) with elevated risk of psychological and mental health difficulties. This extends across our inpatient and outpatient services and into the community. Despite this, mental health services can be fragmented and difficult to access. 

.

Wadja Family Place in Focus, and what can RCH staff do to support Aboriginal patients and their families

The NAIDOC Week Grand Round will highlight how Wadja Aboriginal Family Place has provided excellence and leadership in health services to Aboriginal Children and their families at the Royal Children’s Hospital. Wadja works collaboratively in partnership in the areas of child health assessments, advocacy, liaison, research, mental health, education, and family support to improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal children and young people.  

.

No Filter: Technology-facilitated sexual assault and implications for paediatric practice

Use of the internet and social media is now almost ubiquitous amongst adolescents. Parents express concern about their children’s use of social media and the risk of exposure to both unwanted and sought-after content, especially sexual content. Negotiating the digital world and understanding who their children are communicating with is becoming more difficult for parents.

.

Deciding with children – ethically ideal, but not always straightforward

In this interactive and case-based session, the Children’s Bioethics Centre team will introduce the ethical idea of deciding with children, rather than ‘for’ them. We will briefly describe the ethical foundations of this idea, discuss what it means in practice, and why it matters.

.

COVID-19: An Update: What have we learnt over the last 12 months?

Never in the field of health was so much learned by so many in so few months.  This, the opening Grand Round for 2021 will recap the lessons from last year, take stock of where we are in February 2021, describe the complex situation with vaccines, and look to what the year might hold for the pandemic and children in Australia and countries around the world.  Topics will include: Why is COVID-19 less severe in children?  What is the role of schools in transmission and what is the impact of new variants?  Vaccines: who, when and how? The indirect effects of Covid: poverty and malnutrition, measles, loss of education, and child marriage.

.

How can a 10 year old be sent to prison in Australia?

Currently in Australia, children as young as 10 years old can be arrested, held in police cells, taken before a magistrate and incarcerated in prison-like settings.  Most children who are incarcerated are never convicted of a crime. 

.

Now and then: The Children’s Hospital in a half century of development: Dr John Court and the development of Diabetes care, Adolescent health, and Community relationships

Several Grand Rounds in 2020, the 150th year of the Children’s Hospital, will highlight the development of services, some looking back and looking forward.  This opening Grand Round will review the innovations in diabetes, adolescent health, and links between the hospital and the community. Dr John Court was a paediatrician who had a key role in service development at The Royal Children’s Hospital from the late 1950’s to the 1990’s including research and clinical care.

.

Working effectively with gender and sexuality diverse children and young people in health care

Drawing on several recent and ongoing Australian research projects, funded by the Australian Research Council and the Collaborative Research Centre (CRC), ‘Young and Well’, this presentation focuses on how health care professionals can most effectively engage with sexuality and gender diverse children and young people to provide the most inclusive and affirmative care.

.

Fearless, Tearless Transition: Improving long term outcomes for young people with Intellectual Disability or Autism Spectrum Disorder with mental health concerns and their families

Optimising the care and management of patients with behaviours of concern is a key priority for the Royal Children’s Hospital. Several departments have now embedded a new model of care introduced in 2016 for adolescents with an intellectual disability and or Autism Spectrum Disorder with mental health concerns. At this Grand Round, we will hear from a parent, a GP and clinicians who will provide insights into the challenges and progress of this important initiative.

.

Transgender adolescents and hormone treatment: The role of The Royal Children’s Hospital in changing the law to improve treatment access across Australia

In 2004, the Family Court of Australia defined hormone treatment for transgender adolescents as a “special medical procedure”. This created a law which necessitated that all transgender adolescents were required to gain legal authority from the Family Court of Australia should they wish to medically transition to their affirmed gender identity. Even with the consent of the young person, their parents and approval of the medical team involved, court authority was required. This situation was unique to Australia, with no other jurisdiction in the world having such legal barriers to treatment.

.