Although breast milk is considered the perfect food for babies, there is continued controversy concerning its association with a wide range of health outcomes. Dr Caroline Lodge has led three systematic reviews investigating the associations between breastfeeding and: allergic disease (asthma, eczema, allergic rhinitis and food allergy), acute otitis media and, childhood dental caries
Since the 1950s organ donation has been available as a benevolent opportunity. The legal, ethical and moral framework has evolved since to establish its optimal conduct. Worldwide, efforts have been made to enhance organ donation rates by the establishment of organ procurement agencies.
Enhancing the wellbeing, learning and development pathways for children, especially those from disadvantaged families, depends on the timing, targeting and intensity of support though infancy and early childhood. These early environments impact health and psychosocial development throughout the life-course. Early childhood education and care settings (ECEC) – often referred to as child care – have the potential to partially compensate for disadvantaged and stressful early environments and amplify development.
The kidney transplantation program at RCH has a rich history and has contributed in significant ways to improving outcomes for children with kidney failure for over 50 years. Major changes have taken place in the last two years leading to a new collaboration with the Austin Hospital, a record-breaking year for transplants in 2014 and a world-first innovation to prevent sensitisation in paediatric transplant recipients
It is less than a year until the RCH Epic EMR “goes live”. The transition to a proper electronic record with an extensive suite of functionality will mean many changes in the way we work. These changes will be bigger than those we experienced in the move to the new hospital. The EMR represents a great opportunity to improve the care we deliver and our ability to support research. It is a major investment and obviously we want to use it well.
School participation is vital for children with disabilities. We will describe the current situation for students with a disability who attend their local school in Victoria. Background and challenges that students, families and schools currently experience will be discussed. Findings from research that involved a study of students, teachers, parents, principals and allied health professionals will be presented to highlight supports, services, and strategies that enabled students with cerebral palsy to experience success at school.
Many gains have been made in treating hemiplegic cerebral palsy in recent years. These include a better understanding of diagnosis, imaging, risk factors and treatments.
Digital health is an umbrella term for the application of ICT and technology in healthcare, incorporating mobile health apps, wearable technologies such as the fitbit and Google glass, web-based research and clinical decision support tools, and the re-purposing of gaming technologies, such as the Xbox kinect, for health applications.
ChIPS the RCH Chronic Illness Peer Support program, is twenty one years old this year. Managed by the Centre for Adolescent Health, ChIPS brings young people together to share their experiences of chronic illness, create peer support networks and engage in activities that they may not get a chance to do otherwise. The program uses both Youth Participation and Peer Support models.
The Australia and New Zealand Fontan Registry is the largest database of patients born with a single heart pumping chamber. The Fontan Registry has already allowed us to demonstrate that survival is far better than expected.
