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We know from research that the risk of death from respiratory disease is 14 times higher for adults with cerebral palsy than for other adults. Respiratory disease is the most common cause of premature death in children and young people with cerebral palsy and one of the main causes of hospitalisation.
Vaccination in pregnancy is the best strategy to reduce complications from influenza or pertussis infection in infants who are too young to be protected directly from vaccination. Pregnant women are also at risk of influenza complications preventable through antenatal vaccination. Both vaccines are funded under the National Immunisation Program for pregnant women in Australia, but coverage is not routinely reported nationally.
Children with cerebral palsy face challenges in maintaining oral hygiene; data on their oral health practices and outcomes are limited.
We investigate the construct validity, test re-test reliability, and responsiveness of the Wrist Position Sense Test (WPST) for children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy (CP).
Seasonal influenza vaccine is effective against influenza hospitalisations, but little is known about non-specific effects of the vaccine on other respiratory pathogens with similar seasonal patterns. We aimed to assess the causal impact of seasonal influenza vaccine on laboratory-confirmed hospitalisations for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in children using an instrumental variable strategy.
Fidgety movements occur in infants between the age of 9 to 20 weeks post-term, and their absence are a strong indicator that an infant has cerebral palsy. Prechtl's General Movement Assessment method evaluates whether an infant has fidgety movements, but requires a trained expert to conduct it. Timely evaluation facilitates early interventions, and thus computer-based methods have been developed to aid domain experts.
To assess potential benefits and direct healthcare cost savings with expansion of an existing childhood influenza immunisation program, we developed a dynamic transmission model for the state of Western Australia, evaluating increasing coverage in children < 5 years and routinely immunising school-aged children.
We compared early vocal development in children "at risk" for cerebral palsy (CP) with typically developing (TD) infants aged 6 to 15 months using the SAEVD-R, investigating potential pre-linguistic markers of communication impairment. Additionally, we sought to examine the agreement between the SAEVD-R and IMP, which uses parent report, in identifying departure from typical vocal development in at-risk infants.
Influenza vaccination of children with medical comorbidities is critical due their increased risks for severe influenza disease. In Australia, hospitals are an avenue for influenza vaccine delivery to children with comorbidities but are not always effectively utilised. Qualitative enquiry sought to ascertainment the barriers and enablers for influenza vaccination recommendation, delivery, and recording of these children at Australian hospitals.
The EQ-5D-5L is a generic health utility instrument for measuring health-related quality of life (HRQoL), with self-report and proxy report versions for children (EQ-5D-Y-5L). Children with intellectual disability (ID) are a heterogeneous population whose impairments and comorbidities place them at risk of poor HRQoL. This study aimed to describe the content validity and suitability for children with ID of a proxy report version of the EQ-5D-Y-5L as seen by their caregivers.
Understanding patterns of bacterial carriage and otitis media (OM) microbiology is crucial for assessing vaccine impact and informing policy. The microbiology of OM can vary with geography, time, and interventions like pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs). We evaluated the microbiology of nasopharyngeal and middle ear effusions in children living in Western Australia, 11 years following the introduction of PCV13.
Children with cerebral palsy (CP) participate less in physical activities and have increased sedentary behaviour compared with typically developing peers. Participate CP is a participation-focused therapy intervention for children with CP with demonstrated efficacy in a phase II randomised controlled trial (RCT) to increase perceived performance of physical activity participation goals. This study will test the effectiveness of Participate CP in a multisite phase III RCT.
The Australian and New Zealand Paediatric Infectious Diseases (ANZPID) Group of the Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases (ASID) calls for urgent consideration of the needs and voices of children in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and in planning for future pandemics.
For children with cerebral palsy (CP), who are marginally ambulant, gross motor capacity peaks between 6 and 7 years of age with a subsequent clinical decline, impacting their ability to engage in physical activity. Active Strides-CP is a novel package of physiotherapy targeting body functions, activity and participation outcomes for children with bilateral CP. This study will compare Active Strides-CP to usual care in a multisite randomised waitlist-controlled trial.
To assess parental awareness of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and the level of acceptance of future RSV prevention strategies. A cross-sectional online survey was implemented targeting "future" and "current" parents of children aged ≤5 years in Australia.
ParticiPAte CP is a participation-focused therapy intervention that is effective to increase perceived performance of physical activity participation goals in children with cerebral palsy. We aimed to characterise the contents of ParticiPAte CP using validated behaviour change frameworks.
The changing phenotype of coronarvirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may quickly render guideline-recommended interventions obsolete. We developed a 40-question clinician survey in consultation with the Australasian COVID-19 Trial site investigators. The survey was designed to assess clinician perceptions of the current treatment strategies and future research priorities in the management of non-critically ill patients admitted to hospital with SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Epidemiology of cerebral palsy (CP) aims to describe the frequency of the condition in a population and to monitor its changes over time, and a guide to the management of patients. Classification of CP is an important step toward describing more homogenous subgroups of persons with CP.
Since its emergence in 1968, influenza A H3N2 has caused yearly epidemics in temperate regions. While infection confers immunity against antigenically similar strains, new antigenically distinct strains that evade existing immunity regularly emerge ('antigenic drift'). Immunity at the individual level is complex, depending on an individual's lifetime infection history.