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A website providing the latest research and resources on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is helping parents, educators, health professionals and policy makers navigate the complexities of the neurodevelopmental impairment condition.

At The Kids Research Institute Australia, we've been thinking of the kids for 35 years. We are finding the answers to some of the biggest problems facing the health and wellbeing of children and families. Our Research Themes host defined programs of work where the Institute has clear strengths and capacity. Our overarching commitment to First Nations Health and Equity is embedded across all our work and features as a core consideration in each Research Theme. The Institute is committed to ending the disparity in health and wellbeing outcomes between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal kids and families.

Research

Peers play a crucial role in supporting wellbeing and psychosocial development for young people aged 12-25. However, a cancer experience often leads to challenges maintaining friendships. There have been no prior attempts to map or synthesise available research or resources on support specifically from friends for young people with cancer, limiting the capacity to draw conclusions or determine next steps for how to best support young people with cancer. This review aims to address this gap by mapping and synthesising the available literature and resources.

Research

To characterise small-area geographical variation in the prevalence of diabetes in Australian youth. A combined statistical reconstruction and small-area estimation algorithm was applied to privacy-modulated data from the 2021 Australian Census. 

Research

Sleep problems occur in up to 20%-45% of adolescents. This systematic review and meta-analysis examined the effectiveness of digital sleep interventions, based on cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia, for adolescents with insomnia symptoms. The objective was to synthesise and quantify, through meta-analyses, changes in sleep following completion of a digital sleep-based intervention. 

Research

In Australia, although there have been some improvements, child oral health continues to be a major public health issue. The Australian Government introduced the means-tested Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS) in 2014 to support access to dental services for children and adolescents aged 0-17 years from low-income families. 

Research

To improve early intervention and personalise treatment for individuals early on the psychosis continuum, a greater understanding of symptom dynamics is required. We address this by identifying and evaluating the movement between empirically derived attenuated psychotic symptomatic substates-clusters of symptoms that occur within individuals over time.

Research

Empathy, a complex and multidimensional construct essential for social functioning and mental health, has been extensively studied in both research and clinical settings. The Perth Empathy Scale (PES), a recently developed self-report measure, assesses cognitive and affective empathy across both positive and negative emotions and is based on the self-other model of empathy. This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the PES in large Iranian sample.

Research

Tropomyosin receptor kinase (TRK) fusions are detected in less than 2% of central nervous system tumors. There are limited data on the clinical course of affected patients. 

Research

This cohort study examines whether there is a temporal association between SARS-CoV-2 infection and the development of islet autoimmunity among Australian children with a first-degree relative with type 1 diabetes.