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Telethon Kids Institute

The Telethon Kids Institute is one of the largest, and most successful medical research institutes in Australia, comprising a dedicated and diverse team of more than 500 staff and students.

Established in 1990 by Founding Director Professor Fiona Stanley, the Institute was among the first to adopt a multidisciplinary approach to major health issues: clinical research, laboratory sciences and epidemiologists all under the one roof, to tackle complex diseases and issues in a number of ways.

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Displaying 1 - 20 of 28 articles
JAMES ROSS/AAP

Coronavirus: is it safe for kids to go back to school? And what about the new mutant strain?

Asha Bowen, Telethon Kids Institute; Archana Koirala, University of Sydney; Fiona Russell, The University of Melbourne; Kristine Macartney, University of Sydney, and Margie Danchin, Murdoch Children's Research Institute

Based on closely following outbreaks in schools and early learning centres across Australia throughout 2020, we have enough evidence to show how students can return to school safely.
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Young people were already struggling before the pandemic. Here are 7 ways to help them navigate a changed world

Kate Lycett, Deakin University; Craig Olsson, Deakin University; Fiona Stanley, Telethon Kids Institute; Geoffrey Woolcock, University of Southern Queensland, and Karen Struthers, Griffith University

Children are among those most at risk from the indirect effects of coronavirus. It is time we prioritised the well-being of young people as a nation-building commitment.
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What governments can do about the increase in family violence due to coronavirus

Melissa O'Donnell, University of Western Australia; Aron Shlonsky, Monash University; Ben Mathews, Queensland University of Technology; Fiona Arney, University of South Australia; Fiona Stanley, Telethon Kids Institute; Leah Bromfield, University of South Australia; Rhiannon Pilkington, and Rhonda Marriott, Murdoch University

Family violence issues are likely to be exacerbated by the COVID-10 pandemic. Lockdown can especially affect women and children who may wish to escape an abusive relationship or receive support.
Rates of resistance to the bacteria commonly known as golden staph are at least double in remote Indigenous communities what they are in Australia’s major cities. Lucy Hughes Jones/AAP

Antibiotic resistance is an even greater challenge in remote Indigenous communities

Asha Bowen, Telethon Kids Institute and Steven Tong, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity

Antibiotic resistance is one of the greatest health challenges of the modern day. It's especially prevalent, and must be acted on, in Australia's remote Indigenous communities.
The theory is that if therapies are started early enough, it might be possible to alter the trajectory of autism. Shutterstock

Treating suspected autism at 12 months of age improves children’s language skills

Andrew Whitehouse, University of Western Australia; Kandice Varcin, Telethon Kids Institute, and Kristelle Hudry, La Trobe University

Children with autism don't usually begin therapy until they're given a diagnosis, which rarely occurs before the age of two. But new research shows there's benefit to starting early.
Australia’s first Aboriginal Brain Injury Coordinator, Rebecca Clinch, with brain injury survivor Justin Kickett. Edith Cowan University

Aboriginal Australians want care after brain injury. But it must consider their cultural needs

Beth Armstrong, Edith Cowan University and Juli Coffin, Telethon Kids Institute

The absence of Indigenous Australians in rehabilitation services has created the belief they don't want therapy. The reality is they want services which better meet their cultural needs.
The antibiotics commonly used to treat school sores, a skin infection affecting thousands of Aboriginal kids, are out of stock. Terry Trewin/AAP

Antibiotic shortages are putting Aboriginal kids at risk

Asha Bowen, Telethon Kids Institute

Almost half of Aboriginal kids living remotely will have a school sore at any one time. But there aren't enough of the right antibiotics to treat them.
Health education needs to lift spirits and give optimism, such as this image of Peter Parmbuk and Marcus Kinthari washing their hands at the Gerry the Germ area of the Wadeye Health Centre in 2010. Clive Hyde/AAP

Words from Arnhem land: Aboriginal health messages need to be made with us rather than for us

Makungun Marika, Menzies School of Health Research; Alice Mitchell, Menzies School of Health Research; Anna Ralph, Menzies School of Health Research; Barungun Marawili, Menzies School of Health Research; Emma Haynes, Telethon Kids Institute, and Minitja Marawili, Menzies School of Health Research

The disempowering effect of lack of knowledge, and the downstream impacts on health behaviours and outcomes, underpins the disadvantage of First Nations people.
The community environment clearly has a large influence on child development, but exactly which factors are most important? Tracey Nearmy/AAP

Working out what makes a good community where young children can thrive

Sharon Goldfeld, The University of Melbourne; Billie Giles-Corti, RMIT University; Geoffrey Woolcock, University of Southern Queensland; Hannah Badland, RMIT University; Ilan Katz, UNSW; Karen Villanueva, Murdoch Children's Research Institute; Robert Tanton, University of Canberra, and Sally Brinkman, Telethon Kids Institute

Research has started to identify the key factors in creating communities that promote good early childhood development.
If youths with brain impairment had been identified and supported early, their entry into the justice system could have been avoided entirely. from shutterstock.com

Almost every young person in WA detention has a severe brain impairment

Hayley M Passmore, Telethon Kids Institute; Carol Bower, Telethon Kids Institute, and Raewyn Mutch, Telethon Kids Institute

New research assessing young people in WA detention found 89% were severely impaired in at least one area of brain function. One in three had fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).
While death rates from heart and kidney disease have dropped among Indigenous people, death rates from cancer are on the rise. from shutterstock.com

To close the health gap, we need programs that work. Here are three of them

Neale Cohen, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute; Jonathan Carapetis, Telethon Kids Institute, and Sue Kildea, The University of Queensland

Politicians make sweeping statements on how to close the gap. But here's advice from people working directly with Indigenous communities who have evidence for what actually works.
Impetigo happens when itching causes the skin to break and let in disease-causing bacteria. from shutterstock.com

Why simple school sores often lead to heart and kidney disease in Indigenous children

Jackson Thomas, University of Canberra; Erin Walker, University of Canberra; Gregory Peterson, University of Tasmania, and Nathan M D'Cunha, University of Canberra

While school sores – or impetigo – is a treatable condition, if left untreated it can lead to much more serious illness such as kidney and heart disease.

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