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Sepsis is a significant cause of mortality for children in Australia, particularly affecting young children, those with pre-existing health conditions and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations. The transition from hospital to home can be challenging for survivors, often leaving long-term impacts unaddressed.
Rates of several vaccine preventable diseases, and associated hospitalisation, are higher among Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children than non-Indigenous children. Western Australia has among the lowest childhood vaccine coverage in Australia, particularly among Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children. Delayed vaccination is also more common in this population. This project aimed to understand the barriers and facilitators to vaccine uptake and timeliness among Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children aged under five years in Boorloo (Perth).
The estimated effectiveness of SMS (short message service) reminders for improving childhood vaccine coverage and timeliness has varied in previous studies. The observed heterogeneity in effectiveness may be explained in part by variation in reminder content or timing of the reminder relative to the vaccine schedule date. We sought to evaluate the effectiveness of a range of SMS reminders of varied content and timing for improving on-time childhood vaccination.
Vaccine hesitancy and suboptimal vaccine uptake pose significant threats to public health, but modifiable psychological factors underpinning them are under-investigated. We examined the prevalence of spontaneous emotional mental imagery relating to infectious diseases and perinatal vaccines and its unique associations with vaccine hesitancy and uptake behaviour.
PICOBOO is a randomised, adaptive trial evaluating the immunogenicity and reactogenicity of licensed COVID-19 booster vaccines in immunocompetent individuals >12 years old. Here, we present data for seven different vaccines among three pre-specified participant strata defined by age and primary vaccine schedule.
Australia introduced a hybrid Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Maternal and Infant Protection Program (RSV-MIPP) in 2025, using National Immunisation Program-funded RSV vaccine for pregnant people from 28 weeks' gestation and jurisdiction-funded nirsevimab. We estimated real-world effectiveness and assessed the impact of the RSV-MIPP program across a participating surveillance network.
Encephalitis is inflammation of the brain parenchyma with heterogenous aetiology and presentation. In children, it often leads to short-term residual neurological deficits, however clinical predictors of adverse long-term outcome are not fully understood.
Immunomodulatory proteins in human milk (HM) can shape infant immune development. However, strategies to modulate their levels are currently unknown. This study investigated whether maternal prebiotic supplementation alters the levels of immunomodulatory proteins in HM.
Dietary intake during the first year of life is a key determinant of a child's growth and development. ORIGINS is a longitudinal birth cohort study investigating factors that contribute to a 'healthy start to life' and the prevention of non-communicable diseases.
Invasive fungal disease (IFD) occurs less frequently during treatment for solid compared to hematological malignancies in children, and risk groups are poorly defined. Retrospective national multicenter cohort data (2004-2013) were analyzed to document prevalence, clinical characteristics, and microbiology of IFD.