21 Hands up for our future
the future starts here
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Professor Susan Sawyer Director, Centre for Adolescent Health The Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne
Centre for Adolescent Health Over the past two decades, the Centre for Adolescent Health at The Royal Children’s Hospital, in association with the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute and The University of Melbourne, has developed an international reputation for its research of the implications of adolescent health for later life. The Centre is currently exploring the correlation between the health and happiness of babies and the lifestyles of their parents during adolescence and young adulthood, in order to ensure that Victorian children are given the best possible start to life. The Victorian Government has asked the Centre to assist in the development of a state-wide map of the health and wellbeing of Victorian adolescents. This survey of over 10,000 adolescents will build our understanding of the health and wellbeing of young Victorians, their families and communities, and allow the government to provide more focused attention on illness prevention and treatment, early intervention and health services. This research will have far reaching effects – already the work is informing the practices of the World Health Organisation and beyond. The work of the Centre has been supported by The Foundation and generous ongoing financial support from Mr Geoff Handbury ao.
Professor George Patton Director of Adolescent Health Research The Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne
World leading research A first in home monitoring Why do children suffer strokes? What are their needs and abilities one year after suffering a stroke? Is there anything that can be done initially to reduce the long term implications? And importantly, is it likely to happen again? Anne Gordon, a leading Occupational Therapist with The Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, is seeking answers to these questions. The Hospital sees, on average, one child a week who has suffered a stroke. Anne and the team are currently working with a very courageous 15-year-old girl who was perfectly healthy until she had the stroke, and a precious five-week-old baby with underlying cardiac illness. Anne is also researching the long-term outcomes of strokes in children. The study aims to identify the physical, sensory and functional abilities of children immediately after a stroke and regularly throughout the first year following a stroke, in order to identify what community care is required and what the child’s needs are. This is the first time such a study has been conducted anywhere in the world, and global demand for the data from hospitals is huge. Anne assisted a committed group of parents in starting a support group called Strokidz for families affected by child-stroke, in order to minimise the isolation felt by families as a result of the general perception that children simply do not suffer strokes. Anne has been awarded a Melbourne University PhD scholarship, and receives funding from MCRI for her research and from The RCH Foundation for her work on the Stroke Program.
One of the most difficult things for sick children and their families can be the stress of regularly visiting a hospital. Dr Anthea Greenway, a Consultant Haematologist with The Hospital, has been awarded a Doctorate of Medicine scholarship and is currently a recipient of the Uncle Bob’s Travelling Scholarship which will enable her to attend the Duke University Medical Centre in the U.S. gaining further clinical experience in her field. The Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation contributes funds towards both scholarships. Anthea is currently researching how to best assess, treat and monitor bleeding and clotting disorders in children, and the effectiveness of home monitoring systems for children who are taking blood-thinning medication. An effective home monitoring system would mean that children and their families would need to come into hospital less frequently. That is less stress for the children and their families. The results of this ground-breaking research will greatly improve the lifestyles of children with these conditions.