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Reports and Findings

Impact of pediatric anesthesia management on cancer outcomes in children—a narrative review

The relationship between anesthetic technique and pediatric oncological outcomes is an emerging field of interest. With significant improvements in childhood cancer survival in recent decades, there is an increased focus on optimizing the quality of survival and reducing the incidence of metastasis and recurrence. The aim of this narrative review article is to investigate and consolidate the current available evidence assessing the immunomodulatory effects of anesthesia in the pediatric oncology population.

Psychometric evaluation of the Comprehensive Autistic Trait Inventory in autistic and non-autistic adults

Measures of autistic traits are only useful – for pre-diagnostic screening, exploring individual differences, and gaining personal insight – if they efficiently and accurately assess autism as currently conceptualised while maintaining psychometric validity across different demographic groups. We recruited 1322 autistic and 1279 non-autistic adults who varied in autism status (non-autistic, diagnosed autistic, self-identifying autistic) and gender (cisgender men, cisgender women, gender diverse) to assess the psychometric properties of the Comprehensive Autistic Trait Inventory, a recently developed measure of autistic traits that examines six trait domains using 42 self-report statements.

Quicker team launch times for urgent priority neonatal retrievals: A Quality Improvement Initiative study

Neonatal retrieval networks have adopted time-centric quality metrics as Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for setting and comparing benchmarking standards. Quicker launch time (departure from base), an essential KPI, enables neonatal retrieval teams to rapidly provide higher-level care to sick infants. The Newborn Emergency Transport Services of Western Australia (NETS WA) facilitates neonatal transfers across largest global retrieval area necessitating quicker team launch times for urgent retrievals. NETS WA conducted a quality improvement (QI) study to quicken team launch times for urgent retrievals.

Therapeutic potential of plant-based therapies in pediculosis capitis: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Pediculosis capitis is a worldwide prevalent public health issue, mostly involving children. Resistance has been increasingly identified with conventional treatments such as permethrin or malathion. We aimed to evaluate the therapeutic potential of plant-based therapies for pediculosis capitis. PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, EmCare, Web of Science, Cochrane, and ScienceDirect were searched for studies.

Twenty-five is not a neurobiologically determined age of maturity for gender-affirming medical decision-making

Among the increasing threats to the healthcare of transgender and gender-diverse people globally, are efforts to deny gender-affirming medical care to people under age 25 typically justified by stating that the human brain is not developed until the mid-to-late 20's. Thus, this line of reasoning states young adults are not sufficiently mature to be responsible for autonomous healthcare decision-making— at least in regard to gender-affirming care.

COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake, Sources of Information and Side Effects Reported by Pregnant Women in Western Australia: Cross-Sectional Cohort Survey

Pregnant women are a priority group for COVID-19 vaccination due to their vulnerability as a high-risk cohort. However, the currentCOVID-19 vaccine uptake rate for COVID-19 vaccination among pregnant women in Western Australia remains largely unknown.

Epidemiology of the Cerebral Palsies

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.

The Definition of Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy (CP) should not be considered as a diagnosis but as a label; it is an umbrella term, primarily affecting posture and mobility. The definition is not sufficiently precise to guarantee agreement as to which patients to include under this label, but the additional inclusion criteria required are not yet internationally standardised. 

Immune Development in Early Life (IDEaL) longitudinal cohort study protocol: Identifying biomarkers of vaccine responsiveness, respiratory infection, and asthma

Early-life immune development is a critical factor in predicting the risk of childhood respiratory infections, asthma, and poor vaccine responses. Identifying immune endotypes that predispose children to these conditions could lead to the development of predictive biomarkers and early interventions, potentially improving long-term health outcomes. 

Implementation Fidelity of a Smartphone Application for Population-Based General Movement Assessment: The Early Moves Study

To describe the infant and maternal characteristics of the Early Moves cohort and to assess representativeness to the general population, and to evaluate the implementation fidelity of an application-based collection of General Movement Assessment (GMA) videos at writhing and fidgety age.

Quality of Childcare Influences Children's Attentiveness and Emotional Regulation at School Entry

Among children using formal childcare, those who experienced higher-quality relationships were better able to regulate their attention and emotions as they...

Prenatal adverse life events increase the risk for atopic diseases in children, which is enhanced in the absence of a maternal atopic predisposition

There is evidence to suggest an association between prenatal maternal stress and the development of asthma or other atopic diseases in offspring.

Genomic responses during acute human anaphylaxis are characterized by upregulation of innate inflammatory gene networks

The aim of this study was to examine the gene response of white blood cells in severe allergic reactions to identify genes that could be targets to new drugs...

Child care quality and children's cognitive and socio-emotional development: an Australian longitudinal study

There is growing evidence that high-quality non-parental child care can contribute to children's learning, development and successful transition to school.

Risk factors for low receptive vocabulary abilities in the preschool and early school years in the longitudinal study of Australian children

Receptive vocabulary development is a component of the human language system that emerges in the first year of life and is characterised by onward expansion...

Community participation: Conversations with parent-Carers of young women with Rett syndrome

In this paper, the issue of people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities facing significant challenges to participating in their community is...

Biodiesel exhaust-induced cytotoxicity and proinflammatory mediator production in human airway epithelial cells

Our results show that canola biodiesel exhaust exposure elicits inflammation and reduces viability of human epithelial cell cultures in vitro when compared...

Child health - How is Australia doing and what more do we need to do for our kids?

Australia really is a lucky country, but if we want future prosperity, then focusing on the health and wellbeing of our children is one of the most important...

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder: Development of consensus referral criteria for specialist diagnostic assessment in Australia

The use of standard methods to identify when to refer individuals who may have FASD for specialist assessment could help improve the identification of this...

The correlation between reading and mathematics ability at age twelve has a substantial genetic component

Dissecting how genetic and environmental influences impact on learning is helpful for maximizing numeracy and literacy.