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Once upon a time it was infectious diseases like polio, measles or tuberculosis that most worried parents. With these threats now largely under control, parents face a new challenge – sky-rocketing rates of non-infectious diseases such as asthma, allergies and autism.

Research

This chapter describes the challenges experienced by Aboriginal people in their efforts to negotiate Australian society

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Vitamin D, nutrition, diet, therapeutic agent

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A systematic review: Identifying the prevalence rates of psychiatric disorder in Australia's Indigenous populations.

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We propose that this system provides a model for the differentiation and adaptation of monocytes entering the intestinal lamina propria.

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Exposure to ultraviolet radiation damages skin cell DNA but skin cancers develop because ultraviolet radiation also affects the immune system

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This study is the first to demonstrate an association between greater direct UV light exposures in early infancy with lower incidence of eczema

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Multiple sclerosis is associated with Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) infection, B-cell dysfunction, gut dysbiosis, and environmental and genetic risk factors, including female sex.

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Listed are all The Kids Research Institute Australia research teams involved in our Mental Health and Youth Program. This program sits under the Brain and Behaviour research theme.

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At the end of a 60-day course of narrowband UVB phototherapy, administered to individuals with early multiple sclerosis, there were changes in the relative proportions of circulating B-cell subsets. This study investigated phototherapy-associated changes to cytokine responses of B cells when exposed to a TLR7 ligand.

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CREAHW is a program of intervention research focused on achieving sustainable change for the Aboriginal community & improving the lives of Aboriginal people.

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Although genetic and epidemiological evidence indicates vitamin D insufficiency contributes to multiple sclerosis (MS), and serum levels of vitamin D increase on treatment with cholecalciferol, recent metanalyses indicate that this vitamin D form does not ameliorate disease. Genetic variation in genes regulating vitamin D, and regulated by vitamin D, affect MS risk.

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Building Bridges demonstrates the centrality of trusting relationships for systemic change and the way in which meaningful engagement is at the core of both the process and the outcome

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Population-level ecological studies show type 1 diabetes incidence is inversely correlated with ambient ultraviolet radiation (UVR) levels. We conducted a nested case–control study using administrative datasets to test this association at the individual level.

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Risk averse practice has dominated the child protection field for decades, with high-profile child deaths, ever-tightening surveillance, and regulation of families. In this context, the practice of social work as ‘risk work’ including the use of risk assessment tools has been subject to substantial scholarly investigation. Less attention has been paid to the community organisations that play a central role in supporting child protection-involved parents. Based on interviews with Australian community workers, we examine their negotiation of the parent support/parent risk dichotomy.

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Skin exposure to ultraviolet radiation alters the faecal microbiome, and further investigations to explore the implications of this in health and disease are warranted

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Australia’s history of negative child protection outcomes for children in state care highlights the sustained, systemic nature of serious harm. Situated in emerging conversations on structural challenges and state violence for parents involved in child protection systems, we trace the resources and barriers to responsive and ‘just’ child protection practice, highlighting how institutions can serve to compound disadvantage and injustice. We argue that addressing challenges such as access to advocacy at the level of the individual is to miss the underlying politics of oppression that serves to keep families marginalised.

The The Kids Research Institute Australia team have an important role in the new Life Course Centre developing solutions for vulnerable children and their families to ensure their journey across the life course is the best it can be.

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The emerging literature on desistance (and recovery from addictions) has focused on key life-course transitions that can be characterised as the need for jobs (meaningful activities), friends (transitioning to pro-social) and houses (a home free from threat). The term ‘recovery capital’ is used to characterise personal, social and community resources an individual can draw upon to support their recovery, partly bridging agentic (personal) and structural (community) factors.

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Aboriginal young people are experts in their own experience and are best placed to identify the solutions to their mental health and wellbeing needs. Given that Aboriginal young people experience high rates of mental health concerns and are less likely than non-Indigenous young people to access mental health services, co-design and evaluation of appropriate mental health care is a priority.