Child and Maternal Health

The authors of this paper have developed a manual for those involved in preparing implementation plans for industry-sponsored paediatric vaccine trials, particularly those in the pre-licensure phases. The manual provides a framework for the development of Standard Operating Procedures for any particular trial, taking account of the core requirements of vaccine trials and the steps which must be taken through all stages of a study.

Objectives  To review evaluations of changes in the delivery of antenatal care for Australian Indigenous women and the impact on care utilization and quality, birth outcomes and women’s views about care.

A ground-breaking report, The History of Indigenous identification in Victorian Health Datasets, 1980–2011: Initiatives and Policies Reported by Key Informants, was launched this week at Onemda VicHealth Koori Health Unit at the University of Melbourne. The report provides a comprehensive review of the initiatives that have been undertaken, predominately within Victoria since 1980, to improve the accuracy and completeness of Indigenous identification in statutory and administrative data sets.

Objective

The Strong Women Strong Babies Strong Culture Program had specific goals to increase infant birthweights by earlier attendance for antenatal care and improved maternal weight status. Starting in August 1993, Aboriginal women in three pilot communities worked with pregnant women in a program that emphasised both traditional practices and Western medicine. Method: Two sources of data were used to examine different aspects of program effects.

Middle ear infections (otitis media) have serious short and long-term consequences for Indigenous people living in remote communities. They commonly cause significant hearing loss, which affects children’s education and social development, and, in turn, has serious implications for vocational opportunities and mental health. This new research project builds on a program of hearing assessment for school-age children in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yunkunytjatjara Lands (APY) and Tjarutja lands.

The Lowitja Institute National Roundtable on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child and Maternal Health Research: Priorities for Interventions was held in Melbourne on 8 March 2012.

Some 40 people attended the Roundtable, including representatives from the Aboriginal community controlled health sector, government agencies, universities and research institutes. The discussions led to the development of a set of strategies and recommendations to address the key issues and knowledge ‘gaps’ identified by the Roundtable, grouped by the following themes:

Childhood anaemia is a growing concern in the Northern Territory as 22 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 0–4yrs are reported to be anaemic. Childhood anaemia can have detrimental effects on physical and cognitive development in the early years and has long‐term implications for the development of chronic diseases later in life. Consultations with service providers and policy makers identified childhood anaemia as a key area for investigation.

Small Aboriginal babies and babies who do not grow well are a serious health issue in the Northern Territory. In 1998 the Territory Health Services (now the Department of Health and Community Services (DHCS)) began implementing a new child growth initiative, the Growth Assessment and Action (GAA) program. The program sought to achieve growth monitoring and promotion (GMP), standardise primary healthcare practices and improve the growth of Northern Territory children aged between zero and five years.

This article describes challenges met implementing an early intervention programme for Aboriginal parents and their children in the NT (Northern Territory) of Australia in the context of efforts to remediate Aboriginal disadvantage. The intervention is an adaptation of an 8- to 10-week, manualised parenting programme designed for four- to six-year-old children with behavioural difficulties. It was implemented for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children in urban Darwin and for Aboriginal children in three communities of the Tiwi Islands, near Darwin.