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Aboriginal families and communities have endured the imposition of countless ‘solutions’ and had to live with the consequences of these ineffective initiatives. Those consequence are sadly evident in the unrelenting gap in outcomes for Aboriginal kids, compared with other Australian children.

In 1998, The Kids Research Institute Australia embarked on one of the most ambitious population health projects in Western Australian history.

A series of fact sheets have been prepared on a number of issues relating to Indigenous suicide prevention, from our investigations and roundtable discussions.

The Ngulluk Koolunga Ngulluk Koort (Our Children, Our Heart) Project grew out of a bold vision to harness the wisdom of Aboriginal Elders to improve outcomes for Aboriginal children, producing a suite of Elder-led, culturally appropriate and empowering initiatives that are making a difference.

Research

General movements (GMs) are part of the spontaneous movement repertoire and are present from early fetal life onwards up to age five months. GMs are connected to infants' neurological development and can be qualitatively assessed via the General Movement Assessment. In particular, between the age of three to five months, typically developing infants produce fidgety movements and their absence provides strong evidence for the presence of cerebral palsy.

Two international trials led by The Kids Research Institute Australia’s Neonatal and Infection Immunity Team are tackling the urgent need for simple and safe interventions that can help prevent the adverse long-term effects of infections in extremely preterm babies.

Research

Multiple sclerosis (MS) demonstrates a latitude gradient in prevalence and severity, implicating ultraviolet B (UVB) exposure and photoimmune mechanisms in disease risk and progression. While narrowband (NB)-UVB phototherapy has long stabilized inflammation in dermatology, its systemic immunomodulatory effects in MS remain incompletely defined.

Research

Effective social skills are essential for functional social support, help-seeking, and resource access. Digital social skills training plays a key role in empowering individuals to develop social competence, improve access to various support and resources, and enhance locus of control through dynamic media. 

Research

The neonatal skin is central to early survival and immune development. Far from being a passive mechanical barrier, it integrates physical, chemical, and microbial defences that together protect the infant in the immediate postnatal period. In preterm infants, structural immaturity, reduced antimicrobial capacity, and altered microbial colonisation confer heightened vulnerability to infection and inflammation.

Research

Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are bioactive carbohydrates abundant in human milk that shape the infant gut microbiome, yet their influence on the oral microbiome remains poorly understood. This study investigated associations between HMO concentrations and infant HMO intakes and the composition of the oral microbiome in predominantly and exclusively breastfed infants.