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Contribution of vaccination to improved survival and health: modelling 50 years of the Expanded Programme on Immunization

WHO, as requested by its member states, launched the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) in 1974 to make life-saving vaccines available to all globally. To mark the 50-year anniversary of EPI, we sought to quantify the public health impact of vaccination globally since the programme's inception.

Researchers receive crucial Near Miss funding

Congratulations to four outstanding The Kids Research Institute Australia researchers who have received funding designed to support researchers who have narrowly missed out on highly competitive national funding.

Association between village coverage of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine and vaccine-type pneumococcal carriage among children aged 0–59 months with pneumonia in Papua New Guinea

Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) prevents pneumococcal disease and pneumonia, but indirect effects are poorly understood in low-coverage, high-burden settings like Papua New Guinea (PNG). PNG introduced 13-valent PCV (PCV13) in 2014. We aimed to assess direct and indirect effectiveness of PCV13 against vaccine-type pneumococcal carriage among children with pneumonia or suspected meningitis in PNG

Longitudinal Study of Language of Twins at Ages 9 and 14 Years: Twinning, Zygosity, and Heritability

This unprecedented longitudinal twin study focused on the arc of language acquisition from first words to adolescence, with data collection at 2, 4, and 6 years of age, reported in four previous studies and now new data at ages 9 and 14 years.

Global, regional, and national burden of meningitis, its risk factors, and aetiologies, 1990–2023: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023

Meningitis remains the leading infectious cause of neurological disabilities globally, disproportionately affecting children younger than 5 years and populations in the African meningitis belt. Whereas previous global estimates focused on ten pathogen categories, this study presents the most comprehensive analysis to date, assessing the meningitis burden attributable to 17 causative pathogens based on the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2023 framework.

Prospective longitudinal study of respiratory syncytial virus and other respiratory viruses in children <5 years in community settings in metropolitan western Australia: the PATROL study

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a significant cause of respiratory infections in young children. Since 2021, RSV has been a notifiable disease in Australia. However, current surveillance systems focus on hospitalised RSV, with limited surveillance at a community level through primary care clinics. This approach only captures RSV requiring hospitalisation. Less severe illnesses, while not captured, may have significant social and economic impacts including the associated cost of care and absenteeism. The aim of this study is to establish an understanding of the broader burden of RSV in young children in a community setting.

Parent/caregiver perspectives of meaningful improvement in functional domains for people with CDKL5 deficiency disorder: a mixed-methods study

CDKL5 deficiency disorder (CDD) is a rare developmental and epileptic encephalopathy. Greater understanding of the smallest meaningful improvements for individuals with CDD in clinical trials and practice is needed for a person-centred approach to treatment efficacy. This study explored how parent/caregivers of people with CDD understood meaningful improvements and described change for priority functional domains including communication, gross motor, fine motor, feeding.

Core Outcome Sets for Pediatric Perioperative Research: An International Stakeholder Engagement Exercise and Consensus Report from the Pediatric Perioperative Outcomes Group

dentifying the outcomes that matter in clinical research is important, especially those that matter to patients and their parents/guardians. Consistency in outcome reporting enables meaningful assessments of interventions and facilitates comparison of results across trials. The aim of this study was to develop core outcome sets for pediatric perioperative research.

The Flourishing Child: Study Protocol for an Acceptability and Feasibility Trial of a Digital Early Childhood Flourishing Intervention

Globally, rates of children with physical and mental health problems are increasing. Health issues in early childhood often persist into adulthood, highlighting the need to ensure children are supported to flourish from the start of life. 

Local government policies restricting unhealthy outdoor food advertising in Australia: stakeholder perspectives identify political willingness is key to overcoming barriers

Unhealthy outdoor food advertising is strongly linked to poor diet, highlighting the need for policies. Western Australian (WA) local governments  can restrict advertising on their owned infrastructure through their Public Health Plans, but limited policy action has occurred.