Project Details
Project Description
Objective
Very preterm birth (< 32 weeks’ gestation) is a leading cause of developmental delay in the community, with 70% of these children experiencing ongoing developmental impairments. Despite this, there is no universal surveillance system for children born very preterm, and existing follow-up programs do not meet the needs of these children and families. The aim of this project is to significantly increase access to intervention services and improve developmental outcomes in children born very preterm. We will achieve this by undertaking 4 inter-related projects that will:
1) identify biological, medical and socio-demographic risk factors for developmental impairments in children born very preterm in a large-scale dataset generated by pooling international cohorts from an established consortium;
2) develop an individualised risk prediction platform that healthcare workers can use at 2 years of age to assess a child’s future risk profile for developmental impairments using domain-specific machine learning;
3) co-design with consumers and key stakeholders a targeted surveillance program for children born very preterm aged 2 to 4 years based on a child’s level and profile of risk;
4) evaluate a trial implementation of the targeted surveillance program. Based on learnings from the trial the program will be refined, followed by a process of adoption and implementation.
In summary, our vision is to develop a family-friendly, pragmatic, and sustainable surveillance service that is 1) targeted to the needs of the child and their family, and 2) can be implemented across Australia
Very preterm birth (< 32 weeks’ gestation) is a leading cause of developmental delay in the community, with 70% of these children experiencing ongoing developmental impairments. Despite this, there is no universal surveillance system for children born very preterm, and existing follow-up programs do not meet the needs of these children and families. The aim of this project is to significantly increase access to intervention services and improve developmental outcomes in children born very preterm. We will achieve this by undertaking 4 inter-related projects that will:
1) identify biological, medical and socio-demographic risk factors for developmental impairments in children born very preterm in a large-scale dataset generated by pooling international cohorts from an established consortium;
2) develop an individualised risk prediction platform that healthcare workers can use at 2 years of age to assess a child’s future risk profile for developmental impairments using domain-specific machine learning;
3) co-design with consumers and key stakeholders a targeted surveillance program for children born very preterm aged 2 to 4 years based on a child’s level and profile of risk;
4) evaluate a trial implementation of the targeted surveillance program. Based on learnings from the trial the program will be refined, followed by a process of adoption and implementation.
In summary, our vision is to develop a family-friendly, pragmatic, and sustainable surveillance service that is 1) targeted to the needs of the child and their family, and 2) can be implemented across Australia
| Status | Active |
|---|---|
| Effective start/end date | 1/07/22 → 30/06/27 |