NEWS BRIEFING: Large skin-health study halves skin infections rates in remote Aboriginal kids

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-10-09 09:30

Australia; WA

Image by Wallula from Pixabay

*****BRIEFING RECORDING NOW AVAILABLE******* A large skin-health study has halved the rate of skin infections experienced by Aboriginal children living in remote communities, with regular skin checks key to the stunning result. Led by The Kids Research Institute Australia (formerly Telethon Kids Institute) and Aboriginal health organisations in close partnership with nine Aboriginal communities in Western Australia’s Kimberley region, the five-year SToP Trial set out to identify the best possible methods to See, Treat and Prevent painful skin sores and scabies. Left untreated, skin infections can cause life-threatening illnesses including rheumatic heart disease (RHD), sepsis and kidney disease – all of which disproportionately affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Join this online briefing to hear from key authors of this research

Media release

From: Australian Science Media Centre

*****NEWS BRIEFING: Tue 8 Oct at 10:00 AEDT ONLINE*******

A large skin-health study has halved the rate of skin infections experienced by Aboriginal children living in remote communities, with regular skin checks key to the stunning result. Led by The Kids Research Institute Australia (formerly Telethon Kids Institute) and Aboriginal health organisations in close partnership with nine Aboriginal communities in Western Australia’s Kimberley region, the five-year SToP Trial set out to identify the best possible methods to See, Treat and Prevent painful skin sores and scabies.

Left untreated, skin infections can cause life-threatening illnesses including rheumatic heart disease (RHD), sepsis and kidney disease – all of which disproportionately affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

Join this online briefing to hear from key authors of this research

Speakers:

Dr Hannah Thomas is the lead author of the paper and a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Healthy Skin and Acute Rheumatic Fever (ARF) Prevention team at The Kids
Professor Asha Bowen is the lead investigator for the SToP Trial and Head of the Healthy Skin and Acute Rheumatic Fever (ARF) Prevention team at The Kids

Date: Tue 8 Oct 2024
Start Time: 10:00am AEDT / 07:00am AWST (please be aware of daylight savings time differences)
Duration: Approx 45 min
Venue: Online - Zoom

Multimedia

The Kids Research Institute Australia Hip Hop 2 SToP video

Attachments

Note: Not all attachments are visible to the general public. Research URLs will go live after the embargo ends.

Research The Lancet, Web page Please link to the article in online versions of your report (the URL will go live after the embargo ends).

Research Elsevier, Web page Please link to the article in online versions of your report (the URL will go live after the embargo ends).

Other The Kids Research Institute Australia, Web page Images for media use

Supplementary Information The Kids Research Institute Australia, Web page Trial webpage

Briefing recording Australian Science Media Centre, Web page Briefing recording playback

Journal/
conference: The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, eClinicalMedicine

Research: Link to Paper 1 | Paper 2

Organisation/s: The Kids Research Institute Australia

Funder: Western Australia Department of Health, Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, and Healthway.

Media Contact/s

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