Infantile reflux is the most common problematic early childhood condition encountered by doctors. Symptoms of infant reflux are diverse and could be due to a variety of other causes, making it difficult to diagnose and leading to inappropriate and often unnecessary therapies. We will assess the effectiveness of therapies known to reduce reflux acidity or volume by using novel diagnostic systems to determine if symptoms are reflux related and if so, whether symptoms are due to acid or volume reflux.

Surgery and anaesthesia can be stressful for children. This stress may be demonstrated as anxiety or post-operative behaviour disturbance (POBD). Using a premedication, such as midazolam, usually reduces pre-operative anxiety, but it does not always work. The use of another medication, pregabalin has been promoted in adults both for its anxiolytic and analgesic properties. The aim of this project is to determine if pregabalin is superior to midazolam at reducing POBD, anxiety and post-operative pain in children having day surgery.

Infantile eczema is a common condition, and infants with eczema often develop asthma. Damaged skin caused by eczema probably leads to sensitisation to inhaled allergens and subsequently asthma. Both eczema and asthma may be prevented by improving the infants' skin-barrier-function in early life. Unlike topical steroids, a new ceramide-based cream has been shown to improve skin barrier function. We will conduct a randomised-controlled-study of a ceramide cream for the prevention of eczema in infants, and eventually childhood asthma.

We will determine whether maternal obesity during pregnancy is associated with differences in the structure of the newborn's blood vessels, consistent with a heightened risk of developing heart disease later in life. If so, this will change the perception of obesity, from a problem affecting an individual's health to one that affects the health of others.

Potential underlying mechanisms will also be determined, including the health of the placenta and blood cholesterol levels, to assist in designing future intervention studies.

A mother's health during pregnancy can have lasting effects on her child's health. Adequate vitamin D is essential for healthy bones, but it may also influence child development or the risk of allergic diseases like asthma or eczema. We will measure vitamin D levels of 1,500 newborn infants from 4 Australian states, then study whether vitamin D status affects childhood growth, development and allergy. This project will help define vitamin D levels needed for optimal health of Australian children.

This project will describe what health and wellbeing means for Aboriginal children from their point of view, hearing their voices, and working with them to develop solutions to challenges they see as priority health and wellbeing concerns. It has been developed in partnership with Aboriginal community members with whom the project team already has strong relationships. It makes an important contribution to closing the gap in outcomes for Aboriginal children and to developing solutions more clearly targeted to their needs.

Such studies are needed if EV vaccines and antivirals currently being trialled are to be used in the primary prevention of diabetes.

The proposed studies will address some of the major unanswered questions regarding the molecular characteristics of EVs associated with T1DM development. Our studies will also provide important information regarding the molecular characteristics of diabetes-inducing EVs, and may lead to potential identification of putative 'diabetogenic' EVs. Because EVs are ubiquitous viruses, the effects of EVs isolated from children with pre-diabetes or diabetes on ß-cell function must be compared with non-diabetogenic EVs. We are the only group in Australia researching the link between EV infection and the prevention of type 1 diabetes. We have internationally recognised research expertise in T1DM, virology and cell biology, and have preliminary results suggesting enterovirus-induced diabetes is strain-dependent (5), as outlined in the research plan below.

The Children with Hearing Impairment in Victoria Outcome Study (CHIVOS) has followed 88 children since diagnosis of congenital hearing loss, supported by the Foundation for Children. After assessments at 7-8 and at 12-13 years, we can now determine what early factors most affect outcomes on the cusp of adulthood (17-18 years): quality of life, language, academic skills, physical and mental health and life views. The longest population study of congenital hearing loss, CHIVOS has important implications for deaf children born today.

Bronchiolitis is the most common cause of hospitalisation in infants, particularly Indigenous infants. Furthermore these infants are at greater risk of developing longer term respiratory problems. This study aims to:

1. Assess the ability of azithromycin to improve the immediate and longer term health of babies admitted to hospital with bronchiolitis, and
2. to determine which respiratory bacteria and viruses are a risk to children and how they affect the ability of our children to fight infection.

Overweight/obesity affects around 25% of Australian children. New research suggests that shorter sleep duration in early childhood predicts later overweight/obesity. We have shown that a brief intervention suitable for public health uptake improves infant sleep problems. This follow-up study will determine whether it also reduces body mass index (BMI) and waist girth at age 6. Findings will be available by late 2010. If positive, the study will have immediate policy implications for preventing childhood obesity, as well as future research.

Information about the health needs of refugee children after settlement is scarce and existing research has tended to focus exclusively on either physical health or psychological wellbeing, mostly shortly after arrival. This study involves prospectively following a cohort of newly arrived refugee children for 2 years. The study will assess the physical health and psychological wellbeing of refugee children at regular intervals and will explore pre arrival and post arrival factors that contribute to favourable physical and psychological health outcomes at 2 years.

Children with autism have difficulties in understanding the emotions of others, for example facial expressions. These difficulties contribute to the significant problems experienced by children with autism in their interactions with other children and adults. This study aims to test the effectiveness of a programme developed to improve the emotion recognition skills of young children with autism.

Children with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) have increased surgical risk because they have abnormal breathing responses (VRs). We will test VRs under anaesthetic before surgery or during a sleep study. We will test the breathing responses of infants with cleft palate and older children with OSA. Both groups will be studied before and after their treatment for OSA. If we show that treating OSA corrects VRs we know we can reduce the risk of surgery for these infants and children.

Tooth decay is a major problem in the Australian community, leading to pain, disability and significant cost. Despite fluoride being present in the water supplies of many cities and considerable public education, the level of dental decay is actually increasing in Australian children. This projects research priorities are to collect samples of families oral bacteria, DNA and questionnaire information to explain how a persons genes and their environment can influence the colonisation and transmission of decay-forming bacteria.

The Wollongong Sport pilot study aims to evaluate the effects of a community-based after-school sports program designed for overweight, obese and at-risk of overweight children and delivered to boys and girls separately. We propose that participation in the gender-specific programs will improve children's weight status, blood profiles, physical activity participation, fitness, self-esteem and health-related quality of life, after treatment (30 weeks) and at follow-up (12 months), more than participation in a health education program.