The WCH Foundation has been proud to exhibit the work of First Nations primary school children from across the state in our Arts in Health exhibition ‘What Matters to Me’ as part of Tarnanthi festival.

In 2023, ‘What Matters to Me’ was a presence for young First Nations artists in the Women’s and Children’s Hospital Blue Heart Gallery.

A gathering to showcase ‘What Matters to Me’.

Exhibition

Our Arts in Health Program created an opportunity for young First Nations children to have their voice heard in the Hospital.

Primary school children from Central Yorke School (Maitland and Point Pearce), Amata Anangu School (APY Lands), Avenues College (Adelaide) and Hospital School SA created paintings and wrote messages on what is important to them.

This exhibition empowered the young artists, providing them with a presence to creatively express their thoughts about what is important in their lives.

Catherine Leane, Manager Strategic Partnerships, Aboriginal Health Division, Women’s and Children’s Health Network, says:

“As an Aboriginal person, coming into the hospital environment can be pretty scary and overwhelming. Any way we can use Aboriginal art to welcome families, to help them feel connected and safe, is a good thing.”

By including images from young people living in regional and remote areas, as well as from Adelaide, this exhibition helped the whole Hospital community make links to home and to Country and form connections with culture.

In discussions with students from Central Yorke School on Narungga Country about what matters to them, 9-year-old Kym answered, “Family.”

When asked, “Just one word?” he replied, “One word can make a big difference.”

Amata Anangu School art teacher, Alejandra Catalan, with some of her student’s artworks.

Gatherings

Over the course of the exhibition, we hosted gatherings to showcase these students’ wonderful work.

In late 2023, we were excited to host members of the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA), a group who lead and influence change across government to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have a say in the decisions that affect them.

In early 2024, we held a gathering that included exhibition partners from the Art Gallery of South Australia’s Tarnanthi team and staff from the Women’s and Children’s Health Network (WCHN) Aboriginal Liaison Unit. We were also excited to welcome Alejandra Catalan, the art teacher from Amata Anangu School, and the WCHN interim CEO Rebecca Graham.

We then were happy to invite a group of in-service and pre-service teachers to view the exhibition as part of a teaching and leadership course they were attending in North Adelaide through Teach for Australia.

These gatherings were a valuable chance to discuss the importance of young people creating art and hearing the voices of First Nations young people around the state.

The key takeaway messages we learnt from the young First Nations artists were the importance of family, their connection to Land and being proud to be Aboriginal.

Tarnanthi Director, Nici Cumpston OAM, sharing the Tarnanthi catalogue at one of the gatherings.

Learn more about our Arts in Health gallery and exhibition program

The Laklinyeri Beach House is a place for families to make treasured memories, and Mia’s family made some extra special ones during their stay.

Two-year-old Mia has Tay-Sachs disease and is under the care of the Women’s and Children’s Health Network Paediatric Palliative Care Service.

In October 2023, she had the chance to stay at our Beach House – a purpose-built holiday home in Victor Harbor for families of children with complex medical needs or who are in palliative care.

Mia’s parents, Sarah and Jacob, chose to use this opportunity to get married in the local region!

Getting ready for the wedding at the Beach House.

Sarah, Mia and her brothers, Hunter and Aston, got ready together at the Beach House the morning of the wedding.

The family then had a beautiful wedding ceremony and reception with family and friends at a local park and spent the rest of the week at the Beach House, relaxing and enjoying this special time together.

Jacob, Sarah and Mia at the wedding.

Sarah said, “Staying here has been an overwhelming and beautiful experience that we will cherish forever.”

“It is incredibly humbling to realise just how many people come together to make the Beach House a reality. The space is so light and bright, and well catered for families. We have thoroughly enjoyed all of the activities, and our boys have had so much fun playing and being kids!”

“The equipment and facilities provided have meant Mia is comfortable, as well as the rest of us. We are very thankful as it gave our family some quality time to rest, reset and connect, and make the most of our time with Mia.”

Learn more about the Laklinyeri Beach House

Making the decision to start a family can be a joyous and exciting time. But for women with chronic kidney disease, the decision can be complicated and risky.

“Can I have a baby? Should I have a baby? And what risk does pregnancy pose to my baby, my kidneys and my health?”

The answers to these questions can be difficult to find, and in some cases are provided too late, putting both mother and baby at risk of complications such as preterm birth, high blood pressure, and the deterioration of kidney function. Dr Nishanta Tangirala (pictured above right with Professor Helen Siobhan Marshall AM) is a Consultant Nephrologist, Obstetric Medicine Fellow, and WCH Foundation Masters by Research scholarship recipient working with the Pregnancy Kidney Research Australia group. She hopes to answer these important questions so that clinicians can better support mothers and their families when making this life-changing decision.

The lack of research in this space means there is little guidance for clinicians caring for women with chronic kidney disease who are planning pregnancy. Dr Tangirala’s project will look at the decision-making process for mothers and clinicians embarking on this journey, with a particular focus on the perspectives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, who are more likely to live with chronic kidney disease. She will also investigate decision-making aids for women with chronic kidney disease embarking on their pregnancy journey, and the best timing and type of delivery in women with kidney transplants.

Dr Tangirala says, “Ultimately, my research will improve the evidence base for pre-pregnancy counselling and management, informing new policies and models of care for safer pregnancy planning and parenthood in this population.”

The generous support of the WCH Foundation community means that women with chronic kidney disease, alongside their families and clinicians, will be empowered to make evidence-informed decisions about the best and safest way to achieve motherhood.

South Australia has one of the highest rates of asthma in the world. Even more concerning is that more South Australian children end up in hospital due to asthma than in any other part of Australia.

Associate Professor Carson-Chahhoud of the Women’s and Children’s Health Network and her team were awarded 2023 WCH Foundation Bloom Research Program funding for the project titled ‘Clinical trial to evaluate a digital self-management and mental health intervention for young people with asthma and their families’. She and her team hope to improve children’s self-management of asthma using an artificial intelligence-based mobile app.

Over the past nine years, Associate Professor Carson-Chahhoud and a team of clinicians, researchers, policy makers, asthmatics, their carers and key community stakeholders have partnered to co-design prototypes for asthma self-management apps. They have demonstrated the acceptability of their prototypes, and now WCH Foundation Bloom Research Program funding will allow them to develop these prototypes into a single app and test its effect on asthma symptoms. How well this app works will be determined through a rigorous randomised controlled trial involving asthma patients under the care of the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, and the wider South Australian community.

Ultimately, if found to be effective, this project has the potential to reduce hospitalisations and health care expenditure and improve the lives of children living with asthma, and their families.

Dr Shagufta Perveen, Dr Rebecca Perry, Associate Professor Kristin Carson-Chahhoud, the Honourable Chris Picton MP, Dr Andrew Tai and Michael Luchich at the 2023 Bloom Research Program awards night.

If you would like to know more about this research as it is undertaken, along with the other research projects we fund, join our research mailing list by emailing us.

Advances in technology mean that it is now possible to undertake genomic analyses on brain tumour samples to provide a more precise understanding of the mechanisms of childhood brain cancer and the factors that are associated with survival. This information can be used to predict the behaviour of different tumours and possibly assist in determining targets for treatment.

Professor Jordan Hansford of SAHMRI and the Women’s and Children’s Health Network and his team, in partnership with SA Pathology, were awarded 2023 WCH Foundation Bloom Research Program funding for work relating to the project titled ‘GEL-E – genomic and epigenomic predictors of late effects in long term survivors of paediatric brain cancer’.

WCH Foundation funding will allow Professor Hansford and his team to annotate and conduct pilot genomic and epigenomic analyses of brain tumour samples. In the future, such information could be linked to real-world datasets in order to better understand the clinical and molecular factors associated with survivorship and adverse outcomes.

If you would like to know more about this research as it is undertaken, along with the other research projects we fund, join our research mailing list by emailing us.

Paediatric brain cancers are amongst the hardest cancers to treat. Conventional treatment can result in survivors experiencing significant and debilitating long-term complications.

Professor Simon Barry of the University of Adelaide and the Women’s and Children’s Health Network, and his team, aim to change that by establishing the South Australian Paediatric Cancer Immunotherapy Centre which brings together three groups of experts in a new collaboration.

WCH Foundation Bloom Research Program funding for the project titled ‘The SA Paediatric Cancer Immunotherapy Centre: Developing a new personalised immunotherapy for brain and central nervous system cancers’ will allow them to establish the paediatric cohorts, the immunotherapy manufacturing capability, and a suite of immunotherapy targets.

It is hoped that this research will pave the way for the first SA paediatric clinical trials in immunotherapy for brain and central nervous system cancers, and provide the opportunity to partner with other paediatric oncology centres both nationally and internationally. This ground-breaking research aims to give children with brain and central nervous system cancers not only a better chance of survival, but also a better chance of a healthy future.

Hear more about Professor Barry’s research:

If you would like to know more about this research as it is undertaken, along with the other research projects we fund, join our research mailing list by emailing us.

Folic acid supplementation in the first trimester of pregnancy is currently recommended to reduce the risk of birth defects such as spina bifida. However, there is no known benefit of, and potentially some risk associated with, continuing folic acid supplementation into the second and third trimesters.

Professor Tim Green of Flinders University and SAHMRI, and his team, were awarded a 2023 WCH Foundation Bloom Research Program grant for the project titled ‘Optimising prenatal folic acid supplementation to reduce gestational diabetes, a major risk factor for high birthweight and preterm birth’. The aim of the project is to investigate the association between folic acid supplementation after the first trimester of pregnancy and the risk of gestational diabetes in a large-scale, definitive, randomised control trial of almost 3000 pregnant women.

The interdisciplinary team includes expertise in nutrition, pharmacy, neonatology, obstetrics, health economics and biostatistics.

Dr Najma Moumin, Michael Luchich, the Honourable Chris Picton MP and Professor Tim Green at the 2023 Bloom Research Program awards night.

If this association is proven, this research could lead to changes in policy and clinical guidelines, the reformulation of prenatal supplements, and reductions in the incidence of gestational diabetes and its associated complications.

If you would like to know more about this research as it is undertaken, along with the other research projects we fund, join our research mailing list by emailing us.

Children and their families celebrated Play Therapy Day at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital (WCH) in recognition of the amazing work our Play Therapists do.

Play Therapy is so much more than playing with toys and entertaining patients. Every day, Play Therapists provide distraction to minimise anxiety and fear, prepare and support patients for procedures, provide emotional support and create positive fun and meaningful experiences.

The Play Therapy Team showcased this with a whirlwind of activity in the WCH for their annual celebration.

Play Therapist, Ernastina, showcases medical play with a patient.

Along the level one corridor there were opportunities for patients to get involved in sensory play with playdough, stress balls and tassel keyrings, creative play with badgemaking and felt bookmarks and medical play with mini hospital equipment models.

Patients were also helped to create a sense of identity by decorating a hospital buddy and encouraged to build a sense of community by decorating a group canvas with posca pens.

In the afternoon, patients on the wards were given activity bags to make sure they didn’t miss out on the excitement.

The Play Therapy Team.

Thank you to our Play Therapists for creating such a wonderful event and for providing meaningful play experiences for patients and families every day.

The WCH Foundation Arts in Health Program is proud to support the Play Therapy Program at the WCH.

Learn more about Play Therapy

When a person’s gender identity is different from the gender they were presumed at birth, they may identify as being transgender (trans) or gender diverse.

Ellen Murray is a Nurse Consultant for the Women’s and Children’s Health Network Gender Diversity Service. She explains that in one of the largest-ever studies on the experiences of LGBTQIA+ young people in Australia (Writing Themselves in 4: National Report, 2021), it was found that 90% of trans and gender diverse (TGD) young people reported experiencing high, or very high, levels of psychological distress.

Ellen says, “TGD children and young people experience significantly poorer mental health than that of the general population.”

The study also gave insight into the fact that over 97% of TGD young people want to affirm their gender identity socially, for example, through chest binding.

Ellen Murray showing one of the chest binders.

Chest binders

A chest binder is a compression top that flattens the chest to help a person feel more comfortable and confident in their gender identity. For many TGD young people, binders are vital to improving their wellbeing.

However, binders are costly and limited in availability, often making them out of reach. This can lead to young people seeking unsafe binding practices that can result in negative physical health outcomes.

In addition to these barriers, there can be significant wait times for young people to access the Gender Diversity Service, with the team receiving around ten new referrals each week.

Ellen says, “The use of chest binders while a young person is waiting and navigating the system can be lifesaving.”

In order to give TGD young people access to this care, the WCH Foundation has provided the Gender Diversity Service with $50,000 to purchase chest binders.

Now, Ellen has a whole shelving unit full of binders that she can offer patients upon their initial consultation.

The binders are safe to use, and patients are provided with information about how to wear them safely.

The Women’s and Children’s Hospital is now the only place in South Australia where young people can try on binders, which is incredibly important to find a size that fits and feels best.

Ellen says, “When they try them on for the first time, their faces light up and some of them burst into tears.”

Patient feedback

So far, around 50 young people have been given binders from this stock, and the feedback from patients and their families has been amazing. For many patients, wearing the binder is the first time they’ve felt like their true self while looking in the mirror.

One young person said, “I feel so amazing and confident! This is one of the best days of my life and one I will surely never forget!”

One parent said, “As parents, access to binders and other gender affirming resources means our child can be more confident and comfortable. It literally can mean their life or death, their health mentally and physically.”

The entire Gender Diversity Service team is so proud to be able to provide tangible and timely impact in this way.

Find out how to access the Gender Diversity Service here.

In a big win for childhood brain cancer, asthma, and pregnancy health research, the Women’s & Children’s Hospital Foundation (WCH Foundation) has awarded $5.7 million in funding to tackle these areas of women’s and children’s health in the inaugural WCH Foundation Bloom Research Program grant round.

Research teams joined WCH Foundation staff and board members, Women’s and Children’s Health Network representatives and the Minister for Health, the Honourable Chris Picton MP, to acknowledge and celebrate this outcome at an awards night on Thursday 24 August at the Lion Hotel.

This year saw the WCH Foundation launch its inaugural Bloom Research Program grant round, which sees a doubling of our investment into health and medical research. The grant round sought applications for projects focusing on priority areas of women’s and children’s health. After a competitive three-stage application process, grants were awarded to the following four projects.

Immunotherapy for brain and central nervous system cancers

Jieren Zheng, Dr Veronika Bandara, Michael Luchich, the Honourable Chris Picton MP, Professor Simon Barry, Dr Michael Osborn, Dr Lisa Ebert, Dr Timothy Sadlon and Professor Michael Brown.

Professor Simon Barry (the University of Adelaide and the Women’s and Children’s Health Network) and his team will undertake a project titled ‘The SA Paediatric Cancer Immunotherapy Centre: Developing a new personalised immunotherapy for brain and central nervous system cancers’.

Paediatric brain cancers are amongst the hardest cancers to treat. Conventional treatment can result in survivors experiencing significant and debilitating long-term complications. Professor Barry and his team aim to change that by establishing the South Australian Paediatric Cancer Immunotherapy Centre which brings together three groups of experts in a new collaboration.

Bloom Research Program funding will allow them to establish the paediatric cohorts, the immunotherapy manufacturing capability, and a suite of immunotherapy targets.

It is hoped that this research will pave the way for the first SA paediatric clinical trials in immunotherapy for brain and central nervous system cancers, and provide the opportunity to partner with other paediatric oncology centres both nationally and internationally. This ground-breaking research aims to give children with brain and central nervous system cancers not only a better chance of survival, but also a better chance of a healthy future.

An artificially intelligent app for asthma management

Dr Shagufta Perveen, Dr Rebecca Perry, Associate Professor Kristin Carson-Chahhoud, the Honourable Chris Picton MP, Dr Andrew Tai and Michael Luchich.

Associate Professor Kristin Carson-Chahhoud (Women’s and Children’s Health Network) and her team were awarded a grant for the project titled ‘Clinical trial to evaluate a digital self-management and mental health intervention for young people with asthma and their families’.

South Australia has one of the highest rates of asthma in the world. Even more concerning is that more South Australian children end up in hospital due to asthma than any other part of Australia.

Associate Professor Carson-Chahhoud and her team hope to improve children’s self-management of asthma using an artificial intelligence-based mobile app.

Over the past nine years, Associate Professor Carson-Chahhoud and a team of clinicians, researchers, policy makers, asthmatics, their carers and key community stakeholders have partnered to co-design prototypes for asthma self-management apps. They have demonstrated the acceptability of their prototypes, and now  Bloom Research Program funding will allow them to develop these prototypes into a single app, and test its effect on asthma symptoms. How well this app works will be determined through a rigorous randomised controlled trial involving asthma patients under the care of the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, and the wider South Australian community

Ultimately, if found to be effective, this project has the potential to reduce hospitalisations and health care expenditure, and improve the lives of children living with asthma, and their families.

Folic acid optimisation for healthy pregnancy

Dr Najma Moumin, Michael Luchich, the Honourable Chris Picton MP and Professor Tim Green.

Professor Tim Green (Flinders University and SAHMRI) and his team were awarded a grant for the project titled ‘Optimising prenatal folic acid supplementation to reduce gestational diabetes, a major risk factor for high birthweight and preterm birth’.

Folic acid supplementation in the first trimester of pregnancy is currently recommended to reduce the risk of birth defects such as spina bifida. However, there is no known benefit of, and potentially some risk associated with, continuing folic acid supplementation into the second and third trimesters.

Professor Green and his team will use Bloom Research Program funding to investigate the association between folic acid supplementation after the first trimester of pregnancy and the risk of gestational diabetes in a large-scale, definitive, randomised control trial of almost 3000 pregnant women.

The interdisciplinary team includes expertise in nutrition, pharmacy, neonatology, obstetrics, health economics and biostatistics.

If this association is proven, this research could lead to changes in policy and clinical guidelines, the reformulation of prenatal supplements, and reductions in the incidence of gestational diabetes and its associated complications.

Genomic predictors of brain cancer survival

Amanda Luck (representing Professor Jordan Hansford’s team in his absence), Michael Luchich, the Honourable Chris Picton MP and Professor Melissa Davis.

Professor Jordan Hansford (SAHMRI and the Women’s and Children’s Health Network) and his team, in partnership with SA Pathology, were awarded a grant for work relating to the project titled ‘GEL-E – genomic and epigenomic predictors of late effects in long term survivors of paediatric brain cancer’.

Advances in technology means that it is now possible to undertake genomic analyses on brain tumour samples to provide a more precise understanding of the mechanisms of childhood brain cancer and factors that are associated with survival. This information can be used to predict the behaviour of different tumours and possibly assist in determining targets for treatment.

Bloom Research Program funds will allow Professor Hansford and his team, in partnership with SA Pathology, to annotate and conduct pilot genomic and epigenomic analyses of brain tumour samples. In the future, such information could be linked to real-world datasets in order to better understand the clinical and molecular factors associated with survivorship and adverse outcomes.

Future outcomes

Gifts for the recipients, symbolic of the Bloom Research Program and the flourishing of new ideas. 

These four projects will be undertaken over the next two to five years, and will see more than 15 senior researchers, 20 early and mid-career researchers, at least three PhD students, and more than ten partnering organisations involved.

It is the hope of the WCH Foundation and these inspiring research teams that these research projects will improve the lives of future generations of women, children and families across South Australia by discovering better ways to prevent, treat and manage disease.

Vital health and medical research such as this would not be possible without the generous support of the South Australian community.

Learn more about the WCH Foundation Bloom Research Program