Middle ear infections (otitis media) are very common in young children and can significantly affect hearing, speech, language development, school performance, and subsequent social and emotional well-being.
There are high rates of recurrent ear infections in Australian children and Aboriginal children have the highest rates of chronic ear infection in the world.
Our multi-disciplinary team are working to understand the cause of ear infections and to develop methods to reduce the burden of disease. In the laboratory we are investigating the bacteria and viruses that cause ear disease and how our immune system fights them in order to develop new therapies, including vaccines.
We are also running health promotion projects in collaboration with government agencies to develop a 'WA ear health strategy'. We are currently setting up an 'urban ear health audit' in the metropolitan area and working with local Aboriginal organisations to investigate community barriers to delivering ear health initiatives.
Projects
Addressing social marketing from a local community perspective
A working group is being established to address social marketing from a local community perspective.
The group will be tasked with developing a model of how we can better engage and empower local communities to improve community understanding of ear health and what the implications of poor ear health are across a life span.
Improving monitoring and evaluation of ear health programs
In June 2015 a working group was established to develop a WA Ear Health Strategy which aims to provide a clear framework that supports government and non-government agencies to work collaboratively to better deliver evidence-based, sustainable ear health services to WA children.
Members include West Australian Country Health Services (WACHS), Rural Health West, Community and Child Health, Child and Adolescent Health Service (CACH), Aboriginal Health Council of WA (AHCWA), Dept. of Health - Aboriginal Affairs and The Kids Research Institute Australia.
Read moreKalgoorlie Otitis Media Research Project
Otitis media (OM, middle ear infection) can seriously affect childhood development, school performance and subsequent social and economic well-being.
The Kalgoorlie Otitis Media Research Project was established in 1999 to investigate the causal pathways to OM and, specifically, to identify demographic, socio-economic, environmental, microbiological and immunological risk factors for OM in Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children in order to develop appropriate interventions.
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