Financial hardship and caregiver and child mental health during the 3 years of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.

Household income and caregiver mental health are important drivers of children's health and development. The COVID-19 pandemic created huge economic and mental health disruptions. This study examines financial hardship and its relationship with caregiver and child mental health using Australia's only representative data spanning three years of the pandemic.

Effects of marketing claims on toddler food products on parents' product preferences, perceptions and purchasing intentions: an online experiment.

Background: The retail market for toddler-specific packaged foods is growing. Many of these products are ultra-processed and high in nutrients of concern for health, yet marketed in ways that may make them appear wholesome. This study aims to assess parents' responses to claims on unhealthy, ultra-processed toddler food products and test whether removing such claims promotes more accurate product perceptions and healthier product preferences.

Caregiver and Child Mental Health During 3 Years of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background And Objectives: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdowns (stay-at-home orders) had significant mental health consequences in 2020 to 2021 for caregivers and children. Little is known about "postlockdown" periods in 2022 to 2023. We investigated the mental health experiences of Australian families throughout the 3 years of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2023), by demographic characteristics and lockdown length.

Sepsis awareness and understanding in Australian parents: A National Child Health Poll survey.

Aim: The primary aim of the study was to assess parental awareness and understanding of childhood sepsis. Secondary aims included parental knowledge of the signs and symptoms of sepsis, and what parents would do if they suspected sepsis in their own child.

Methods: An online questionnaire was administered as part of The Royal Children's Hospital National Child Health Poll.

Child and caregiver mental health during 12 months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia: findings from national repeated cross-sectional surveys.

Background: There are calls for research into the mental health consequences of living through the COVID-19 pandemic. Australia's initial, effective suppression of COVID-19 offers insights into these indirect impacts in the relative absence of the disease. We aimed to describe the mental health experiences of Australian caregivers and children over 12 months, reporting differences related to demographic, socioeconomic and lockdown characteristics.

Virtual health care for children: Parental willingness to adopt virtual health-care technologies.

Aim: To understand parental awareness and appetite for virtual health modalities, including asynchronous communication and remote monitoring. To understand which socio-demographic characteristics are associated with greater awareness and appetite for virtual health.

Methods: Nationally representative survey of Australian parents, recruited via an online panel in February 2021 as part of the Royal Children's Hospital National Child Health Poll.

Dental visits in early life: patterns and barriers among Australian children.

Objectives: To determine the early dental service utilisation patterns among Australian children and investigate barriers to care.

Method: Randomly selected adults aged 18 years and older who were parents or caregivers of children under 18 years of age completed an online nationally representative cross-sectional survey which was then analysed using descriptive statistics.

Results: A total 2,048 parents of 3,660 children, including 1,179 aged between one and six years, completed the survey.

A nationwide parent survey of antibiotic use in Australian children.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance is increasing globally, largely due to high rates of antibiotic use and misuse. Factors that influence frequent antibiotic use in children are poorly understood.

Objectives: This study describes rates of antibiotic use in Australian children and investigates parental factors including knowledge, attitudes and behaviours that influence antibiotic use.

National study of parental confidence in general practitioners.

Aim: To assess a national sample of Australian parental confidence in general practitioner (GP) care for illness and injury for their children.

Methods: Cross-sectional, internet-based survey of a national, representative sample of parents of children birth - 17 years in Australia was used. Purposeful recruitment was used to achieve a national, representative sample of 2100 Australian parents, reflective of demographic and geographic distribution based on census data.

Learning difficulties or learning English difficulties? Additional language acquisition: an update for paediatricians.

Australia is a diverse society: 26% of the population were born overseas, a further 20% have at least one parent born overseas and 19% speak a language other than English at home. Paediatricians are frequently involved in the assessment and management of non-English-speaking-background children with developmental delay, disability or learning issues. Despite the diversity of our patient population, information on how children learn additional or later languages is remarkably absent in paediatric training.

Unmet developmental, behavioral, and psychosocial needs in children attending pediatric outpatient clinics.

Objective: In this study of children attending general pediatric hospital outpatient clinics, we aimed to examine the proportion of (1) children with developmental and behavioral concerns; (2) parents with mental health problems; and (3) families with less than adequate psychosocial resources. We were also interested in the extent to which pediatricians discussed these problems with parents.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of families with children aged 4 to 8 years attending pediatric outpatient clinics at the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne.