Gudaga Project I: Health and development of Aboriginal infants in an urban environment

Project Short Title
Gudaga I

Project Number
RMO1984

Project Status
Completed

Chief Investigators
Elizabeth Comino, Pippa Craig, Elizabeth Harris, Mark F Harris, Richard Henry, Dennis McDermott

Other Team Members
Jane Anderson, Heidi Sainsbury

Rationale

Very little information is available on the health and development of Aboriginal infants in disadvantaged urban communities. This study addresses the current gap by monitoring, over a three year period, the health status of 200 Aboriginal babies born at Campbelltown hospital.

It is the first time a study of this nature has been conducted. The results will provide valuable information about the health needs of Aboriginal babies and their families in an urban setting.

Aims

1. To describe the obstetric outcomes and service use.
2. To describe health, development and health service use at 12 mths for Aboriginal infants and their mothers in an urban community.
3. To identify issues that mothers of Aboriginal infants would like addressed to provide opportunities to improve their health and well-being.

Design and Method

This is a longitudinal cohort study. All mothers delivering a baby at Campbelltown hospital between Oct 2005 and April 2007 are surveyed. Babies with an Aboriginal mother or father are identified and the mothers of these babies invited to be part of the study. Each baby is visited at home when they are 2-3 weeks, six months and 12 months. At each visit babies are weighed and measured and the mother is asked a series of questions related to use of health services for both herself and her baby as well as other related issues such as feeding, SIDS, and immunisation. At 12 months each baby has a full paediatric assessment conducted by an independent paediatrician at no cost to the baby's family.

Key Publications

You may download Gudaga resources by clicking on the following links:

Gudaga A4 poster
Gudaga flyer
Gudaga book chapter
Occasional Paper 1: What the chicken money bought: Researching with our local Aboriginal community