Six weeks, nine community visits and 380 kids – it’s a wrap for round one of the SToP Trial!
From the desert towns in the Tjurabalan region to the saltwater communities in the Dampier Peninsula, the research team covered over 1100km in a bid to reduce the high burden of skin sores and scabies throughout the remote Kimberley region of WA.
Designed to “See, Treat and Prevent” skin infections, the SToP Trial hopes to have a major impact for the one out of every two Aboriginal children suffering painful and itchy skin infections, significantly reducing their risk of developing life-threatening illnesses such as rheumatic heart disease, kidney disease and sepsis.
Led by Associate Professor Asha Bowen, Head of Skin Health at the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases, based at The Kids Research Institute Australia, the study kicked off on 6 May at Luurnpa Catholic School in Balgo and completed the first round of visits at La Grange Remote Community School in Bidyadanga on 14 June.
“The SToP Trial team were able to recognise lots of different skin infections and ensure that kids requiring treatment were given a clinic referral,” said Dr Bowen.
“During our visits the school and clinic staff were very welcoming, the kids were engaged and families were happy to be involved by allowing their children to have skin checks done."
“Although there were a lot of skin infections, there were at least as many kids with healthy skin. This is the aim for everyone so it was great to see healthy skin champions in the making!”
School-based screening will occur three times per year for the next three years.
“During our second visit we expect to find a similar rate of infections and also kids with healthy skin, and by visit three we will begin the SToP trial intervention activities,” said Dr Bowen.
“Our skin plays a vital role in keeping us healthy, so the information gained from the SToP Trial will contribute to the ultimate goal of reducing the number of children and families affected by preventable diseases caused by skin infections.”
The SToP Trial is being run in partnership with the Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services including Nirrumbuk Environmental Health and Services and Western Australia Country Health Services – Kimberley.
An integral part of the study involves training clinic staff to easily recognise and treat skin infections, plus ‘wrapping around’ local clinic and environmental health services to enhance skin health practice and prevention. The The Kids team will also support community members to design and implement community-driven skin health promotion activities.
Research findings will be presented to the communities involved after the study is completed in 2022.
Click here for more information about the work of The Kids Research Institute Australia Skin Health team.