In the developing world, mothers and children continue to die and suffer significant illness from preventable causes.

Much of this poor health could be alleviated by improved access to quality reproductive and child health information and services including family planning, pregnancy and delivery care, postnatal and newborn care, vaccinations, management of childhood illnesses and nutritional support.

Burnet Institute has a strong record of working towards better access to health care for mothers and their children by conducting innovative medical and public health research, strengthening service delivery systems and empowering communities.

Research and Public Health Focus

• As a partner in the Women’s and Children’s Health Knowledge Hub, we undertook research to strengthen evidence for effective health interventions for adolescent girls, pregnant women and children
• Prevention of unintended pregnancies, with a particular emphasis on adolescents, will focus on PNG, Melanesia (Vanuatu and Solomon Islands), Timor-Leste and Indonesia
• Care of pregnant women and babies, focusing on community-based approaches in PNG Burma, Lao PDR and Southern/Eastern Africa.

Current Projects

• Accelerating access to postnatal care and chlorhexidine in PNG
  Scaling-up implementation and education relating to the postnatal period and introducing chlorhexidine for use by families.
• Access Point Of Care Initiative
  Increasing access to life-saving treatments for infectious diseases through point-of-care tests.
• Access to CD4 (VISITECT® CD4) testing among HIV-infected women in Kenya
  An accessible CD4 (VISITECT® CD4) test for HIV-infected pregnant and postpartum women in Kenya.
• ANCP Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies
  The sustainability and expansion phase of the ANCP Healthy Mothers, Health Babies project.
• ANCP: Improving maternal and child health outcomes in Myanmar
  Addressing critical gaps in health service delivery and health care seeking behaviour.
• Broadly neutralising anti-HIV antibodies and Fc Receptor function
  Defining the properties of anti-HIV antibodies for vaccine development and protection of pregnant women.
• Burnet Microbiome Initiative
  Pilot study to characterise the vaginal microbiome in women from the HMHB cohort.
• Collaborative Community Checklists for Immunisation (CCCI)
  Adapting the WHO Immunisation Checklist to increase the uptake of immunisation in Myanmar.
• Decision science using Optima
  Research and applications across disease areas to improve allocative efficiency.
• Development of a point-of-care test for neonatal sepsis
  Aimed at enabling healthcare workers to provide initial diagnosis in resource-constrained settings.
• Discovering the mechanisms and targets of immunity against malaria
  Identifying the key targets of protective immunity in people who live in malaria-endemic regions.
• Engaging men to improve family health and prevent gender-based violence
  ANCP project to contribute to the improvement of the health of men, their families and communities.
• Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies
  A collaborative research program aimed at providing life-saving health care for women and children in PNG.
• HHISP: Strengthening Papua New Guinea health systems
  Burnet is a partner in the Health and HIV Implementation Services Provider (HHISP).
• HMHB - Health Services for Postnatal and Infancy Care
  Focuses on services during postnatal period and through the first 12 months in East New Britain, PNG.
• HMHB: The impact of nutrition, malaria and STIs on pregnant women and infants
  Determining the major preventable causes of poor maternal health and low birth weight of babies in PNG.
• HS-RDT MiP: Clinical Performance of HRP2 Rapid Diagnostic Test for Malaria Diagnosis in Pregnant Women in PNG
  This project will compare the performance of novel high sensitivity Plasmodium falciparum rapid diagnostic tests with conventional malaria rapid diagnostic tests in pregnant women in Papua New Guinea
• Immunity to malaria during pregnancy
  How are pregnant women affected by infectious diseases such as malaria?
• Immunity, drug efficacy and spread of antimalarial drug resistance
  Identifying immune biomarkers to predict antimalarial efficacy is essential.
• Impact of microbiota metabolites on the cervicovaginal mucosa
  This study aims to determine the action of lactic acid to treat and prevent vaginal inflammation.
• Improved point-of-care test to eliminate congenital syphilis
  Optimising and validating an innovative test to enable immediate treatment at the point of care.
• Iron deficiency anaemia and adverse birth outcomes in a malaria-endemic region of Papua New Guinea
  What is the prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia, how is it associated with adverse birth outcomes, and is the association modified by malaria?
• New approaches to the treatment of lupus
  Research into an early intervention diagnostic test for Lupus, which is particularly dangerous to women.
• Predicting quality and potency of monoclonal and natural antibodies
  Rapid, simple and scalable assays for predicting antibody potency.
• The Mbereko + Men Model: Rural Zimbabwe
  A community-based program to improve MNCH services, care and support in the home.
• WHISPER and SHOUT - mHealth interventions among Kenyan sex workers
  Mobile phone-based health promotions sent to sex workers in Mombasa.

Past Projects

• Accelerating ART initiation among Infants (AAMI Study)
  This project will trial the POC VISITECT® CD4 test and POC LYNX HIV p24 early infant diagnostic test.
• Adolescent reproductive health in Myanmar: Formative research to support the delivery of life-skills education and hygiene improvements through monastic schools in Magway
  A study into reproductive health education through the Monastic Education System in Magway.
• ANCP/LXML Maternal and Child Health Program
  This project aimed to improve the nutrition and health of women and children in southern Laos.
• Assessing adolescent friendly health services in Nepal
  Young people in Nepal have poor access to quality, non-discriminatory health services.
• Call Centre Impact Assessment for Marie Stopes International
  Development of a framework and testing at call centres in Mexico City.
• Characterising the cause of human inflammation in autoimmune disease
  Antibodies activate and modulate normal immunity but can also trigger destructive information.
• Compass: Women's and Children's Health Knowledge Hub
  To increase the effectiveness of aid for women’s and children’s health in Asia and the Pacific
• Discovery of new cell surface biomarkers of Th17 and Th1 cells
  We are researching the cause of inflammation associated with rheumatoid arthritis.
• Evaluation of the Joint Initiative for Maternal Newborn and Child Health in Myanmar
  Burnet led the evaluation of this United Nations program for maternal newborn and child health.
• FcgR Function in cellular responses to malaria parasites
  Understanding how antibodies protect against malaria is crucial to vaccine development.
• Improving facility-based MCH services for women in the Rushinga District, Zimbabwe
  Reducing maternal and neonatal deaths via improved quality and uptake of facility-based MCH care.
• Increasing demand and uptake of quality, facility-based services, Zimbabwe
  Reducing maternal and neonatal deaths in Manicaland Province, Zimbabwe.
• LXML Mother and Child Health Project
  Aimed to improve the health of mothers and children in 12 villages near the LXML mine in Vilabouly district.
• Ma Ma Oo - Maternal and Child Health Radio Series Myanmar
  Establishing a health radio program for effective community messaging regarding maternal and child health.
• Male participation in improving maternal and newborn health: A community based intervention in Myanmar
  Demonstrating the feasibility of increasing male involvement in Maternal, Newborn and Children's Health and to enable men to protect and promote the health of their families.
• Maternal Neonatal and Child Health support in Magway Region, Myanmar
  Improved MCH services via support to Township Health Departments and community based interventions.
• MNCH support in Myanmar's Northern Shan State
  This project involves Namhsam, Namtu and Manton townships.
• Office of Development Effectiveness’ evaluation of child nutrition
  This program will assess how Australian aid policy and programming responds to child undernutrition and develop recommendations to improve its response.
• Pathways to post abortion care in Myanmar
  Understanding women's perspectives on accessing post-abortion care at public hospitals.
• Performance of a low-cost, rapid point-of-care CD4 test in resource-constrained settings
  This simple test could help prevent delayed initiation of antiretroviral interventions.
• Perspectives of an inhaled oxytocin intervention for the prevention of postpartum haemorrhage
  This study will guide the development and facilitate the future implementation of inhaled oxytocin in three diverse country settings.
• Preventing hepatitis B starts at birth – best practices and needs
  This project researched international evidence in birth-dose vaccination against hepatitis B, resulting in a WHO good practice guide, a global consultation and linked advocacy events.
• Promoting WASH-nutrition integration in Cambodia
  A stakeholder consultation to identify barriers to the efforts to improve WASH and nutrition.
• Reducing Community Vulnerability to HIV/AIDS (RCVHA), 2004-2010
  APAC program
• Strategies to reduce malnutrition with allocative efficiency analyses
  Malnutrition is responsible for over three million child deaths each year.
• Strengthening Sexual and Reproductive Health Capacity in Bali
  This project is aimed at building capacity around Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) and strengthening links between SRH and HIV prevention care and support
• Systematic review of strategies for male involvement in maternal and newborn health
  Global evidence review to assess the effect of strategies to engage men in maternal and newborn health.
• The Last Taboo: Menstrual hygiene interventions in the Pacific
  Research in Fiji, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea to understand the challenges around menstruation.
• Understanding the effects of programs to increase men’s engagement in maternal, newborn and child health
  A multi-country study of how women and men in diverse settings experience efforts to increase male engagement in maternal, newborn and child health.
• WASH: Interventions for monastic schools in Myanmar
  Evaluating the impact of a water, sanitation and hygiene program across three states of Myanmar.