LOCAL RESEARCH. GLOBAL IMPACT.
The ORIGINS Project is the largest study of its kind in Australia, following 10,000 families over a decade to improve child and adult health.
The unique long-term study is one of the most comprehensive studies of pregnant women and their families in Australia, recruiting families who are receiving pregnancy care or planning to deliver their baby at Joondalup Health Campus, as well as families from the Joondalup and Wanneroo communities.
Perth Pregnancy Centre in Clarkson and One for Women at Joondalup Health Campus are also recruitment points for ORIGINS.
ORIGINS will follow the progress of pregnant women, their partners and babies for the first five years of the baby’s life, following an increasing understanding that an individual’s lifetime health and disease may be programmed at a very early stage – while a child is still in the womb.
The project is collecting detailed information on how a child’s early environment and parents’ physical health and genetics influence the risk of a wide range of diseases and conditions such as asthma, eczema, food allergies, hay fever, diabetes, obesity and autism. It will also look at how language development can affect outcomes such as academic achievement, social ability and relationships.
Benefits to participating families
As well as contributing to global research and the health of future generations, participant families receive free allergy testing and paediatric health and development checks at one, three and five years of age, with results and feedback provided to their GP. This unique provision of real-time feedback on a child’s development enables earlier intervention and referral to sub-specialist services.
The ORIGINS Project also provides opportunities to be involved in exciting new sub-projects that allow further benefits to be gained by families already involved in ORIGINS. These sub-projects have been launched off the main ORIGINS project and look at multiple, more focused aspects of child and family health and development.
Working together
The ORIGINS Project is a collaboration between the Telethon Kids Institute and Joondalup Health Campus which is part of Ramsay Health Care. The project is funded by the Paul Ramsay Foundation and the Commonwealth Government of Australia through the Channel 7 Telethon Trust.
ORIGINS welcomes new collaborations as well. Whether they be through the development of new clinical trials, early interventions, mechanistic studies or targeted research sub-projects to improve maternal and paternal health and the early environment of the child. Collaboration and engagement are fundamental elements of The ORIGINS Project at every level. As such, ORIGINS seeks to engage researchers, clinicians, service providers, government and the wider community.
Find out more in the 'For Collaborators' tab.
Dr Michael Mosley on The ORIGINS Project
Coronavirus - Here's what you need to know
COVID-19 Advice for ORIGINS Participants
To make it as convenient and safe as possible for our families, ORIGINS is conducting virtual appointments with our paediatricians where appropriate, unless a family requests a face-to-face appointment or an issue is identified.
The ORIGINS Project is following the advice of the Department of Health regarding the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
All ORIGINS activities are now continuing. The project is constantly mindful of protecting the wellbeing of our families and maintaining the stability of the research, so additional hygiene protocols have been put in place across our procedures.
Find out more about COVID-19 and how it is affecting ORIGINS.
We also provide COVID advice and tips for families and pregnant mums.
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