There are over 8 million children and young people in Australia, and their health and future productivity is the bedrock on which the future of Australia will be built. Our project brings together groups across Australia who have created novel tools for data collation, visualisation and analysis for research, service planning, and policy development on child health and wellbeing. These tools utilise different products to map data in different jurisdictions and across different portfolios. We will draw from the best elements of each jurisdiction’s platform to create a national interactive platform for visualising data to support innovative translational research, targeted policy and investment decisions. This new dynamic data asset, the Australian National Child Health and Development Atlas, will map data on children across Australia, enabling the visualisation, analysis, and monitoring of health and wellbeing metrics for children. This data asset will empower researchers, non-government, state and federal organisations and policy makers to identify potential priorities for child health research and initiatives in a meaningful and cost-effective ways. Funding from Australian Data Partnerships will improve the likelihood of children in Australia receiving the health care and research attention they need by supporting this leading-edge collaboration and reducing the natural, yet restrictive, fragmentation of data as a result of state-based health and social services.
We aim to:
- Create a new national data asset incorporating Commonwealth, State and Non-Government Organisation data relevant to the health and wellbeing of Australian children;
- Build a proof of concept dashboard with geospatial and temporal visualisation of indicators locally and nationally;
- Employ harmonised data management, sharing, privacy and governance processes across data providers and users;
- Identify gaps, priorities, and new directions in multiple research fields; and
- Provide a coordinated resource to monitor and respond to major disruptions such as COVID and climate change