A project led by Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) has received funding to better support adolescents who have experienced a childhood stroke as they transition to adulthood.

MCRI’s Dr Taylor Jenkin has been awarded an $80,000 Early to Early-Mid-Career Researcher (EMCR) Seed Grant from the Stroke Foundation Australia to develop a specialised online resource, co-developed alongside young people and their families with lived experience of childhood stroke.

Image: Dr Taylor Jenkin

Up to 600 children and adolescents have a stoke in Australia every year, with many social, emotional and physical challenges persisting into later years. Despite these challenges, there aren’t support programs to guide these young people as they approach adulthood.

Dr Jenkin said the funding would allow her team to better understand the needs and experiences of young people with stroke and translate them into an evidence-based online support resource.

“Despite the well-known lifelong impacts of childhood stroke we do have some challenging knowledge gaps,” she said. "This project gives us an opportunity to develop meaningful interventions for these adolescents as they become adults.”

Dr Jenkin hoped her research would improve the mental health, independence and engagement of adolescents and help to minimise the impact of their childhood stroke.

“It is critical that this group of young people are heard and adequately supported, so we can fully understand their needs and ambitions across childhood, adolescence and adulthood,” she said.

Researchers from The Royal Children’s Hospital, University of Melbourne and La Trobe University will also contribute to the research.

Read more about MCRI’s work in neurodisability and rehabilitation research.