Recipient: Dr Jennifer Cohen and Professor Claire Wakefield
Institute: Sydney Children’s Hospital, Kids Cancer Centre
Funding: $249,972 July 2019 to June 2023
A randomised controlled trial of a behavioural medicine intervention to prevent obesity and metabolic complications in young cancer survivors recently off treatment.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading non-cancer cause of death in older survivors of childhood cancer.
Dr Cohen and Professor Wakefield discovered poor eating habits manifest early in children who survive cancer, which is at odds with their pre-diagnosis behaviour, putting them at risk not only of cardiovascular disease but also obesity, diabetes and even second cancers. Reboot-Kids is a parent-led eHealth program designed to increase long-term survival by improving dietary habits. It will be delivered through a web-based nutrition education and goal setting platform, supplemented by telephone consultations with a dietitian or other health-care professional.
Read more: Behind the science | Professor Claire Wakefield
In this stage 2 controlled trial, the team will test whether Reboot-Kids improves nutritional intake and reduces metabolic complications in survivors aged two to twelve years compared with survivors not receiving Reboot-Kids.
Read more: Behind the science | Dr Jennifer Cohen