WORLD’S LARGEST STUDY IN INTRAVENOUS CATHETER SECUREMENT FOR CHILDREN AND CATHETER FAILURE REDUCTION
Brooke Charters, Paediatric Emergency Nurse
Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service
PEOPLE IN HEALTH CARE
Filmed in Southport, Queensland | December 2024
Brooke Charters is a dynamic Paediatric Emergency Nurse who works at the Gold Coast University Hospital in Queensland.
After leaving school unsure of her career path, she ventured into disability support, which sparked her interest in nursing. She pursued a Bachelor of Nursing at Southern Cross University, and during her placement in Africa, she discovered her passion for paediatrics instead of mental health nursing.
Since completing her post grad certificate in paediatric acute care and a passion ignited from working frontline in the Paediatric Emergency, Brooke has developed a wide variety of clinical research interests, especially in cannulation, children’s mental health trauma and pain management.
An opportunity arose when she was approached for research ideas related to securing cannulas, a frequent issue in paediatric care.
Brooke was the first nurse to become a Principal Investigator on an Emergency Medicine Foundation (EMF) Queensland Research Program grant when it was opened to nurses. Having seen first-hand how one in four cannulas used in treating children were failing
and needed to be reinserted Brooke looked for an opportunity to find a solution.
The study enrolled children aged six months to eight years, aiming to save cannulas and reduce reinsertion trauma. Her study’s findings showed significant improvements in securing cannulas, highlighting a potential solution to a common problem.
Brooke initiated a study with a randomised control trial (RCT) comparing standard care to an integrated dressing with tissue adhesive.
Brooke’s research became the world’s largest study of its kind and in May 2024 the results of the study were published in JAMA Pediatrics. Her mission is to drive change and enhance the hospital experience for children globally.
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Significant funding announced for NSW biomedical researchers
The Snow Medical Research Foundation (Snow Medical) has announced a new $24 million investment in three outstanding Australian biomedical researchers through its prestigious Snow Fellowships.
These Fellows will tackle major global health challenges spanning autoimmune disease, neurological disorders, and genetic disease. Their work addresses conditions that disproportionately affect vulnerable and underserved populations, including First Nations communities, while advancing precision medicine and translational care. Collectively, their research aims to deliver safer vaccines, better diagnostics, and more equitable genomic and neurological healthcare.
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Emerging researcher appointed to James Packer Chair in Mood Disorders at UNSW
The UNSW Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health is widely renowned as the pre-eminent psychiatry research department in the country and one of the leading university psychiatry research groups internationally. In 2023 it celebrated 60 Years of Psychiatry & Mental Health at UNSW Sydney.
Australian Health Journal spoke with Professor Kimberlie Dean, Head of the Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health at UNSW Sydney, about the recent appointment of mental health disorders expert and clinician researcher Dr Aswin Ratheesh to lead the James Packer Chair in Mood Disorders at UNSW Sydney. -
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