This Committee was established to provide guidance and advice on the project.

The Vitamin K Working Committee (the Committee) was an advisory committee established under section 39 of the National Health and Medical Research Council Act 1992.

Appointment process for the Committee

Appointments to the committee were made with consideration to the expertise required, jurisdictional distribution, gender balance and panel size. Appointments were made ensuring it comprised members with a variety of methodological expertise, professional knowledge and experience and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and consumer representation.

Terms of reference

The Committee was established to oversee and provide expertise in updating the NHMRC 2010 Joint statement and recommendations on vitamin K administration to newborn infants to prevent vitamin K deficiency bleeding in infancy. The updated Statement is intended to reflect the best available evidence and be relevant for the range of Australian maternity service delivery contexts. The revision of the Statement will be reflected in the accompanying 2010 brochure: Vitamin K for newborn babies: Information for parents.

In undertaking the update, the Committee will:

  1. Determine the scope of the update based on consideration of:
    • the currency, accuracy and relevance of the existing 2010 Joint Statement
    • stakeholder feedback provided to NHMRC in 2016 on the 2010 Joint Statement, including new areas for potential inclusion
    • the systematic reviews undertaken by the Cochrane Collaboration
    • committee member's knowledge/ expertise of current evidence or practice in Vitamin K administration to newborn infants to prevent vitamin K deficiency bleeding in infancy in Australia
    • any other information deemed relevant by NHMRC or the Committee.
       
  2. Advise on any supplementary review of the evidence required to update the 2010 Joint Statement by:
    • identifying and prioritising topics requiring the identification of new evidence published since the search period for the 2010 Joint Statement and which is not covered in the Cochrane Collaboration systematic reviews
    • advising on the scope and clinical questions for the review, and methods to identify and evaluate relevant evidence.
       
  3. Guide the update of the 2010 Joint Statement and Brochure by considering (1) and (2) above. This may include, but is not limited to providing advice on:
    • developing recommendations using NHMRC's preferred method (GRADE approach and Magicapp)
    • identifying gaps in evidence relating to vitamin K administration to newborn infants to prevent vitamin K deficiency bleeding in infancy
    • key stakeholders to be included in any consultation activities
    • comments received during public consultation and expert review on the draft revised Joint Statement and Brochure.
       
  4. Advise on implementation and promotion strategies/ activities to ensure consideration and uptake of the Joint Statement and Brochure across Australian states and territories.

The Committee will be effective for the period 27 March 2017 to 31 March 2019 and will be reinstated until the completion of the project. The Committee will report to the Council of NHMRC.

Contact the Vitamin K Working Committee

Postal address

Public Health Team
National Health and Medical Research Council
GPO Box 1421
Canberra ACT 2601

Email address

publichealth@nhmrc.gov.au

Member information and Disclosure of Interests

NHMRC asked each Vitamin K Working Committee member to document their interests, as part of the process of the establishment of any NHMRC committee. Members were asked to consider perceived interests as well as real interests.

Members were specifically asked to identify, to the best of their ability, work associated with the update to the Joint Statement including:

  • relevant financial interests
  • relevant professional or organisational experience
  • other relationships or activities.

Throughout the project, members are required to inform NHMRC of any changes to their interests, and management strategies are put in place as needed.

Note

Members of the Vitamin K Working Committee are unable to respond to individual enquiries.

Committee members

Chair,
Dr
Robert
Guaran

Executive Medical Advisor, Neonatal, Pregnancy and Newborn Services Network

Relevant experience: Professional knowledge and experience; jurisdictional representation

Declaration

  • Miracle Babies Foundation Board Member
  • Was the inaugural Head of the Newborn Intensive Care Unit at Liverpool Hospital.
  • Has held numerous local, LHD, statewide and national advisory committee roles.
  • Since mid-2012 has held the position of Executive Clinical Advisor – Neonatology at the NSW Perinatal Services Network. This role is under the auspices of both the Sydney Children's Hospital Network and NSW Kids and Families.

Associate Professor
John
Svigos

Discipline of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Adelaide

Relevant experience: Professional knowledge and experience

Declaration

  • No interests to declare
  • Discipline of Obstetrics and Gynaecology , University of Adelaide
  • Senior Visiting Medical Specialist, Maternal Fetal Medicine Unit, Women’s and Children’s Hospital
  • Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist

Professor
Colin
Binns

  • John Curtin Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Public Health
  • Editor, Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health
  • Editor, Health Promotion Journal of Australia
  • School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University

Relevant experience: Professional knowledge and experience; guideline development committee experience

Declaration

  • Emeritus Professor Curtin University General Practitioner – part-time Editor Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health Nutrients Vietnam J Public Health where gives many lectures on infant nutrition. Any honoraria are donated directly by the sponsor to charity ($1000 in 2016).
  • Attended breastfeeding conference in London with air fares paid by Phillips (the electronics company).
  • Is a strong supporter of the NHMRC Infant Feeding Guidelines and Dietary Guidelines
  • Major current research projects include the Perth Infant Feeding Study and projects on infant feeding, nutrition and cancer in China (3 locations), Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Kenya

Associate Professor
John
Sinn

Neonatology and Paediatric and Child Health, Royal North Shore Hospital

Relevant experience: Professional knowledge and experience

Declaration

  • GSK, Sanofi Pasteur and NHMRC scholarship Seeding grants for Pertussis Study – Grant paid to Research nurse. Did not receive any monies from this study.
  • Invited speaker to many conference around the world - conferences are sponsored by companies.
  • Staff Neonatologist Ministry of Health – Consultant to Royal North Shore Hospital.
  • RACP policy committee attendance at committee meetings and support for travel or accommodation.
  • President of the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand (PSANZ NSW) and is the Congress Planning Liaison Officer for PSANZ.
  • Member of the Paediatric committee for Australian Society of Clinical Immunology and the Allergy and the National Neonatal Resuscitation Committee.

Ms
Alexa
McArthur

Senior Research Fellow Implementation Science, Joanna Briggs Institute, University of Adelaide

Relevant experience: Professional knowledge and experience

Declaration

  • No interests to declare.
  • Currently working within the Joanna Briggs Institute as a Research Fellow in the Translation Science team
  • Research interests include midwifery issues, helping clinician's transfer evidence into practice, Maternal and Child Health, evidence based healthcare and
  • translation, evidence implementation and clinical audit, clinical decision support systems and systematic reviews

Professor
Lisa
Askie

Director, Systematic Reviews and Health Technology Assessment, NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, University of Sydney

Relevant experience: Methodological expertise

Declaration

  • Invited member on many Committees/ Groups such as NHMRC Clinical Trials, WHO Clinical Trials, Scientific Advisory Committee, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Human Research Ethics Committee
  • Various roles within the Cochrane Collaboration: Co-convenor of the Cochrane Prospective Meta-analysis Methods Group, Employment Supervisor for members of the Cochrane Breast Cancer Group editorial team, Associate Editor for the Cochrane Neonatal Review Group (since November 2016) and has published several systematic reviews that are managed by the Cochrane Neonatal Review Group.

Professor
David
Forbes

Senior Medical Advisor to the Chief Medical Officer, Western Australia Department of Health

Relevant experience: Professional knowledge and experience; jurisdictional representation

Declaration

  • No interests to declare
  • Currently working as the Senior Medical Advisor to the Office of the CMO, Department of Health

Ms
Carolyn
Hastie

Senior Midwifery Advisor, Nursing and Midwifery Services, Northern Territory Government

Relevant experience: Professional knowledge and experience; jurisdictional representation

Declaration

  • Employed as Senior Midwifery Advisor for the NT
  • Board Member for Family Planning NT, Wollumbin Family Support Incorporated and the Australian College of Midwives
  • Developed a number of publications and presented at numerous workshops/ conferences on typical midwifery topics such as preventing postpartum haemorrhage, supporting women through labour, breastfeeding, motherhood etc.

Ms
Helen
Mikolaj

Interest in health advocacy in areas of diabetes, disability, healthy lifestyle programs and general health issues including communicable diseases and mental health

Relevant experience: Consumer representative

Declaration

  • No interests to declare

Dr
Sandra
Campbell

Clinical Research Fellow, Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention, Division of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University

Relevant experience: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health; professional knowledge and experience

 

Declaration

  • No interests to declare
  • Midwife by training and a former NHMRC ECF holder, now Aboriginal researcher at James Cook University