The winners are two Aussie researchers who are harnessing digital innovation to help sleep-deprived toddlers and nutrition-challenged families.
Two groundbreaking digital health initiatives have emerged victorious in the Priority Digital Health Challenge 2025, a program aimed at addressing Australia’s most pressing yet overlooked health issues.
The winners, Dr Sarah Hanieh from the University of Melbourne and Professor Caroline Donovan from Griffith University, have been awarded a 12-month development program to transform their concepts into fully functional, adoption-ready applications.
Dr Hanieh’s Project SHINE focuses on enhancing nutritional literacy among migrant and refugee families who often face significant barriers in accessing mainstream dietary advice.
The initiative aims to deliver multilingual, visual content to assist these communities in making healthier food choices, thereby reducing the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity.
Dr Hanieh emphasised the unique opportunity presented by the challenge, noting the support provided to develop digital tools co-designed with communities facing diverse language and literacy needs.
“I’ve worked on large-scale public health programs for over two decades. But funding for digital tools like this, especially those co-designed with communities with diverse language and literacy needs, is almost impossible to find,” said Dr Hanieh.
“Yet barriers to nutrition literacy continue to disadvantage families from migrant and refugee backgrounds, significantly increasing their risk of preventable chronic diseases.
“What this challenge offers is different. Not just funding but the right infrastructure and support to create something practical, culturally relevant, and accessible for every family that needs it.”
Meanwhile, Professor Donovan’s project addresses the critical issue of childhood sleep problems, a growing concern among Australian families.
Her initiative seeks to develop a digital solution that offers evidence-based strategies to improve sleep patterns in children, thereby enhancing overall health and well-being.
“Sleep health is a national priority, yet 90% of children with sleep problems remain untreated despite clear evidence of risk for serious physical, mental, social and cognitive consequences,” said Professor Donovan.
“The Lights Out app is a direct response to what parents have told us they need: an accessible, effective, and convenient way to address their children’s sleep issues.
“Winning this challenge means we can translate proven research into a practical app that can be scaled for families everywhere.”
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Now in its second year, the Priority Digital Health Challenge 2025 aims to foster innovation that addresses underserved healthcare needs. It is organised by digital health company Cogniss and supported by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and the Validitron at the University of Melbourne Centre for Digital Transformation of Health.
The challenge was judged by leaders from the Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA), the Digital Health Cooperative Research Council (DHCRC), the Australasian Institute of Digital Health (AIDH) and the delivery partners.
This year’s challenge saw applications from across the world.
ADHA CEO Amanda Cattermole PSM, one of the judges for the competition, said programs like this helped “ensure that the most promising innovations receive the structured support needed to deliver meaningful impact for patients and communities”.
“As our health system shifts towards more equitable, person-centred and preventative models of care, building the capability to develop and scale innovative solutions is essential to meeting emerging needs,” she said.
Fellow judge and DHCRC CEO Annette Schmiede said many promising innovations arose from researchers and innovators who saw gaps in care firsthand.
“The opportunity lies in translating that research into solutions that can be adopted at system level,” she said.
“Structured programmes such as this equip researchers to navigate the complex pathways from evidence to meaningful patient outcomes.”