Patrina Caldwell

Associate Professor Patrina Caldwell is an academic paediatrician at the University of Sydney's Discipline of Child and Adolescent Health and a Senior Staff Specialist at the Sydney Children's Hospitals Network. She founded and leads the multidisciplinary urinary continence service at the Children's Hospital at Westmead, providing comprehensive care for children with daytime wetting and bedwetting across New South Wales. As an editor for the Journal of Paediatric and Child Health and leader of the Medical Education Research group, she plays a pivotal role in advancing pediatric clinical care, research methodology, and medical education standards.

Dr. Caldwell completed her PhD in children's participation in randomised controlled trials, establishing her expertise in pediatric research methodology. Her academic credentials position her as a leading authority in evidence-based approaches to pediatric continence management and clinical trial design for children.

Her primary research focuses on pediatric bladder conditions including childhood and adolescent bedwetting and daytime urinary incontinence. She pioneers innovative digital health solutions through projects like eADVICE (a virtual agent platform for urinary incontinence management) and investigates how young people and parents search for and appraise online health information. Caldwell is deeply committed to evidence-based medicine implementation, having partnered with the Agency for Clinical Innovations to develop a Framework for Paediatric Continence through integrated care across tertiary, primary and community settings, and with Wentwest to create Healthpathways supporting GPs in managing pediatric urinary incontinence.

Analysis of her publication record reveals consistent expertise in pediatric continence research with evolving emphasis on digital health interventions, patient navigation systems, and adolescent-specific health challenges. Her work increasingly integrates artificial intelligence and virtual agent technology to improve treatment adherence and access to care, particularly for children on long specialist waitlists.

• US patent PCT/AU2009/001257 for enuresis alarm technology
• Over $1,500,000 in competitive research grants
• Steering committee member of Star Child Health (international standards for pediatric trials)
• Editor for Journal of Paediatric and Child Health

As an educator, Caldwell supervises PhD, masters and honours students alongside pediatric advanced trainees across multiple research domains including pediatric continence, systematic reviews methodology, evidence-based medicine implementation, general pediatrics, eHealth applications, and medical education research. Her grant funding supports numerous projects addressing critical gaps in pediatric care, particularly in continence management and digital health solutions for children with chronic conditions.

She leads several innovative research initiatives including the eADVICE platform, TENS study for overactive bladder treatment, adolescent urinary incontinence needs assessment, Potty Monkey system for special needs toilet training, smartphone apps for treatment adherence, and evidence-based medicine programs for Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners. Her work bridges clinical practice, research methodology, and medical education to transform outcomes for children with complex urinary and continence conditions.