Safety management system for heavy vehicle transport. Crashes involving heavy vehicles result in around 330 deaths, over 3000 serious injuries annually, and cost over $6 billion per year. Trucks deliver 72% of Australia's total freight. The quantity delivered by trucks has increased by 40% over a decade and will double over the next 20 years. Conservatively the transport industry contributes about 5.6% to GDP and employs nearly 5% of the workforce. Safe transport is crucial for Australia's heal ....Safety management system for heavy vehicle transport. Crashes involving heavy vehicles result in around 330 deaths, over 3000 serious injuries annually, and cost over $6 billion per year. Trucks deliver 72% of Australia's total freight. The quantity delivered by trucks has increased by 40% over a decade and will double over the next 20 years. Conservatively the transport industry contributes about 5.6% to GDP and employs nearly 5% of the workforce. Safe transport is crucial for Australia's health and economic recovery. If a 10% reduction in casualty truck crashes were to result from this study, the cost benefit ratio would be around 200 to 1.Read moreRead less
Cancer culture: understanding anti-cancer campaigns in Australia. How do we change culture to improve public health? This project investigates the history of Australian anti-cancer campaigns to understand the nexus between science, advocacy, policy and behavioural change. The campaigns of Cancer Council Victoria modified government policy, pushed Australia into international prominence in public health research and translation, and influenced behaviour. The project seeks to analyse the deploymen ....Cancer culture: understanding anti-cancer campaigns in Australia. How do we change culture to improve public health? This project investigates the history of Australian anti-cancer campaigns to understand the nexus between science, advocacy, policy and behavioural change. The campaigns of Cancer Council Victoria modified government policy, pushed Australia into international prominence in public health research and translation, and influenced behaviour. The project seeks to analyse the deployment of such campaigns, the socio-cultural and political context that allowed them to leverage policy change, and their connection to life-saving behaviours. Distilling elements of success and failure will better inform advocates and governments in preventing cancer and other diseases through future health promotion.Read moreRead less
Taking a stand: a case study of culture change addressing violence against women in a major sporting organisation in Australia. This project will provide a focused investigation of settings-based primary prevention of violence against women, a contribution which has been absent thus far in Australian and international scholarship. This project will potentially contribute to improving women's health and wellbeing, and preventing crimes associated with violence against women. It will do this by in ....Taking a stand: a case study of culture change addressing violence against women in a major sporting organisation in Australia. This project will provide a focused investigation of settings-based primary prevention of violence against women, a contribution which has been absent thus far in Australian and international scholarship. This project will potentially contribute to improving women's health and wellbeing, and preventing crimes associated with violence against women. It will do this by informing policy development and identifying principles for good practice in institutional settings. It will also generate knowledge regarding the processes involved in changing attitudes and behaviours to achieve culture change within organisations and the wider community.Read moreRead less
LGBTI experiences of cancer survivorship and care. This project aims to understand the experiences and concerns of cancer survivors and carers within lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex communities. This vulnerable population reports higher rates of cancer related distress and dissatisfaction with care than the general population. This project will examine the perspectives of cancer survivors, their carers, and professional stakeholders, to inform targeted patient and carer resource ....LGBTI experiences of cancer survivorship and care. This project aims to understand the experiences and concerns of cancer survivors and carers within lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex communities. This vulnerable population reports higher rates of cancer related distress and dissatisfaction with care than the general population. This project will examine the perspectives of cancer survivors, their carers, and professional stakeholders, to inform targeted patient and carer resources, and recommendations for cancer care and policy.Read moreRead less
Reducing alcohol misuse: The efficacy of a comprehensive accreditation intervention in community sports clubs. The prevention of alcohol misuse is increasingly recognised as a priority by State and Commonwealth governments, and the community alike. A similar increasing recognition of the role of sport in the occurrence of such misuse has resulted in a call for action in this community setting. Very limited data are available regarding effective intervention strategies in sports clubs. The propos ....Reducing alcohol misuse: The efficacy of a comprehensive accreditation intervention in community sports clubs. The prevention of alcohol misuse is increasingly recognised as a priority by State and Commonwealth governments, and the community alike. A similar increasing recognition of the role of sport in the occurrence of such misuse has resulted in a call for action in this community setting. Very limited data are available regarding effective intervention strategies in sports clubs. The proposed intervention directly addresses this knowledge deficit. In addressing the culture of excessive alcohol consumption in sports clubs, the intervention, should it be effective, has the potential to contribute to a reduction in both short and long term alcohol harms in Australia.Read moreRead less
A SENTINEL STUDY OF TRENDS IN CORONARY HEART DISEASE RISK FACTORS IN AUSTRALIA. This project will use data collected by the Sydney Adventist Hospital from the managerial workforce during the past 25 years to examine the relationships of food consumption, smoking and lifestyle habits to risk of heart disease, obesity and mature onset diabetes. The lifestyles of different groups of people will be compared and related to disease risk. The effectiveness of hospital based health promotion in reducing ....A SENTINEL STUDY OF TRENDS IN CORONARY HEART DISEASE RISK FACTORS IN AUSTRALIA. This project will use data collected by the Sydney Adventist Hospital from the managerial workforce during the past 25 years to examine the relationships of food consumption, smoking and lifestyle habits to risk of heart disease, obesity and mature onset diabetes. The lifestyles of different groups of people will be compared and related to disease risk. The effectiveness of hospital based health promotion in reducing these disease risk factors will be assessed. Likely outcomes include better understanding of the causes of heart disease, obesity and diabetes; more effective hospital based health promotion strategies, and new disease surveillance systemsRead moreRead less
Harnessing recreational infrastructure to improve physical activity and community well-being. This project will investigate the impact that establishing a major recreational and aquatic centre has upon physical activity and measures of community well-being. It will also test the effect of different marketing strategies on community members' usage of the centre.
Alcohol use and harm minimisation among Australian university students. Alcohol-related harms cost Australians over $15.3 billion per year, and in 2008 were described by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as having reached 'epidemic proportions'. Young people are at greatest risk of alcohol-related damage and university students are among the heaviest drinkers, with up to 70% engaging in binge drinking. By examining the social dynamics of university students' drinking practices and their understanding of ....Alcohol use and harm minimisation among Australian university students. Alcohol-related harms cost Australians over $15.3 billion per year, and in 2008 were described by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as having reached 'epidemic proportions'. Young people are at greatest risk of alcohol-related damage and university students are among the heaviest drinkers, with up to 70% engaging in binge drinking. By examining the social dynamics of university students' drinking practices and their understanding of harm minimisation, together with the policies and measures offered by colleges and State health authorities, the proposed project will yield a new evidence base and innovative theoretical approach for developing fresh strategic harm minimisation interventions.Read moreRead less
Community capacity building for healthy lifestyles (CBHL) initiative: engaging communities in childhood obesity prevention in disadvantaged areas. This project will develop and focus-test a new community engagement model for engaging disadvantaged communities in childhood obesity prevention programs. The community engagement model will overcome disadvantaged communities' non-participation in prevention programs, and inform culturally tailored childhood obesity prevention strategies.
Moving from policy to practice: a randomised trial of an implementation intervention to facilitate the adoption of a statewide healthy canteen policy. This project will test the effectiveness of an intervention in supporting schools to implement a healthy canteen policy mandated by the New South Wales Government. The trial could provide a model for supporting schools to implement school health or education policies which seek to improve the wellbeing of students.