Preventing mental health problems in children: a population-based cluster controlled trial. The National Mental Health Survey (2000) found 1 in 7 children have externalising (aggression) and internalising (anxiety, depression) problems. Early mental health problems beget later problems with high costs to society, including clinical, remedial education and criminal justice services. Hence, early prevention is vital for national well-being and productivity. The few preventive early childhood progr ....Preventing mental health problems in children: a population-based cluster controlled trial. The National Mental Health Survey (2000) found 1 in 7 children have externalising (aggression) and internalising (anxiety, depression) problems. Early mental health problems beget later problems with high costs to society, including clinical, remedial education and criminal justice services. Hence, early prevention is vital for national well-being and productivity. The few preventive early childhood programs to date are limited in effectiveness and not truly population-based. The proposed parenting / family support trial aims to overcome these obstacles, by comparing and costing two approaches that can be implemented within whole communities. The trial will help clarify optimal primary care to prevent mental health problems early in life.Read moreRead less
Meeting the needs of cancer support group leaders. Social support plays a pivotal role in the psychological adjustment of people with cancer. Support groups provide unique input, but their outcomes are reliant on the quality and sustainability of the leaders. Internationally, little is known about the challenges and unmet needs of cancer support group leaders, or how to best support them. This study will:
a) clarify the needs of cancer group leaders
b) design and evaluate two interventions (mi ....Meeting the needs of cancer support group leaders. Social support plays a pivotal role in the psychological adjustment of people with cancer. Support groups provide unique input, but their outcomes are reliant on the quality and sustainability of the leaders. Internationally, little is known about the challenges and unmet needs of cancer support group leaders, or how to best support them. This study will:
a) clarify the needs of cancer group leaders
b) design and evaluate two interventions (minimal and intense) to meet the needs of leaders.
If successful, this study will provide the evidence on which cancer organizations around the world can base interventions to sustain cancer support group leaders and thus hopefully improve psychological outcomes for cancer patients and their carers.Read moreRead less
Internet technologies, health informatics and statistical methods, and new delivery platforms in call centres. Although depression is the major cause of health disability, 60% of Australians with depression do not receive professional help. There are few systems for delivering health information and resilience skills to members of the community. This project aims to develop a workable system to reduce unmet need. It will provide a model of information delivery applicable to other areas of the ....Internet technologies, health informatics and statistical methods, and new delivery platforms in call centres. Although depression is the major cause of health disability, 60% of Australians with depression do not receive professional help. There are few systems for delivering health information and resilience skills to members of the community. This project aims to develop a workable system to reduce unmet need. It will provide a model of information delivery applicable to other areas of the health industry, particularly those involving chronic disease. It has applicability to education and other sectors which involve the delivery of information to the public. Because e-health is an emerging field, the project also has the capacity to build expertise in an area which is under-resourced. Read moreRead less
Refugee children and adolescents in Australia: Issues of mental health and well-being and equal access to mental health services. The mental health status of refugee children and adolescents has received scant scholarly attention despite the fact that they are at high risk of developing mental health problems. The present study will be the first of its kind undertaken in Australia. It will provide data on the prevalence of mental health problems affecting refugee children and adolescents in Sou ....Refugee children and adolescents in Australia: Issues of mental health and well-being and equal access to mental health services. The mental health status of refugee children and adolescents has received scant scholarly attention despite the fact that they are at high risk of developing mental health problems. The present study will be the first of its kind undertaken in Australia. It will provide data on the prevalence of mental health problems affecting refugee children and adolescents in South Australia, the level of disability associated with these problems and the extent to which children and adolescents are receiving appropriate help. The absence of this information greatly hinders the development of intervention strategies to help refugee children and adolescents. Results will be used to inform mental health policy and program development and service delivery.Read moreRead less
An evaluation of concerns, self-perceived needs, and supportive interventions, for informal cancer carers: A comparative study of female and male carers. Informal cancer carers experience high levels of anxiety, depression, and unmet support needs, with women carers at higher risk than men. However, little is known about the factors underlying this gender difference, and existing support services have not specifically targeted the needs of female and male cancer carers. This study will explore t ....An evaluation of concerns, self-perceived needs, and supportive interventions, for informal cancer carers: A comparative study of female and male carers. Informal cancer carers experience high levels of anxiety, depression, and unmet support needs, with women carers at higher risk than men. However, little is known about the factors underlying this gender difference, and existing support services have not specifically targeted the needs of female and male cancer carers. This study will explore the concerns, self-perceived needs, and psychological wellbeing of informal cancer carers living in New South Wales, comparing the experiences of female and male carers, at different stages of the care-giving journey. Based on these findings, a program of targeted supportive interventions will be developed, and then systematically evaluated within a controlled trial.Read moreRead less
A Public Health Framework of Effectiveness: Evaluating the Framework for Telephone Counselling. The demand for telephone counselling is strong and while this form of counselling has face validity, there is no substantive research into its effectiveness for clients. This project aims to adapt the public health model to evaluate processes and outcomes of Lifeline - a generic telephone counselling service in Melbourne. The public health model of effectiveness, will, in turn, also be evaluated.
Psychosocial and mental health policy in countries emerging from conflict and natural disaster: analysis of policy and program responses. International donor involvement in psychosocial and mental health policy and programming in complex emergencies has been plagued with controversy. With this project, Australian researchers will help build a much needed evidence base for psychosocial and mental health policy formulation and implementation. It will specifically enhance programming responses in ....Psychosocial and mental health policy in countries emerging from conflict and natural disaster: analysis of policy and program responses. International donor involvement in psychosocial and mental health policy and programming in complex emergencies has been plagued with controversy. With this project, Australian researchers will help build a much needed evidence base for psychosocial and mental health policy formulation and implementation. It will specifically enhance programming responses in conflict- and disaster-affected countries of the Asia-Pacific region, where Australia is devoting considerable resources and attention. Better insights into policy processes and the transferability of experience will maximise Australia's response and operational effectiveness, and will have immediate relevance in Tsunami affected areas.Read moreRead less
Beyond psychopathology: Pathways to suicide in mentally well young adult males. Increased knowledge of risk factors for suicide among mentally well males can lead to better informed preventive health policies, earlier intervention and community education. The tragic impacts of suicide lead to long-term societal problems which result in disconnection and alienation, particularly for those who are left behind; findings from this study will assist development of initiatives aimed at increasing soci ....Beyond psychopathology: Pathways to suicide in mentally well young adult males. Increased knowledge of risk factors for suicide among mentally well males can lead to better informed preventive health policies, earlier intervention and community education. The tragic impacts of suicide lead to long-term societal problems which result in disconnection and alienation, particularly for those who are left behind; findings from this study will assist development of initiatives aimed at increasing social connectedness and awareness. Also, males compose the predominant workforce in Australia and the costs saved as a result of effective prevention initiatives may be enormous, given that economic costs to suicide are estimated at 900 million dollars annually. Read moreRead less
The impact of illicit drug users on family members and non-using siblings. This research is a continuation and expansion of the pilot study conducted in 2001 that focussed on the effect on siblings of illicit drug use by a family member from the Vietnamese community. This research will include other ethnic groups and seek to discover the availability of and demand for drug and family support services for non-using family members. Additionally, the research will draw on the knowledge of drug an ....The impact of illicit drug users on family members and non-using siblings. This research is a continuation and expansion of the pilot study conducted in 2001 that focussed on the effect on siblings of illicit drug use by a family member from the Vietnamese community. This research will include other ethnic groups and seek to discover the availability of and demand for drug and family support services for non-using family members. Additionally, the research will draw on the knowledge of drug and family workers, in order to develop guidelines on how they can improve services for young people who have a sibling with an illicit drug addiction.Read moreRead less