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
Safety and resiliency at home: voices of children who live with fear. Finding out what can help children feel safer who are currently living in households where there is family violence will enable early intervention for better outcomes for such children. This research is significant because it will focus on targeting appropriate responses by listening to the views of children themselves and hence finding out what is really helpful for them to build resiliency. This is important to the work of a ....Safety and resiliency at home: voices of children who live with fear. Finding out what can help children feel safer who are currently living in households where there is family violence will enable early intervention for better outcomes for such children. This research is significant because it will focus on targeting appropriate responses by listening to the views of children themselves and hence finding out what is really helpful for them to build resiliency. This is important to the work of a key family welfare agency (Berry St) but it also has benefit for health and welfare workers throughout Australia. Appropriate early intervention will not only help the families concerned but will strengthen Australia's economic and social fabric, a priority goal of the national research agenda.Read moreRead less
Negotiating the Challenge of Cultural Diversity in Children's Health Care: The Australian Context. The increasing population of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) Australians creates challenges which research to date has only partially identified and addressed. In particular, family dynamics, parenting practices and culturally specific beliefs regarding illness in childhood influence and at times severely inhibit effective access to all aspects of our health care system. Employing qual ....Negotiating the Challenge of Cultural Diversity in Children's Health Care: The Australian Context. The increasing population of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) Australians creates challenges which research to date has only partially identified and addressed. In particular, family dynamics, parenting practices and culturally specific beliefs regarding illness in childhood influence and at times severely inhibit effective access to all aspects of our health care system. Employing qualitative and quantitative methods, this project will generate Australian evidence-based research by mapping the range of cultural practices at the interface of health service provision, providing culturally appropriate and relevant data to inform policy, planning and resourcing of health services for CALD children and parents/carers in NSW.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
Cluster randomised control trial of an early childhood literacy intervention to improve literacy and language outcomes in preschool aged children. Reading failure disproportionately affects disadvantaged communities in Australia, with nearly 40% of poor children failing to read at the minimum reading benchmark in Grade three. Of more concern is the disturbing trend indicating that prior to first grade, socioeconomic status (SES) differences also exist in important antecedents of reading such as ....Cluster randomised control trial of an early childhood literacy intervention to improve literacy and language outcomes in preschool aged children. Reading failure disproportionately affects disadvantaged communities in Australia, with nearly 40% of poor children failing to read at the minimum reading benchmark in Grade three. Of more concern is the disturbing trend indicating that prior to first grade, socioeconomic status (SES) differences also exist in important antecedents of reading such as letter knowledge and phonological processing skills, yet there remains no universal program to promote early language and literacy practices in the primary care setting. We propose a cluster randomised controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of a multi injection intervention to improve literacy outcomes of children in disadvantaged communities.Read moreRead less
The perinatal journey: the process and impact of psychosocial assessment. This study of the process and impact of psychosocial assessment and depression screening during pregnancy and after birth will have immediate national application and benefit as Australian governments prepare policy to implement universal psychosocial assessment. Findings will provide evidence-based approaches to assessment and service delivery impacting positively on large numbers of Australian women who use maternity and ....The perinatal journey: the process and impact of psychosocial assessment. This study of the process and impact of psychosocial assessment and depression screening during pregnancy and after birth will have immediate national application and benefit as Australian governments prepare policy to implement universal psychosocial assessment. Findings will provide evidence-based approaches to assessment and service delivery impacting positively on large numbers of Australian women who use maternity and early childhood nursing services. Most importantly, skillful early identification of women in distress or 'at risk' is the first step in providing appropriate services and support to ensure better child outcomes. The research will be at the cutting edge internationally and directly addresses National Research Priorities.Read moreRead less
Growing up with Cancer: A mixed method examination of how cancer influences the transition from adolescence to adulthood. In the last decade, over 10,000 of Australia's adolescents and young adults were diagnosed with cancer. Over the last 30 years, improvements in survival for 15 - 30 year olds have been the lowest of all age groups.Despite this, few health care facilities have the specialised infrastructure needed for dedicated psychosocial support of adolescents.
In finding out from adolescen ....Growing up with Cancer: A mixed method examination of how cancer influences the transition from adolescence to adulthood. In the last decade, over 10,000 of Australia's adolescents and young adults were diagnosed with cancer. Over the last 30 years, improvements in survival for 15 - 30 year olds have been the lowest of all age groups.Despite this, few health care facilities have the specialised infrastructure needed for dedicated psychosocial support of adolescents.
In finding out from adolescents with cancer what is most important in their care, we aim to identify and develop a range of services dedicated not only to addressing some of their needs, but also to building upon aspects of the cancer experience thought by adolescents as having a positive impact on their lives.Read moreRead less
Improving safety and minimising risk: parent, carer and service provider perspectives of sociocultural influences for medication use in young children. Childhood unintentional poisoning ranks second to falls as an injury cause of hospitalisation in the 0-4 years age group. The aims of this study are to explore the sociocultural influences on medication use by parents and carers of young children and develop best practice guidelines for provision of medication information by health care providers ....Improving safety and minimising risk: parent, carer and service provider perspectives of sociocultural influences for medication use in young children. Childhood unintentional poisoning ranks second to falls as an injury cause of hospitalisation in the 0-4 years age group. The aims of this study are to explore the sociocultural influences on medication use by parents and carers of young children and develop best practice guidelines for provision of medication information by health care providers. A multimedia education program for health care providers and consumers will be integrated into existing health services. Results will aid in determining children at risk of medication mismanagement, and assist providers to implement a rigorous and sustainable approach to the provision of care to young children.Read moreRead less
Model of care: A family focussed approach to promote child protection. Childhood neglect and abuse is an issue for all Australians. Models of best practice for child protection services are essential to protect the well-being of these children. This project will draw upon information from consumers and workers to provide a framework for a sustainable model of best practice for child protection that is transferable to other settings. A further benefit of this study is that it will provide insight ....Model of care: A family focussed approach to promote child protection. Childhood neglect and abuse is an issue for all Australians. Models of best practice for child protection services are essential to protect the well-being of these children. This project will draw upon information from consumers and workers to provide a framework for a sustainable model of best practice for child protection that is transferable to other settings. A further benefit of this study is that it will provide insight into occupation health and safety issues associated with working in long term relationships with vulnerable families. Read moreRead less