Australia's Baby Boomer Generation, Obesity and Work - Patterns, Causes and Implications. In Australia's ageing crisis, baby boomers play a key role. Not only will they double the size of the aged population and its ratio to the workforce age group but the extent to which they remain in the workforce and their health will be crucial to future national productivity and prosperity. Baby Boomers have the highest level of obesity of any Australian age cohort and this threatens to seriously reduce ....Australia's Baby Boomer Generation, Obesity and Work - Patterns, Causes and Implications. In Australia's ageing crisis, baby boomers play a key role. Not only will they double the size of the aged population and its ratio to the workforce age group but the extent to which they remain in the workforce and their health will be crucial to future national productivity and prosperity. Baby Boomers have the highest level of obesity of any Australian age cohort and this threatens to seriously reduce their workforce participation and productivity and increase chronic disease incidence. There is a narrow closing window of opportunity for intervention which will reduce obesity and improve health and workforce outcomes.Read moreRead less
Early intervention in stopping gendered violence: developing an evidence based intervention program for young men using violence against their girlfriends. This research aims to develop and evaluate an intervention program targeted to young men using violence against their girlfriends. This intervention program focuses on dating violence with young men who are not yet involved with the criminal justice system. This innovation addresses a gap in stopping male violence, positioned between universa ....Early intervention in stopping gendered violence: developing an evidence based intervention program for young men using violence against their girlfriends. This research aims to develop and evaluate an intervention program targeted to young men using violence against their girlfriends. This intervention program focuses on dating violence with young men who are not yet involved with the criminal justice system. This innovation addresses a gap in stopping male violence, positioned between universal primary violence prevention programs and the tertiary prevention of the criminal justice system's adult domestic violence perpetrator programs. The research outcomes include:an evidence based intervention program aimed at stopping young men's violence against women;a training program for professionals;and documented standards of practice for working with young men and gendered violence.Read moreRead less
CARDIAC-ARIA : Measuring the accessibility to cardiovascular services in rural and remote Australia via applied geographical spatial technology (GIS). Despite significant improvements in the cardiovascular health of Australians, Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) continues to impose a heavy burden on Australians in terms of cost,disability and death. Recent evidence suggests that mortality from CVD increases with increasing remoteness. Rates are reported to be between 20% and 50% higher in rural areas ....CARDIAC-ARIA : Measuring the accessibility to cardiovascular services in rural and remote Australia via applied geographical spatial technology (GIS). Despite significant improvements in the cardiovascular health of Australians, Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) continues to impose a heavy burden on Australians in terms of cost,disability and death. Recent evidence suggests that mortality from CVD increases with increasing remoteness. Rates are reported to be between 20% and 50% higher in rural areas compared to major cities. This project, with its extensive use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology, will rank 11,338 rural and remote population centres to identify geographical 'hotspots' where there is likely to be a mismatch between the demand for and actual provision of cardiovascular services.Read moreRead less
Obesity, Health, Social Disadvantage and Environment in Australia : Relationships and Policy Implications. The association between excess body fat and numerous health problems has been well documented. The significant increase in the proportion of Australians obese and overweight in the last 20 years has important implications for the well being of Australians and the costs of the health system. Developing effective policies to reverse this trend is dependant upon achieving better understandin ....Obesity, Health, Social Disadvantage and Environment in Australia : Relationships and Policy Implications. The association between excess body fat and numerous health problems has been well documented. The significant increase in the proportion of Australians obese and overweight in the last 20 years has important implications for the well being of Australians and the costs of the health system. Developing effective policies to reverse this trend is dependant upon achieving better understanding of the inter-related social, economic, environmental and medical causes of obesity and its effects. This study seeks to extend this understanding through innovative analysis of a unique survey of 4,000 adults in northwestern Adelaide and develop recommendations for effective policy intervention.Read moreRead less
Overcoming Resistance to the Introduction of a Health Informatics System in General Practice Medicine. This project takes as its starting point the investigation of why medical practitioners in a rural community have been resistant to adopt a community based health information system designed to routinely collect, analyse and disseminate information regarding patient treatment. The project seeks to identify the deeper reasons for the resistance through analysis of the broader context of informat ....Overcoming Resistance to the Introduction of a Health Informatics System in General Practice Medicine. This project takes as its starting point the investigation of why medical practitioners in a rural community have been resistant to adopt a community based health information system designed to routinely collect, analyse and disseminate information regarding patient treatment. The project seeks to identify the deeper reasons for the resistance through analysis of the broader context of information systems in General Practice Medicine, with particular attention to the way Government health informatics initiatives fit with professional and practical priorities. The project will develop guidelines for acceptability of systems in this context and contribute to the broader knowledge management literature.Read moreRead less
Heatwaves, population health, and emergency management in Australia-a qualitative study. This is the first qualitative study on emergency management mechanism to heatwaves in Australia. It will also explore relevant emergency and health specific adaptation strategies for heatwaves in different population settings. The results will help relevant government agencies for policy-making, such as public service and resource allocation, infrastructure establishment, disaster prevention and response inc ....Heatwaves, population health, and emergency management in Australia-a qualitative study. This is the first qualitative study on emergency management mechanism to heatwaves in Australia. It will also explore relevant emergency and health specific adaptation strategies for heatwaves in different population settings. The results will help relevant government agencies for policy-making, such as public service and resource allocation, infrastructure establishment, disaster prevention and response including establishing the national heatwaves response system. They will also help relevant industry for their adaptation to heatwaves, ie aged care and energy industries. The results will also benefit local communities, especially those from disadvantaged groups such as indigenous Australians and aged population.Read moreRead less
Continuous process improvement through workstation feedback for General Practice medicine using experts-in-the-loop data mining. This project investigates the iterative use of data mining results to allow experts to construct feedback to influence subsequent production work. We explore the problem in the context of General Practice medicine by having General Practitioners (GPs) review emerging patterns from their own practice's electronic medical records and author feedback to discourage undesi ....Continuous process improvement through workstation feedback for General Practice medicine using experts-in-the-loop data mining. This project investigates the iterative use of data mining results to allow experts to construct feedback to influence subsequent production work. We explore the problem in the context of General Practice medicine by having General Practitioners (GPs) review emerging patterns from their own practice's electronic medical records and author feedback to discourage undesirable patterns. The work will have immediate applicability to medical practice and will drive innovation in data mining method, notably for efficient identification of temporal and complex niche patterns. More broadly, the work will extend the way data mining is used to create new expectations of workstation behaviour.Read moreRead less
Gambling and Pathways into Homelessness. Does gambling contribute to homelessness in Australia? What aspects of gambling are most likely to contribute to the incidence of homelessness and how does this relate to other dimensions of addictive behaviour? This project examines the role of gambling as a trigger of homelessness through direct means such as evictions and loss of employment, as well as indirect pathways such as serving as a contributing to the incidence of domestic violence and famil ....Gambling and Pathways into Homelessness. Does gambling contribute to homelessness in Australia? What aspects of gambling are most likely to contribute to the incidence of homelessness and how does this relate to other dimensions of addictive behaviour? This project examines the role of gambling as a trigger of homelessness through direct means such as evictions and loss of employment, as well as indirect pathways such as serving as a contributing to the incidence of domestic violence and family breakdown. The research will examine what types of intervention - at what points in the pathway into homelessness - are likely be most effective. The research will lead to better policies and the enhanced delivery of services to this vulnerable population.Read moreRead less
The impact of haemoglobin deferral on blood donors: perceptions, health and non-return. Blood donors are an vital in ensuring the health of the Australian community. However, they are few in number and difficult to recruit. It is crucial to keep existing donors in the system so that Australia has an assured blood supply, not only for the traditional reasons (road trauma, replacement in surgery, treatment of diseases such as cancer), but also to cope with natural disasters, emergent diseases and ....The impact of haemoglobin deferral on blood donors: perceptions, health and non-return. Blood donors are an vital in ensuring the health of the Australian community. However, they are few in number and difficult to recruit. It is crucial to keep existing donors in the system so that Australia has an assured blood supply, not only for the traditional reasons (road trauma, replacement in surgery, treatment of diseases such as cancer), but also to cope with natural disasters, emergent diseases and the potential results of terrorist activities. Apart from providing new information on blood donor behaviour, the project will also contribute to more general knowledge about volunteers in the community and their role in the maintenance and development of health services.Read moreRead less
Enhancing the management of people living with chronic conditions: understanding the social space, that is, 'the consultation'. Promotion and maintenance of good health for people with chronic conditions assumes an effective consultation at a clinical meeting between health consumer and health professional. Whilst many health initiatives focus on length, format and content of the consultation, little is understood about the nature of the consultation itself, as a constructed and negotiated socia ....Enhancing the management of people living with chronic conditions: understanding the social space, that is, 'the consultation'. Promotion and maintenance of good health for people with chronic conditions assumes an effective consultation at a clinical meeting between health consumer and health professional. Whilst many health initiatives focus on length, format and content of the consultation, little is understood about the nature of the consultation itself, as a constructed and negotiated social space.
This study aims to explore and understand the social space that is "the consultation" between people living with chronic conditions and health professionals. It has potential to not only challenge assumptions about what the consultation is, or can be, but also to meet significant challenges posed by the management of chronic conditions.Read moreRead less