Progressing Life Course Research In Psychiatric Epidemiology
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$331,674.00
Summary
Mental health and alcohol disorders are major public health problems which cause long-term disabilities, poor health and early mortality. Addressing these problems requires a better understanding of the early factors leading to these disorders. This research program represents a unique opportunity to increase our knowledge of the origins of these disorders and significantly contribute to improved mental health and alcohol prevention policies and programs.
Alcohol Control, Consumption And Consequences: Time Series Analyses Of The Australian Experience
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$308,631.00
Summary
The study will be the first in Australia to systematically examine the relationships between population level alcohol consumption and mortality from specific causes such as liver disease, injuries and heart disease, with significant implications for epidemiology and health policy. The study will also undertake rigorous evaluations of the impact of historic changes to alcohol policies, which will provide evidence which can be used to guide future alcohol policy.
Reducing The Injury And Disease Burden Attributable To Alcohol: Methodological, Aetiological And Intervention Studies.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$408,412.00
Summary
The research examines the influence of individual, social and environmental factors on drinking behaviour, and seeks to determine the effectiveness of strategies to prevent alcohol-related harm, with a particular focus on youth drinking. A series of studies is proposed, examining the validity of methods for measuring drinking behaviour; social and environmental factors, and interventions. The findings will have relevance to reducing the burden of alcohol-related injury and disease in Australia.
Australian Vietnam Veterans Health Study: Cohort Wave 2
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$575,250.00
Summary
Military records show that Australia has committed troops to war since the time of the Boer War, continuing commitments through World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Malaya Emergency, the Vietnam Conflict, the Gulf War, and numerous peacekeeping operations across the world, yet there has never been an epidemiological cohort study that tracked the path of their health and their lives after their return. This study will provide an approximate 10-year followup of an established cohort of Austral ....Military records show that Australia has committed troops to war since the time of the Boer War, continuing commitments through World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Malaya Emergency, the Vietnam Conflict, the Gulf War, and numerous peacekeeping operations across the world, yet there has never been an epidemiological cohort study that tracked the path of their health and their lives after their return. This study will provide an approximate 10-year followup of an established cohort of Australian Vietnam veterans, which was the first such study ever conducted of returned Australian servicemen. It will test diagnostic stability and chart the trajectory of health and welfare over time in the men and relate this to possible causal determinants including military service, combat deployment and trauma exposure, post traumatic stress disorder and alcohol disorders. It will also allow us to examine the role of their previous health state, determined 10 years ago, in relation to their current health state. Data and methodology from the Australian Bureau of Statistics national surveys on physical and mental health will be incorporated so that comparisons can be made with Australian population data for the study group. Significantly, wave 1 preceded automatic compensation for veterans for cancer and PTSD; provoked the DVA's national survey that led to a $32M government program response; fed into the DVA mental health policy; fed into the Army selection guidelines for overseas service via the Psychology Corps; fed into DVA policy re Vietnam Veterans Counselling Service. Wave 2 will continue this informative process as the cohort ages. This study will provide a firmer basis for treatment of war veterans and others whose lives are visited by trauma, physical ill-health, alcohol disorders, or mental health problems in adulthood.Read moreRead less
Psychosocial Disorders Of Youth: A Population-based Prospective Study Into Young Adulthood
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$450,939.00
Summary
Much earlier work in adults has pointed to the teens as a common point at which many of the important causes of chronic disease and disability in adults begin. These include problems such as tobacco use, depression and anxiety disorders, obesity, alcohol abuse and illicit drug use. However, only a prospective study is able to clarify to what extent common health risk behaviours of teenagers pose a threat to later health and well-being and what characteristics indicate those most likely to go on ....Much earlier work in adults has pointed to the teens as a common point at which many of the important causes of chronic disease and disability in adults begin. These include problems such as tobacco use, depression and anxiety disorders, obesity, alcohol abuse and illicit drug use. However, only a prospective study is able to clarify to what extent common health risk behaviours of teenagers pose a threat to later health and well-being and what characteristics indicate those most likely to go on to problems such as nicotine dependence, recurrent depression and illicit drug abuse. The proposal deals with the follow-up ten years on of a representative sample of 2000 Victorian teenagers. Seven earlier waves of data collections have ascertained levels and risk factors for common behavioural and mental health problems in the teens and early twenties. These problems included depression and anxiety, smoking, heavy alcohol consumption, illicit drug use, deliberate self-harm, obesity, eating disorder, sexually risky behaviour, intravenous drug use, antisocial behaviours and accidental injury. This follow-up of participants at the age of 24 to 25 years will ascertain persisting rates of these problems including levels of substance dependence and mental disorder. Social outcomes such as educational achievement, employment, relationships, parenthood and friendships will be ascertained. In addition mouth washes will be used to collect DNA to allow investigation of genes that may make a contribution to more severe mental disorder and substance dependency. This study will give a clear picture of the outcome and consquences of common adolescent health problems. It will also clarify further psychosocial factors that contribute to their onset or outcome. Together with an analysis of candidate genes the study should make a great contribution to the information necessary for planning effective preventive intervention.Read moreRead less
A Prospective Study Of Health, Social And Forensic Outcomes In Young Offenders.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$189,000.00
Summary
In our environment of increasing illicit drug abuse and violent crime, there is an urgent need to gain an understanding of the forensic, health and social factors leading to offending by young people in Australia. Little research has been conducted worldwide looking at the health profile of young people offending across the entire spectrum of seriousness, and we could not find any studies examining this population in Australia. Most reports concern offenders who have received custodial sentences ....In our environment of increasing illicit drug abuse and violent crime, there is an urgent need to gain an understanding of the forensic, health and social factors leading to offending by young people in Australia. Little research has been conducted worldwide looking at the health profile of young people offending across the entire spectrum of seriousness, and we could not find any studies examining this population in Australia. Most reports concern offenders who have received custodial sentences, the most serious end of the offending spectrum. Furthermore, overseas studies are of limited usefulness in the Australian context, as it is difficult to apply observations from communities where the social, ethnic and crime profile may be markedly dissimilar. We propose to interview 450 young people immediately after they obtain their first sentence, usually a community-based order. The problems we will ask about include depression and anxiety, heavy alcohol consumption, heavy use of cannabis and other illegal drugs, deliberate self harm, sexual risk taking behaviour and offending behaviour. We will also ask about the social circumstances, friends and family structure and support. We will then repeat this interview six months later. In addition, we will monitor the participants' compliance with their order, treatment programs they may be on and re-offending until the end of data collection. The study will give us the basis to examine continuity and inter-relationship between problems such as depression and substance abuse, social factors and continued offending. Further, the study will establish a framework to follow-up these young offenders in the medium and long-term. The development of this sound and thorough research program will provide a rational basis for the planning of preventative interventions, aimed at improving the health and welfare and at reducing recidivism in this marginalised and often disadvantaged group of young people.Read moreRead less