The Kids in Communities Study: national investigation of community level effects on children's developmental outcomes. This project (a cross-disciplinary collaboration) will investigate community level factors influencing early childhood developmental outcomes using a mixed methods approach in up to 10 communities across Australia. This will result in a potential set of measures or indicators that reflect communities that are good for children.
Psychosocial and economic impacts of rare diseases on Australian children, families and health professionals. Rare childhood diseases have enormous impacts on children and families; health services, and health professionals. This project will enable Australia to lead the international research effort by using a coordinated approach to study the impacts of rare diseases in order to improve psychosocial, health and economic outcomes for children and families.
Employment literacy:young people, job readiness and employability in Western Australia. This research will construct a model of employment literacy - a novel concept moving beyond notions of employability and social literacy - by developing a critical understanding of the personal and social characteristics that comprise a job ready young person among the clients of a range of employment services in Western Australia. Job readiness and employability are widely used to describe the desired outcom ....Employment literacy:young people, job readiness and employability in Western Australia. This research will construct a model of employment literacy - a novel concept moving beyond notions of employability and social literacy - by developing a critical understanding of the personal and social characteristics that comprise a job ready young person among the clients of a range of employment services in Western Australia. Job readiness and employability are widely used to describe the desired outcomes of employment programs, but are inadequately defined and measured. A model of employment literacy will enhance the academic literature and provide assistance to young people and organisations seeking to integrate employability skills into training and employment programs.Read moreRead less
The NSW child development study. Research shows that a child's development predicts health and social outcomes later in life. This Australian project will be the first to identify risk and protective factors associated with these outcomes in 87,000 children from birth to 10 years. The results will help inform governments to improve our children's health and educational achievements.
Executive functioning, gender, age and medication as predictors of developmental well-being among students with ADHD. This study constructs social-cognitive phenotypes of ADHD, evaluates mental health and investigates ADHD student perceptions of classroom environment and achievement in science as functions of executive functioning, gender, age and medication. The effect of standard psychostimulant intervention and a novel nonpsychostimulant option on executive function, developmental and educati ....Executive functioning, gender, age and medication as predictors of developmental well-being among students with ADHD. This study constructs social-cognitive phenotypes of ADHD, evaluates mental health and investigates ADHD student perceptions of classroom environment and achievement in science as functions of executive functioning, gender, age and medication. The effect of standard psychostimulant intervention and a novel nonpsychostimulant option on executive function, developmental and educational outcomes will be investigated. The expected outcomes will inform more effective teacher professional development, and reduce school problems associated with psychostimulant medication and its illicit distribution by students. The linkage of health and education partners meets a nationally identified need for more effective collaboration to improve education outcomes for ADHD students.Read moreRead less
Participatory Decision Making and Policy Production in Child Welfare. Our research focuses on one of the most sensitive and complex areas of citizen participation - the participation of families in child welfare decision making and policy production. The project will build practical models for participatory practices with families with young children who are engaged with child welfare services. By enhancing family members' participation in decision making and policy production this project wil ....Participatory Decision Making and Policy Production in Child Welfare. Our research focuses on one of the most sensitive and complex areas of citizen participation - the participation of families in child welfare decision making and policy production. The project will build practical models for participatory practices with families with young children who are engaged with child welfare services. By enhancing family members' participation in decision making and policy production this project will contribute to strengthening the family safety net for young vulnerable children and to the creation of policies that better recognise the diverse concerns of young families engaged in child welfare systems. Read moreRead less
Domestic air quality: towards the setting of guidelines. Air quality standards have been developed to protect human health. Although people spend most of their time indoors there are no standards and only a few guidelines for indoor air pollution (IAP). The aim of this study is to investigate the levels of IAP that may worsen asthma in children. Childhood asthma will be used as a health indicator due to its high prevalence, cost to the healthcare system and implications for respiratory morbidity ....Domestic air quality: towards the setting of guidelines. Air quality standards have been developed to protect human health. Although people spend most of their time indoors there are no standards and only a few guidelines for indoor air pollution (IAP). The aim of this study is to investigate the levels of IAP that may worsen asthma in children. Childhood asthma will be used as a health indicator due to its high prevalence, cost to the healthcare system and implications for respiratory morbidity in adult life. We expect to identify levels of IAP that will represent a health risk as well as the factors that may contribute to increased IAP in homes.Read moreRead less
iMATCH: Independent mobility, active travel and children's health. Policy interventions are used across Australia to improve children's independent mobility, to increase children's physical activity levels and social interaction, and to generate more sustainable travel behaviour, particularly for the journey to school. iMATCH provides a holistic and inter-disciplinary evaluation of policy interventions than is undertaken for most evaluations of school travel and children's travel behaviour polic ....iMATCH: Independent mobility, active travel and children's health. Policy interventions are used across Australia to improve children's independent mobility, to increase children's physical activity levels and social interaction, and to generate more sustainable travel behaviour, particularly for the journey to school. iMATCH provides a holistic and inter-disciplinary evaluation of policy interventions than is undertaken for most evaluations of school travel and children's travel behaviour policies and programs. By controlling for the influence of the built and social environment, the project will provide the necessary support to justify these policy interventions and to identify key improvements for their delivery, supporting more sustainable and healthy lifestyles for Australia's children.Read moreRead less
Our Children, Our Families, Our Place: Enabling Communities for Child Health and Wellbeing. This study focuses on community capacity building, participation and reciprocal knowledge development, early prevention and intervention, and multi-tiered intersectoral collaboration to ensure efficient use of resources and maximise positive outcomes for children. The project is set in the Peel Region of WA, among the fastest growth areas in Australia with sufficient sub-populations of interest to enable ....Our Children, Our Families, Our Place: Enabling Communities for Child Health and Wellbeing. This study focuses on community capacity building, participation and reciprocal knowledge development, early prevention and intervention, and multi-tiered intersectoral collaboration to ensure efficient use of resources and maximise positive outcomes for children. The project is set in the Peel Region of WA, among the fastest growth areas in Australia with sufficient sub-populations of interest to enable innovative multilevel statistical modelling techniques to inform other regions across Australia. In addition, the study will implement and evaluate a suite of interventions. Read moreRead less
Vulnerable families: A study of the impact of parental offending and incarceration on children's developmental outcomes. The limited evidence available suggests that parental incarceration severely compromises the development and well-being of children and increases the risk of delinquency. The financial and personal costs to the community of individuals embarking on an offending career are substantial. Significant cost-savings and prevention of victimisation could result from effectively target ....Vulnerable families: A study of the impact of parental offending and incarceration on children's developmental outcomes. The limited evidence available suggests that parental incarceration severely compromises the development and well-being of children and increases the risk of delinquency. The financial and personal costs to the community of individuals embarking on an offending career are substantial. Significant cost-savings and prevention of victimisation could result from effectively targeting this high-risk population. This research will identify where and when scarce government resources should be targeted. Appropriately timed programs can deliver a range of long-term benefits for children, families and communities. The research will also investigate the reintegration of prisoners into their families, with the aim of reducing prisoner recidivism.Read moreRead less