Exploring The Potential For Built Environment Intervention To Improve Adult And Child Physical Activity And Health
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$309,428.00
Summary
Health-promoting behaviours - such as physical activity - that are maintained from childhood to adulthood have a positive effect on health status. My research will examine aspects of the built environment associated with child behaviour, health and development and use these findings to formulate recommendations to key stakeholders for the design of user-friendly, active-living environments for children and interventions targeting adults.
Food advertising to children: evaluation of diverse regulatory models. Food advertising to children on television typically portrays energy-dense, low-nutrient products as sources of fun or social acceptance. The effect of this advertising on the increasing problem of childhood obesity is a matter of concern and debate.
The current regulatory regime in Australia for such advertising does not effectively incorporate the views of all stakeholders, and so overemphasises the views of the TV indus ....Food advertising to children: evaluation of diverse regulatory models. Food advertising to children on television typically portrays energy-dense, low-nutrient products as sources of fun or social acceptance. The effect of this advertising on the increasing problem of childhood obesity is a matter of concern and debate.
The current regulatory regime in Australia for such advertising does not effectively incorporate the views of all stakeholders, and so overemphasises the views of the TV industry and the advertisers.
This study will advance the development of an effective regime for regulating food advertising to children in Australia, by analysing and evaluating models in other jurisdictions.
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Mental Health First Aid Training for Teachers: Development, Evaluation and Dissemination. The project aims to provide teachers with training that will assist them to recognize mental health problems which are developing in students and to take appropriate action so that the student gets professional help.
Making prevention matter: Establishing characteristics of effective child sexual abuse prevention programs. Child sexual abuse is a significant public health problem requiring intervention and prevention. School-based child sexual abuse prevention programs aim to educate children to protect themselves and teach adults skills for protecting children. But programs vary widely in their quality and there is inadequate information available to guide program choice. This fundamental research, undertak ....Making prevention matter: Establishing characteristics of effective child sexual abuse prevention programs. Child sexual abuse is a significant public health problem requiring intervention and prevention. School-based child sexual abuse prevention programs aim to educate children to protect themselves and teach adults skills for protecting children. But programs vary widely in their quality and there is inadequate information available to guide program choice. This fundamental research, undertakes the necessary first steps towards implementing high quality, evidence-based child sexual abuse prevention programs. It will develop an overarching evidence-based conceptual framework for program design and evaluation thus advancing Australia's responses to child protection and enhancing children's healthy start to life.Read moreRead less
Using advertising to negatively reconstruct memories of risky and high-risk drinking amongst Australia's youth : a new intervention strategy. The NHMRC recognises alcohol-related problems as one of Australia's most serious health problems. Binge-drinking in particular is endemic amongst the population, especially youth, with such behaviour resulting in enormous economic, social and emotional costs to our nation. This study works towards reducing binge drinking amongst youth by assisting the de ....Using advertising to negatively reconstruct memories of risky and high-risk drinking amongst Australia's youth : a new intervention strategy. The NHMRC recognises alcohol-related problems as one of Australia's most serious health problems. Binge-drinking in particular is endemic amongst the population, especially youth, with such behaviour resulting in enormous economic, social and emotional costs to our nation. This study works towards reducing binge drinking amongst youth by assisting the development of more effective counter-advertising campaigns that make young people's memories of binge-drinking less enjoyable & more unpleasant. It also assists relevant advertising regulators & key decision-makers to take action to ensure that alcohol ads do not spawn primarily attractive memories of binge-drinking experiences.Read moreRead less
A study of contemporary family, social and cultural influences on first-time mothers' decisions about infant feeding and early parenting practices. Children who are never breastfed are more likely to experience respiratory infections, gastroenteritis, diabetes and as adults, high blood pressure, obesity and type-2 diabetes. This study of infant feeding decision-making in first-time mothers will inform strategies, grounded in the daily lives of women and families to assist mothers to breastfeed f ....A study of contemporary family, social and cultural influences on first-time mothers' decisions about infant feeding and early parenting practices. Children who are never breastfed are more likely to experience respiratory infections, gastroenteritis, diabetes and as adults, high blood pressure, obesity and type-2 diabetes. This study of infant feeding decision-making in first-time mothers will inform strategies, grounded in the daily lives of women and families to assist mothers to breastfeed for longer particularly in communities where breastfeeding is not the norm. Increased support for breastfeeding women from family, community and health professionals is likely to reduce the distress reported by many new mothers. Strategic application of findings will lead to health gains from increased breastfeeding and translate into significant cost savings for the Australian health system. Read moreRead less
Young people, preventive health discourses and self care. Preventive health approaches aim to enhance health through enabling individuals to engage in health care practices. Health has become a key aspect in how people contruct their identities. Whilist young people are a key target for preventive health messages, little is known about the impact of these messages on their sense of self. This project will analyse how young people internalise preventive health messages. This ethnographic resear ....Young people, preventive health discourses and self care. Preventive health approaches aim to enhance health through enabling individuals to engage in health care practices. Health has become a key aspect in how people contruct their identities. Whilist young people are a key target for preventive health messages, little is known about the impact of these messages on their sense of self. This project will analyse how young people internalise preventive health messages. This ethnographic research examines how health messages about drug use, motherhood and physical activity shape young people and their bodies. It compares the consequences accross three arenas, of engaging successfully and unsuccessfully with self care practices.Read moreRead less
Increasing Physical Activity Among Young Children From Disadvantaged Communities: A Group Randomised Controlled Effectiveness Trial.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,107,309.00
Summary
This project will evaluate the impact of a multi-level, multi-setting program to promote physical activity and movement skills among pre-school-aged children in disadvantaged communities. It will target the professional development of childcare educators and of parents. Childcare centres will be linked to the Early Start Facility at the University of Wollongong using state-of-the-art technology providing a unique opportunity to work with educators and parents in regional and remote areas.
Enhanced Methods Of Communicating Correct Use Of Child Car Restraints: A Controlled Trial
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$720,599.00
Summary
Working with our associate investigators from the Australian and European child restraint industry, we will conduct a controlled trial of enhanced methods of communicating correct use of child car restraints with product information supplied at the point of sale.
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