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
Protecting The Mental Health Of Children And Child Care Workers
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$318,768.00
Summary
Creating healthy social environments is essential to preventing mental illness. Child care is a work and care environment that is likely to influence providers’ and children’s mental health. This project uses national surveys and interviews with providers and child care services to understand how child care work environments impact on the mental health of children and providers. This knowledge will inform organisational and government changes to support good mental health in child care.
A Randomised Controlled Trial Of An Online Intervention To Improve Healthy Food Purchases From Primary School Canteens
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$725,373.00
Summary
Children use school canteens to purchase food more frequently than any other food outlet. Online canteens, where school lunches are ordered via the web, are increasingly prevalent in Australian schools. The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of integrating consumer behaviour strategies (such as menu labelling, promoting and product positioning) into an online canteen ordering system in reducing the total energy, saturated fat, sugar and sodium content of student lunch orders.
Teeth tales: A culturally competent community intervention for child oral health in low SES area of urban Melbourne. Dental caries represent the highest burden of disease for pre-school children. Disadvantaged, refugee and migrant communities face an estimated increased prevalence of 60%. Community-based health solutions that are evidence based and cross-sectoral are urgently needed. The potential impact of improved child oral health on social, emotional and learning outcomes is compelling. The ....Teeth tales: A culturally competent community intervention for child oral health in low SES area of urban Melbourne. Dental caries represent the highest burden of disease for pre-school children. Disadvantaged, refugee and migrant communities face an estimated increased prevalence of 60%. Community-based health solutions that are evidence based and cross-sectoral are urgently needed. The potential impact of improved child oral health on social, emotional and learning outcomes is compelling. The child health and service change outcomes of this study will be of direct benefit to the community and will have clear applications for other culturally diverse local government areas in Australia and other developed countries. The findings will directly inform policy/funding decision making by Dental Health Services Victoria for Victorian families and services.Read moreRead less
Peer Counseling To Improve Feeding Practices And Reduce Malnutrition In Children 0-2 Years In Bangladesh
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$951,929.00
Summary
Bangladesh faces high levels of inappropriate infant feeding leading to young child malnutrition. Effective programs are urgently needed to help reduce this burden of malnutrition. The study in poor urban communities in Dhaka City, Bangladesh will examine the impact of local women educating mothers about appropriate infant feeding. We will assess the impact of these programs on feeding practices and the growth of the infants.
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.
The impact of park renewal on park usage and park-based physical activity. The study will examine whether the refurbishment of a park located in a low socio-economic area of Melbourne has an impact on park usage and park-based physical activity. The findings will help inform the design of future parks to optimise park usage and physical activity performed within the park.
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 weighty issue of childhood obesity: an investigation of the role of junk food advertising. Australian children have been getting continuously fatter since the 1970s. The direct health cost implications amount to $830 million annually. Most fat kids also become fat adults, suggesting a future health crisis in Australia. Junk food advertising is extremely heavy during children's television and is thought to contribute greatly to childhood obesity because children are highly susceptible to t ....The weighty issue of childhood obesity: an investigation of the role of junk food advertising. Australian children have been getting continuously fatter since the 1970s. The direct health cost implications amount to $830 million annually. Most fat kids also become fat adults, suggesting a future health crisis in Australia. Junk food advertising is extremely heavy during children's television and is thought to contribute greatly to childhood obesity because children are highly susceptible to the suggestions of ads. The present research will help policy makers decide the most appropriate regulation of food advertising to children, and has the potential to reduce the proportion of Australian kids who are fat, thereby saving billions of dollars in health costs.Read moreRead less
Use Of An Online Canteen Ordering System To Implement Healthy Canteen Policies In NSW Primary Schools
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$175,303.00
Summary
Given evidence that school food policies can improve children’s dietary intake, Australian state governments have launched healthy canteen policies. However, these policies are poorly implemented. This research seeks to assess the effectiveness of an online classification tool in increasing policy compliance. The tool will be embedded in an online canteen system, and will automatically assess whether menu items are compliant as they are uploaded onto the online canteen system.