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 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.
Child health and developmental inequities: Evidence for precision policy. The project aims to use cutting edge analytic approaches applied to existing data to identify how policy interventions related to parents’ mental health, preschool programs, and the built environment can be optimised to reduce inequities in children’s mental, academic, and physical health outcomes. The project will be informed by our partners and advisers from across government portfolios and service delivery, ensuring tha ....Child health and developmental inequities: Evidence for precision policy. The project aims to use cutting edge analytic approaches applied to existing data to identify how policy interventions related to parents’ mental health, preschool programs, and the built environment can be optimised to reduce inequities in children’s mental, academic, and physical health outcomes. The project will be informed by our partners and advisers from across government portfolios and service delivery, ensuring that the evidence generated has contemporary policy relevance. The project expects to identify clear and actionable policy pathways to reduce child inequities in Australia, which can benefit decision makers by helping them to direct limited public funds towards intervention opportunities that will have the greatest impact.Read moreRead less
Making nursing work: Developing a national framework for advanced practice in nursing. Advanced practice nursing (APN) is closing service gaps in delivery of health care across a range of settings for an aging population that is increasingly chronically ill. Development of APN has been rapid, resulting in confusion about the role and service potential. The lack of a common meaning of APN is prohibiting effective utilisation of the nursing workforce and causing confusion within nursing, the healt ....Making nursing work: Developing a national framework for advanced practice in nursing. Advanced practice nursing (APN) is closing service gaps in delivery of health care across a range of settings for an aging population that is increasingly chronically ill. Development of APN has been rapid, resulting in confusion about the role and service potential. The lack of a common meaning of APN is prohibiting effective utilisation of the nursing workforce and causing confusion within nursing, the health care industry and the community. The project aims to conduct the first nationwide study of advanced practice nurses, their clinical activities and service patterns. The research aims to develop new knowledge and professional tools and provide an evidence base for nursing workforce reform to meet the imperatives of contemporary health services.Read moreRead less
A study investigating the feasibility of implementing a national approach to child and family health services. Understanding and strengthening the way in which universal health services are provided to pregnant women, children and families has the potential to impact over a million Australian families annually. The findings of this study will have national application as federal, state and territory governments work towards implementing a national approach to child and family health services. Th ....A study investigating the feasibility of implementing a national approach to child and family health services. Understanding and strengthening the way in which universal health services are provided to pregnant women, children and families has the potential to impact over a million Australian families annually. The findings of this study will have national application as federal, state and territory governments work towards implementing a national approach to child and family health services. The findings will inform effective multidisciplinary collaboration and service integration, address service gaps and duplication and lead to increased access to services. This study will generate new knowledge about characteristics of organisations, service delivery and professions that facilitate or hinder innovation.Read moreRead less
A new quality of life instrument with older people for economic evaluation. This project aims to develop and validate a new preference-based quality-of-life instrument with applications in aged-care. The new instrument will be developed with older people receiving aged care services, and will focus upon incorporating their values into the measurement and valuation of quality of life for economic evaluation. The new instrument will have immediate applications in quality assessment and economic ev ....A new quality of life instrument with older people for economic evaluation. This project aims to develop and validate a new preference-based quality-of-life instrument with applications in aged-care. The new instrument will be developed with older people receiving aged care services, and will focus upon incorporating their values into the measurement and valuation of quality of life for economic evaluation. The new instrument will have immediate applications in quality assessment and economic evaluation, improving the quality of life and wellbeing of older Australians, and will assist in determining the relative cost effectiveness of new and existing services.
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A longitudinal study of patterns of contraception use and access to contraceptive information, advice and services for young Australian women. This study will inform the design of contraceptive education and service delivery, particularly to young women in rural areas, in collaboration with industry partners; Family Planning NSW and Bayer HealthCare. Improved education and access, leading to increased control of fertility, will contribute to the development of stronger families and stronger comm ....A longitudinal study of patterns of contraception use and access to contraceptive information, advice and services for young Australian women. This study will inform the design of contraceptive education and service delivery, particularly to young women in rural areas, in collaboration with industry partners; Family Planning NSW and Bayer HealthCare. Improved education and access, leading to increased control of fertility, will contribute to the development of stronger families and stronger communities, while reducing the personal, social and economic costs of unplanned pregnancies.Read moreRead less
A health economic model for the development and evaluation of innovations in aged care: an application to consumer directed care. This project will investigate the preferences, quality of life outcomes and cost effectiveness of a new consumer directed care approach to community aged care service delivery for older people. The applicability of a health economic model in the development and economic evaluation of innovations in aged care service delivery will be demonstrated.
Engaging the public in healthcare decision making: quantifying preferences for healthcare through Citizens’ Juries. This project promotes public engagement and quantifies preferences in key areas of relevance to the industry partners Queensland Health and South Australia Health. These areas identified are elective surgery priorities, optimising appropriate use of emergency care, and interventions for obesity. A series of choice experiments and citizens' juries will be used. The project will f ....Engaging the public in healthcare decision making: quantifying preferences for healthcare through Citizens’ Juries. This project promotes public engagement and quantifies preferences in key areas of relevance to the industry partners Queensland Health and South Australia Health. These areas identified are elective surgery priorities, optimising appropriate use of emergency care, and interventions for obesity. A series of choice experiments and citizens' juries will be used. The project will facilitate identification and application of optimal methods for engaging the public in healthcare decision-making, provide guidance on the appropriate population groups to consider when eliciting consumer preferences, and provide direct public input to guide health policy. The approach will be able to be applied to different policy areas.Read moreRead less
Children Walking Well. Healthy feet in childhood are the foundation for musculoskeletal health and mobility throughout life. However, little is known about the effect of shoes worn on children. This Australian project is the first to address this shortcoming. A multidisciplinary team will investigate: factors contributing to consumer decision-making; footwear usage and selection; and the relationship between footwear styles, anatomical profile, biomechanics and physical activity. From our id ....Children Walking Well. Healthy feet in childhood are the foundation for musculoskeletal health and mobility throughout life. However, little is known about the effect of shoes worn on children. This Australian project is the first to address this shortcoming. A multidisciplinary team will investigate: factors contributing to consumer decision-making; footwear usage and selection; and the relationship between footwear styles, anatomical profile, biomechanics and physical activity. From our identification of mismatches between evidence of the relationship between shoes and function and current stakeholder knowledge and decision-making, we will make recommendations for how shoe manufacturers and health professionals can promote healthy feet in children.Read moreRead less