Preventing mental health problems in children: a population-based cluster controlled trial. The National Mental Health Survey (2000) found 1 in 7 children have externalising (aggression) and internalising (anxiety, depression) problems. Early mental health problems beget later problems with high costs to society, including clinical, remedial education and criminal justice services. Hence, early prevention is vital for national well-being and productivity. The few preventive early childhood progr ....Preventing mental health problems in children: a population-based cluster controlled trial. The National Mental Health Survey (2000) found 1 in 7 children have externalising (aggression) and internalising (anxiety, depression) problems. Early mental health problems beget later problems with high costs to society, including clinical, remedial education and criminal justice services. Hence, early prevention is vital for national well-being and productivity. The few preventive early childhood programs to date are limited in effectiveness and not truly population-based. The proposed parenting / family support trial aims to overcome these obstacles, by comparing and costing two approaches that can be implemented within whole communities. The trial will help clarify optimal primary care to prevent mental health problems early in life.Read moreRead less
Building A Suicide Prevention Campaign Targeted At Family Members And Friends Of Those At Risk Of Suicide
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$44,501.00
Summary
This research consists of a series of four studies that aim to identify the most appropriate messages for a suicide prevention campaign aimed at family members and friends of a person at risk of suicide. This campaign would aim to increase the likelihood that those family members and friends would identify that person's risk and intervene in an appropriate way to keep them safe and encourage them to get the professional help they need.
Implementing A Needs-based Evidence-driven Primary Health Care Workforce Planning Model To Describe The Multidisciplinary Primary Health Care Team Necessary To Deliver Best Practice In Community Mental Health Care And Prevention
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$380,104.00
Summary
Mental illness is a major source of disease burden, with high levels of unmet need, particularly in disadvantaged groups. An innovative needs-based, evidence-driven health workforce model is to be applied to mental health, to describe the multidisciplinary primary care team required to meet the mental health needs of the population. Conducting this work in partnership with government; mental health and strategic planning divisions will support evidence translation to enhance mental wellbeing.
Beyond psychopathology: Pathways to suicide in mentally well young adult males. Increased knowledge of risk factors for suicide among mentally well males can lead to better informed preventive health policies, earlier intervention and community education. The tragic impacts of suicide lead to long-term societal problems which result in disconnection and alienation, particularly for those who are left behind; findings from this study will assist development of initiatives aimed at increasing soci ....Beyond psychopathology: Pathways to suicide in mentally well young adult males. Increased knowledge of risk factors for suicide among mentally well males can lead to better informed preventive health policies, earlier intervention and community education. The tragic impacts of suicide lead to long-term societal problems which result in disconnection and alienation, particularly for those who are left behind; findings from this study will assist development of initiatives aimed at increasing social connectedness and awareness. Also, males compose the predominant workforce in Australia and the costs saved as a result of effective prevention initiatives may be enormous, given that economic costs to suicide are estimated at 900 million dollars annually. Read moreRead less
Development of a comprehensive model and programmed intervention for emotion processing deficits in childhood-onset mental health problems. This research is in the National Research Priority, promoting and maintaining good health. Mental health problems cost Australia millions of dollars every year as well as creating immeasurable social adversity for individuals and families. The proposed research represents a significant step towards reducing these costs and improving the effectiveness of earl ....Development of a comprehensive model and programmed intervention for emotion processing deficits in childhood-onset mental health problems. This research is in the National Research Priority, promoting and maintaining good health. Mental health problems cost Australia millions of dollars every year as well as creating immeasurable social adversity for individuals and families. The proposed research represents a significant step towards reducing these costs and improving the effectiveness of early intervention and prevention. The research will lead to improvements in methods for early detection of child psychopathology with potential for implementation in both community health and educational services nation-wide. The research partnership will build Australia's capacity for innovative research in the development, early intervention and treatment of mental health problems.Read moreRead less
A critical psychological investigation of nurses' experiences, understandings and perceptions of nursing eating disordered patients. This innovative project will investigate the experiences, understandings and perceptions of nurses working with eating disordered patients in hospital contexts. Nurses currently nursing eating disordered patients will be interviewed in depth using a semi-structured interview schedule. Interviews will be audio-recorded and transcribed verbatum. The interview transcr ....A critical psychological investigation of nurses' experiences, understandings and perceptions of nursing eating disordered patients. This innovative project will investigate the experiences, understandings and perceptions of nurses working with eating disordered patients in hospital contexts. Nurses currently nursing eating disordered patients will be interviewed in depth using a semi-structured interview schedule. Interviews will be audio-recorded and transcribed verbatum. The interview transcripts will then be systematically analysed using a qualitative discourse analytic methodology. The aim will be to identify the specific discursive resources that nurses use to frame and make sense of their experiences, understandings and perceptions of nursing eating disordered patients. The project has clinical and social scientific significance, and will contribute to improved treatment outcomes.Read moreRead less
Internet technologies, health informatics and statistical methods, and new delivery platforms in call centres. Although depression is the major cause of health disability, 60% of Australians with depression do not receive professional help. There are few systems for delivering health information and resilience skills to members of the community. This project aims to develop a workable system to reduce unmet need. It will provide a model of information delivery applicable to other areas of the ....Internet technologies, health informatics and statistical methods, and new delivery platforms in call centres. Although depression is the major cause of health disability, 60% of Australians with depression do not receive professional help. There are few systems for delivering health information and resilience skills to members of the community. This project aims to develop a workable system to reduce unmet need. It will provide a model of information delivery applicable to other areas of the health industry, particularly those involving chronic disease. It has applicability to education and other sectors which involve the delivery of information to the public. Because e-health is an emerging field, the project also has the capacity to build expertise in an area which is under-resourced. Read moreRead less
Maternal mental health and anaemia as determinants of infant health and development in resource constrained settings. A healthy start to life is an explicit Australian priority. Maternal health is a major determinant of the health and development of infants. This international collaborative project will contribute evidence about two maternal health conditions: mental disorders and anaemia, and their effects on infant health and development, through research in Vietnam where both are prevalent. ....Maternal mental health and anaemia as determinants of infant health and development in resource constrained settings. A healthy start to life is an explicit Australian priority. Maternal health is a major determinant of the health and development of infants. This international collaborative project will contribute evidence about two maternal health conditions: mental disorders and anaemia, and their effects on infant health and development, through research in Vietnam where both are prevalent. The findings will inform interventions to improve the health of mothers and infants in all resource-constrained settings, including among indigenous and refugee groups in Australia. It will advance Australia's international relations by strengthening a partnership with Viet Nam and contributing to a World Health Organization priority area. Read moreRead less
Diagnosis of depressive disorder and risk for depression in adolescents using acoustic speech analysis. Depression is the most common mental health problem in young people in Australia. Early diagnosis can minimise the disturbance of typical functioning and development of social and academic skills. Current assessment techniques consume significant time in urgent clinical situations, where an immediate assessment of risk is required. An automatic diagnostic system will provide an important objec ....Diagnosis of depressive disorder and risk for depression in adolescents using acoustic speech analysis. Depression is the most common mental health problem in young people in Australia. Early diagnosis can minimise the disturbance of typical functioning and development of social and academic skills. Current assessment techniques consume significant time in urgent clinical situations, where an immediate assessment of risk is required. An automatic diagnostic system will provide an important objective indicator giving an immediate quantitative assessment of the mental state of a patient. The quantitative measure given by the diagnostic system proposed will give physicians and therapists an improved metric by which they can gauge the effectiveness of various treatments in reducing depression and suicidality. Read moreRead less
Identifying Models of Personal and Community Resilience that enhance Psychological Wellness: A Stanthorpe Study. There are significant mental health problems in rural and remote Australia. Researchers in Australia are only just beginning to investigate mental health, and prevention is identified as a primary focus. A new innovative approach to mental health prevention is identifying and using characteristics that will enhance individual and community psychological wellness. Resilience has been i ....Identifying Models of Personal and Community Resilience that enhance Psychological Wellness: A Stanthorpe Study. There are significant mental health problems in rural and remote Australia. Researchers in Australia are only just beginning to investigate mental health, and prevention is identified as a primary focus. A new innovative approach to mental health prevention is identifying and using characteristics that will enhance individual and community psychological wellness. Resilience has been identified as one of those characteristics. The aim of this project is to work collaboratively with key stakeholders from a rural community (Stanthorpe in South East Queensland) to develop, implement, and evaluate a model that enhances psychological wellness in rural people and communities.Read moreRead less