Psychosocial influences determining Australians' sun safe practices: An examination of attitudes, norms, and control perceptions. Skin cancer accounts for approximately 80% of all new cancers diagnosed annually in Australia. As the performance of sun safe practices is dependent on individual decision-making processes, it is vital to understand the motivations underlying people's sun-protective actions. Identification of the important predictors of motivations to sun-protect will assist in develo ....Psychosocial influences determining Australians' sun safe practices: An examination of attitudes, norms, and control perceptions. Skin cancer accounts for approximately 80% of all new cancers diagnosed annually in Australia. As the performance of sun safe practices is dependent on individual decision-making processes, it is vital to understand the motivations underlying people's sun-protective actions. Identification of the important predictors of motivations to sun-protect will assist in developing specific in-class and online intervention strategies to increase people's performance of sun safety behaviours. The results of the proposed research have significant implications for reducing the incidence of non-melanoma and melanoma skin cancer and sun-related damage in a high risk context, ultimately reducing skin-cancer morbidity and mortality rates.Read moreRead less
Online relationship therapy supporting those affected by substance use. This project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of an online relationship therapy program for those experiencing relationship dysfunction and where one or both partners engage in problematic substance use. In doing so, the project addresses a major service gap, specifically, the lack of online programs to support this population in developing and maintaining positive romantic relationships. The expected outcomes include redu ....Online relationship therapy supporting those affected by substance use. This project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of an online relationship therapy program for those experiencing relationship dysfunction and where one or both partners engage in problematic substance use. In doing so, the project addresses a major service gap, specifically, the lack of online programs to support this population in developing and maintaining positive romantic relationships. The expected outcomes include reduced relationship conflict, intimate partner violence, and relationship breakdown. The project's potential for wide-scale roll out will yield far-reaching benefits for Australian couples and families dealing with substance problems by enhancing relationship skills and fostering relationship stability.Read moreRead less
Establishing safe driving practice: Improving young learner driver training. This project plans to develop a best-practice model to enable professional instructors to teach essential higher-order skills (e.g. hazard perception) to young learner drivers to establish safe driving behaviours. Australian young drivers aged 17–25 years comprise 13 per cent of the population but 22 per cent of road deaths. More effective teaching models are expected to reduce young drivers’ crash risk when they drive ....Establishing safe driving practice: Improving young learner driver training. This project plans to develop a best-practice model to enable professional instructors to teach essential higher-order skills (e.g. hazard perception) to young learner drivers to establish safe driving behaviours. Australian young drivers aged 17–25 years comprise 13 per cent of the population but 22 per cent of road deaths. More effective teaching models are expected to reduce young drivers’ crash risk when they drive unsupervised. The project aims to develop and assess the effectiveness of the model including the impact on instructor teaching practices, and changes in young driver skills, attitudes, and driving behaviours including crashes and offences. It also aims to assess instructor and young driver perceptions of the model.Read moreRead less
Recruiting and retaining Australian blood donors: A social-psychological analysis of the role of attitudes, identity, and norms. There has been little theory-based research examining the psychosocial predictors of blood donation, especially repeat blood donation, within an Australian context. This research seeks to assess the role of attitudes, identity and norms in predicting blood donation within rural and urban settings (Study 1) and for repeat blood donation amongst early career donors (Stud ....Recruiting and retaining Australian blood donors: A social-psychological analysis of the role of attitudes, identity, and norms. There has been little theory-based research examining the psychosocial predictors of blood donation, especially repeat blood donation, within an Australian context. This research seeks to assess the role of attitudes, identity and norms in predicting blood donation within rural and urban settings (Study 1) and for repeat blood donation amongst early career donors (Study 2). Study 3 will comprise two interventions designed to promote attitudinal and behavioural change for both blood donation initiation amongst current non-donors and repeat blood donation for early career donors. Identifying the predictors of blood donation for new and repeat donors will assist in the provision of this vital service within Australian health care settings.Read moreRead less
A community based social identity approach to loneliness. Loneliness across Australia is a deep concern. Social prescribing is a novel community-based approach to managing loneliness, however it is unclear when and in what circumstances it is effective. This project aims to test a social identity approach to loneliness, incorporating longitudinal, cross-sectional, and experimental methods to understand how best to engage isolated people in group programs. The expected benefits of this project ar ....A community based social identity approach to loneliness. Loneliness across Australia is a deep concern. Social prescribing is a novel community-based approach to managing loneliness, however it is unclear when and in what circumstances it is effective. This project aims to test a social identity approach to loneliness, incorporating longitudinal, cross-sectional, and experimental methods to understand how best to engage isolated people in group programs. The expected benefits of this project are to produce a validated social prescribing model that can be implemented in multiple settings across Australia in order to reduce loneliness, strengthen communities, and guide more appropriate uses of health services.Read moreRead less
Celebrate. Remember. Fight Back. Episodic Volunteering for Non-Profits. This project seeks to improve the policy and practice of volunteer involvement in the non-profit sector. Non-profit organisations rely on volunteers, and their capacity to deliver vital community services is threatened by the decrease in long-term, continuous volunteering and increase in episodic (short-term, flexible) volunteering. The interdisciplinary project aims to use mixed methods (qualitative interviews and quantitat ....Celebrate. Remember. Fight Back. Episodic Volunteering for Non-Profits. This project seeks to improve the policy and practice of volunteer involvement in the non-profit sector. Non-profit organisations rely on volunteers, and their capacity to deliver vital community services is threatened by the decrease in long-term, continuous volunteering and increase in episodic (short-term, flexible) volunteering. The interdisciplinary project aims to use mixed methods (qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys) and multiple perspectives (volunteers and staff who manage them) to develop an episodic volunteering definition; to explore the economic and social impact of episodic volunteering, and to develop a theoretical model of volunteer retention. The findings are intended to provide an evidence base and recommendations for non-profit sector policy and practice.Read moreRead less
Leveraging lived experience to prevent burnout among healthcare workers. Providing treatment for people with mental health problems or misuse of alcohol and drugs can be emotionally taxing, making staff particularly susceptible to client-related burnout. This proposal aims to examine whether staff who have lived-experience of the issues faced by their clients are buffered from this form of burnout. The proposal further examines whether this buffering effect is brought about by changes in empath .... Leveraging lived experience to prevent burnout among healthcare workers. Providing treatment for people with mental health problems or misuse of alcohol and drugs can be emotionally taxing, making staff particularly susceptible to client-related burnout. This proposal aims to examine whether staff who have lived-experience of the issues faced by their clients are buffered from this form of burnout. The proposal further examines whether this buffering effect is brought about by changes in empathy, attributions, and recovery knowledge from lived-experience. The outcomes of this research will provide the knowledge base to enable future research to develop interventions to reduce burnout, thereby boosting resilience, engagement, and longevity among healthcare staff – ultimately improving client outcomes.Read moreRead less
Developing and evaluating a theoretically grounded novice driver education program incorporating simulators. Australian young drivers are 13 per cent of the population but account for nearly a quarter of road deaths. This project aims to develop a research informed, theory-driven education intervention that includes a simulator component to improve their driving skills and attitudes. A process and outcome evaluation aims to assess the effectiveness of the training including the impact on how ind ....Developing and evaluating a theoretically grounded novice driver education program incorporating simulators. Australian young drivers are 13 per cent of the population but account for nearly a quarter of road deaths. This project aims to develop a research informed, theory-driven education intervention that includes a simulator component to improve their driving skills and attitudes. A process and outcome evaluation aims to assess the effectiveness of the training including the impact on how individuals learn to drive, changes in skill and attitudes as well as the influence on crashes and offences. It is intended that a second parallel study will adapt the intervention for Indigenous Australians and examine the effectiveness of this adaptation.Read moreRead less
Age Matters: Barriers and solutions to employment of older adults. With an ageing Australian population, research is needed to identify barriers that prevent older people being employed in the workforce. This project aims to identify whether employers use different standards when assessing the employability of younger and older workers and to develop strategies to overcome the use of different standards. This project will provide innovative ways for employers to implement successful strategies f ....Age Matters: Barriers and solutions to employment of older adults. With an ageing Australian population, research is needed to identify barriers that prevent older people being employed in the workforce. This project aims to identify whether employers use different standards when assessing the employability of younger and older workers and to develop strategies to overcome the use of different standards. This project will provide innovative ways for employers to implement successful strategies for promoting equal opportunity for older workers. Furthermore, this knowledge will assist policy makers and employment agencies. Finding ways to overcome barriers to older adult recruitment is of major significance for Australia's future economy and social well-being.Read moreRead less
Psychological factors that lead to risky, aggressive, and impaired driving. Road accidents are a preventable cause of serious physical injury, psychological distress (e.g., PTSD) and in many cases, death. The annual financial cost of road accidents in Australia is estimated at over $18 billion. This project will help to reduce the economic and social costs of road accidents by identifying when risky, aggressive, and impaired driving will occur and who will be most likely to commit these behaviou ....Psychological factors that lead to risky, aggressive, and impaired driving. Road accidents are a preventable cause of serious physical injury, psychological distress (e.g., PTSD) and in many cases, death. The annual financial cost of road accidents in Australia is estimated at over $18 billion. This project will help to reduce the economic and social costs of road accidents by identifying when risky, aggressive, and impaired driving will occur and who will be most likely to commit these behaviours. The groundbreaking nature of this proposed project will ensure that Australia is at the forefront of driving safety research, thereby contributing to Australia's international profile for conducting influential and cutting-edge experimental research.Read moreRead less