Understanding The Connections Between Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Culture, Health And Wellbeing To Support Action To Improve Outcomes
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,915,802.00
Summary
Little is known about the inter-relationship of cultural factors and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health outcomes and these relationships have not been quantified. Through a large cohort study, this research will produce data that combines standard health measures with newly developed quantitative measures of cultural factors, supported by data linkage infrastructure. Robust analytical methods will be used to inform policy and program development.
Methylation-sensitive T Cell Genes And Childhood Food Allergy.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$461,232.00
Summary
Australia has the highest reported prevalence food allergy in the world. Despite this, little is known about how allergy develops. Mounting evidence implicates environmentally induced disruption of the genetic blueprint via a process known as epigenetics. We are combining the strengths of food challenge proven food allergy with assessment of immune functioning & cutting edge genomics, to extensively characterise the pathways leading to food allergy in children.
Methylation Sensitive Genes And The Transition To Allergic Disease: A Twin Study
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$493,843.00
Summary
Australia has amongst the highest reported prevalence allergic conditions (including asthma) in the world. Despite this, little is known about how these conditions arise. Mounting evidence implicates environmentally induced disruption of the genetic blueprint via a process known as epigenetics. We are combining the strengths of a unique collection of identical twins where one of a pair is sensitive to house dust mite, with cutting edge genomics, to characterise the pathways leading to allergy in ....Australia has amongst the highest reported prevalence allergic conditions (including asthma) in the world. Despite this, little is known about how these conditions arise. Mounting evidence implicates environmentally induced disruption of the genetic blueprint via a process known as epigenetics. We are combining the strengths of a unique collection of identical twins where one of a pair is sensitive to house dust mite, with cutting edge genomics, to characterise the pathways leading to allergy in children.Read moreRead less
Chronic Disease Outcomes And Enhanced Primary Care In Seniors: A Cross-Jurisdictional Linkage Project
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,077,766.00
Summary
This project will provide evidence on how best to use the efforts of Australian GPs to obtain better outcomes in patients aged 65+ years who suffer from chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure, asthma and emphysema, seizures and stomach disorders. It will also examine the best way that GP visits can promote healthier ageing in all older seniors, aged 75+ years. For each disease and in older seniors, the study will be able to detect which of the following factors ....This project will provide evidence on how best to use the efforts of Australian GPs to obtain better outcomes in patients aged 65+ years who suffer from chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure, asthma and emphysema, seizures and stomach disorders. It will also examine the best way that GP visits can promote healthier ageing in all older seniors, aged 75+ years. For each disease and in older seniors, the study will be able to detect which of the following factors are the most important for better patient health: (i) seeing a GP more times, (ii) seeing a GP at more even intervals, (iii) seeing the same GP, or (iv) seeing a GP with a lot of experience in chronic diseases. Separate investigations will be made in older people living in hostels and nursing homes, because their needs may be different. The study will also evaluate the benefits of a major change that occurred to Medicare in 1999, when GPs were paid to perform health assessments and to prepare health plans (with other health workers) for patients with chronic health problems. The results will enable this important initiative to be further improved. The study will use a unique and new Australian research facility, which has brought together health data on the entire population of WA from both the State and Commonwealth levels, including information on Medicare use, pharmaceuticals, hospital stays and deaths. The facility works in such a way as to preserve patient and GP privacy. A strong feature of this research will be the degree of involvement of a representative and voluntary group of older Australian patients who attend GP clinics, and the GPs themselves, in advising the researchers on what's important to consumers and GPs.Read moreRead less
Early Nutrition, Epigenetics And Developmental Outcomes In Children.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$550,093.00
Summary
Increasing evidence demonstrates that early nutrition, including in pregnancy, has long lasting programming effects on later health of children. Evidence implicates epigenetics (literally ‘above DNA’) in mediating these effects. The most convincing data exists for obesity and related disorders such as metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and heart disease. The focus of this project is on understanding how ‘epigenetic’ mechanisms are influencing the way our genes function to cause these disorders.
Improving Medication Safety In Seniors: A Cross-Jurisdictional Linkage Project
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$636,717.00
Summary
The project will identify priorities for tackling the current epidemic of hospitalisation of Australians aged 65+ years due to side effects of their medications. Two different groups of medications will be investigated. The first will be the prescribed drugs most often recorded as causes of hospital stay, including those taken to stop blood clotting, for high blood pressure and other cardiovascular problems, for rheumatism or strong pain relief, anti-cancer drugs and steroids. The study will exa ....The project will identify priorities for tackling the current epidemic of hospitalisation of Australians aged 65+ years due to side effects of their medications. Two different groups of medications will be investigated. The first will be the prescribed drugs most often recorded as causes of hospital stay, including those taken to stop blood clotting, for high blood pressure and other cardiovascular problems, for rheumatism or strong pain relief, anti-cancer drugs and steroids. The study will examine which of these drugs taken under what circumstances has the highest risk, so prevention can be better targeted. The study will investigate if adequate laboratory monitoring of the anti- clotting drugs is taking place and whether the guidelines should be updated. The second group will be 68 medications that should be avoided in seniors according to an international expert panel. The research will see how often these 'inappropriate medications' are still prescribed in the Australian setting, and the size of their contributions to unplanned hospital stays. The researchers suspect that this problem is much larger than immediately apparent from routine statistics, because many of the side effects of inappropriate medications are non-specific, such as confusion, drowsiness or difficulty standing up, thus putting seniors at risk of falls and neglect of other aspects of their health. The study will use a unique and new Australian research facility, which has brought together health data on the entire population of WA from both the State and Commonwealth levels, including information on pharmaceuticals, Medicare use, hospital stays and deaths. The facility works in such a way as to preserve patient and GP privacy. A strong feature of this research will be the degree of involvement of a representative and voluntary group of older Australian patients who attend GP clinics, and the GPs themselves, in advising the researchers on what's important to consumers and GPs.Read moreRead less
Authenticity: Globalisation and Indigenous Culture. Who speaks for the Fourth World? Why is there an obsession with 'authenticity' whenever Indigenous people are being discussed? This study explores those questions by examining a combination of sources, ranging from international museum collections to the advertising campaigns of multinational companies; from literature to the cultural festivals of the Olympic Games. The research is original, comparative, empirical. It explores the intersectio ....Authenticity: Globalisation and Indigenous Culture. Who speaks for the Fourth World? Why is there an obsession with 'authenticity' whenever Indigenous people are being discussed? This study explores those questions by examining a combination of sources, ranging from international museum collections to the advertising campaigns of multinational companies; from literature to the cultural festivals of the Olympic Games. The research is original, comparative, empirical. It explores the intersections between postcolonial and cultural studies to speak -- not for Indigenous peoples -- but to the non-Indigenous representation of First Nations. Why? Because this provides key insights into the future of race relations in western democracies.Read moreRead less
Amplifying Indigenous news: a digital intervention. This project aims to road-test, document and analyse an innovative strategy for amplifying Indigenous voices in news media. The project will deploy and assess the impact of a new digital application designed to enable access to a diverse range of Indigenous voices, stories and agendas. The anticipated outcomes will assist the project’s industry partners meet their strategic goals of increasing the level of Indigenous media representation in Aus ....Amplifying Indigenous news: a digital intervention. This project aims to road-test, document and analyse an innovative strategy for amplifying Indigenous voices in news media. The project will deploy and assess the impact of a new digital application designed to enable access to a diverse range of Indigenous voices, stories and agendas. The anticipated outcomes will assist the project’s industry partners meet their strategic goals of increasing the level of Indigenous media representation in Australia, and consolidate their roles as leading outlets for Indigenous content and coverage. These outcomes are also expected to improve public understanding of issues affecting Indigenous Australians and contribute to more informed and inclusive policy discussions.Read moreRead less
Wild Man from Borneo: species, race, representation. This project addresses the representation of species boundaries in Western accounts of the orangutan in the 19th and 20th centuries. Darwinian theory raised the possibility that animals could ?evolve?. Orangutans seemed ?closest? to humans and therefore raised key questions about the border between humans and animals. These questions were addressed in a vast range of scientific, popular, imaginative and juvenile literature. Even when ecolo ....Wild Man from Borneo: species, race, representation. This project addresses the representation of species boundaries in Western accounts of the orangutan in the 19th and 20th centuries. Darwinian theory raised the possibility that animals could ?evolve?. Orangutans seemed ?closest? to humans and therefore raised key questions about the border between humans and animals. These questions were addressed in a vast range of scientific, popular, imaginative and juvenile literature. Even when ecological models of the environment shifted attention from evolutionary potential to ecological role, orangutans retained a special status as ?sentinel? species. This project will produce a monograph examining the construction, maintenance and erosion of ideas of species boundaries.Read moreRead less
Mobile Indonesians: social differentiation and digital literacies in the twenty first century. This is the first dedicated study of the social implications of mobile telephony's recent and rapid popularisation throughout the country. This project will study metropolitan, urban and rural users to understand how mobile phones create the new and unexpected social networks which will shape tomorrow's Indonesians.