The transition from secondary school to adulthood: Experiences and life outcomes for youth with an intellectual disability and their families. This project seeks to explore the challenges faced and outcomes achieved by students with an intellectual disability as they move from secondary school into adult life. The study will investigate the factors at an individual, educational, family, and societal level which positively and adversely affect outcomes for young people with an intellectual disab ....The transition from secondary school to adulthood: Experiences and life outcomes for youth with an intellectual disability and their families. This project seeks to explore the challenges faced and outcomes achieved by students with an intellectual disability as they move from secondary school into adult life. The study will investigate the factors at an individual, educational, family, and societal level which positively and adversely affect outcomes for young people with an intellectual disability and their families. Family impacts can include significant loss of income as parents may have to cease employment to care for their young adult who has limited employment or day placement options. Gaining the knowledge to minimise the disruption to family life, which often occurs at this time of transition, will lead to strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric.Read moreRead less
Linking for Life: Enhancing pathways to well-being for all Australians. The Linking for Life Project will identify pathways to wellbeing and better social outcomes across the life-course for high-risk/vulnerable individuals and their families to streamline service provision, improve outcomes and identify cost-efficiencies across government agencies. The work will expand cross-sectoral data linkage capability, enhancing research capacity to generate evidence-based policy to improve integrated ser ....Linking for Life: Enhancing pathways to well-being for all Australians. The Linking for Life Project will identify pathways to wellbeing and better social outcomes across the life-course for high-risk/vulnerable individuals and their families to streamline service provision, improve outcomes and identify cost-efficiencies across government agencies. The work will expand cross-sectoral data linkage capability, enhancing research capacity to generate evidence-based policy to improve integrated service delivery across government. The project will also trial innovative data linkage models including the creation of data repositories to improve efficiency for data provision and access, which will have application nationally and enable more timely access to whole-population linked cross-sector data.Read moreRead less
Fathers, family violence and intervention challenges. Men who use family violence remain a strong presence in the lives of their children. In this project, a research consortium of government, Indigenous organisations, and Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) will identify the fathering issues and develop standards for practice interventions in this contentious area in which the need is great and the evidence is partial.
Families with multiple and complex needs: refocusing on early intervention. Families with multiple and complex needs have been determined to be a priority group in Australia (National Child Protection Framework 2021-31). This study will fill the evidence gap by determining the typologies of families with multiple and complex needs and child protection involvement who face intersecting risk factors (e.g. family violence, mental health, intergenerational trauma, alcohol/drug use, justice involveme ....Families with multiple and complex needs: refocusing on early intervention. Families with multiple and complex needs have been determined to be a priority group in Australia (National Child Protection Framework 2021-31). This study will fill the evidence gap by determining the typologies of families with multiple and complex needs and child protection involvement who face intersecting risk factors (e.g. family violence, mental health, intergenerational trauma, alcohol/drug use, justice involvement, disability, poverty and housing insecurity). Intergenerational (child and parent) linked data in three states will be utilised to investigate these families longitudinal trajectories of system involvement and to identify opportunities for enhanced prevention, points of early intervention and service planning. Read moreRead less
Improving social and economic outcomes for children of incarcerated mothers. This project aims to identify how children’s experiences of maternal incarceration shape their life course. These children are one of the most vulnerable yet invisible groups in society and are rising in number. This project intends to interrogate system contact with child protection, justice, education and health agencies using a unique linked dataset across 30 years and over three generations, to describe social and e ....Improving social and economic outcomes for children of incarcerated mothers. This project aims to identify how children’s experiences of maternal incarceration shape their life course. These children are one of the most vulnerable yet invisible groups in society and are rising in number. This project intends to interrogate system contact with child protection, justice, education and health agencies using a unique linked dataset across 30 years and over three generations, to describe social and economic outcomes and how prison, child and maternal characteristics affect them. The project expects to provide critical evidence that can inform prevention strategies, with the potential to disrupt intergenerational patterns of profound disadvantage and reduce the social and economic costs of maternal incarceration to individuals and society.Read moreRead less
Social practices of oral health in Australian preschool children. The aim of the study is to explore "social practices" of oral health in Australian (Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal) preschool children. We use this emerging theory to move away from focusing on individuals and individual behaviour (and blame) to identify and map social practices: actions, materials and meanings families attribute to
child’s oral health. Expected project outcomes include identifying practices promoting or underminin ....Social practices of oral health in Australian preschool children. The aim of the study is to explore "social practices" of oral health in Australian (Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal) preschool children. We use this emerging theory to move away from focusing on individuals and individual behaviour (and blame) to identify and map social practices: actions, materials and meanings families attribute to
child’s oral health. Expected project outcomes include identifying practices promoting or undermining children’s oral health that can inform upstream and downstream policy directions and practices to improve health outcomes. This offers a new approach to "wicked" problems such as oral health where extensive
effort has not reduced morbidity and cost despite rhetoric that oral health is preventable.Read moreRead less
Transitioning from out-of-home care: a longitudinal population-based study. This project aims to use a population-based method to examine the pathways of young people in, and transitioning from, out-of-home care in Western Australia. Young people in, and transitioning out of, out-of-home care experience many challenges. Care leavers, including a disproportionate number of Aboriginal young people, experience adverse outcomes across a range of domains leading to high social and economic costs for ....Transitioning from out-of-home care: a longitudinal population-based study. This project aims to use a population-based method to examine the pathways of young people in, and transitioning from, out-of-home care in Western Australia. Young people in, and transitioning out of, out-of-home care experience many challenges. Care leavers, including a disproportionate number of Aboriginal young people, experience adverse outcomes across a range of domains leading to high social and economic costs for the Australian community. The findings from the population-based data, together with an in-depth understanding of their lived experiences will identify a best practice model for improving their transition from care experiences to facilitate improved outcomes.Read moreRead less
Driving performance and self-regulation practices in drivers with dementia . Despite the high prevalence of dementia in older drivers, a substantial gap remains in the evidence regarding the natural progression of the disease and its impact on fitness to drive. This project will use a combination of real-time, in-vehicle driver monitoring devices and a state-of-the-art driving simulator. Together, these will objectively measure natural driving patterns and self-regulation practices, and provide ....Driving performance and self-regulation practices in drivers with dementia . Despite the high prevalence of dementia in older drivers, a substantial gap remains in the evidence regarding the natural progression of the disease and its impact on fitness to drive. This project will use a combination of real-time, in-vehicle driver monitoring devices and a state-of-the-art driving simulator. Together, these will objectively measure natural driving patterns and self-regulation practices, and provide a comprehensive assessment of driving performance for drivers with mild dementia and a comparison group without dementia. The project will create a partnership between leading researchers, clinicians and policy makers in order to provide an answer to a complex problem.Read moreRead less
Strengthening Indigenous adolescent mental health and wellbeing. Using Continous Quality Improvement processes, the research will collaboratively conceptualise, design, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of new approaches to mental health service delivery for adolescents aged 10-24 in three regionally diverse Indigenous Primary Healthcare Services. Expected research outcomes are a rigorous assessment of the impact and economic benefits of making quality improvements to mental health servic ....Strengthening Indigenous adolescent mental health and wellbeing. Using Continous Quality Improvement processes, the research will collaboratively conceptualise, design, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of new approaches to mental health service delivery for adolescents aged 10-24 in three regionally diverse Indigenous Primary Healthcare Services. Expected research outcomes are a rigorous assessment of the impact and economic benefits of making quality improvements to mental health services for Indigenous adolescents, Key benefits are 1) A locally-responsive adolescent mental health screening instrument; 2) Comprehensive evidence-informed service model in adolescent mental healthcare; 3) Best practice protocol for developing and managing adolescent mental health as a service delivery stream. Read moreRead less
Occupational injury prevention in high temperature environments. This project aims to explore the contribution of heat as a risk factor in work-related illness and injury. Approximately 600 000 Australians experience a work-related illness or injury each year. Hot weather may directly or indirectly lead to accidents, but heat as a risk factor has not been systematically explored, and is particularly relevant in a warming climate. This project aims to improve safety and productivity in Australian ....Occupational injury prevention in high temperature environments. This project aims to explore the contribution of heat as a risk factor in work-related illness and injury. Approximately 600 000 Australians experience a work-related illness or injury each year. Hot weather may directly or indirectly lead to accidents, but heat as a risk factor has not been systematically explored, and is particularly relevant in a warming climate. This project aims to improve safety and productivity in Australian industry by generating new evidence and predictive models to inform injury prevention policy and guidance, and facilitating the development of practical, targeted resources. This project expects to add to the body of knowledge regarding workers’ health and safety and to be of benefit to industry and subpopulations at risk.Read moreRead less