RCT Of An Intervention To Improve The Health Of Adolescents With Intellectual Disability.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$803,146.00
Summary
A high number of people with intellectual disability die at a younger age than the general population - 5 to 20 years younger. The standard of their health is low compared with others. They experience high levels of unrecognised disease and do not receive health promotion or health screening. As they comprise 2.7% of our population (502,000 Australians) - this situation is unjust and should be rectified. The barriers to good health for them include communication difficulties, impaired recall of ....A high number of people with intellectual disability die at a younger age than the general population - 5 to 20 years younger. The standard of their health is low compared with others. They experience high levels of unrecognised disease and do not receive health promotion or health screening. As they comprise 2.7% of our population (502,000 Australians) - this situation is unjust and should be rectified. The barriers to good health for them include communication difficulties, impaired recall of significant health information, negative social attitudes and inadequate training about disability for health service providers. This project is an attempt to minimise some of these barriers by examining the use of a Health Intervention Package. We want to give young people with intellectual disabilty the chance of similar health standards to the rest of the population. This package includes a comprehensive health review, a diary for collecting and storing health information, and advocacy training. We specifically want to examine if adolescents with intellectual disabilty using this package will receive better healthcare and improved health outcomes. We envisage that if successful, the intervention will establish good health practices for the rest of the young person's life. This group of young people is particularly at risk as they move from care provided by specialist paediatricians to accessing General Practitioners' services. To achieve this, the study will seek to recruit 1000 young people (and their parents and teachers) in Special Schools in Queensland. We have already shown that the comprehensive health review does improve health outcomes adults with intellectual disabilty, and the health information and advocacy training has received very positive evaluation. We now need to investigate the effect of both these processes in adolscence and establish if evidence exists to support wider implementation throughout the sector.Read moreRead less
A Glint Or A Squint Should Make You Think! A Randomised, Controlled Study To Determine The Impact Of An Eye-health Awareness Program For New Parents
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$95,348.00
Summary
Retinoblastoma (RB) is a rare, blinding and sometimes fatal, childhood eye cancer. The earliest diagnosis affords the child the best prognosis for retaining their sight, eye or their life. This project will examine parents’ current understanding of the symptoms and signs for RB, identify barriers to early diagnosis of RB, and to develop, implement and evaluate a sustainable public health awareness program to potentially improve the timing of diagnosis and subsequent outcomes for this disease.
Is High-school Screening For Hereditary Haemochromatosis Acceptable And Feasible?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$728,573.00
Summary
Hereditary haemochromatosis (HH) is a preventable adult onset genetic iron overload disorder. In this research project we will offer senior high school students the opportunity to be tested for their risk of developing HH. Testing will be by a painless cheek brush test. Using questionnaires and interviews we will assess the psychological impact on the students. We will also assess whether those who are at increased risk of HH take steps to prevent disease.
Enhancing adolescents’ health through digital health literacy. This project aims to understand adolescents’ digital health literacy: their capacity to find, understand, appraise the trustworthiness of, and act appropriately on, digital health information. Technological development is racing ahead of insight into how adolescents use technology for health information and subsequent self-care. We must harness the benefits of these technological advances while protecting adolescent health. In co-des ....Enhancing adolescents’ health through digital health literacy. This project aims to understand adolescents’ digital health literacy: their capacity to find, understand, appraise the trustworthiness of, and act appropriately on, digital health information. Technological development is racing ahead of insight into how adolescents use technology for health information and subsequent self-care. We must harness the benefits of these technological advances while protecting adolescent health. In co-designing a flexible suite of education resources, this project aims to generate critical new knowledge about the digital health literacy of a diverse range of adolescents. It is anticipated that the education resources will provide significant benefits to adolescents through enhanced capacity for self-care.Read moreRead less
Developing A Scalable, Woman-centred Model For Cervical Cancer Screening In Vulnerable Women In India
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,330,369.00
Summary
Cervical cancer is a devastating but preventable disease and 1 in 5 cases of cervical cancer in the world occur in India. We will work with women, communities, and health services in two States of India (Tamil Nadu and Mizoram) to design a woman friendly approach to prevent cervical cancer. This project brings together international and Indian experts to overcome current barriers to cervical screening by using a newer, more effective way of screening to reach underserved women and save lives.
A randomised trial of an intervention to maintain alcohol management practices in community sporting clubs. Despite significant investment in implementation, many public health initiatives fail to persist when program funding and resources are reduced, limiting the benefits to the community. This project will investigate the effectiveness of a web-based intervention in sustaining the impact of an alcohol management intervention in community sports clubs.
Both Smart and Healthy: Learning Communities as a Settings-based Approaches to Health Promotion. This project will use a collaborative learning model to build health promotion capacity. The project brings together two innovative approaches to develop new knowledge about how setting-based approaches to health can be implemented in future. This approach could potentially address chronic disease at a national and international level by promoting healthy communities that can effectively manage chr ....Both Smart and Healthy: Learning Communities as a Settings-based Approaches to Health Promotion. This project will use a collaborative learning model to build health promotion capacity. The project brings together two innovative approaches to develop new knowledge about how setting-based approaches to health can be implemented in future. This approach could potentially address chronic disease at a national and international level by promoting healthy communities that can effectively manage chronic disease through collaborative learning and knowledge-building. The project represents an important collaboration between a university and its community with a view to improving health capacity.Read moreRead less
Understanding and preventing mental health difficulties in young Australian men using the Internet. Mental health is a major public health problem in Australia. Young men are particularly vulnerable to suicide, drug and alcohol problems and yet fail to seek appropriate help. The Internet is currently accessed by 85% of Australia's youth and yet very little evidence exists which examines the capacity of the Internet to engage young men and promote help seeking. This project will build an evidence ....Understanding and preventing mental health difficulties in young Australian men using the Internet. Mental health is a major public health problem in Australia. Young men are particularly vulnerable to suicide, drug and alcohol problems and yet fail to seek appropriate help. The Internet is currently accessed by 85% of Australia's youth and yet very little evidence exists which examines the capacity of the Internet to engage young men and promote help seeking. This project will build an evidence base which explores how innovative on-line strategies and social marketing can effectively promote help seeking behaviour and improve mental health outcomes for young men. Read moreRead less