Bereavement of suicide and sudden death. Losing someone to suicide can have devastating affects on the survivors left behind. The aims of the present study include the identification of the processes and impacts of bereavement on survivors in various age groups. It also aims to identify critical points during the bereavement and factors which exacerbate and moderate negative impacts. This has been previously neglected in suicide research in Australia and its findings will add a multi-dimensional ....Bereavement of suicide and sudden death. Losing someone to suicide can have devastating affects on the survivors left behind. The aims of the present study include the identification of the processes and impacts of bereavement on survivors in various age groups. It also aims to identify critical points during the bereavement and factors which exacerbate and moderate negative impacts. This has been previously neglected in suicide research in Australia and its findings will add a multi-dimensional aspect to postvention not currently understood. It is expected that findings will help develop guidelines to ensure more effective detection and intervention for survivors, as well as enhancing social support and personal resilience.Read moreRead less
Promoting the positive mental health and well being of young Australians. This project will test an innovative multidimensional model of positive mental health and mental illness in young Australians. It will also determine if the application of this model to the development of six online positive mental health tools, improves the mental health and well-being of young people.
Work life after a diagnosis of breast, prostate and colorectal cancer: Major disruption or work as usual. Each year, over 40,000 working-age individuals (as well as their families and workplaces) are affected by a diagnosis of cancer. This novel and important study will, for the first time in Australia, identify the extent and effects of loss of skilled workers from the workforce because of a diagnosis of breast, prostate or colorectal cancer and will lead to the development of new interventions ....Work life after a diagnosis of breast, prostate and colorectal cancer: Major disruption or work as usual. Each year, over 40,000 working-age individuals (as well as their families and workplaces) are affected by a diagnosis of cancer. This novel and important study will, for the first time in Australia, identify the extent and effects of loss of skilled workers from the workforce because of a diagnosis of breast, prostate or colorectal cancer and will lead to the development of new interventions that help people to recover from cancer. This project is critical to help advance health and labour policies in Australia which currently faces an ageing population, global economic unrest and rising unemployment.Read moreRead less
The role of short tandem repeat DNA variation in the evolution of human psychological diversity. The proposed work addresses fundamental questions about human nature. It ties together the evolutionary processes that have shaped us as a species with the way our genes influence: our personalities, the way we think and how we behave. It introduces a novel approach to addressing questions about the role of genetics in human variation that will contribute substantially to the way we understand, perce ....The role of short tandem repeat DNA variation in the evolution of human psychological diversity. The proposed work addresses fundamental questions about human nature. It ties together the evolutionary processes that have shaped us as a species with the way our genes influence: our personalities, the way we think and how we behave. It introduces a novel approach to addressing questions about the role of genetics in human variation that will contribute substantially to the way we understand, perceive and manage important aspects of human diversity.Read moreRead less
Developing a Model of ICU Transition Care; Enhancing Services, Enabling Nurses, Empowering Patients. The transition from the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) to the ward is traumatic for patients and families and difficult for ward nurses. Using focus groups and an intervention study, this research will develop and evaluate a model of ICU transition care and demonstrate the extent to which appropriate transition care improves a variety of outcomes for patients, families and staff. We anticipate that t ....Developing a Model of ICU Transition Care; Enhancing Services, Enabling Nurses, Empowering Patients. The transition from the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) to the ward is traumatic for patients and families and difficult for ward nurses. Using focus groups and an intervention study, this research will develop and evaluate a model of ICU transition care and demonstrate the extent to which appropriate transition care improves a variety of outcomes for patients, families and staff. We anticipate that this model will influence practice and policy decisions and be useful in other setting and with other groups who face life transitions such as the military, corrective care and rehabilitation.Read moreRead less
Preventing Suicide: A psychological autopsy study of the last contact with a health professional before suicide. In Australia, 48% of all suicides in 2000 were by 35-64 year olds; an additional 13% were by 65 years and over. This study will examine the last clinical contact older suicide victims had with health professionals in order to determine whether this contact offers an opportunity for intervention. For the first time in Australia, GP's, health professionals, and the deceased's next-of-ki ....Preventing Suicide: A psychological autopsy study of the last contact with a health professional before suicide. In Australia, 48% of all suicides in 2000 were by 35-64 year olds; an additional 13% were by 65 years and over. This study will examine the last clinical contact older suicide victims had with health professionals in order to determine whether this contact offers an opportunity for intervention. For the first time in Australia, GP's, health professionals, and the deceased's next-of-kin will be interviewed to determine the context surrounding the deceased's death, and the abilities of health professionals to identify warning signs and to intervene prior to suicide. Given our ageing population, the outcomes will be significant in educating all health professionals to identify suicidal signs, and to prevent premature death in the elderly.Read moreRead less
Social perception in late adulthood. Social perception refers broadly to the ability to decode and react appropriately to the social signals sent out by other people, and is a critical predictor of social competency and wellbeing. The aim of this project is to gain a clearer picture of when and why older adults experience social perceptual difficulties, as well as any consequences of these difficulties. A key prediction is that those older adults who have most difficulty with social perception w ....Social perception in late adulthood. Social perception refers broadly to the ability to decode and react appropriately to the social signals sent out by other people, and is a critical predictor of social competency and wellbeing. The aim of this project is to gain a clearer picture of when and why older adults experience social perceptual difficulties, as well as any consequences of these difficulties. A key prediction is that those older adults who have most difficulty with social perception will also have lowest wellbeing. Identifying which older adults are most likely to experience social perceptual difficulties, as well as which aspects of social perception are relatively intact, are expected to help to guide interventions on how to maintain wellbeing in old age.Read moreRead less
Enhancing social research in Australia using dual-frame telephone surveys. The growing surge in mobile phones and mobile-phone only households has had a significant impact on the representativeness of social surveys and accuracy of social outcome measures. This project will develop methods for generating sampling lists of both types of telephone numbers to improve population coverage and accuracy of outcome measures.
Customer Co-production in Ongoing Health Service Delivery: A Longitudinal Study. Customers do not merely receive services. Increasingly they are actively involved in their design and delivery even to the extent of being regarded as 'part-time employees'. Customer co-production is tipped to be the next frontier in competitive effectiveness. Benefits to customers,however, are largely unknown. Often customers fail in their co-production role with serious negative consequences. Given the important r ....Customer Co-production in Ongoing Health Service Delivery: A Longitudinal Study. Customers do not merely receive services. Increasingly they are actively involved in their design and delivery even to the extent of being regarded as 'part-time employees'. Customer co-production is tipped to be the next frontier in competitive effectiveness. Benefits to customers,however, are largely unknown. Often customers fail in their co-production role with serious negative consequences. Given the important role of customers (patients) in ongoing health care, and the potential for failure, it is critical that customer co-production be fully investigated. If performed well co-production should result in positive patient outcomes and significant cost savings for the healthcare sector.
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Developing a collaborative approach to ageing well in the community. This project is located within an identified national research priority that of Ageing Well, Ageing Productively. It is also consistent with the goals of the ARC NHMRC Research Network in Ageing Well. While much of the Australian policy debate has previously focused on the negative implications associated with population ageing, it is essential to explore how older people and local communities can age well. The benefit of this ....Developing a collaborative approach to ageing well in the community. This project is located within an identified national research priority that of Ageing Well, Ageing Productively. It is also consistent with the goals of the ARC NHMRC Research Network in Ageing Well. While much of the Australian policy debate has previously focused on the negative implications associated with population ageing, it is essential to explore how older people and local communities can age well. The benefit of this project is that it helps translate national policy directives / goals by offering a framework for action at the local level. Further benefit will derive from the project by enhancing options for community engagement of older people.Read moreRead less