The impact of haemoglobin deferral on blood donors: perceptions, health and non-return. Blood donors are an vital in ensuring the health of the Australian community. However, they are few in number and difficult to recruit. It is crucial to keep existing donors in the system so that Australia has an assured blood supply, not only for the traditional reasons (road trauma, replacement in surgery, treatment of diseases such as cancer), but also to cope with natural disasters, emergent diseases and ....The impact of haemoglobin deferral on blood donors: perceptions, health and non-return. Blood donors are an vital in ensuring the health of the Australian community. However, they are few in number and difficult to recruit. It is crucial to keep existing donors in the system so that Australia has an assured blood supply, not only for the traditional reasons (road trauma, replacement in surgery, treatment of diseases such as cancer), but also to cope with natural disasters, emergent diseases and the potential results of terrorist activities. Apart from providing new information on blood donor behaviour, the project will also contribute to more general knowledge about volunteers in the community and their role in the maintenance and development of health services.Read moreRead less
Australia's Baby Boomer Generation, Obesity and Work - Patterns, Causes and Implications. In Australia's ageing crisis, baby boomers play a key role. Not only will they double the size of the aged population and its ratio to the workforce age group but the extent to which they remain in the workforce and their health will be crucial to future national productivity and prosperity. Baby Boomers have the highest level of obesity of any Australian age cohort and this threatens to seriously reduce ....Australia's Baby Boomer Generation, Obesity and Work - Patterns, Causes and Implications. In Australia's ageing crisis, baby boomers play a key role. Not only will they double the size of the aged population and its ratio to the workforce age group but the extent to which they remain in the workforce and their health will be crucial to future national productivity and prosperity. Baby Boomers have the highest level of obesity of any Australian age cohort and this threatens to seriously reduce their workforce participation and productivity and increase chronic disease incidence. There is a narrow closing window of opportunity for intervention which will reduce obesity and improve health and workforce outcomes.Read moreRead less
Obesity, Health, Social Disadvantage and Environment in Australia : Relationships and Policy Implications. The association between excess body fat and numerous health problems has been well documented. The significant increase in the proportion of Australians obese and overweight in the last 20 years has important implications for the well being of Australians and the costs of the health system. Developing effective policies to reverse this trend is dependant upon achieving better understandin ....Obesity, Health, Social Disadvantage and Environment in Australia : Relationships and Policy Implications. The association between excess body fat and numerous health problems has been well documented. The significant increase in the proportion of Australians obese and overweight in the last 20 years has important implications for the well being of Australians and the costs of the health system. Developing effective policies to reverse this trend is dependant upon achieving better understanding of the inter-related social, economic, environmental and medical causes of obesity and its effects. This study seeks to extend this understanding through innovative analysis of a unique survey of 4,000 adults in northwestern Adelaide and develop recommendations for effective policy intervention.Read moreRead less
Continuous process improvement through workstation feedback for General Practice medicine using experts-in-the-loop data mining. This project investigates the iterative use of data mining results to allow experts to construct feedback to influence subsequent production work. We explore the problem in the context of General Practice medicine by having General Practitioners (GPs) review emerging patterns from their own practice's electronic medical records and author feedback to discourage undesi ....Continuous process improvement through workstation feedback for General Practice medicine using experts-in-the-loop data mining. This project investigates the iterative use of data mining results to allow experts to construct feedback to influence subsequent production work. We explore the problem in the context of General Practice medicine by having General Practitioners (GPs) review emerging patterns from their own practice's electronic medical records and author feedback to discourage undesirable patterns. The work will have immediate applicability to medical practice and will drive innovation in data mining method, notably for efficient identification of temporal and complex niche patterns. More broadly, the work will extend the way data mining is used to create new expectations of workstation behaviour.Read moreRead less
Heatwaves, population health, and emergency management in Australia-a qualitative study. This is the first qualitative study on emergency management mechanism to heatwaves in Australia. It will also explore relevant emergency and health specific adaptation strategies for heatwaves in different population settings. The results will help relevant government agencies for policy-making, such as public service and resource allocation, infrastructure establishment, disaster prevention and response inc ....Heatwaves, population health, and emergency management in Australia-a qualitative study. This is the first qualitative study on emergency management mechanism to heatwaves in Australia. It will also explore relevant emergency and health specific adaptation strategies for heatwaves in different population settings. The results will help relevant government agencies for policy-making, such as public service and resource allocation, infrastructure establishment, disaster prevention and response including establishing the national heatwaves response system. They will also help relevant industry for their adaptation to heatwaves, ie aged care and energy industries. The results will also benefit local communities, especially those from disadvantaged groups such as indigenous Australians and aged population.Read moreRead less
Gambling and Pathways into Homelessness. Does gambling contribute to homelessness in Australia? What aspects of gambling are most likely to contribute to the incidence of homelessness and how does this relate to other dimensions of addictive behaviour? This project examines the role of gambling as a trigger of homelessness through direct means such as evictions and loss of employment, as well as indirect pathways such as serving as a contributing to the incidence of domestic violence and famil ....Gambling and Pathways into Homelessness. Does gambling contribute to homelessness in Australia? What aspects of gambling are most likely to contribute to the incidence of homelessness and how does this relate to other dimensions of addictive behaviour? This project examines the role of gambling as a trigger of homelessness through direct means such as evictions and loss of employment, as well as indirect pathways such as serving as a contributing to the incidence of domestic violence and family breakdown. The research will examine what types of intervention - at what points in the pathway into homelessness - are likely be most effective. The research will lead to better policies and the enhanced delivery of services to this vulnerable population.Read moreRead less
Belonging begins at home: promoting social inclusion and wellbeing for asylum seekers and people from refugee backgrounds. This project will explore housing settlement experiences of refugees and asylum seekers entering Australia. This information will advance understanding of how these experiences affect social inclusion and health and wellbeing, and will provide information to policy makers, practitioners, and communities about how to best support humanitarian migrants.
Enhancing the management of people living with chronic conditions: understanding the social space, that is, 'the consultation'. Promotion and maintenance of good health for people with chronic conditions assumes an effective consultation at a clinical meeting between health consumer and health professional. Whilst many health initiatives focus on length, format and content of the consultation, little is understood about the nature of the consultation itself, as a constructed and negotiated socia ....Enhancing the management of people living with chronic conditions: understanding the social space, that is, 'the consultation'. Promotion and maintenance of good health for people with chronic conditions assumes an effective consultation at a clinical meeting between health consumer and health professional. Whilst many health initiatives focus on length, format and content of the consultation, little is understood about the nature of the consultation itself, as a constructed and negotiated social space.
This study aims to explore and understand the social space that is "the consultation" between people living with chronic conditions and health professionals. It has potential to not only challenge assumptions about what the consultation is, or can be, but also to meet significant challenges posed by the management of chronic conditions.Read moreRead less
Can technology make communication in complex systems safer and more efficient? Evaluation of an electronic test management system in health care. In many industries poor communication has a major impact on safety; in health, missed test results have impacts ranging from inappropriate antibiotic therapy to missed cancer diagnoses. This research will evaluate new information technology which can improve health outcomes and communication between clinicians, laboratories and patients.
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.