Rethinking women's depression through narratives of recovery and wellbeing. This research project explores the growing problem of depression for women in Australia from a new angle. It investigates how rural and urban women at different life stages talk about their own experiences of recovery from depression and what helped to improve their emotional wellbeing. By considering the social and gendered context of women's depression this project will contribute to a broader evidence base for preven ....Rethinking women's depression through narratives of recovery and wellbeing. This research project explores the growing problem of depression for women in Australia from a new angle. It investigates how rural and urban women at different life stages talk about their own experiences of recovery from depression and what helped to improve their emotional wellbeing. By considering the social and gendered context of women's depression this project will contribute to a broader evidence base for prevention policies and treatment practices. It will also enable different ways of approaching women's depression amongst health professionals, families and communities.Read moreRead less
Living high but healthy: impacts of access to nature on health, wellbeing and effective functioning of inner city highrise residents. Impacts on the health, wellbeing and effective functioning of inner city highrise residents, resulting from differing levels of access to natural environments, will be studied. Stratified random sampling will be used to select a sample of 600 residents in Melbourne and Sydney, including highrise apartment owner-occupiers and tenants of highrise public housing dev ....Living high but healthy: impacts of access to nature on health, wellbeing and effective functioning of inner city highrise residents. Impacts on the health, wellbeing and effective functioning of inner city highrise residents, resulting from differing levels of access to natural environments, will be studied. Stratified random sampling will be used to select a sample of 600 residents in Melbourne and Sydney, including highrise apartment owner-occupiers and tenants of highrise public housing developments. Both groups will include people with differing levels of access to green spaces. Questionnaires based on validated psychometric scales, and qualitative semi-structured interviews will be used to collect data, which will be analysed to assess the impacts of access to nature on health, wellbeing and effective functioning.Read moreRead less
A Public Health Framework of Effectiveness: Evaluating the Framework for Telephone Counselling. The demand for telephone counselling is strong and while this form of counselling has face validity, there is no substantive research into its effectiveness for clients. This project aims to adapt the public health model to evaluate processes and outcomes of Lifeline - a generic telephone counselling service in Melbourne. The public health model of effectiveness, will, in turn, also be evaluated.
Estimating the population effect of maternal alcohol-use disorders on the educational achievement of children. It is unclear to what extent maternal alcohol-related problems contribute to the increased risk of poor health, academic failure, and times suspended from school in Australian children. This study aims to examine the effect of maternal alcohol-use disorder on infant and child health, development, and educational achievement using education and health data from the Western Australian dat ....Estimating the population effect of maternal alcohol-use disorders on the educational achievement of children. It is unclear to what extent maternal alcohol-related problems contribute to the increased risk of poor health, academic failure, and times suspended from school in Australian children. This study aims to examine the effect of maternal alcohol-use disorder on infant and child health, development, and educational achievement using education and health data from the Western Australian data linkage system. The results will provide new information on the impact of maternal alcohol-related problems on child health and educational achievement and have the potential to inform health and education policies and early identification and targeted intervention strategies. Read moreRead less
Time scarcity in Australian families: another inequity? The globalising economy, financial uncertainties and major democratic changes are all affecting family time. Parent's time is a resource on which children depend, but time scarcity has become a widespread problem for families. Our study helps focus policy attention on this problem. We deliver new methods to assess the experience of time scarcity in families, identifying those who are most likely to experience it, where they live, and how ti ....Time scarcity in Australian families: another inequity? The globalising economy, financial uncertainties and major democratic changes are all affecting family time. Parent's time is a resource on which children depend, but time scarcity has become a widespread problem for families. Our study helps focus policy attention on this problem. We deliver new methods to assess the experience of time scarcity in families, identifying those who are most likely to experience it, where they live, and how time scarcity affects them. This evidence can help support policy approaches to time, benefiting the twin economic and social policy goals of encouraging workforce participation while supporting the health and wellbeing of families.Read moreRead less
Public health approach to child abuse and neglect: antecedents, outcomes and international comparisons of trends. Child maltreatment is a significant public health issue. Findings will identify characteristics of at-risk children, families and communities; mental health and juvenile justice outcomes. Findings will be used to develop policy recommendations for intervention and prevention strategies to reduce vulnerability and improve monitoring of maltreatment.
The Development and Evaluation of an Online Support System for Mental Health Workers in Rural, Remote and Regional Areas. Suicide has been estimated to cost Australia over $460 million/year. Rural suicide workers have mulitfaceted roles pivotal to their communities' social well being, yet suffer professional isolation and inadequate access to resources and expertise through geographic remoteness.
Online technologies potentially offer effective support mechanisms. This research will increase fu ....The Development and Evaluation of an Online Support System for Mental Health Workers in Rural, Remote and Regional Areas. Suicide has been estimated to cost Australia over $460 million/year. Rural suicide workers have mulitfaceted roles pivotal to their communities' social well being, yet suffer professional isolation and inadequate access to resources and expertise through geographic remoteness.
Online technologies potentially offer effective support mechanisms. This research will increase fundamental knowledge by:
* developing, implementing and rigorously evaluating the effectiveness and transferability of an innovative online model for professional support and expertise; and
* systematically addressing the complex ethical, professional and technical issues associated with using online technology to assist suicide reduction.Read moreRead less
Improving maternal and child health care for women experiencing violence: collaborative development, implementation and effectiveness of a good practice model. Maternal and child health services are universal community-based national services for Australia's mothers and babies. However, they are poorly researched, supported, resourced and lack evidence for managing the challenges of addressing intimate partner violence among their client populations. Partner violence is prevalent in early parent ....Improving maternal and child health care for women experiencing violence: collaborative development, implementation and effectiveness of a good practice model. Maternal and child health services are universal community-based national services for Australia's mothers and babies. However, they are poorly researched, supported, resourced and lack evidence for managing the challenges of addressing intimate partner violence among their client populations. Partner violence is prevalent in early parenthood and imposes a heavy health burden on victims and infants and a significant cost to society. If effective, this innovative model of maternal child health nursing care for abused mothers and infants will inform the enhanced provision of early intervention services nationwide, contribute to community nursing scholarship and give children a healthier start to life.Read moreRead less
A history of psychiatric institutionalisation and community care in Australia, 1830s-1990s. A vigorous debate is underway in Australia currently over the policy of closing mental institutions and caring for the mentally ill in the community. Whereas doctors, politicians and journalists have contributed to this debate, regularly resorting to history to bolster their arguments, historians themselves have had relatively little to say. A genuinely national history of mental health care simply does n ....A history of psychiatric institutionalisation and community care in Australia, 1830s-1990s. A vigorous debate is underway in Australia currently over the policy of closing mental institutions and caring for the mentally ill in the community. Whereas doctors, politicians and journalists have contributed to this debate, regularly resorting to history to bolster their arguments, historians themselves have had relatively little to say. A genuinely national history of mental health care simply does not exist. This study provides that comprehensive history, in the belief that policy making in such a vital area of health cannot be undertaken effectively without an informed understanding of the successes and failures of the last 150 years.Read moreRead less
A psychosocial approach to subjectivity and the changing Australian labour market. An examination of the discourses and narratives people draw on to make sense of and adapt to the changing Australian labour market will be undertaken. The meanings that are made and the patterns of adaptation to the changing workplace in terms of fatigue, uncertainty, insecurity, stress and depression, and the effects these have on workers, their families and their places of work will also be scrutinised. Attempti ....A psychosocial approach to subjectivity and the changing Australian labour market. An examination of the discourses and narratives people draw on to make sense of and adapt to the changing Australian labour market will be undertaken. The meanings that are made and the patterns of adaptation to the changing workplace in terms of fatigue, uncertainty, insecurity, stress and depression, and the effects these have on workers, their families and their places of work will also be scrutinised. Attempting to understand these narratives offers the opportunity to think about the production of healthy work narratives and healthy workers, and about possible interventions in policy, work place practices and training.Read moreRead less