Distribution Kinetics Of Opioids Used In Substitution Programs
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$196,527.00
Summary
Heroin addiction is a major national and international problem costing hundreds of millons of dollars to Australia alone. The major form of treatment is methadone taken as maintenance treatment once a day. While methadone is effective in most addicts, about one third of them complain that it does not last long enough and they either tolerate this inadequate form of treatment or are prescribed a newer drug as part of a clinical trial or drop out and revert to heroin. We have previously shown that ....Heroin addiction is a major national and international problem costing hundreds of millons of dollars to Australia alone. The major form of treatment is methadone taken as maintenance treatment once a day. While methadone is effective in most addicts, about one third of them complain that it does not last long enough and they either tolerate this inadequate form of treatment or are prescribed a newer drug as part of a clinical trial or drop out and revert to heroin. We have previously shown that the blood levels of methadone are important in determining its best use and specifically, that those addicts for whom methadone does not hold have a greater drop in their blood levels after methadone has been absorbed into the body. This drop in blood levels is mainly due to methadone's redistribution throughout the body. Very little is known about how methadone distributes and redistributes throughout the body but it appears that the lung is the most important organ. A number of questions need to be answered to improve methadone's use: 1. How quickly is methadone taken up into the lung compared to the brain; 2. Why is the lung able to take up and release a large amount of methadone; 3. How does decreased respiration influence the lung and brain uptake of methadone; 4. What happens when another drug is prescribed (such as an antidepressant) which reduces the lung uptake of methadone; 5. Do some of the newer drugs for heroin addiction have better lung distribution and binding properties. We will perform studies of the concentrations of methadone and newer drugs in sheep that will provide the scientific basis for answering these questions and permit better use of drug treatment for heroin addiction.Read moreRead less
Maximising The Effectiveness Of Interactive Automated Programs For Smoking Cessation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$922,582.00
Summary
This project is to design, implement and trial automated programs to help smokers quit. It makes use of the powers of modern computing and telecommunications. It uses information the person provides to personally tailor advice and assistance to smokers as they progress from beginning to think about quitting through to being a stable, happy non-smoker. In particular, we are interested in the relative value of detailed advice as compared with the capacity of modern messaging technology (SMS, voice ....This project is to design, implement and trial automated programs to help smokers quit. It makes use of the powers of modern computing and telecommunications. It uses information the person provides to personally tailor advice and assistance to smokers as they progress from beginning to think about quitting through to being a stable, happy non-smoker. In particular, we are interested in the relative value of detailed advice as compared with the capacity of modern messaging technology (SMS, voice, images) to provide a set of prompts and reminders that help smokers manage a quit attempt and help prevent them relapsing back to smoking. Once we have developed the interventions, we will subject them to a rigorous scientific trial to see how effective they are and also how cost-effective they prove. Our hope is that these programs will provide a cheap, accessible and effective way of helping smokers to quit and thus help reduce the huge toll of smoking-related disease.Read moreRead less
A Structured Systems Approach For Improving Health Promotion Practice For Chronic Diseases In Indigenous Communities
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$666,592.00
Summary
This project will trial a model for continuous improvement, with the aim of assisting health services and community based organisations to improve the services they deliver to promote health and prevent chronic disease in Indigenous communities.
Health Status And Development Among Aboriginal Infants In An Urban Community.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$436,650.00
Summary
This research is a descriptive study of the health outcomes of Aboriginal infants, born at Campbelltown Hospital. The research will build on Centre for Health Equity's (CHETRE) work, since 1997, with the Aboriginal community, Aboriginal Medical Service (AMS) and Area Health Services (AHS) in the region to develop and advocate for services to address the needs of Aboriginal and other disadvantaged communities. CHETRE has supported the Aboriginal workers to develop additional services for Aborigin ....This research is a descriptive study of the health outcomes of Aboriginal infants, born at Campbelltown Hospital. The research will build on Centre for Health Equity's (CHETRE) work, since 1997, with the Aboriginal community, Aboriginal Medical Service (AMS) and Area Health Services (AHS) in the region to develop and advocate for services to address the needs of Aboriginal and other disadvantaged communities. CHETRE has supported the Aboriginal workers to develop additional services for Aboriginal women, such as the Aboriginal Home Visiting Team (AHV) and assisted with evaluation of these services. The AHV management comprises representatives from AMS, AHS, the Aboriginal community and CHETRE, and will provide advice and oversight for this project. The AHV developed from community concern about health status of Aboriginal infants and provides ante and postnatal care to infants and mothers. As a part of this service Aboriginal infants are systematically identified by the AHS. Further development of services is limited by lack of information on health status, use of health services, or achievement of developmental milestones by Aboriginal infants in an urban community and the assumption that outcomes are a factor of disadvantage. The researchers intend to describe in meticulous detail obstetric outcomes for 150 Aboriginal infants and their mothers born in 2004-5 and the health and development outcomes of the infants at 12 months. Baseline information on birth weight, Apgar score and obstetric history will be collected from maternal report at 2-3 week post-delivery and from routine data collections. Infants and their mothers will be followed up prospectively with further data collection points at 6 months and 12 months. Information on health status, health service use, and achievement of developmental milestones will be obtained by measurement and maternal report. An assessment by a paediatrician will be undertaken at 12 months.Read moreRead less
A Randomized Trial Of The Impact Of A Multi-intervention Anti-tobacco Strategy In 8 Indigenous Communities.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$567,750.00
Summary
Tobacco smoking represents the major risk to life and health within Australian Indigenous communities. Survey data suggest that prevalence rates for the Indigenous community are more than twice those of the non-Indigenous population. These rates are reflected in the pattern of mortality and morbidity within Indigenous communities. During the period 1989-1999 the smoking-related death rate amongst Indigenous Queenslanders was almost three times greater than that of non-Indigenous Queenslanders. A ....Tobacco smoking represents the major risk to life and health within Australian Indigenous communities. Survey data suggest that prevalence rates for the Indigenous community are more than twice those of the non-Indigenous population. These rates are reflected in the pattern of mortality and morbidity within Indigenous communities. During the period 1989-1999 the smoking-related death rate amongst Indigenous Queenslanders was almost three times greater than that of non-Indigenous Queenslanders. Additionally, tobacco smoking is a major contributing factor in many conditions that constitute significant Indigenous health problems. The natural history of smoking also differs between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations. Indigenous smokers start younger, are more likely to develop smoking-related conditions and tend to die younger than non-Indigenous smokers. Despite the above statistics, there is little published data on the effectiveness of anti-smoking interventions within Australia's Indigenous populations. Lessons from non-Indigenous communities suggest that the most successful strategies are those that target populations at many different levels. Rather than one isolated intervention, such strategies may include policy initiatives, training and education of health staff, community education and awareness campaigns and increased access to cessation techniques. Indigenous communities generally lack the capacity to initiate these type of tobacco control strategies. This project aims to examine the impact of a multi-intervention anti-tobacco strategy within north Queensland Indigenous communities. The project has three broad aims: 1) to increase the capacity of health services to implement and deliver anti-tobacco interventions; 2) to increase community knowledge and awareness of the risks of smoking and 3) to decrease the level of tobacco consumption within communities.Read moreRead less
Adolescent Population Health: Application Of Best-Worst Scaling Discrete Choice Experiments To Value Health States For Use In Economic Evaluation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$178,779.00
Summary
Historically, economic evaluations of health care treatment and preventive programs developed for adolescents have failed to incorporate adolescent values about their preferred health outcomes. This project will apply a novel approach known as Best-Worst Scaling to ascertain adolescent specific values for health states for incorporation into economic evaluation, thereby enabling the views of adolescents to be incorporated directly into the health care priorities decision-making process.