The effectiveness of pro-active telemarketing of a smoking cessation telephone counselling service. Despite the availability of services, such as telephone support lines to help people quit, only a small number of smokers seek help. One solution is to pro-actively contact and offer support with quitting to smokers in the community. This study will involve pro-actively contacting households by telephone and offering intensive, personalised telephone counselling to smokers to support them in the q ....The effectiveness of pro-active telemarketing of a smoking cessation telephone counselling service. Despite the availability of services, such as telephone support lines to help people quit, only a small number of smokers seek help. One solution is to pro-actively contact and offer support with quitting to smokers in the community. This study will involve pro-actively contacting households by telephone and offering intensive, personalised telephone counselling to smokers to support them in the quitting process. Such a service will provide treatment to smokers who might not otherwise seek assistance to quit, thereby greatly increasing the potential impact of quit smoking services at a community level.Read moreRead less
Motherhood choices: a decision aid for women with rheumatoid arthritis. Decisions about pregnancy in the context of debilitating rheumatoid arthritis impact directly on both the mother and the child as well as their family and wider social unit. Providing evidence-based information to support women in making informed decisions about motherhood is critical in maximizing the well-being of the mother and ensuring a healthy start to life for a baby. The project will contribute to the national resear ....Motherhood choices: a decision aid for women with rheumatoid arthritis. Decisions about pregnancy in the context of debilitating rheumatoid arthritis impact directly on both the mother and the child as well as their family and wider social unit. Providing evidence-based information to support women in making informed decisions about motherhood is critical in maximizing the well-being of the mother and ensuring a healthy start to life for a baby. The project will contribute to the national research priority area of promoting and maintaining good health, addressing the goal of supporting a healthy start to life.Read moreRead less
The construction and experience of fertility in the context of cancer: patient, partner and health professional perspectives. This project will examine the nature and consequences of fertility concerns for men and women with cancer, and their partners, across a range of cancer types, as well as the knowledge and experience of health professionals. This will increase knowledge of this important health concern, and lead to the development of programs to reduce distress.
Effectiveness of social skills training for children with autism. Our industry partner, Aspect Australia, is one of the world's largest providers of educational and other services for people with autism. The demonstration of effectiveness of the program in Aspect classes will likely lead to widespread use and benefit of the program in the education sector nationally and internationally. This in turn would lead to potential lessening of disability in children with autism with improvements in thei ....Effectiveness of social skills training for children with autism. Our industry partner, Aspect Australia, is one of the world's largest providers of educational and other services for people with autism. The demonstration of effectiveness of the program in Aspect classes will likely lead to widespread use and benefit of the program in the education sector nationally and internationally. This in turn would lead to potential lessening of disability in children with autism with improvements in their mental health and significant cost savings to the community.Read moreRead less
Effective management of challenging behaviours in cognitively impaired aged care residents through a research-based nursing care model. Challenging behaviours associated with cognitive impairment, such as screaming and perseveration, marks a decisive turning point in the life situation for an older person, heralding a deterioration in their quality of life and placement in an aged care facility. Staff can promote the residents health and well-being through person-centred care approaches. The stu ....Effective management of challenging behaviours in cognitively impaired aged care residents through a research-based nursing care model. Challenging behaviours associated with cognitive impairment, such as screaming and perseveration, marks a decisive turning point in the life situation for an older person, heralding a deterioration in their quality of life and placement in an aged care facility. Staff can promote the residents health and well-being through person-centred care approaches. The study employs Dementia Care Mapping to achieve these goals for the resident through participatory action research. The expected outcomes are a significant reduction in contextual factors that trigger these challenging behaviours, an improvement in the residents health, well-being and quality of life, and increased knowledge, skills and empowerment in staff.Read moreRead less
Improving Productivity in Emergency Service Personnel. Emergency service personnel experience marked levels of lost productivity, absenteeism, early retirements, and compensation claims as a result of stress reactions. This project aims to improve productivity and reduce compensation costs in emergency service organisations by evaluating a program that reduces stress reactions and increases cognitive functioning in police, firefighters, and paramedics in NSW. An individual program will be admini ....Improving Productivity in Emergency Service Personnel. Emergency service personnel experience marked levels of lost productivity, absenteeism, early retirements, and compensation claims as a result of stress reactions. This project aims to improve productivity and reduce compensation costs in emergency service organisations by evaluating a program that reduces stress reactions and increases cognitive functioning in police, firefighters, and paramedics in NSW. An individual program will be administered to 120 emergency service personnel who have difficulty maintaining their work duties because of stress reactions. Expected outcomes will be reduction in absenteeism, improved productivity, and reduced costs to insurers.
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Fostering Aboriginal sexual well-being by building on strengths. This project aims to use a strengths-based approach to examine how Aboriginal young people draw on social, cultural and personal resources to build their sexual well-being. Many Aboriginal Australians see strengths approaches as essential to addressing disadvantage. However, to date they have not been widely used to address the significant sexual health inequalities experienced by Aboriginal young people. The project will create ne ....Fostering Aboriginal sexual well-being by building on strengths. This project aims to use a strengths-based approach to examine how Aboriginal young people draw on social, cultural and personal resources to build their sexual well-being. Many Aboriginal Australians see strengths approaches as essential to addressing disadvantage. However, to date they have not been widely used to address the significant sexual health inequalities experienced by Aboriginal young people. The project will create new knowledge about ‘what works’ in supporting the sexual well-being of Aboriginal young people, that has relevance to a broad range of disciplines beyond the area of health and well-being.Read moreRead less
Doubly disadvantaged: harnessing elements of resilience and establishing information for systems change. Aboriginal children with a disability who receive insufficient support when young are likely to experience a lifetime of disadvantage. This project will provide these children, their families and their carers with a culturally appropriate, holistic pathway enabling easier access to health, social, and educational services.
Novel human tryptases: their potential role in inflammatory diseases of the young and old. We have discovered a number of novel human tryptases, and while other members of this enzyme family have been implicated in the development of inflammatory diseases (including rheumatoid arthritis), little is known about these new molecules. We aim to characterise these new enzymes by determining what part of the body they are produced in, whether they are associated with specific inflammatory diseases, an ....Novel human tryptases: their potential role in inflammatory diseases of the young and old. We have discovered a number of novel human tryptases, and while other members of this enzyme family have been implicated in the development of inflammatory diseases (including rheumatoid arthritis), little is known about these new molecules. We aim to characterise these new enzymes by determining what part of the body they are produced in, whether they are associated with specific inflammatory diseases, and what target molecules they act on. A better understanding of these factors will increase the chances of finding cures and developing better treatments for important inflammatory diseases of the ageing population.Read moreRead less
Ginger-based agents for delaying the onset of metabolic syndrome: type-2 diabetes and dyslipidemia. We will determine the potential of ginger, a relatively safe and popular food and spice, to be developed as a preventative nutraceutical agent to delay the onset of type 2 diabetes and its complications. Our research will allow us to formulate a standardised ginger preparation of known mechanism of action that delivers safe and reproducible effects The project has the capacity to reduce the debili ....Ginger-based agents for delaying the onset of metabolic syndrome: type-2 diabetes and dyslipidemia. We will determine the potential of ginger, a relatively safe and popular food and spice, to be developed as a preventative nutraceutical agent to delay the onset of type 2 diabetes and its complications. Our research will allow us to formulate a standardised ginger preparation of known mechanism of action that delivers safe and reproducible effects The project has the capacity to reduce the debilitating effects of type 2 diabetes in the nation's health and its high economic costs, and to improve the quality of life of the Australian community, more than 1 million of whom are affected by this growing epidemic.Read moreRead less