Brides and Grandmothers: Challenges for Older Filipinos in Australia. This project investigates the settlement, acculturation experiences, and psychological wellbeing of older Filipino women who arrived in Australia under different circumstances. Some have migrated to Australia as young brides to marry Australian citizens and some as grandmothers to be reunited with family members. Five hundred older Filipino women, and a group of 100 men living in rural and urban areas, will participate in the ....Brides and Grandmothers: Challenges for Older Filipinos in Australia. This project investigates the settlement, acculturation experiences, and psychological wellbeing of older Filipino women who arrived in Australia under different circumstances. Some have migrated to Australia as young brides to marry Australian citizens and some as grandmothers to be reunited with family members. Five hundred older Filipino women, and a group of 100 men living in rural and urban areas, will participate in the project. The findings will enhance the understanding of the social and psychological needs of this special group of migrants and will assist in the planning of immigration policies and culturally appropriate health services for older migrants.Read moreRead less
The efficacy of a physical activity intervention in the management of psychological and physical symptoms among breast and prostate cancer patients. The vastly improved survival rates for breast and prostate cancer in recent years has resulted in an ever-increasing number of people living with a history of cancer. Treatment for cancer is often associated with negative side effects like fatigue, depression and sleep disturbance, and an overall impaired quality of life.
This project will assess ....The efficacy of a physical activity intervention in the management of psychological and physical symptoms among breast and prostate cancer patients. The vastly improved survival rates for breast and prostate cancer in recent years has resulted in an ever-increasing number of people living with a history of cancer. Treatment for cancer is often associated with negative side effects like fatigue, depression and sleep disturbance, and an overall impaired quality of life.
This project will assess the effectiveness of a physical activity program in alleviating these symptoms of treatment. The program will include regular walking and gentle resistance strength training.
The outcomes from the project will advance research by shedding light on which symptoms are most helped by physical activity, and how much activity is needed to gain these benefits.
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Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150100406
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,936.00
Summary
Cognitive Compensation in Ageing. Decline in cognitive control can have a devastating effect on an individual's capacity to live a high quality and safe independent life. It is an untested assumption that older adults can compensate for age-related changes in cognitive control function to perform at the same level as younger adults. This project aims to be the first to test this widely-held assumption and will examine changes in cognitive control and the emergence of compensation over the adult ....Cognitive Compensation in Ageing. Decline in cognitive control can have a devastating effect on an individual's capacity to live a high quality and safe independent life. It is an untested assumption that older adults can compensate for age-related changes in cognitive control function to perform at the same level as younger adults. This project aims to be the first to test this widely-held assumption and will examine changes in cognitive control and the emergence of compensation over the adult lifespan (20 to 90 years). The project aims to establish whether cognitive compensation is an effective mechanism to maintain cognitive control function into old age and will inform future strategies to help older individuals live more successful and productive independent lives for longer.Read moreRead less
Diverse Teams and Health Care - Problem or Cure? Research that is able to improve the quality of work life and patient care of health care professionals is vital to communities around Australia where work pressures placed on healthcare professionals are at an all time high as are shortages of qualified personnel. The research team brings together leading edge researchers in healthcare management, diversity, teamwork and workplace management. The project will result in a comprehensive descripti ....Diverse Teams and Health Care - Problem or Cure? Research that is able to improve the quality of work life and patient care of health care professionals is vital to communities around Australia where work pressures placed on healthcare professionals are at an all time high as are shortages of qualified personnel. The research team brings together leading edge researchers in healthcare management, diversity, teamwork and workplace management. The project will result in a comprehensive description of the types of diverse teams working in hospitals, policy and practice and will make recommendations for diversity management in the healthcare system, and the development of new international research collaborations in hospital research and development.Read moreRead less
Improving cognitive function in the elderly. The ageing population has been identified as one of the major issues facing contemporary Australian society. For Australia, human ageing has significant societal, economic and, importantly, personal/human costs. The economic costs associated with ageing reflect decreased productivity as well as a higher incidence of a variety of illnesses including cardiovascular and respiratory disease and, importantly, neurological conditions such as Parkinson's dis ....Improving cognitive function in the elderly. The ageing population has been identified as one of the major issues facing contemporary Australian society. For Australia, human ageing has significant societal, economic and, importantly, personal/human costs. The economic costs associated with ageing reflect decreased productivity as well as a higher incidence of a variety of illnesses including cardiovascular and respiratory disease and, importantly, neurological conditions such as Parkinson's disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). We will complete two large scale studies examining the efficacy of twelve months administration of two pharmacologically active supplements in reducing the cognitive effects of aging in elderly participants.
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Wellbeing in the elderly: the role of respect. Due to advances in health care, many more Australians are living to old age. It is important to ensure that older people, who comprise a significant proportion of the population, maintain high levels of quality of life (QOL). One of the factors that impact on QOL of older people is the respect afforded to them. This project will determine the issues related to respect for older people in Australia, and produce an evidence-based strategy for encoura ....Wellbeing in the elderly: the role of respect. Due to advances in health care, many more Australians are living to old age. It is important to ensure that older people, who comprise a significant proportion of the population, maintain high levels of quality of life (QOL). One of the factors that impact on QOL of older people is the respect afforded to them. This project will determine the issues related to respect for older people in Australia, and produce an evidence-based strategy for encouraging Australians to adopt more positive attitudes and behaviours related to increasing levels of respect for older people. It is expected that the project will reduce the level of ageism and enhance the status of older people in Australia.Read moreRead less
Resilient ageing and the oldest-old in the Australian longitudinal study of ageing. This project will provide a better understanding of resiliency (positive adaptation) in oldest-old Australians (85 plus). At a time in history when the population is ageing at an unprecedented rate, understanding how the oldest-old respond adaptively to age-related challenges is critically important to informing ageing policies and service provision.
Responding to the rural skills crisis: Modelling volunteer motivations and incentives to attract retired/semi-retired professionals to volunteer in rural areas. This project contributes directly to Promoting and Maintaining Good Health: Ageing well, ageing productively by placing a high value on the skills of older Australians and encouraging them to remain productive into retirement by sharing these skills. This project will also strengthen the social and economic fabric of rural communities by ....Responding to the rural skills crisis: Modelling volunteer motivations and incentives to attract retired/semi-retired professionals to volunteer in rural areas. This project contributes directly to Promoting and Maintaining Good Health: Ageing well, ageing productively by placing a high value on the skills of older Australians and encouraging them to remain productive into retirement by sharing these skills. This project will also strengthen the social and economic fabric of rural communities by addressing the identified national priority area of skills shortages in rural areas by providing rural councils with a means to access skilled professionals to assist them in enhancing their economic and social sustainability. Further, use of sound, well-tested psychological theories of individual decision making will enhance the validity and applicability of the model.Read moreRead less
Declining mental efficiency, cognitive performance and individual differences in aged function. Ageing men's health is poorer than women's and men show lower uptake of public health messages. The project has potential to extend the productive involvement of older men in the community, thereby reducing dependence and health care expenditure. Future benefits could also include an effective, convenient, preliminary screening procedure for tracking abnormal cognitive ageing from an early stage amo ....Declining mental efficiency, cognitive performance and individual differences in aged function. Ageing men's health is poorer than women's and men show lower uptake of public health messages. The project has potential to extend the productive involvement of older men in the community, thereby reducing dependence and health care expenditure. Future benefits could also include an effective, convenient, preliminary screening procedure for tracking abnormal cognitive ageing from an early stage among elderly people. This could be also used to target and evaluate interventions designed to moderate morbidity in ageing, or enhance functional capacity with aging. The project will enhance cross-disciplinary expertise and provide doctoral and postdoctoral research training.Read moreRead less
How Individual and Societal Resources Contribute to Ageing Well through the Fourth Age: The Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing. People aged 85 and over represent the fastest growing sector of the Australian population. It is estimated that by 2051 Australia will be home to between 1.6 million and 2.7 million 85+ year olds. This project fills a pressing need for knowledge about determinants of quality of life, resilience and successful ageing in this rarely studied age group. Detailed inform ....How Individual and Societal Resources Contribute to Ageing Well through the Fourth Age: The Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing. People aged 85 and over represent the fastest growing sector of the Australian population. It is estimated that by 2051 Australia will be home to between 1.6 million and 2.7 million 85+ year olds. This project fills a pressing need for knowledge about determinants of quality of life, resilience and successful ageing in this rarely studied age group. Detailed information drawn from over 300 participants, all aged 85 and over, will lead the way to providing Australian communities and policy-makers with the understanding needed to plan for and manage this important demographic transition, and develop services directed at optimising health, functioning and meaningful engagement.Read moreRead less