Tipping the Scales: Fostering a healthy adolescence through musical participation. The prevention of mental illness is a priority for the Australian community. The death of a parent or sibling during childhood or adolescence is a significant risk factor for mental illness because of the multiple losses that stem from the original bereavement. Early intervention programs with a focus on enhancing resilience have been identified as the most appropriate strategy for promoting mental health. Thi ....Tipping the Scales: Fostering a healthy adolescence through musical participation. The prevention of mental illness is a priority for the Australian community. The death of a parent or sibling during childhood or adolescence is a significant risk factor for mental illness because of the multiple losses that stem from the original bereavement. Early intervention programs with a focus on enhancing resilience have been identified as the most appropriate strategy for promoting mental health. This project investigates and evaluates the potential of creative expression to function as a protective factor in fostering resilience and effective coping with bereavement during adolescence. Innovative models of analysis will provide multiple perspectives on this benefit.Read moreRead less
Therapeutic songwriting, neurodisability, and identity. Thousands of Australians present with fractured identities following acquired spinal or brain injuries which can diminish their capacity to participate in and contribute to society. This project aims to investigate the effect of a song writing intervention on reconstruction of a meaningful integrated identity and psychological wellbeing post-injury. It aims to construct a model of mechanisms of change, identify factors influencing change an ....Therapeutic songwriting, neurodisability, and identity. Thousands of Australians present with fractured identities following acquired spinal or brain injuries which can diminish their capacity to participate in and contribute to society. This project aims to investigate the effect of a song writing intervention on reconstruction of a meaningful integrated identity and psychological wellbeing post-injury. It aims to construct a model of mechanisms of change, identify factors influencing change and explore the role of musical identity in the process of identity reconstruction. It is expected that the findings will show evidence that song writing can enhance wellbeing, improve self-concept, and increase social and economic participation in society.Read moreRead less
Musical investment: assessing and enabling musical participation for well being impact across the lifespan. This project tests a growing belief that by investing in opportunity for musical participation we may develop the capacity to improve individual, family and community well being. The work advances the knowledge base by generating theories and evidence about why we should invest in music-making in order to promote well being across the lifespan. It undertakes systematic investigations to id ....Musical investment: assessing and enabling musical participation for well being impact across the lifespan. This project tests a growing belief that by investing in opportunity for musical participation we may develop the capacity to improve individual, family and community well being. The work advances the knowledge base by generating theories and evidence about why we should invest in music-making in order to promote well being across the lifespan. It undertakes systematic investigations to identify specific variables that promote well being in music activities. It develops best practice guidelines for music practitioners across a range of disciplines using a variety of modalities and offers potential to inform policy development.Read moreRead less
What's in the music? A lifespan model of emotional and musical creativity in therapeutic song writing. Composing songs as a form of therapy is a recent innovation in music therapy practice. This study examines the health benefits of original song writing for people with varying debilitating health conditions and those adjusting to injury, trauma or pending death. The results of this study will improve health service and delivery by music therapists.
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.
Vocal empowerment: Researching the effect of actor voice training on young adults with cochlear implants and hearing aids. The research offers significant public health outcomes for Australians, in the areas of preventative healthcare, through improving the social integration and quality of life of young adults with a hearing impairment and through improvements in habilitation.
Improving Health Promotion Through Continuous Quality Improvement
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$82,421.00
Summary
This research will investigate the impact of a continuous quality improvement (CQI) model on health promotion practice for chronic disease prevention in Indigenous communities. The aim is to improve health promotion practice by assisting health services improve their systems for providing and supporting the delivery of health promotion and chronic disease prevention strategies.
Alcohol and tobacco use among lesbian, bisexual and queer identifying women. This project aims to examine practices of alcohol and tobacco use among lesbian, bisexual and queer-identifying (LBQ) women, which are considerably higher compared to heterosexual women. By using an innovative, longitudinal qualitative approach, this project expects to generate new knowledge regarding the cultural and social forces that shape higher rates of alcohol and tobacco use among LBQ women, and to better underst ....Alcohol and tobacco use among lesbian, bisexual and queer identifying women. This project aims to examine practices of alcohol and tobacco use among lesbian, bisexual and queer-identifying (LBQ) women, which are considerably higher compared to heterosexual women. By using an innovative, longitudinal qualitative approach, this project expects to generate new knowledge regarding the cultural and social forces that shape higher rates of alcohol and tobacco use among LBQ women, and to better understand their impacts. It is anticipated that the project will enhance the capacity of health promotion and policy organisations to meet the alcohol management and smoking cessation needs of this population. Findings from this project should help to alleviate health and social inequalities experienced by LBQ women.
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The Art of AIDS Prevention: Cultural Responses to HIV/AIDS in Australia and the United States. While a number of studies have examined HIV/AIDS as a biological entity, the crucial 'cultural construction' of AIDS, and the effect of this construction on people living with AIDS and the wider public, is poorly understood. This project will assist wider awareness of the fact that public understandings of disease and affected individuals are both culturally mediated and contestable. In examining the i ....The Art of AIDS Prevention: Cultural Responses to HIV/AIDS in Australia and the United States. While a number of studies have examined HIV/AIDS as a biological entity, the crucial 'cultural construction' of AIDS, and the effect of this construction on people living with AIDS and the wider public, is poorly understood. This project will assist wider awareness of the fact that public understandings of disease and affected individuals are both culturally mediated and contestable. In examining the important role that artists played in confronting AIDS, this project will also suggest how similar cultural interventions might be employed during existing and future disease epidemics and other public health threats.Read moreRead less
Why Do Australian Teenagers Fall Pregnant? Exploring The Antecedents Of Teenage Pregnancy.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$542,100.00
Summary
Teenage pregnancy is a major health, social and economic issue for Australia. The teenage birth rate in Australia is higher than many other developed countries and of additional concern is the very high pregnancy and termination rate. Teenage pregnancy places the mother and child at greater risk of lifelong adverse outcomes. Despite research over more than 3 decades, we have only a simplistic understanding of what are likely complex mechanisms leading to early pregnancy. This is thought to be th ....Teenage pregnancy is a major health, social and economic issue for Australia. The teenage birth rate in Australia is higher than many other developed countries and of additional concern is the very high pregnancy and termination rate. Teenage pregnancy places the mother and child at greater risk of lifelong adverse outcomes. Despite research over more than 3 decades, we have only a simplistic understanding of what are likely complex mechanisms leading to early pregnancy. This is thought to be the reason for the failure of nearly all teenage pregnancy prevention efforts worldwide. In addition, there has been little study of this issue in Australian teenagers, and none in Aboriginal teenagers for whom pregnancy is more common and carries worse outcomes. This 2-stage project seeks to elucidate complex biological, psychological, and social pathways to unplanned pregnancy in the teenage years. In Phase 1, perceptions, values and beliefs will be explored in a qualitative study. Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal teenagers attending antenatal, termination and family planning clinics will be interviewed. Data from these interviews will generate new hypotheses regarding pregnancy risk in this age group. In Phase 2, 600 teenagers from schools, antenatal and termination clinics will be surveyed using computerised questionnaires. They will be asked about beliefs (identified in phase 1) and a range of other individual, family, and environmental factors identified in other studies to be risk factors for early pregnancy. Statistical analysis will be used to determine how multiple risk factors interact or combine to shape sexual and childbearing behaviour. This study will lead to new understandings of teenage pregnancy in Australia, and more effective teenage pregnancy intervention programs. Because few researchers in Australia, or elsewhere, have taken such a comprehensive approach to data collection and analysis, the results will be of international significance.Read moreRead less