Climate Change And Rural Communities: Integrated Study Of Physical And Social Impacts, Health Risks And Adaptive Options
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$611,599.00
Summary
Rural Australia has begun to experience climate change impacts - which will increase in future. Losses in farm yields, water supplies, property, community morale and family incomes have diverse health effects. We will study the separate and joint effects of climate change and associated extreme events (e.g., bushfires) on selected health outcomes. Using integrative methods, we will clarify the main influences on health risks, their future projections, and how best to intervene to lessen risks.
A Multi-level Study Of Socioeconomic Status And Healthy Food Purchasing Behaviour
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$173,492.00
Summary
Socioeconomically disadvantaged groups have the highest rates of death and ill-health for diet-related diseases (eg. coronary heart disease, some cancers). Our understanding of the dietary practices which may contribute to these outcomes, however, is limited. This project focuses on this issue by examining the relationship between socioeconomic status and food purchasing behaviour. Studies investigating this relationship have found that disadvantaged social groups are least likely to purchase fo ....Socioeconomically disadvantaged groups have the highest rates of death and ill-health for diet-related diseases (eg. coronary heart disease, some cancers). Our understanding of the dietary practices which may contribute to these outcomes, however, is limited. This project focuses on this issue by examining the relationship between socioeconomic status and food purchasing behaviour. Studies investigating this relationship have found that disadvantaged social groups are least likely to purchase foods which are important for long-term health. The reasons for this association, however, remain unclear. Research into the general determinants of food purchasing behaviour shows that food choices are influenced by the intra-personal characteristics of individuals (eg. knowledge and beliefs), interactions between individuals sharing the same context (eg. relations between parents and children), economic and material factors (eg. income, access to a car) and features of the wider physical environment (eg. availability of healthy food and public transport). What is clear from this evidence, is that food choice is influenced by factors which operate at multiple levels. This project aims to collect data simultaneously from each level, and determine whether (and to what extent) factors operating at each level differentially influence the food purchasing behaviours of socioeconomic groups. This study (i) will contribute to our understanding of why socioeconomic groups differ in their health status, (ii) is consistent with the goals and recommendations of numerous government reports, each of which calls for a a reduction in health inequalities, (iii) represents a methodological advance on previous research, and (iv) will generate the information necessary to develop innovative and appropriately targeted health promotion and health education campaigns.Read moreRead less
Interrogation Of Two Novel Genetic Susceptibility Loci For Multiple Sclerosis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$840,615.00
Summary
This proposal, from the Australia and New Zealand multiple sclerosis (MS) Genetics Consortium, aims to interrogate two new genes that it recently identified as predisposing for the development of MS. Both of the genes underlying these findings are also associated with risk of developing other autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and Graves' disease.
Empirical Ethics: Quantification Of Social Preferences For Economic Evaluation In The Health Sector
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$329,450.00
Summary
Recent studies indicate that there are significant differences between the social 'preferences'-priorities of the population and the priorities implied by health policy and embodied in health economic evaluations of the health sector. For example, members of the public give higher priority to the severely ill even when little can be done for them. The studies suggest that the public would also take into account, inter alia, a number of other factors, including prognosis, health potential and the ....Recent studies indicate that there are significant differences between the social 'preferences'-priorities of the population and the priorities implied by health policy and embodied in health economic evaluations of the health sector. For example, members of the public give higher priority to the severely ill even when little can be done for them. The studies suggest that the public would also take into account, inter alia, a number of other factors, including prognosis, health potential and the social context of the problem. They would not treat program costs in the way economic theory and practice recommends. These issues have been dramatised in the WHO's Evaluation of Health Systems (World Health Report 2000). This assigns a weight of only 0.25 to health improvement and 0.75 to issues of fairness. The proposed study will carry out three tasks. The first is to measure the importance of Australian health-related social preferences which should, potentially, be included in economic evaluation studies. Key values - parameters - including the rate of time preference and the social willingness to pay for an additional year of life will be measured precisely for immediate use. Secondly, the importance of other issues including illness severity, adaptation and prognosis will be tested to determine how these factors should be included in the economic evaluation of health programs. Finally, some general issues related to public versus private funding, egalitarianism and choice will be investigated. Results from interviews and surveys will be integrated in the Assessment of Quality of Life (AQoL) instrument and its user manual.Read moreRead less
Macrophage-regulated Tissue Remodelling In Endometrial Receptivity For Embryo Implantation And Pregnancy Success
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$456,779.00
Summary
Infertility and recurrent miscarriage affect 60-80 million couples globally, including 15% of couples in Australia. Moreover, 1 in 6 pregnancies is affected by pre-eclampsia, low birth weight or preterm labour. Infertility and other pathologies in pregnancy often result from failure of the maternal tissues to adequately support embryo implantation and development of the placenta, leading to insufficient nutritional support of the developing fetus. We have discovered in mice that disruption in th ....Infertility and recurrent miscarriage affect 60-80 million couples globally, including 15% of couples in Australia. Moreover, 1 in 6 pregnancies is affected by pre-eclampsia, low birth weight or preterm labour. Infertility and other pathologies in pregnancy often result from failure of the maternal tissues to adequately support embryo implantation and development of the placenta, leading to insufficient nutritional support of the developing fetus. We have discovered in mice that disruption in the populations of immune cells called macrophages within the uterine endometrial lining can reduce the receptivity of the endometrum to embryo implantation, and can lead to fetal growth retardation and impaired health after birth. The purpose of this project is to delineate the precise functions of macrophages in interacting with other cells in the endometrium to facilitate attachment of the embryo, its invasion into maternal tissues, and its access to an adequate blood supply as the placenta develops during early pregnancy. We will employ state of the art experimental strategies including genetic models to deplete endometrial macrophage populations in mice, and will then study the implications for changes in endometrial tissue structure and function. Furthermore we will investigate the long term consequences of early macrophage perturbations for the fetus and neonate after birth. This study will improve our understanding of how determinants of macrophage function such as infection and inflammatory conditions, male factors, nutrition and stress can impair fertility and compromise optimal pregnancy outcome in humans.Read moreRead less
Object Recognition Processes For Motor Output Formation In Visual Agnosic Patients
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$199,260.00
Summary
Damage to the temporo-occipito-parietal areas of the brain leads to selective impairment in cognitive activities, including motor control and vision. Impaired higher visual processes necessary for object recognition, with intact primary visual functions, is defined as visual agnosia. Experimental work in this disorder has been confined largely to the perceptual aspects, neglecting the functional (motoric) consequences. In a series of kinematic and perceptual experiments, we will require patients ....Damage to the temporo-occipito-parietal areas of the brain leads to selective impairment in cognitive activities, including motor control and vision. Impaired higher visual processes necessary for object recognition, with intact primary visual functions, is defined as visual agnosia. Experimental work in this disorder has been confined largely to the perceptual aspects, neglecting the functional (motoric) consequences. In a series of kinematic and perceptual experiments, we will require patients with visual agnosia to grasp objects presented in unusual perspectives or variable illumination. The findings will enlarge our knowledge in three ways. First, they will clarify how distributed, but parallel object-recognition processes are coordinated for intended action towards a goal. Little is known about how we adapt our actions to object perception. A tool can be viewed from different angles, or as having different functional uses, but currently we are unable to explain how the mental representation influences the motor output to that tool. By studying a disrupted system, as in visual agnosia, we can speculate about the organisation of the intact system. Second, this project has important implications for new rehabilitative approaches for subjects affected by object recognition disorders. Only if we understand more fully the nature of the poor visuo-motor coordination, can we implement more efficient rehabilitative techniques. Finally, this project will also contribute to the classification of visual agnosia. Although it is commonly agreed that all agnosic patients are different, there is no standard taxonomy for the disorder. An instrument is necessary which represents the basic empirical phenomena, and which provides objective distinctions between different syndromes. Kinematic characterisation of the perceptual and motor control dysfunction in visual agnosia may be the key to open the file of this fascinating yet poorly understood disorder.Read moreRead less
The Effect Of Loading On The Size, Shape And Strength Of Cortical Bone During Different Stages Of Maturation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$180,000.00
Summary
Osteoporosis is a condition in which the skeleton becomes fragile and susceptible to fractures. It is a public health problem that affects both men and women over the age of sixty. Although osteoporosis affects the elderly, the most opportune time to prevent osteoporosis may be during childhood. Physical activity is a lifestyle factor known to affect the strength of the skeleton. Bone density is commonly used as a measure of bone strength because it is easily measured and is related to the break ....Osteoporosis is a condition in which the skeleton becomes fragile and susceptible to fractures. It is a public health problem that affects both men and women over the age of sixty. Although osteoporosis affects the elderly, the most opportune time to prevent osteoporosis may be during childhood. Physical activity is a lifestyle factor known to affect the strength of the skeleton. Bone density is commonly used as a measure of bone strength because it is easily measured and is related to the breaking strength of bones. However changes in the shape of bones can also affect bone strength with or without an increase in bone density. Changes in bone shape in response to exercise in children or adults have rarely been investigated, and little is known about the effects of exercise on bone shape during different stages of growth. This study is the first to investigate how exercise during childhood may affect bone strength by changing bone shape. 45 elite female tennis players aged between 6 to 18 years have completed two years of this study. 90 novice and competitive male tennis players aged between 6 to 20 years and 60 healthy age matched controls will be asked to participate in this study. Measurements will be made annually for three years. The bone shape and density of the dominant and non-dominant arms of the players will be compared with the children who don't play tennis - comparisons will also be made between i) different stages of puberty and ii) girls and boys. The findings of this study are important because the lifestyle of children today may predispose them to a greater risk of osteoporosis late in life. Physical activity may be the most important modifiable protective factor against fragile bones in old age. The findings of this study will be the first to provide insight into whether there is a unique time during growth when exercise will result in the greatest increase in bone strength by changing bone shape.Read moreRead less