Using advertising to negatively reconstruct memories of risky and high-risk drinking amongst Australia's youth : a new intervention strategy. The NHMRC recognises alcohol-related problems as one of Australia's most serious health problems. Binge-drinking in particular is endemic amongst the population, especially youth, with such behaviour resulting in enormous economic, social and emotional costs to our nation. This study works towards reducing binge drinking amongst youth by assisting the de ....Using advertising to negatively reconstruct memories of risky and high-risk drinking amongst Australia's youth : a new intervention strategy. The NHMRC recognises alcohol-related problems as one of Australia's most serious health problems. Binge-drinking in particular is endemic amongst the population, especially youth, with such behaviour resulting in enormous economic, social and emotional costs to our nation. This study works towards reducing binge drinking amongst youth by assisting the development of more effective counter-advertising campaigns that make young people's memories of binge-drinking less enjoyable & more unpleasant. It also assists relevant advertising regulators & key decision-makers to take action to ensure that alcohol ads do not spawn primarily attractive memories of binge-drinking experiences.Read moreRead less
Early Intervention To Prevent Childhood Obesity Among A Disadvantaged Population: A Home-based Randomised Controlled Tri
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$675,082.00
Summary
This intervention research will conduct a randomised controlled trial, of a community-based early childhood home visiting intervention designed to improve family and behavioural risk factors for childhood obesity and overweight. This intervention which will be developed in collaboration with the Health Promotion Unit, Child and Family Health Nurses, university academic experts and mothers in the community promises to deliver significant health and social benefits, in particular, preventing early ....This intervention research will conduct a randomised controlled trial, of a community-based early childhood home visiting intervention designed to improve family and behavioural risk factors for childhood obesity and overweight. This intervention which will be developed in collaboration with the Health Promotion Unit, Child and Family Health Nurses, university academic experts and mothers in the community promises to deliver significant health and social benefits, in particular, preventing early onset of childhood obesity. It will result in a series of recommendations for policies and practical methods for promoting healthy feeding and physical activity of infants under two years of age with particular application to families who are socially and economically disadvantaged. These policies and practical methods for preventing childhood obesity could be used across Australia.Read moreRead less
Emergency Communication: Addressing the challenges in health care discourses and practices. Communication breakdowns have been identified as the major cause of
critical incidents in public hospitals in NSW (NSW Health, 2005a). A key applied benefit of knowledge generated by the project will be a
contribution to the reduction of critical incidents leading to patient
harm - an outcome applicable to Emergency Departments nationally. This project will benefit Australia's Hospital and Health admin ....Emergency Communication: Addressing the challenges in health care discourses and practices. Communication breakdowns have been identified as the major cause of
critical incidents in public hospitals in NSW (NSW Health, 2005a). A key applied benefit of knowledge generated by the project will be a
contribution to the reduction of critical incidents leading to patient
harm - an outcome applicable to Emergency Departments nationally. This project will benefit Australia's Hospital and Health administrations as they endeavour to find solutions to the impact of communication breakdowns and provide communications training of health care personnel. The research will deliver recommendations for system-wide improvements in communication competency.Read moreRead less
Examining A Core Assumption Of Policy And Services For Older Indigenous Australians
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$133,387.00
Summary
In aged care service planning, the age 50 years or over is used for the Indigenous Australian population in the same way as the age 70 years is used for the non-Indigenous population. This is based on the lower life expectancy of the Indigenous population which is presumed to result in a need for aged care services at younger ages. The underlying assumption is that Australia's Indigenous population aged over 50 has the same set of age-associated conditions and care needs as the non-Indigenous po ....In aged care service planning, the age 50 years or over is used for the Indigenous Australian population in the same way as the age 70 years is used for the non-Indigenous population. This is based on the lower life expectancy of the Indigenous population which is presumed to result in a need for aged care services at younger ages. The underlying assumption is that Australia's Indigenous population aged over 50 has the same set of age-associated conditions and care needs as the non-Indigenous population aged over 70. The evidence for this assumption is not established. It is well documented that the Indigenous population has worse health outcomes across all age groups relative to non-Indigenous Australians. However, our understanding of the details of the observed pattern is far from complete. This project seeks to compare the health status of the Indigenous population aged 50 years or over to the health status of the non-Indigenous population aged 70 years or over. The project will analyse a number of data sets to inform future directions in policy and service provision. A better understanding of these issues is fundamental to informed planning and allocation of resources, to identification of areas amenable to prevention strategies and to the development of approaches to care that meet the needs of Indigenous people.Read moreRead less
Effective clinical handover communication: improving patient safety, experience and outcomes. Improving written and spoken communication in clinical handover will significantly reduce critical incidents in hospitals. The link between communication and critical incidents in hospitals is well documented. One third of the $2 billion p.a. direct financial costs to Australia of critical incidents, is attributed to poor communication between clinicians. National and international governments and heal ....Effective clinical handover communication: improving patient safety, experience and outcomes. Improving written and spoken communication in clinical handover will significantly reduce critical incidents in hospitals. The link between communication and critical incidents in hospitals is well documented. One third of the $2 billion p.a. direct financial costs to Australia of critical incidents, is attributed to poor communication between clinicians. National and international governments and health agencies have targeted clinical handover as critical in safe, effective health care. This project will generate new knowledge of handover to significantly improve patient safety and enable health professionals to enhance their communicative practices, thereby improving the quality of the patient journey through the hospital system.Read moreRead less
Improving Identification And Treatment Of Early-onset Behaviour Disorders In Children
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$498,869.00
Summary
Most mental health problems begin in childhood and adolescence. Of these, oppositional-defiant and conduct problems in childhood are the most common precursor of all types of adult mental health problems. These children are the most common referral to child mental health clinics but little is known about which of these children will go in which direction i.e., good health, chronic antisocial behaviour, depression and anxiety, substance abuse, the psychoses. Progress in more accurately defining s ....Most mental health problems begin in childhood and adolescence. Of these, oppositional-defiant and conduct problems in childhood are the most common precursor of all types of adult mental health problems. These children are the most common referral to child mental health clinics but little is known about which of these children will go in which direction i.e., good health, chronic antisocial behaviour, depression and anxiety, substance abuse, the psychoses. Progress in more accurately defining subgroups of these children would have huge implications for early intervention for mental health problems in our community. This project proposes the first large scale analysis of genetic distributions through to behavioural and treatment factors that characterise and differentiate a large representative sample of children with conduct problems. The project will test a model of child psychopathology that links genotype, via environmental risk and emotion processing problems, to an improved diagnostic-phenotypic model for treatment of the major childhood disorder. Clinical research activities will be structured into three intersecting arms: first, identifying the genetic and behavioural subtypes of early-onset conduct problems; second, innovative treatments for these children, and third, the dissemination of findings to these children and their families via the health care system. The research will build new collaborations between established and internationally recognised clinical research teams in childhood mental health, biological psychiatry, genetics and the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Statewide Network (CAMHSNET). CAMHSNET have specific responsibilities to NSW Health for expert advice and input on the development of child mental health services directions, dissemination, training, and effectiveness research.Read moreRead less
Examining organisational complexity and clinical risk to improve hospital patients' safety. Improving communicative practices will reduce the massive rate and cost of medication errors and hospital-acquired infections. Current costs of hospital-caused incidents are around AU$2 billion per year. These costs are likely to rise further because hospitals are becoming busier, more culturally and linguistically diverse, less generously resourced per patient, and more technologically capable of keeping ....Examining organisational complexity and clinical risk to improve hospital patients' safety. Improving communicative practices will reduce the massive rate and cost of medication errors and hospital-acquired infections. Current costs of hospital-caused incidents are around AU$2 billion per year. These costs are likely to rise further because hospitals are becoming busier, more culturally and linguistically diverse, less generously resourced per patient, and more technologically capable of keeping sicker patients alive for longer, leading to increased clinical risk and more incidents. This project could save around 20% of the total cost of hospital operations by reducing lengths of stay, lowering re-admission rates and ensuring better deployment of clinical resources.Read moreRead less
Understanding Foster Carers' Motivations: Personal, Political & Historical Perspectives on Care Provision in Australia. Due to the increasing number of children in care nationally, and the declining number of available foster care placements, there is current considerable interest in understanding the most appropriate means to recruit and retain foster carers. This project involves a national interview study of carers from several Australian States to understand the factors that most strongly mo ....Understanding Foster Carers' Motivations: Personal, Political & Historical Perspectives on Care Provision in Australia. Due to the increasing number of children in care nationally, and the declining number of available foster care placements, there is current considerable interest in understanding the most appropriate means to recruit and retain foster carers. This project involves a national interview study of carers from several Australian States to understand the factors that most strongly motivate people to become carers. Based on interviews with carers and other important stakeholders, the results will help us to understand the nature of the foster-carer role within the current political and social climate and help inform future national recruitment strategies.
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Working Longer: Policy Reforms And Practice Innovations
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,162,805.00
Summary
A popular response to increased longevity is to suggest that older workers should work longer. But working longer involves changes to established policies, practices, and institutions, which are currently built around retiring earlier. The project will forecast demographic and health transition in Australia and develop capacity to analyze the likely economic and workplace adjustments that population ageing will generate. It will examine the extent to which ñworking longerî is an appropriate resp ....A popular response to increased longevity is to suggest that older workers should work longer. But working longer involves changes to established policies, practices, and institutions, which are currently built around retiring earlier. The project will forecast demographic and health transition in Australia and develop capacity to analyze the likely economic and workplace adjustments that population ageing will generate. It will examine the extent to which ñworking longerî is an appropriate response to this transition, and analyze how the labour market for older workers might evolve, taking account of individual circumstances (health, financial status, dependant care) and institutional practices (age discrimination, employment conditions, work organization), as well as regulatory and policy impacts. The overall objective of the program is to develop a multi-disciplinary knowledge base to inform integrated policy and institutional (or practice) improvement in the labour market for the elderly. Its contribution will be to improve the institutional and policy framework within which households and firms operate, with the aim of modifying workplace practices and policy and institutional constraints to encourage a more vibrant labour market for older workers. Specifically the program of research will: Assess the demographic and economic impacts of working longer under alternative policy and institutional (practice) scenarios; Provide alternative pension, superannuation, finance and taxation designs to encourage labour force participation of older people; Identify employment strategies to enhance the health and safety of older workers; Develop strategies to facilitate workforce re-entry of older workers, including gender-specific considerations; and Provide an integrated set of recommendations to create policy and practice partnerships which facilitate a labour market conducive to increased mature-age participation.Read moreRead less