Anxiety and depression are common during early- to mid-adulthood and a major cause of disability. Few studies track individuals over this age range or assess how their experience of anxiety/depression affects them at midlife when many of life’s work, family and personal achievements coalesce. The PATH to Midlife project extends an existing community survey to understand the patterns of anxiety and depression from early to mid-adulthood and identify the personal, social and economic consequences.
A Phase III Trial Comparing Adjuvant Versus Salvage Radiotherapy For High Risk Patients Post Radical Prostatectomy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$819,138.00
Summary
About half of all patients Treated with an operation to remove their prostate cancer have a high chance of the cancer coming back. Giving immediate radiotherapy to all patients will improve cure rates but does not benefit all men and can cause significant side effects. This study explores whether it is safe to wait and only give radiotherapy when there is a rising PSA after surgery indicating active cancer. A total of 470 men from Australasia will enter this study comparing the two approaches.
A Randomised Control Trial Of Non-specific Clinical Management Versus CBT In Chronic Anorexia Nervosa
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$555,843.00
Summary
Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a serious mental illness that usually starts in adolescence and often runs a chronic course. With an estimated prevalence rate between 0.5% and 3.7% of women, and up to 50% remaining chronically ill, the illness poses a disproportionate burden on health and social services. AN has inpatient costs alone that exceed that for schizophrenia. Chronic AN has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. Chronic AN patients are known for their ambivalence about engaging in ....Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a serious mental illness that usually starts in adolescence and often runs a chronic course. With an estimated prevalence rate between 0.5% and 3.7% of women, and up to 50% remaining chronically ill, the illness poses a disproportionate burden on health and social services. AN has inpatient costs alone that exceed that for schizophrenia. Chronic AN has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. Chronic AN patients are known for their ambivalence about engaging in treatment and poor motivation to change their eating disorder behaviours. They often fail to respond to traditional treatments and develop a history of negative treatment experiences and repeated treatment failures. A new approach is needed to reduce both the personal suffering and the burden of the illness on social and medical services. To date, there has been little scientific investigation into the development of specific treatment for those patients with chronic AN. This study will trial a recently manualised therapy - non-specific supportive clinical management - which initial evidence suggests may hold promise for chronic AN because it offers a more indirect, motivationally-matched approach. This treatment will be compared to the establishment therapy Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Patients will be randomly allocated to one of the two treatment conditions and will receive 40 sessions over 12 months. They will be thoroughly assessed prior to during and after they have completed treatment and followed up for 6 months. This is the worlds first trial of a psychological treatment for chronic AN; it is hoped the study will establish an effective treatment for this debilitating and expensive illness. Further, as the project aims to explore the core, but often over-looked, feature of AN - poor motivation for recovery - it will also be in a position to shed light on the deep psychological processes that maintain this illness.Read moreRead less
Understanding And Ameliorating The Human Health Effects Of Exposure To Air Pollution: From Knowledge To Policy And Public Health Practice
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,584,848.00
Summary
Urban consolidation and sprawl, traffic congestion, mining, climate change, heating and cooling living environments, and power generation – these manifestations of modernity produce regular headlines. Air pollution and its effects on human health are the focus of much popular concern. This CRE will build an integrated research capacity in the field of air pollution and its effects on human health that will allow Australia to address these major challenges - now and in the future.
Drivers of ageing and adaptive ageing in middle-aged and older adults. This project aims to answer crucial questions about how our early years influence our health and wellbeing in middle and later life. Drawing on one of Australia’s longest running studies of social and emotional development, we link decades of developmental data collected since 1983 to social, emotional, cognitive and physical wellbeing in participants turning 40 (midlife) and 70 (later life). It will provide insight into impo ....Drivers of ageing and adaptive ageing in middle-aged and older adults. This project aims to answer crucial questions about how our early years influence our health and wellbeing in middle and later life. Drawing on one of Australia’s longest running studies of social and emotional development, we link decades of developmental data collected since 1983 to social, emotional, cognitive and physical wellbeing in participants turning 40 (midlife) and 70 (later life). It will provide insight into important and largely unanswered questions about the way social factors in the first half of life shape our later selves. This study will inform government and health policy targeting ageing populations.
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Exploring Internet Induced Changes in Youth Music Consumption. Music consumption is the basis of both a key Australian industry with wide reaching economic impact, and a social practice closely tied to identity formation, relationship development and mood management. This project has significant community and national benefit, in that it will further our understanding of contemporary popular music consumption. In documenting the range of online music products, young consumers' attitudes towards ....Exploring Internet Induced Changes in Youth Music Consumption. Music consumption is the basis of both a key Australian industry with wide reaching economic impact, and a social practice closely tied to identity formation, relationship development and mood management. This project has significant community and national benefit, in that it will further our understanding of contemporary popular music consumption. In documenting the range of online music products, young consumers' attitudes towards them, and their personal music acquisition habits, the project will lead to an understanding of how having access to almost unlimited, personalised music-file collections will affect the role music plays in their lives and the follow-on impact in social, cultural and economic terms.Read moreRead less
Translating Respiratory And Environmental Epidemiology Into Improved Lung Health
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$319,714.00
Summary
Chronic respiratory disease, tuberculosis and the effects of air pollution are important health problems globally. Evaluating current approaches to dealing with these problems and developing new approaches requires good data. Over the next five years I will lead a number of studies addressing these issues, in Australia and internationally, in order to provided the strongest possible evidence to underpin policy.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the risk of closed, indoor settings due to accumulation of aerosols generated from breathing, speaking, coughing or sneezing. Any airborne threat, whether an infectious virus or a chemical agent, will create a higher exposure in indoor settings. To mitigate this risk, using inter-disciplinary expertise, this research will improve preparedness, reduce health impacts of airborne threats, inform worker and occupant safety, building design and healthy futures.
Uncovering the transgenerational dimension of ageing. Despite over a century of research on the biology of ageing, one intriguing aspect of ageing – the widely observed tendency for older parents to produce offspring with reduced lifespan and fitness – remains poorly understood. Such effects could be a major source of variation in individual fitness, could play a role in the evolution of ageing, and could impact human health. Building on recent discoveries by CI Bonduriansky’s research group and ....Uncovering the transgenerational dimension of ageing. Despite over a century of research on the biology of ageing, one intriguing aspect of ageing – the widely observed tendency for older parents to produce offspring with reduced lifespan and fitness – remains poorly understood. Such effects could be a major source of variation in individual fitness, could play a role in the evolution of ageing, and could impact human health. Building on recent discoveries by CI Bonduriansky’s research group and others, this project’s aims will address significant questions about the mechanisms mediating these effects, the roles of mothers vs. fathers, and the role of the ambient environment. This project will also contribute new theory on the evolutionary implications of such effects. Read moreRead less