Changing the media diet - Investigating the power of the news media to prevent obesity. Australia has 3.7 million obese people - twice as many are overweight. Australian experts say this epidemic, which costs Australia $58 billion a year, requires novel solutions at individual and societal levels. The news media are powerful shapers of public and policymakers' understandings of health issues. This project investigates competing arguments in news media and reality TV and how these frames influenc ....Changing the media diet - Investigating the power of the news media to prevent obesity. Australia has 3.7 million obese people - twice as many are overweight. Australian experts say this epidemic, which costs Australia $58 billion a year, requires novel solutions at individual and societal levels. The news media are powerful shapers of public and policymakers' understandings of health issues. This project investigates competing arguments in news media and reality TV and how these frames influence consumer understandings to discover what role the media are playing in the obesity epidemic. The goal is to relate the findings to scientific evidence and design novel strategic communication interventions to promote health through individual and societal interventions.Read moreRead less
Safety, risk and wellbeing on digital dating apps. This project aims to build an evidence-base scoping and strategic planning of health promotion campaigns targeting Australian dating app users. The rise of digital dating apps generates a number of issues regarding cultures of health and wellbeing, including concerns regarding risks of sexual assault, and sexually transmitted infection transmission. Popular media reports raise concerns regarding sexual privacy breaches, in the form of ‘revenge p ....Safety, risk and wellbeing on digital dating apps. This project aims to build an evidence-base scoping and strategic planning of health promotion campaigns targeting Australian dating app users. The rise of digital dating apps generates a number of issues regarding cultures of health and wellbeing, including concerns regarding risks of sexual assault, and sexually transmitted infection transmission. Popular media reports raise concerns regarding sexual privacy breaches, in the form of ‘revenge porn’, sexual harassment and sexual assault. Despite this, little evidence exists regarding the role apps currently play in users’ everyday negotiations of consent, condom use, contraception, and other aspects of sexual health and wellbeing. The outcomes of this project will establish foundations for future health interventions promoting sexual health and safety for digital dating app users, and take an innovative participatory approach. This will result in practical, strategic recommendations regarding the future planning, and implementation of digital health promotion campaigns targeting diverse populations, including heterosexual and same-sex-attracted young people aged 15-30.
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Measuring children's responsiveness to food advertising. This will be the first study, in Australia or elsewhere, that concurrently examines food promotions across a range of child-targeted media, in real-time, and investigates the way that these commercial messages are attended to, interpreted, and responded to by young people. This project will assist us in developing appropriate regulatory and social marketing responses to non-television advertising to children, will have valuable flow-on eff ....Measuring children's responsiveness to food advertising. This will be the first study, in Australia or elsewhere, that concurrently examines food promotions across a range of child-targeted media, in real-time, and investigates the way that these commercial messages are attended to, interpreted, and responded to by young people. This project will assist us in developing appropriate regulatory and social marketing responses to non-television advertising to children, will have valuable flow-on effects for measuring the effects of advertising of other types of products, and via other media, and will place Australia at the forefront of research in this area.Read moreRead less
Enhancing adolescents’ health through digital health literacy. This project aims to understand adolescents’ digital health literacy: their capacity to find, understand, appraise the trustworthiness of, and act appropriately on, digital health information. Technological development is racing ahead of insight into how adolescents use technology for health information and subsequent self-care. We must harness the benefits of these technological advances while protecting adolescent health. In co-des ....Enhancing adolescents’ health through digital health literacy. This project aims to understand adolescents’ digital health literacy: their capacity to find, understand, appraise the trustworthiness of, and act appropriately on, digital health information. Technological development is racing ahead of insight into how adolescents use technology for health information and subsequent self-care. We must harness the benefits of these technological advances while protecting adolescent health. In co-designing a flexible suite of education resources, this project aims to generate critical new knowledge about the digital health literacy of a diverse range of adolescents. It is anticipated that the education resources will provide significant benefits to adolescents through enhanced capacity for self-care.Read moreRead less
A randomised trial of an intervention to maintain alcohol management practices in community sporting clubs. Despite significant investment in implementation, many public health initiatives fail to persist when program funding and resources are reduced, limiting the benefits to the community. This project will investigate the effectiveness of a web-based intervention in sustaining the impact of an alcohol management intervention in community sports clubs.
Safer Sex Beliefs and Practices in Multi-Partner Heterosexuals. Recent Australian research has indicated that heterosexuals with multiple or concurrent partners require targeted safer sex messages, and sexual health promotion resources. This is the first Australian study to address these groups, gaining community input into resource development. It is also the first local qualitative study to examine the attitudes, beliefs and safer sex practices of non-lesbian women seeking same-sex partners. T ....Safer Sex Beliefs and Practices in Multi-Partner Heterosexuals. Recent Australian research has indicated that heterosexuals with multiple or concurrent partners require targeted safer sex messages, and sexual health promotion resources. This is the first Australian study to address these groups, gaining community input into resource development. It is also the first local qualitative study to examine the attitudes, beliefs and safer sex practices of non-lesbian women seeking same-sex partners. The information gathered will assist researchers and educators nationally. Identification of media networks will also aid service provision in rural or regional areas.Read moreRead less
Understanding and preventing mental health difficulties in young Australian men using the Internet. Mental health is a major public health problem in Australia. Young men are particularly vulnerable to suicide, drug and alcohol problems and yet fail to seek appropriate help. The Internet is currently accessed by 85% of Australia's youth and yet very little evidence exists which examines the capacity of the Internet to engage young men and promote help seeking. This project will build an evidence ....Understanding and preventing mental health difficulties in young Australian men using the Internet. Mental health is a major public health problem in Australia. Young men are particularly vulnerable to suicide, drug and alcohol problems and yet fail to seek appropriate help. The Internet is currently accessed by 85% of Australia's youth and yet very little evidence exists which examines the capacity of the Internet to engage young men and promote help seeking. This project will build an evidence base which explores how innovative on-line strategies and social marketing can effectively promote help seeking behaviour and improve mental health outcomes for young men. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230101422
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$467,132.00
Summary
Co-creating critical health literacy interventions. This project aims to enhance critical health literacy in culturally and linguistically diverse communities in western Sydney. Never in history has there been such an abundance of health information from numerous sources, with varying degrees of trustworthiness. This project intends to work with communities to co-create scalable interventions which promote critical health literacy and support people to navigate and appraise the sea of available ....Co-creating critical health literacy interventions. This project aims to enhance critical health literacy in culturally and linguistically diverse communities in western Sydney. Never in history has there been such an abundance of health information from numerous sources, with varying degrees of trustworthiness. This project intends to work with communities to co-create scalable interventions which promote critical health literacy and support people to navigate and appraise the sea of available health (mis)information. This project expects to provide significant social and health benefits through the development of innovative health literacy research methods for use with culturally-diverse communities and scalable interventions with the capacity to enhance critical skills across communities.Read moreRead less
Reducing alcohol misuse: The efficacy of a comprehensive accreditation intervention in community sports clubs. The prevention of alcohol misuse is increasingly recognised as a priority by State and Commonwealth governments, and the community alike. A similar increasing recognition of the role of sport in the occurrence of such misuse has resulted in a call for action in this community setting. Very limited data are available regarding effective intervention strategies in sports clubs. The propos ....Reducing alcohol misuse: The efficacy of a comprehensive accreditation intervention in community sports clubs. The prevention of alcohol misuse is increasingly recognised as a priority by State and Commonwealth governments, and the community alike. A similar increasing recognition of the role of sport in the occurrence of such misuse has resulted in a call for action in this community setting. Very limited data are available regarding effective intervention strategies in sports clubs. The proposed intervention directly addresses this knowledge deficit. In addressing the culture of excessive alcohol consumption in sports clubs, the intervention, should it be effective, has the potential to contribute to a reduction in both short and long term alcohol harms in Australia.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100382
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$330,000.00
Summary
Theory-based implementation of nutrition guidelines into childcare settings. This project aims to develop a theory-informed evidence base to increase childcare services’ implementation of nutrition guidelines. The application of theory is critical to design and evaluate strategies to implement guidelines. The project includes a rigorous tool to measure theoretical constructs. It applies theory to identify barriers to guideline implementation and explore effective intervention mechanisms. This pr ....Theory-based implementation of nutrition guidelines into childcare settings. This project aims to develop a theory-informed evidence base to increase childcare services’ implementation of nutrition guidelines. The application of theory is critical to design and evaluate strategies to implement guidelines. The project includes a rigorous tool to measure theoretical constructs. It applies theory to identify barriers to guideline implementation and explore effective intervention mechanisms. This project is expected to identify effective interventions to implement best practice guidelines for the betterment of children and the community.Read moreRead less