Sitting Less And Moving More: Population Health Research To Understand And Influence Sedentary Behaviour
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$6,367,518.00
Summary
The majority of Australian adults spend most of their waking hours sitting: at home, at work, and in their cars; most do not participate in exercise or sport. This leads to weight gain and to diseases of inactivity (particularly diabetes, heart disease, cancer and depression). New research will measure sitting time and the physical activity in people's daily lives, what factors encourage inactivity, and how to increase activity levels, especially among the ageing 'baby boomer' population.
TELEPHONE COUNSELLING FOR MAINTENANCE OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, WEIGHT LOSS And GLYCAEMIC CONTROL IN TYPE 2 DIABETES
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,285,894.00
Summary
Regular exercise, a healthy diet and weight loss are key to managing type 2 diabetes, yet these are major challenges for most people with diabetes. This study will evaluate the impact of a telephone counselling program to assist people with type 2 diabetes to exercise, eat a healthy diet and lose weight, with the goal of helping them to sustain these changes over the long-term. It is expected that these lifestyle changes will also result in improved blood glucose control and quality of life.
A Multi-setting Intervention To Reduce Sedentary Behaviour, Promote Physical Activity And Improve Childrens Health
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$860,343.00
Summary
Sedentary behaviours and physical inactivity play a major role in the rising prevalence of obesity among children in Australia. This intervention study will take place in the school and family settings which play a critical role in shaping children's health behaviours. The objective is to determine whether a 2-year behavioural intervention reduces sedentary behaviour and promotes physical activity and results in improved health among 8-9 year old children.
MatesMonitor: Evaluating Suicide Prevention In The Construction Industry
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$628,742.00
Summary
We will evaluate a smart-phone based suicide prevention program for the construction industry called MatesMonitor. This will complement face-to-face training provided by an industry-wide suicide prevention program. MatesMonitor will provide education and awareness about suicide prevention and additional social support through regular contacts with participants. We anticipate MatesMonitor will result in improved suicide prevention literacy, and reduced suicide ideation and self harm.
Excessive sitting and population health: strengthening the science and the relevance to policy and practice. The majority of Australian adults spend most of their waking hours sitting; this increases the likelihood of developing diseases of inactivity, including diabetes, heart disease and some cancers. New research will investigate what factors encourage excessive sitting and what the health benefits are for people who deliberately do less sitting.
Citizen engagement: Listening to citizens' views about Australia's health system and prevention. This project will yield new and important perspectives from citizens on preventive health and health promotion, which can be used to develop better targeted and more effective prevention and promotion policies and strategies. Citizens views will be investigated in relation to vexed issues such as: new approaches to financing and program delivery, reorienting the health insurance sector, reorienting ....Citizen engagement: Listening to citizens' views about Australia's health system and prevention. This project will yield new and important perspectives from citizens on preventive health and health promotion, which can be used to develop better targeted and more effective prevention and promotion policies and strategies. Citizens views will be investigated in relation to vexed issues such as: new approaches to financing and program delivery, reorienting the health insurance sector, reorienting the health system to focus more on prevention and health promotion, improving current approaches of consumer participation in prevention and chronic disease management, tackling broader issues in public policy trade-offs between health and non-health, diversifying workforce roles and involving health professionals in prevention and promotion.Read moreRead less
Engaging ethnic minority and majority blood donors in donor recruitment. Word-of-mouth is a potentially powerful way to recruit blood donors. Talking about donation increases awareness, trust, commitment and positive feelings about donating, particularly in ethnic minority groups. However, donors seldom tell others about donating. This project aims to determine how to motivate blood donors to recruit new donors using word-of-mouth, through research comprising co-design, surveys, and experiments. ....Engaging ethnic minority and majority blood donors in donor recruitment. Word-of-mouth is a potentially powerful way to recruit blood donors. Talking about donation increases awareness, trust, commitment and positive feelings about donating, particularly in ethnic minority groups. However, donors seldom tell others about donating. This project aims to determine how to motivate blood donors to recruit new donors using word-of-mouth, through research comprising co-design, surveys, and experiments. This project will generate new knowledge of how to encourage effective word-of-mouth for pro-social behaviours. Expected outcomes include producing culturally relevant, validated resources that will significantly benefit Australia by encouraging effective conversations to promote blood donation in all communities.Read moreRead less
Social Impact and Connection Outcomes Associated with Community Sport. Outcomes of social connection from community sport are widely touted and supported to exist. However, we know little about how social infrastructure actually delivers these benefits. It is difficult to understand and develop practices that organisations can use to maximise the outcomes of sport participation. This research aims to investigate how social infrastructure delivers social connection outcomes associated with commun ....Social Impact and Connection Outcomes Associated with Community Sport. Outcomes of social connection from community sport are widely touted and supported to exist. However, we know little about how social infrastructure actually delivers these benefits. It is difficult to understand and develop practices that organisations can use to maximise the outcomes of sport participation. This research aims to investigate how social infrastructure delivers social connection outcomes associated with community sport. Expected outcomes include novel practice based tools and guidance for community groups to enhance social connection outcomes and new understanding about the role of social infrastructure in enhancing community connection. Improved social connection is expected to improve resilience and community wellbeing.
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Exploring Wellbeing Outcomes in the Aquatic and Recreation Industry. This project aims to investigate the impact on individual wellbeing through use of public aquatic and recreation centres in Australia. Through the use of mixed methods across multiple locations, the project expects to generate new knowledge on the effect on users of different management and service models for the provision of aquatic and recreational infrastructure. Expected outcomes include a quantifiable measure of social and ....Exploring Wellbeing Outcomes in the Aquatic and Recreation Industry. This project aims to investigate the impact on individual wellbeing through use of public aquatic and recreation centres in Australia. Through the use of mixed methods across multiple locations, the project expects to generate new knowledge on the effect on users of different management and service models for the provision of aquatic and recreational infrastructure. Expected outcomes include a quantifiable measure of social and emotional wellbeing that can be utilised by centre management and government. This will help assessment of best practice for maximising community wellbeing, and can guide investment decisions by state and local government.Read moreRead less
Belonging and sexual citizenship among gender and sexual minority youth. In the context of well-documented threats to the mental health and well-being of minority young people, this project will examine the experiences of two different generations of gender and sexual minority youth growing up in Australia, and the sources of support they have found most useful. Innovative contextual analysis will involve documentary and archival research alongside individual and group interviews. Through a focu ....Belonging and sexual citizenship among gender and sexual minority youth. In the context of well-documented threats to the mental health and well-being of minority young people, this project will examine the experiences of two different generations of gender and sexual minority youth growing up in Australia, and the sources of support they have found most useful. Innovative contextual analysis will involve documentary and archival research alongside individual and group interviews. Through a focus on the promotion of well-being and participatory citizenship in a rapidly changing social world, the findings aim to contribute new theory concerning transitions from youth to adulthood, improved methodology for the study of marginal and sometimes hard-to-reach populations, and better quality policy and practice.Read moreRead less