I am a behavioural epidemiologist in adolescent health. The focus of my research is to assess the effect of the school environment on adolescent health and wellbeing, design and evaluate school-based interventions that promote these and study how schools
Why Do Australian Teenagers Fall Pregnant? Exploring The Antecedents Of Teenage Pregnancy.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$542,100.00
Summary
Teenage pregnancy is a major health, social and economic issue for Australia. The teenage birth rate in Australia is higher than many other developed countries and of additional concern is the very high pregnancy and termination rate. Teenage pregnancy places the mother and child at greater risk of lifelong adverse outcomes. Despite research over more than 3 decades, we have only a simplistic understanding of what are likely complex mechanisms leading to early pregnancy. This is thought to be th ....Teenage pregnancy is a major health, social and economic issue for Australia. The teenage birth rate in Australia is higher than many other developed countries and of additional concern is the very high pregnancy and termination rate. Teenage pregnancy places the mother and child at greater risk of lifelong adverse outcomes. Despite research over more than 3 decades, we have only a simplistic understanding of what are likely complex mechanisms leading to early pregnancy. This is thought to be the reason for the failure of nearly all teenage pregnancy prevention efforts worldwide. In addition, there has been little study of this issue in Australian teenagers, and none in Aboriginal teenagers for whom pregnancy is more common and carries worse outcomes. This 2-stage project seeks to elucidate complex biological, psychological, and social pathways to unplanned pregnancy in the teenage years. In Phase 1, perceptions, values and beliefs will be explored in a qualitative study. Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal teenagers attending antenatal, termination and family planning clinics will be interviewed. Data from these interviews will generate new hypotheses regarding pregnancy risk in this age group. In Phase 2, 600 teenagers from schools, antenatal and termination clinics will be surveyed using computerised questionnaires. They will be asked about beliefs (identified in phase 1) and a range of other individual, family, and environmental factors identified in other studies to be risk factors for early pregnancy. Statistical analysis will be used to determine how multiple risk factors interact or combine to shape sexual and childbearing behaviour. This study will lead to new understandings of teenage pregnancy in Australia, and more effective teenage pregnancy intervention programs. Because few researchers in Australia, or elsewhere, have taken such a comprehensive approach to data collection and analysis, the results will be of international significance.Read moreRead less
Randomised Controlled Trial Of A Financial Counselling Intervention And Smoking Cessation Assistance To Reduce Smoking In Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Groups
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,029,662.00
Summary
Socioeconomically disadvantaged groups are more likely to smoke than other sectors of the community. This difference has been attributed, in part, to increased rates of relapse. Relapse is strongly and consistently predicted by financial stress. This project attempts to reduce relapse by reducing financial stress among disadvantaged smokers through the provision of financial counselling as an adjunct to NRT.
Turning passion for sport into an opportunity to improve child health in remote communities. Working with a rugby league football team, this social marketing project will address the poor health outcomes and high rates of infectious disease among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. The benefits of the project include reduced diarrhoeal, skin and respiratory infections; and engaged and empowered communities.
Theorising and understanding how policy processes affect uptake of evidence on social determinants of health and equity in Australian health policy. This project determines how to apply recent recommendations from the World Health Organisation about the social determinants of health to Australia. Analysis of health sector policies, including detailed case studies, will determine how governments can shape policy and implementation processes to improve Australia’s health.
Indigenous young people's resilience and wellbeing. This project aims to identify factors related to, and those which predict, the development of resilience and wellbeing in Indigenous youth. Resilience protects the social and emotional wellbeing of youth exposed to high levels of adversity, and reduces the likelihood of substance misuse, violence, and risky behaviour. This project will examine the development of resilience and wellbeing in Indigenous youth; compare Indigenous youth’s self-asses ....Indigenous young people's resilience and wellbeing. This project aims to identify factors related to, and those which predict, the development of resilience and wellbeing in Indigenous youth. Resilience protects the social and emotional wellbeing of youth exposed to high levels of adversity, and reduces the likelihood of substance misuse, violence, and risky behaviour. This project will examine the development of resilience and wellbeing in Indigenous youth; compare Indigenous youth’s self-assessment of their resilience and wellbeing between low and high risk cohorts; and study how community services develop youth wellbeing and resilience. The expected benefit of this research is a better understanding of connections among age, cultural identity, resilience, wellbeing and risky behaviours in Indigenous youth.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130100387
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$363,782.00
Summary
User driven interventions in the reduction of drug-related harm: analysing structural barriers and capacity building among drug user organisations. Although Australia's consumer-centred approach to harm reduction has been widely praised, consumer participation remains limited in countries such as Britain and Canada. Entailing an international comparative analysis of these three sites, this project focuses on building capacity and reducing structural barriers among drug user organisations.
The role of the internet in building social capital amongst homosexually active men: virtual communities in HIV prevention. Social capital comprises features of social organisation such as civic participation, norms of reciprocity and trust in others that facilitate cooperation for mutual benefit, including health and wellbeing. The proposed research focuses on the role of the internet in producing the networks that engender social inclusion and community connectedness. There is scepticism about ....The role of the internet in building social capital amongst homosexually active men: virtual communities in HIV prevention. Social capital comprises features of social organisation such as civic participation, norms of reciprocity and trust in others that facilitate cooperation for mutual benefit, including health and wellbeing. The proposed research focuses on the role of the internet in producing the networks that engender social inclusion and community connectedness. There is scepticism about whether the 'virtual community' of the Internet can build social capital. The study will explore the potential benefits as well as harms to those homosexually active men who use the internet to access health information, meet sexual partners and build friendships that affirm gay identity and community inclusion.Read moreRead less
Socio-economic determinants and health inequalities over the life course: Australian and English comparisons. Our multidisciplinary investigation will yield Australia's first major body of knowledge on the socio-economic determinants of health and health inequalities over the life course. It will point the way towards policies that can promote health and reduce the health inequalities experienced by disadvantaged individuals and families. It will indicate how improving the health of ageing Aus ....Socio-economic determinants and health inequalities over the life course: Australian and English comparisons. Our multidisciplinary investigation will yield Australia's first major body of knowledge on the socio-economic determinants of health and health inequalities over the life course. It will point the way towards policies that can promote health and reduce the health inequalities experienced by disadvantaged individuals and families. It will indicate how improving the health of ageing Australian men and women can increase productivity and reduce needs for health services during the rapid population ageing that lies ahead. Comparisons with England will inform policy choices. We will train researchers who will play a future role in building Australia's evidence base to guide constructive policies to 2020 and beyond.Read moreRead less
Community capacity building for healthy lifestyles (CBHL) initiative: engaging communities in childhood obesity prevention in disadvantaged areas. This project will develop and focus-test a new community engagement model for engaging disadvantaged communities in childhood obesity prevention programs. The community engagement model will overcome disadvantaged communities' non-participation in prevention programs, and inform culturally tailored childhood obesity prevention strategies.