The Impact Of Befriending On Depression, Anxiety, Social Support And Loneliness In Older Adults Living In Residential Aged Care Facilities
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$661,872.00
Summary
About half of people living in residential aged care facilities may have significant depression symptoms. Many residents are socially isolated in RACFs even though they are in communal living, and social isolation is a contributor to depression. We propose a trial of befriending which is emotional and social support from trained volunteers. Volunteers will be trained using Beyondblue resources and a manual developed by the investigators.
Communicating Health: Optimising Engagement And Retention Using Social Media
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$950,060.00
Summary
In order to impact on health, young people need to be engaged and retained in health interventions. The application of social media to engage, retain and promote health behaviour change in this target group has enormous potential but is poorly researched. This project will engage young people of all incomes and education from across Australia and assess their attitudes and behaviours and determine most effective social media content and delivery to optimise engagement and retention.
Involving children in social research: balancing the risks and benefits. There is a growing consensus that children's involvement in social research is important, but considerable uncertainty remains around children's inclusion in research on 'sensitive' issues, reflecting concerns about how to balance children's protection with their participation. Key to this are deeply embedded assumptions and beliefs about children and childhood, especially concerning notions of capacity, agency, vulnerabili ....Involving children in social research: balancing the risks and benefits. There is a growing consensus that children's involvement in social research is important, but considerable uncertainty remains around children's inclusion in research on 'sensitive' issues, reflecting concerns about how to balance children's protection with their participation. Key to this are deeply embedded assumptions and beliefs about children and childhood, especially concerning notions of capacity, agency, vulnerability, dependency and the like. This project aims to better understand and address the tensions between the protection of children and their participation in research, and to explore how ethics committees, parents, other gatekeepers and children themselves manage and navigate these tensions.Read moreRead less
Experiences of addiction, treatment and recovery: An online resource for members of the public, health professionals and policymakers. Alcohol and other drug addiction is a major health and social issue in Australia. Treatment success rates are modest and little is known about how people experience and manage addiction and the stigma that accompanies it. This project will generate new knowledge on alcohol and other drug addiction by applying a proven qualitative methodology to these issues for t ....Experiences of addiction, treatment and recovery: An online resource for members of the public, health professionals and policymakers. Alcohol and other drug addiction is a major health and social issue in Australia. Treatment success rates are modest and little is known about how people experience and manage addiction and the stigma that accompanies it. This project will generate new knowledge on alcohol and other drug addiction by applying a proven qualitative methodology to these issues for the first time. It will produce an effective, innovative online resource for affected Australians, their family and friends, and the wider Australian community including health professionals and policymakers.Read moreRead less
A Model and Segmentation of Household Obesogenicity in Australia. Critical to reducing obesity is reduced consumption of energy dense foods and increasing physical activity. This project provides greater insight into relationships between environment, household obesogenicity and consumer behaviour, and an improved basis for policy development regarding obesity prevention. National benefits are; Less obesity and other nutritionally related diseases and therefore reduced treatment costs in the hea ....A Model and Segmentation of Household Obesogenicity in Australia. Critical to reducing obesity is reduced consumption of energy dense foods and increasing physical activity. This project provides greater insight into relationships between environment, household obesogenicity and consumer behaviour, and an improved basis for policy development regarding obesity prevention. National benefits are; Less obesity and other nutritionally related diseases and therefore reduced treatment costs in the health sector; Reduced demand for unhealthy foods and greater demand for higher quality products boosting product innovation and supporting Australia's competitiveness in the global markets; Greater health benefits among the low SES parts of the population contributing to creation of equity in Australian health.Read moreRead less
Identifying Factors That Improve The Health Of Prisoners Who Inject Drugs
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$376,658.00
Summary
Prisoners who inject drugs are highly marginalised with high rates of unresolved health and social issues and high rates of return to prison. Little is known, however, about how this group manages after release from prison. This qualitative project will allow ex-prisoners to tell their own stories of the challenges they have had and what strategies (formal and informal) they have used with the aim of informing responses in prisons and in the community setting.
Developing the capacity to model the impact of interventions that target high-risk drinking among young Australians. Alcohol use is a major contributing factor to social and health problems among young Australians. The project will inform the development of effective policy by providing multidisciplinary research evidence and the capacity to model how various interventions impact on the prevalence of alcohol-related problems.
Borderline Personality as Social Phenomena. Mental disorders attract social stigma and those diagnosed are widely misunderstood. This project aims to collect and analyse accounts of people living with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) - mainly women - and perspectives of social support practitioners. The intended outcome is to provide a sophisticated understanding of BPD as a social phenomenon, develop sociological evidence based on lived experiences and generate Australian digital resources ....Borderline Personality as Social Phenomena. Mental disorders attract social stigma and those diagnosed are widely misunderstood. This project aims to collect and analyse accounts of people living with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) - mainly women - and perspectives of social support practitioners. The intended outcome is to provide a sophisticated understanding of BPD as a social phenomenon, develop sociological evidence based on lived experiences and generate Australian digital resources including narratives of BPD, creative outputs and practitioner perspectives. The anticipated goal of this project is to inform policy and community responses addressing stigma and marginalisation, and the improvement of social support for those affected by BPD.Read moreRead less
Analysing and comparing concepts of addiction for improved social and health outcomes in Australia. Australia invests heavily in responding to alcohol and other drug (AOD) use. This project will analyse a key concept shaping AOD responses, namely addiction. The analysis will help develop new, more productive approaches to AOD prevention, education and treatment, contributing to improved AOD-related social and health outcomes.
CENTRE OF RESEARCH EXCELLENCE TO REDUCE INEQUALITY IN HEART DISEASE
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,607,253.00
Summary
There is increasing recognition of a societal responsibility to provide effective and sustainable health care to the entire population and not just to selected parts. Indigenous and regional Australians are most affected by Australia's biggest killer - heart disease. In response, the CRE to Reduce Inequality in Heart Disease, is a national collaboration of researchers from a range of health disciplines. Together they aim to address this problem by developing sustainable and cost-effective health ....There is increasing recognition of a societal responsibility to provide effective and sustainable health care to the entire population and not just to selected parts. Indigenous and regional Australians are most affected by Australia's biggest killer - heart disease. In response, the CRE to Reduce Inequality in Heart Disease, is a national collaboration of researchers from a range of health disciplines. Together they aim to address this problem by developing sustainable and cost-effective health care services.Read moreRead less