CATCH: Children, Active Travel, Connectedness and Health. This project will explore built and social environmental influences on children's independent mobility, active travel and health. The research will provide necessary evidentiary support to justify government and development industry policy supportive of healthy and child-friendly environments.
Gender, Local Governance, and Violence Prevention: Making the Links. Violence results in enormous social and economic costs to individuals and to Australian society. Part of the problem is that crime and violence in public space, and violence in homes, are considered separate issues in research and policy. This project will pilot innovative integrated violence prevention programs in four local government areas (including one rural-urban fringe and one rural municipality). Training materials a ....Gender, Local Governance, and Violence Prevention: Making the Links. Violence results in enormous social and economic costs to individuals and to Australian society. Part of the problem is that crime and violence in public space, and violence in homes, are considered separate issues in research and policy. This project will pilot innovative integrated violence prevention programs in four local government areas (including one rural-urban fringe and one rural municipality). Training materials and workshops based on these programs will be developed that can inform local, state, and national violence prevention strategies in both urban and rural/regional areas.Read moreRead less
The Impact Of Urban Design On Active Transportation Patterns In Children
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,814.00
Summary
There are growing concerns about children's level of physical activity and increasing levels of overweight and obesity. Encouraging active transport among children, particularly walking to school, has been identified as one strategy to increase physical activity, thereby assisting to curb increasing levels of overweight and obesity. While a laudable objective, it is not clear: (a) to what extent the urban design surrounding schools hinders or facilitates children walking to school; and (b) what ....There are growing concerns about children's level of physical activity and increasing levels of overweight and obesity. Encouraging active transport among children, particularly walking to school, has been identified as one strategy to increase physical activity, thereby assisting to curb increasing levels of overweight and obesity. While a laudable objective, it is not clear: (a) to what extent the urban design surrounding schools hinders or facilitates children walking to school; and (b) what the true potential of children being able to walk to school is, given the low density of many contemporary local neighbourhoods. Thus, this study is important because it examines the real potential for children to walk to school in their neighbourhood, and compares parental and student perceptions of the neighbourhood with objective measures of the neighbourhood. The study will compare the active transport habits of children attending schools with optimal and less than optimal neighbourhood environments. Optimal and less optimal urban environments will be identified by creating an objectively measured child pedestrian-specific walkability index using GIS. These data will provide insights to support policy development by government and non-government members of Walking WA to better plan future schools (i.e., Department of Education and Training); to plan future Walking School Buses (Department for Planning and Infrastructure); to communicate with parents about children and active transport (Physical Activity Task Force); and to lobby local government authorities to create safe routes to school. In summary, the research will: (a) provide insights into the design of policy-related and environmental interventions aimed at increasing active transport by children and adolescents; (b) add to a limited body of knowledge on active transport in Australia; and will (c) provide information to our multi-sector partners that can be used to develop future interventions.Read moreRead less
Safer cycling: A partnership project to better understand cycling patterns, hazards and incidents. Cycling is the ultimate 'clean fuel' energy source, is renewable, and is sustainable. It can also positively impact on national health concerns such as cardiovascular health, obesity, and diabetes. If cycling is to be encouraged as a health-promoting practice, or as a sustainable form of transport, then it is incumbent on governments to address injury concerns to ensure that its benefits outweigh i ....Safer cycling: A partnership project to better understand cycling patterns, hazards and incidents. Cycling is the ultimate 'clean fuel' energy source, is renewable, and is sustainable. It can also positively impact on national health concerns such as cardiovascular health, obesity, and diabetes. If cycling is to be encouraged as a health-promoting practice, or as a sustainable form of transport, then it is incumbent on governments to address injury concerns to ensure that its benefits outweigh its risks and to provide an environment that minimises risk and optimises the transport advantages. This project will provide understanding of cycling patterns, hazards and incidents. It will provide vital knowledge to inform policy and planning with respect to transport and health and inform future health and safety promotional campaigns.Read moreRead less
Redesigning apartment policy standards for health and wellbeing. This project aims to examine the impact of apartment design standards on residents’ health and wellbeing. It seeks to (1) identify a refined set of evidence-informed quantifiable policy standards that protect residents’ health and wellbeing; and (2) evaluate their uptake by industry and barriers to implementation. Many design standards are based on intuition and experience rather than empirical evidence, and little is known about w ....Redesigning apartment policy standards for health and wellbeing. This project aims to examine the impact of apartment design standards on residents’ health and wellbeing. It seeks to (1) identify a refined set of evidence-informed quantifiable policy standards that protect residents’ health and wellbeing; and (2) evaluate their uptake by industry and barriers to implementation. Many design standards are based on intuition and experience rather than empirical evidence, and little is known about whether the standards and thresholds stipulated are sufficient to support health. Expected outcomes include tailored policy-specific recommendations for design policy and the planning of apartment precincts. Benefits include the delivery of convivial, equitable, healthy and sustainable apartment housing.Read moreRead less
Understanding and reducing alcohol-related harm among young adults in urban settings: Opportunities for intervention. Alcohol use is a major contributing factor to injury and death, with 2634 young Australians dying from alcohol-related causes in the decade to 2004. Local governments (LGs) urgently require research evidence on which to base policy to reduce alcohol-related harms. The project will provide an analysis of patterns of alcohol consumption by young adults in inner and peri-urban (grow ....Understanding and reducing alcohol-related harm among young adults in urban settings: Opportunities for intervention. Alcohol use is a major contributing factor to injury and death, with 2634 young Australians dying from alcohol-related causes in the decade to 2004. Local governments (LGs) urgently require research evidence on which to base policy to reduce alcohol-related harms. The project will provide an analysis of patterns of alcohol consumption by young adults in inner and peri-urban (growth corridor) LG areas, along with information about how young adults view alcohol use. In collaboration with industry partners VicHealth, the Victorian Department of Human Services, the Municipal Association of Victoria and LGs in Hume and Yarra, specific policy recommendations for implementation at LG, state and national levels will be developed and disseminated. Read moreRead less
Mis-reporting, adaptation and anchoring: the implications for self assessed health. In terms of targeting scarce public health resources, information concerning the true health status of different social groups is important. This project will provide more accurate information on the health of the Australian population using data already collected on a routine basis. Resources can then be targeted to reduce health inequalities.
Improving health equity of young people? The role of social enterprise. This project aims to explain the effects of social enterprise on the social determinants of health inequities among young people. During the transition to adulthood, health inequities may become entrenched, and young people in disadvantaged areas experience relatively poorer health than the wider population. Addressing health inequities upstream is critical to reducing them, with social enterprise gaining recent attention as ....Improving health equity of young people? The role of social enterprise. This project aims to explain the effects of social enterprise on the social determinants of health inequities among young people. During the transition to adulthood, health inequities may become entrenched, and young people in disadvantaged areas experience relatively poorer health than the wider population. Addressing health inequities upstream is critical to reducing them, with social enterprise gaining recent attention as one vehicle for doing this. The project will examine if, and how, social enterprises redress the root causes of health inequities. Intended outcomes include innovation in social policy, health promotion and social enterprise design to improve health equity for disadvantaged young people and their communities.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160100307
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$330,290.00
Summary
Food policies for population health: evidence, influence and accountability. The project aims to investigate ways to improve the development and implementation of policies to create healthy food environments in Australia. Currently, Australian food environments are dominated by cheap, heavily promoted, unhealthy food, and governments are seeking ways to reduce the economic and social burden of diet-related ill-health. Policy changes are needed to create environments that encourage healthy food c ....Food policies for population health: evidence, influence and accountability. The project aims to investigate ways to improve the development and implementation of policies to create healthy food environments in Australia. Currently, Australian food environments are dominated by cheap, heavily promoted, unhealthy food, and governments are seeking ways to reduce the economic and social burden of diet-related ill-health. Policy changes are needed to create environments that encourage healthy food consumption. The project aims to generate new evidence of the economic case for implementation of priority policy options, provide critical insight into the policy process, and identify levers for increasing the accountability of governments for creating healthier food environments. The project intends to identify strategies to improve population health.Read moreRead less
The role of taxes and subsidies in promoting healthy lifestyles: an economic analysis. This project will look at two critically important policy relevant questions in public health terms - obesity prevention and changing consumption patterns with respect to drinks consumption, including alcohol.