Quantifying The Microbial Health Risks Of Expanded Alternative Water Use
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$305,496.00
Summary
Addressing current and future water shortages requires substitution of high quality drinking water with alternative water sources for an expanded range of purposes. However, potential adverse health effects must be avoided. This project measures health risks associated with a variety of alternative water sources and water use combinations. Project outputs will help determine appropriate requirements for water treatment and help refine guidelines to ensure that water use is safe.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180100825
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$336,128.00
Summary
Evaluating interventions to prevent serious road traffic crashes. This project aims to advance knowledge on the prevention of road traffic crashes that result in serious injury or death. Road traffic injuries are the second leading cause of hospitalised injury and injury-related deaths in Australia, and are estimated to cost the economy $27 billion annually. This project will establish a data collection system that will evaluate existing and novel countermeasures to serious road traffic crashes. ....Evaluating interventions to prevent serious road traffic crashes. This project aims to advance knowledge on the prevention of road traffic crashes that result in serious injury or death. Road traffic injuries are the second leading cause of hospitalised injury and injury-related deaths in Australia, and are estimated to cost the economy $27 billion annually. This project will establish a data collection system that will evaluate existing and novel countermeasures to serious road traffic crashes. The outcome of this project will inform road safety policies and cost-effective countermeasures. Insights from the project can contribute to road safety improvements in Australia and a substantial reduction in the burden of fatal and non-fatal road traffic injury.Read moreRead less
Understanding The Sources Of Campylobacter In Australia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$546,720.00
Summary
Campylobacter is a key cause of foodborne disease in Australia, with rates of illness amongst the highest in the world. Our project brings together academic, government and industry partners to harness new genetic techniques to better identify sources and risk factors for Campylobacter infection. The project will assist health agencies to include genomics in public health, with findings directly informing government policies and industry practices to minimise disease caused by Campylobacter.
Minimising Infection Risks Associated With Water Exposure And With International Travel: Addressing Data Gaps To Improve Policy And Practice
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$401,361.00
Summary
This project will provide better understanding of health risks associated with two areas of infectious diseases: i) exposure to water, including water recycling and ii) imported infections associated with international travel. Both these issues are highly topical, and new information about exposure risks is important to help guide appropriate preventive advice.
A Randomised, Double Blinded Intervention Study To Assess Health Effects Of Drinking Water From Rainwater Tanks
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$860,510.00
Summary
We are planning to perform a study in Adelaide to assess if drinking untreated rainwater causes a health risk. Eight years into a drought Australia's water sources are becoming increasingly depleted, so we need to reduce water consumption and consider using alternative sources of water. Increased use of rainwater is one of a number of solutions available. However, current recommendations state that rainwater can be safely used for purposes other than drinking, but because of potential contaminat ....We are planning to perform a study in Adelaide to assess if drinking untreated rainwater causes a health risk. Eight years into a drought Australia's water sources are becoming increasingly depleted, so we need to reduce water consumption and consider using alternative sources of water. Increased use of rainwater is one of a number of solutions available. However, current recommendations state that rainwater can be safely used for purposes other than drinking, but because of potential contamination and limited evidence regarding safety, drinking untreated rainwater is not approved by state health departments. The main outcome of this study will be to determine whether drinking untreated water from rainwater tanks poses a significant health risk. Additionally, we will determine if specific tank or maintenance characteristics can be identified that increase illness risk. The study design consists of following the health of 300 families who drink unboiled rainwater. Families will have a special tap installed that draws water through a water treatment unit (WTU). Half the families will have a working WTU and half will have a sham unit identical in appearance. The functional units sterilise water to remove any microorganisms present, while the sham filters have no effect. All participating families will keep a health diary for one year to record how often they suffer gastroenteritis. Neither the families nor the research workers will know which type of filter has been fitted. Water samples will be collected from selected households. At the end of a year the number of illnesses in the two groups will be compared. If those drinking rainwater from a sham filter suffer more often, then rainwater would be implicated as a source of gastroenteritis. This study will provide health authorities with a better understanding of the relationship between rainwater consumption and human health, and will provide data regarding safe uses of this alternative water source.Read moreRead less
Notifications To The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency: Identifying ‘hot Spots’ Of Risk To Help Improve The Quality And Safety Of Healthcare
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$276,072.00
Summary
Health practitioners with performance, health or conduct concerns can present a serious risk to patients. Yet we lack reliable methods for identifying these practitioners at an early stage. Each year the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency receives 1,000s of notifications about individual practitioners. We will use this data to identify “hot spots” of risk among different groups of practitioners and help target interventions to support practitioners and protect patients from harm.
I am a epidemiologist with a research focus on road and child injury. This includes expertise in both clinical and observational research related to injury
A New Genomic Frontier For Foodborne Disease Investigation In Australia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$750,520.00
Summary
Foodborne diseases caused by bacteria such as Salmonella and Campylobacter are a huge public health problem, both in Australia and globally. Current methods used to investigate foodborne disease may not be sensitive enough to track foodborne outbreaks, and may not even detect them in the first place. We propose using cutting-edge molecular techniques to investigate foodborne outbreaks, and we think that using these methods will enable outbreaks to be interrupted at a much earlier stage.
Prospective Study Of Birth Defects From Fetotoxic Agents In The Public Water Supply
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$732,036.00
Summary
Recent research in Australia & internationally shows that birth defects are more common in areas where mothers are exposed to poor quality drinking water, particularly when treatment chemicals known as trihalomethanes (THMs) are present. We will determine the risk that high THM levels pose to unborn babies by accurately measuring individual exposures to THMs & correlating these with adverse birth outcomes. The study will be in Perth where THM levels are very high in a number of suburbs.
User-centric solutions to optimise safety of children in cars. Globally, incorrect use of child restraints and inappropriate use of adult seat belts are widespread and longstanding problems. In Australia alone >2 million children are at increased risk of injury because of the lack of understanding about how to solve these problems. We have pioneered development of methods to allow novel user-centred approaches coupled with behavioural theory to effectively tackle these problems. In this project ....User-centric solutions to optimise safety of children in cars. Globally, incorrect use of child restraints and inappropriate use of adult seat belts are widespread and longstanding problems. In Australia alone >2 million children are at increased risk of injury because of the lack of understanding about how to solve these problems. We have pioneered development of methods to allow novel user-centred approaches coupled with behavioural theory to effectively tackle these problems. In this project we will build on and extend these innovative methods to to deliver new understanding about how (i) to communicate with parents to ensure behaviours and decisions about restraint optimise safety, and (ii) user-driven design can solve problems inhibiting optimal protection of in cars.Read moreRead less