Do People's Environments Influence Their Habitual Physical Activity?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$196,650.00
Summary
People seem to prefer to drive to the corner shop rather than walking. Or, they will drive the car to work instead of walking to the bus or train. Or, they send off e-mails instead of walking down the corridor at work. The result is that people are not using up the energy that they should and they get fatter. The average weight of many groups of Australians has gone up by several kilograms in the past 10 years. Active people not only have healthier weights. They are less likely to get heart dise ....People seem to prefer to drive to the corner shop rather than walking. Or, they will drive the car to work instead of walking to the bus or train. Or, they send off e-mails instead of walking down the corridor at work. The result is that people are not using up the energy that they should and they get fatter. The average weight of many groups of Australians has gone up by several kilograms in the past 10 years. Active people not only have healthier weights. They are less likely to get heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. But too many people do no exercise at all. Only about 10% of Australians adults do fitness and sporting activities three or more times a week. More than half do not walk, cycle or do anything moderately active on any regular basis. To get people to be regularly active and to stay active, promoting deliberate 'exercise' is not the answer. Making it easier for people to choose to be more active as they go about their daily lives will be more effective. Road transport researchers and geographers have a lot to offer to health researchers. They have found that where there are footpaths and cycle ways, where shops and businesses are close by or where the roads make it easy and safe to get from place to place, people are much more likely to walk or ride bikes. We can now use large, complex computerised databases (called Geographic Information Systems) to put together this type of information on peoples' local environments. We will combine these 'geographic' data with other information from surveys on people's physical activity, exercise and transport habits. Starting our research in this way, we will be able to work out whether there are factors in people's local environments that really do make them less active. Governments, health planners and local councils will use this information to find ways to create communities that are more activity-friendly. This will have real health benefits.Read moreRead less
Enabling Safe Leisure Activity Participation For Young Hearing Aid Wearers
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$47,537.00
Summary
There is community concern that exposure to loud sound during everyday activities, (such as, using iPods,MP3 players), may be damaging young peopleÍs hearing, and researchers around the world are investigating this issue. There is little information about how exposure to loud sound affects young people who already have permanent hearing loss, so the National Acoustic Laboratories (NAL) is conducting a study (iHEAR2) to find out whether loud sound exposure is affecting young hearing aid wearers.
Online Pornography And Sexual Risk Behaviour, Health And Wellbeing: An Evidence-informed And Needs-based Approach To Health Promotion And Sex Education For Young People
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$81,361.00
Summary
Young people have unprecedented access to online pornography. To date, little is known about it's actual impact on sexual risk behaviours, negative or violent attitudes towards women, mental health and body image. There is a need for better evidence about young people’s online pornography usage and its impact on their health and wellbeing, to inform the development of evidenced based health promotion strategies.
Advanced Non-invasive Cardiovascular Risk Screening In The Community: Practical And Cost Effective?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$287,321.00
Summary
This research focuses on the practicalities and cost of mobile, advanced, non-invasive cardiovascular assessments to determine the extent of CVD and clinical risk factors and its likely impact on patterns of treatment and care to “disadvantaged” individuals living in rural and remote regions and Indigenous Australians. The advantage of directly acquiring risk profile information has not been fully explored and its potential to address an “epidemic” of CVD world-wide cannot be overstated.
Intergenerational park design for active and engaged communities. This project will assess the opportunities and barriers for physical activity for intergenerational park users within South East Queensland. In 2015, approximately 80% of the world’s adolescents and 25% of adults were insufficiently active. Physical inactivity costs the Australian economy $13.8 billion annually, and contributes to the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. Local and neighbourhood parks can offer opportunities fo ....Intergenerational park design for active and engaged communities. This project will assess the opportunities and barriers for physical activity for intergenerational park users within South East Queensland. In 2015, approximately 80% of the world’s adolescents and 25% of adults were insufficiently active. Physical inactivity costs the Australian economy $13.8 billion annually, and contributes to the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. Local and neighbourhood parks can offer opportunities for all ages to be physically active and engage across generations, yet are often under-designed and under-utilised for physical activity. Evidence-based design guidelines for active intergenerational parks for use across Australia will lead to higher quality parks that more effectively encourage physical activity and improve health and wellbeing.Read moreRead less
Mobile Intervention For Drinking In Young People (MIDY): Randomised Controlled Trial
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$403,378.00
Summary
Binge drinking is a significant health and social issue in Australia. In this innovative trial, we will communicate with young people via their mobile phones while they are on a night out. Young people will send hourly information about their drinking and will receive a relevant message in response, encouraging them to slow down or avoid harmful activities. The methods and the messages were developed in partnership with young people and have been tested in real drinking situations.
Understanding The Impacts Of Vaporised Nicotine Products On Smoking In Australia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,603,159.00
Summary
Vaporised nicotine products (e.g., e-cigarettes) are widely used in Australia, even though possession of the nicotine fluid without a permit is an offence. They are primarily used by smokers as a means of quitting. However, there is concern about their potential attractiveness and uptake by non-smokers. The aim is to identify how these products might be used to both maximise smoking cessation and minimise nicotine use, especially smoking uptake by non-smokers.
Embedding Sustainable Physical Activity Into The Everyday Life Of Adults With Intellectual Disability
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$601,613.00
Summary
Adults with intellectual disability are much less physically active than the general community. In Australia, only around half the proportion of adults with intellectual disability compared with the general community meet national guidelines for physical activity. The overarching aim of the project is to sustainably increase physical activity in everyday life among adults with intellectual disability, at least to the level of the general community, to significantly improve their fitness and well ....Adults with intellectual disability are much less physically active than the general community. In Australia, only around half the proportion of adults with intellectual disability compared with the general community meet national guidelines for physical activity. The overarching aim of the project is to sustainably increase physical activity in everyday life among adults with intellectual disability, at least to the level of the general community, to significantly improve their fitness and well-being.Read moreRead less
Framing and Enabling Children’s Active Play using Novel Technology. This project aims to address inactivity in the 3-5 age group through understanding and exploring innovative interactive active play experiences for children, with a view to increasing their physical activity over the long term. This project will be based on empirical research with real children undertaking real interactive experiences in real contexts, in order to understand issues around sustained engagement with these types of ....Framing and Enabling Children’s Active Play using Novel Technology. This project aims to address inactivity in the 3-5 age group through understanding and exploring innovative interactive active play experiences for children, with a view to increasing their physical activity over the long term. This project will be based on empirical research with real children undertaking real interactive experiences in real contexts, in order to understand issues around sustained engagement with these types of systems. We will design and develop solutions that may address the issues and test those interventions in a longitudinal manner. The outcome will be a framework which can be applied in a variety of situations and modalities by designers and developers of such systems, and feed into childhood technology guidelines.
Read moreRead less