Increasing the rural medical workforce: investigating personal traits to enhance our understanding and improve training of rural registrars. This project will research new methodologies for increasing the number of rural doctors in Australia. A better understanding of those individuals best suited for rural practice will provide value for money to the Government by making the most efficient use of initiatives to increase recruitment and retention of the rural workforce.
Influences on farmer suicide in Queensland and New South Wales. Australian farmers have been identified as being at high-risk of suicide. This project will provide direction for targeted suicide prevention strategies by quantifying the individual and environmental factors that place farmers at higher risk of suicide, as well as the protective factors that may buffer against suicide and suicidal behaviours.
Recruitment and Retention of the Australian Medical Practitioner Workforce - a Longitudinal Electronic Cohort Study. Identifying and acknowledging the significant personal and professional influences on the career decisions of doctors, including the choice to leave the profession for several years and factors driving the decision to return or not return, will provide not only the major public employers of doctors, but also government, community and private practice groups with reliable current e ....Recruitment and Retention of the Australian Medical Practitioner Workforce - a Longitudinal Electronic Cohort Study. Identifying and acknowledging the significant personal and professional influences on the career decisions of doctors, including the choice to leave the profession for several years and factors driving the decision to return or not return, will provide not only the major public employers of doctors, but also government, community and private practice groups with reliable current evidence to inform medical workforce planning and design, and ensure quality health care. Read moreRead less
An integrated modelling approach for efficient management of irrigated landscapes. Northern Victoria's irrigators use a substantial portion of water from the Murray-Darling Basin, which is under mounting pressure to satisfy competing economic, social and environmental needs for water in the face of climate change. Up to 20 per cent of this water may be on-farm surface runoff and deep percolation, with poorly known spatial distributions. This project will provide reliable temporally and spatially ....An integrated modelling approach for efficient management of irrigated landscapes. Northern Victoria's irrigators use a substantial portion of water from the Murray-Darling Basin, which is under mounting pressure to satisfy competing economic, social and environmental needs for water in the face of climate change. Up to 20 per cent of this water may be on-farm surface runoff and deep percolation, with poorly known spatial distributions. This project will provide reliable temporally and spatially distributed information on surface runoff and deep percolation for Northern Victoria irrigation regions. This will inform decisions which improve water use efficiency, agricultural productivity and environmental values through optimisation of irrigation infrastructure and by better management of groundwater resources and salinity.Read moreRead less
Adaptive capabilities in the elderly during extreme heat events in South Australia. This study, using first hand accounts of experiences and perceptions of the extreme heat event of 2009 in South Australia, will provide a valuable insight into the heat adaptive capability of the ageing population, factors affecting susceptibility, and ways to curb the predicted increase in often life-threatening heat exacerbated illnesses, many of which require extended hospital stays. It is envisaged that findi ....Adaptive capabilities in the elderly during extreme heat events in South Australia. This study, using first hand accounts of experiences and perceptions of the extreme heat event of 2009 in South Australia, will provide a valuable insight into the heat adaptive capability of the ageing population, factors affecting susceptibility, and ways to curb the predicted increase in often life-threatening heat exacerbated illnesses, many of which require extended hospital stays. It is envisaged that findings will help inform health policy and contribute to the formulation of a National Heatwave Response plan. Study findings will be disseminated widely at government (state and federal), non-government, and community levels and will help to raise the awareness of heat exacerbated illness in general.Read moreRead less
Post-parental care planning for rural people with intellectual disabilities. This project addresses the urgent issue of post-parental care plans for people with an intellectual disability and their older parental carers in rural areas. The project aims to co-design a post-parental care planning approach and resources in collaboration with people with an intellectual disability, older parental carers and disability services. The results will be used by the researchers to generate new knowledge on ....Post-parental care planning for rural people with intellectual disabilities. This project addresses the urgent issue of post-parental care plans for people with an intellectual disability and their older parental carers in rural areas. The project aims to co-design a post-parental care planning approach and resources in collaboration with people with an intellectual disability, older parental carers and disability services. The results will be used by the researchers to generate new knowledge on post-parental care transitions and how to construct post-parental care plans within the context of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. The planning approach and resources will assist families and services to avert crisis transitions through improved coordination, preparation and support for post-parental care. Read moreRead less
Tracing Past and Present Pollution Sources in the River Torrens, South Australia. The Torrens River is the principal water supply to 500,000 South Australians. Since early in European settlement it has suffered the impacts of eutrophication and high rates of sedimentation. The Catchment Management Board is seeking to prioritise rehabilitation resources to maximise water quality improvements. This will be informed by the revelation of the principal sources of sediment and nutrients over time.
Back from the Edge: Reducing and Preventing Occupational Stress in the Remote Area Nursing Workforce. This study will improve services to remote Australia, particularly remote Indigenous communities. Three percent of the population is dispersed across this large area which is characterized by a high proportion of Indigenous people, poorer health outcomes and lower socio-economic status. The study will generate new knowledge and specific stress-reduction interventions in the workforce. These will ....Back from the Edge: Reducing and Preventing Occupational Stress in the Remote Area Nursing Workforce. This study will improve services to remote Australia, particularly remote Indigenous communities. Three percent of the population is dispersed across this large area which is characterized by a high proportion of Indigenous people, poorer health outcomes and lower socio-economic status. The study will generate new knowledge and specific stress-reduction interventions in the workforce. These will improve retention in the remote area nursing workforce and thereby benefit employers through reductions in recruitment costs and sick leave. A stable workforce will improve service quality. Other benefits will include improved continuity of care, greater client focus and ultimately improved health outcomes. Read moreRead less
Bushfires, social connectedness and mental health. The 2009 Victorian bushfires caused much loss of life, property destruction, and community disturbance. It is important for Promoting Better Health and Strengthening the Social and Economic Fabric that an accurate understanding is achieved of the factors that contribute to optimal recovery from natural disasters. This project will survey people affected by the fires over 5 years to both profile adaptation after the fires and to identify the i ....Bushfires, social connectedness and mental health. The 2009 Victorian bushfires caused much loss of life, property destruction, and community disturbance. It is important for Promoting Better Health and Strengthening the Social and Economic Fabric that an accurate understanding is achieved of the factors that contribute to optimal recovery from natural disasters. This project will survey people affected by the fires over 5 years to both profile adaptation after the fires and to identify the individual and community processes that influence outcome. This project being undertaken in partnership by academic, disaster management, health and community organisations will provide crucial information for shaping policy for disaster management in the years ahead.Read moreRead less
Development and implementation of an evidence-based primary health care workforce planning model to support best practice chronic disease management. The workforce model will inform government health workforce and health services planning, with the promise of improving access to best practice care for persons with diabetes, and potentially other chronic conditions, that represent the dominant Australian health burden. It also will inform education and training of health professionals and support ....Development and implementation of an evidence-based primary health care workforce planning model to support best practice chronic disease management. The workforce model will inform government health workforce and health services planning, with the promise of improving access to best practice care for persons with diabetes, and potentially other chronic conditions, that represent the dominant Australian health burden. It also will inform education and training of health professionals and support a more flexible response to health workforce needs. Given projected health work force shortages, flexibility in responding to health care needs will be crucial to maintaining health system capacity. The model supports system level change that will enable improved population health outcomes, reduce preventable hospital admissions and deliver production gainsRead moreRead less