Chronic pain and functional impairment following traumatic injury: an investigation into the impact of compensation status and experience. This project will enhance understanding of the impact of the psychosocial factors and the compensation process on recovery from traumatic injury. The project will generate new resources (screening and referral guidelines; educational materials) to improve decision making consistency, client experience, and recovery from road trauma.
New directions in health inequalities research: understanding the intersection between housing, employment and health in Australia. People employed on a casual basis in Australia are nearly three times more likely to live in a household that is in housing affordability stress than their permanently employed counterparts. Employment and housing are both determinants of health. While social inclusion, employment and housing affordability are critical components of the government's current social p ....New directions in health inequalities research: understanding the intersection between housing, employment and health in Australia. People employed on a casual basis in Australia are nearly three times more likely to live in a household that is in housing affordability stress than their permanently employed counterparts. Employment and housing are both determinants of health. While social inclusion, employment and housing affordability are critical components of the government's current social policy agenda, articulation between these policy domains is limited and little researched. This important study will provide robust evidence on the ways that housing and employment interact to both cause and prevent health inequities. This will directly benefit agencies delivering services to vulnerable people and contribute to an evidence base of benefit to policy makers.Read moreRead less
Modelling and control of mosquito-borne diseases in Darwin using long-term monitoring. Management of mosquito populations is a high public health priority because these insects can spread diseases such as malaria, dengue, Ross River virus, Barmah Forest virus, Murray Valley encephalitis, Japanese encephalitis and Kunjin/West Nile virus. Our research into the effectiveness of mosquito control programs in Darwin is of immediate national relevance and priority given the need to Safeguard Australia ....Modelling and control of mosquito-borne diseases in Darwin using long-term monitoring. Management of mosquito populations is a high public health priority because these insects can spread diseases such as malaria, dengue, Ross River virus, Barmah Forest virus, Murray Valley encephalitis, Japanese encephalitis and Kunjin/West Nile virus. Our research into the effectiveness of mosquito control programs in Darwin is of immediate national relevance and priority given the need to Safeguard Australia from invasive diseases. There is an urgency to undertake our research because global environmental change and increasing movements of people (particularly military personnel) from overseas regions where these diseases are endemic is increasing the vulnerability of northern Australia to the (re)establishment of mosquito borne diseases.Read moreRead less
Our Children, Our Families, Our Place: Enabling Communities for Child Health and Wellbeing. This study focuses on community capacity building, participation and reciprocal knowledge development, early prevention and intervention, and multi-tiered intersectoral collaboration to ensure efficient use of resources and maximise positive outcomes for children. The project is set in the Peel Region of WA, among the fastest growth areas in Australia with sufficient sub-populations of interest to enable ....Our Children, Our Families, Our Place: Enabling Communities for Child Health and Wellbeing. This study focuses on community capacity building, participation and reciprocal knowledge development, early prevention and intervention, and multi-tiered intersectoral collaboration to ensure efficient use of resources and maximise positive outcomes for children. The project is set in the Peel Region of WA, among the fastest growth areas in Australia with sufficient sub-populations of interest to enable innovative multilevel statistical modelling techniques to inform other regions across Australia. In addition, the study will implement and evaluate a suite of interventions. Read moreRead less
Modelling and Simulation of Disease Spread Dynamics Using Interacting Automata. Modelling and simulation techniques will be developed to strengthen our understanding of disease spread over the landscape, so allowing timely control strategies to be developed. The economic cost to Australia of introduced pests, animal and plant diseases is considerable. We utilise an interacting automata formalism to capture landscape, population and contagion information as it affects disease spread to provide ....Modelling and Simulation of Disease Spread Dynamics Using Interacting Automata. Modelling and simulation techniques will be developed to strengthen our understanding of disease spread over the landscape, so allowing timely control strategies to be developed. The economic cost to Australia of introduced pests, animal and plant diseases is considerable. We utilise an interacting automata formalism to capture landscape, population and contagion information as it affects disease spread to provide more accurate simulation than is done at present. Generic simulation tools will be constructed, capable of being rapidly personalised by epidemiologists for specific diseases.Read moreRead less
Optimising the Utility of Injury Surveillance Systems for Injury Prevention in Active Populations. Promotion of physical activity is a key national health priority and a major focus for the Australian Defence Force to achieve and maintain operational fitness. Unfortunately, these goals are associated with the negative effects of increased injury occurrence and substantial related costs. Civilian and military injury surveillance systems inform injury prevention priorities and interventions but re ....Optimising the Utility of Injury Surveillance Systems for Injury Prevention in Active Populations. Promotion of physical activity is a key national health priority and a major focus for the Australian Defence Force to achieve and maintain operational fitness. Unfortunately, these goals are associated with the negative effects of increased injury occurrence and substantial related costs. Civilian and military injury surveillance systems inform injury prevention priorities and interventions but research is required to maximise their performance and utility. The project aims to 1) determine the extent to which current systems meet user requirements 2) assess utility and reliability of these systems specifically for active populations and 3) develop recommendations for future systems development and improved user application.Read moreRead less
Improving the measurement and surveillance of child abuse in Queensland. Estimates of the prevalence of child abuse suggest 10-20% of children are affected, with financial costs to the community around $5 billion annually, and extensive health and social consequences. Despite these enormous costs, research into risk factors and prevalence of child abuse has been hampered by poorly validated statistics. The use of routine hospital data for the identification of child abuse cases offers an effici ....Improving the measurement and surveillance of child abuse in Queensland. Estimates of the prevalence of child abuse suggest 10-20% of children are affected, with financial costs to the community around $5 billion annually, and extensive health and social consequences. Despite these enormous costs, research into risk factors and prevalence of child abuse has been hampered by poorly validated statistics. The use of routine hospital data for the identification of child abuse cases offers an efficient nationally standardised data source to improve the precision of child protection departmental responses through routine monitoring and audits of linked health and child protection data. Improvement of data will inform identification, intervention and prevention strategies.Read moreRead less
Improving eating behaviours in low-income communities. The health, economic and social costs of poor nutrition are substantial. The national partnership, the Strategic Inter-governmental Nutrition Alliance, has proposed a strategy, Eat Well Australia, which aims to improve the well-being of Australians through better nutrition. Fruit and vegetable consumption is an important part of a healthy diet. Increasing Australians' fruit and vegetable consumption will substantially cut health care costs, ....Improving eating behaviours in low-income communities. The health, economic and social costs of poor nutrition are substantial. The national partnership, the Strategic Inter-governmental Nutrition Alliance, has proposed a strategy, Eat Well Australia, which aims to improve the well-being of Australians through better nutrition. Fruit and vegetable consumption is an important part of a healthy diet. Increasing Australians' fruit and vegetable consumption will substantially cut health care costs, improve quality of life, and boost Australia's fresh produce industry. Findings will directly inform an evidence base upon which to design appropriate policies and programs aimed at promoting fruit and vegetable consumption in socioeconomically disadvantaged groups. Read moreRead less
Reducing antibiotic usage in pig herds: controlling Lawsonia intracellularis by vaccination, housing and hygiene. Pigs are major consumers of antibiotics in Australia. Many of these antibiotics are fed to pigs to prevent proliferative enteritis (PE). There are increasing public concerns regarding the development and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the potential impact on human health. The adoption of an effective commercial vaccine to prevent PE will reduce the volume of antibiotics ....Reducing antibiotic usage in pig herds: controlling Lawsonia intracellularis by vaccination, housing and hygiene. Pigs are major consumers of antibiotics in Australia. Many of these antibiotics are fed to pigs to prevent proliferative enteritis (PE). There are increasing public concerns regarding the development and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the potential impact on human health. The adoption of an effective commercial vaccine to prevent PE will reduce the volume of antibiotics used in the pig industry and hence reduce the risk of antibiotic-resistant bacteria developing.Read moreRead less
Individual, social and physical environmental influences on children's active transport and independent mobility. Childhood obesity is likely to have significant economic and social impacts on Australian society. Preventing further increases in this disease is crucial, particularly among children at high risk such as those living in rural or disadvantaged areas. The promotion of behaviours such as active transport may have a significant benefit for public health; however little is known about wh ....Individual, social and physical environmental influences on children's active transport and independent mobility. Childhood obesity is likely to have significant economic and social impacts on Australian society. Preventing further increases in this disease is crucial, particularly among children at high risk such as those living in rural or disadvantaged areas. The promotion of behaviours such as active transport may have a significant benefit for public health; however little is known about what influences active transport among children in rural or disadvantaged areas. This study will identify important factors influencing active transport and will directly inform strategies aiming to promote health and wellbeing, thereby creating a healthier generation of Australian children.Read moreRead less