Identifying EHealth Literacy And Readability Issues For Palliative Care Consumers
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$29,375.00
Summary
Access and use of health information can affect a patient’s health experience and potentially their health outcomes. Increasingly health information is being provided and sought through the internet and online resources. Palliative care patients and their carers have specific information needs relating to the nature and progress of their disease, their symptoms and their current and pending quality of life. However, their ability to find and use information relies on many factors such as individ ....Access and use of health information can affect a patient’s health experience and potentially their health outcomes. Increasingly health information is being provided and sought through the internet and online resources. Palliative care patients and their carers have specific information needs relating to the nature and progress of their disease, their symptoms and their current and pending quality of life. However, their ability to find and use information relies on many factors such as individual skills and experiences and how information is presented and made available. eHealth literacy is a measure of the mix of skills required by consumers to successfully access and understand palliative care information. Readability is one aspect of eHealth literacy and readability scales can be used to identify how effective websites are in providing appropriate written information for palliative care consumers. This research will help assess eHealth literacy levels and hence potential intervention needs of palliative care patients and carers as well as determining whether the readability requirement of palliative care websites and information is too high.Read moreRead less
Surveillance And Analysis Of Avian Influenza Viruses In Wild Birds In Australia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$250,237.00
Summary
Birds are commonly infected with bird flu viruses but most of these viruses do not cause disease. However, certain types of bird flu viruses, such as the H5N1 strain, can cause severe illness and death in 100% of infected birds. There is currently an epidemic of H5N1 bird flu occurring in Asia. Occasionally humans become infected by bird to human transmission and since 2003, 130+ people have been infected with H5N1 resulting in 60+ deaths. There are 3 ways in which dangerous strains of the virus ....Birds are commonly infected with bird flu viruses but most of these viruses do not cause disease. However, certain types of bird flu viruses, such as the H5N1 strain, can cause severe illness and death in 100% of infected birds. There is currently an epidemic of H5N1 bird flu occurring in Asia. Occasionally humans become infected by bird to human transmission and since 2003, 130+ people have been infected with H5N1 resulting in 60+ deaths. There are 3 ways in which dangerous strains of the virus may be brought to Australia by; infected people, domestic birds and migratory wading birds. In order to monitor the import of these viruses by migratory birds we will catch and take samples from large numbers of these birds in important areas where they congregate close to humans and poultry farms. We will identify what types of bird flu viruses these birds are carrying and if the viruses are capable of causing disease in birds and humans. We will also see if they can be treated by the influenza drugs that we currently have and we will study these viruses to find new drug targets. These viruses are commonest in ducks. Migratory wading birds and local ducks live in the same habitats so there is the chance that the wading birds and ducks could pass the viruses to each other. There is an additional concern that non-disease causing viruses could mutate in ducks and become pathogenic and pass from bird to bird or even human to human transmission which could cause a major human epidemic of bird flu in Australia. So we will also take samples from local ducks that occur in the same areas as the wading birds and test them for viruses as well. Our results will show what kinds of viruses are being carried by wading birds and ducks and if these viruses are a danger to people and poultry. We can then manage important areas so that humans and poultry do not come into contact with these viruses.Read moreRead less
Potential Avian Influenza-induced Pandemic: Minimising Public Panic
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$249,854.00
Summary
Communication appearing in the Australian media regarding a potential bird flu epidemic can serve to accurately and effectively inform the public OR misinform and contribute to panic and undesirable behavioural responses. The Australian Government has time to develop communication strategies and specific messages that can effectively convey desired information at different stages of the anticipated pandemic. This research team proposes to develop communication strategies (including specific mess ....Communication appearing in the Australian media regarding a potential bird flu epidemic can serve to accurately and effectively inform the public OR misinform and contribute to panic and undesirable behavioural responses. The Australian Government has time to develop communication strategies and specific messages that can effectively convey desired information at different stages of the anticipated pandemic. This research team proposes to develop communication strategies (including specific messages, media vehicles, spokespeople, images etc for the different target audiences) that government, medical authorities, NGOs and other relevant organisations can use to increase the public's understanding of the risk. Such strategies will ensure that we can minimise fear, refute misinformation the public may encounter from individuals (e.g., co-workers) or media sources, and enhance the likelihood of the public taking the recommended preventive and remedial actions should an Avian Influenza pandemic occur. Additionally, the research team will then utilise these communication strategies to develop evidence-based guidelines for communication strategies to be used in cases of similar serious health threats in Australia. Based at the University of Wollongong, the project team is a sophisticated and synergistically qualified team of experts. The team includes: a main media health promotions expert (Associate Professor Sandra Jones); two marketing communications experts, one of whom has an academic focus and the other a practitioner focus (Professor John Rossiter and Dr Max Sutherland respectively); a public health and medical expert in health behaviour change (Professor Don Iverson); a senior public health campaigns expert (Professor Chris Puplick), and an expert in communicable diseases and infection control education and programs (Professor Julian Gold).Read moreRead less
HIV infection of CD4+ lymphocytes leads to a high rate of reproduction of new virus. However, in the brain, HIV infection of the astrocytes does not yield high levels of new virus. HIV is genetically active in these astrocytes, producing high levels of the messenger molecules, the so-called mRNA, that code for the proteins required for a new virus particle. We have determined that these HIV mRNAs are specifically prevented from translating into protein. The mechanisms controlling protein transla ....HIV infection of CD4+ lymphocytes leads to a high rate of reproduction of new virus. However, in the brain, HIV infection of the astrocytes does not yield high levels of new virus. HIV is genetically active in these astrocytes, producing high levels of the messenger molecules, the so-called mRNA, that code for the proteins required for a new virus particle. We have determined that these HIV mRNAs are specifically prevented from translating into protein. The mechanisms controlling protein translation from RNA are relatively poorly understood compared with the other control points of cellular gene expression, such as the synthesis of mRNA. This project examines how astrocytes rapidly detect the presence of HIV mRNA and alter their translation machinery to halt the expression of HIV protein. This host defence mechanism involves two key components; the cellular component that identifies and responds to the viral mRNA, and the structural features of the HIV mRNA that enable the cell to detect its viral origin. We will study how translation of HIV proteins requires both HIV and cellular factors. We will determine the impact of both viral RNA elements and viral RNA binding proteins on the translation of viral and cellular proteins. The contribution of the type-1 interferons that are produced in response to viral infection will be studied for their role in augmenting the inhibition of HIV protein translation. Since HIV infected astrocytes significantly contribute to the onset of AIDS dementia, we will sees a strategy to lock HIV into a dormant state in the brain and thereby prevent the neurodegenerative disease associated with HIV. We will use the anti-viral mechanism blocking HIV protein translation in astrocytes to protect other cell populations, such as the CD4+ lymphocytes, from HIV infection. These studies will also give insights into the general mechanisms for translational control of gene expression in human cells.Read moreRead less