Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100260
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$457,378.00
Summary
Refugee moral injury: Linking interpersonal trauma and social functioning. This project aims to understand how moral beliefs about past interpersonal traumatic experiences (e.g., torture, rape) are associated with social outcomes considered to be crucial in successful refugee resettlement. This project will investigate the causal impact of these moral beliefs on social adaptation and whether these beliefs are malleable. The project will be a better understanding of how moral beliefs can impact r ....Refugee moral injury: Linking interpersonal trauma and social functioning. This project aims to understand how moral beliefs about past interpersonal traumatic experiences (e.g., torture, rape) are associated with social outcomes considered to be crucial in successful refugee resettlement. This project will investigate the causal impact of these moral beliefs on social adaptation and whether these beliefs are malleable. The project will be a better understanding of how moral beliefs can impact refugees' abilities to navigate and engage with novel social environments. The outcomes of this project will assist service providers and policy makers to understand why some refugees are able to adapt more successfully than others and provide practical tools for improving social outcomes. Read moreRead less
Promoting Child and Carer Wellbeing and Placement Stability in Kinship Care. Kinship care is the fastest growing out-of-home care placement in Australia, yet least supported. This project aims to implement and evaluate an attachment and trauma-based program for kinship carers, explore its suitability for cultural adaptation for Indigenous families and co-design practical resources to promote program sustainability and trauma-informed practice. This project is Australia’s first randomised trial o ....Promoting Child and Carer Wellbeing and Placement Stability in Kinship Care. Kinship care is the fastest growing out-of-home care placement in Australia, yet least supported. This project aims to implement and evaluate an attachment and trauma-based program for kinship carers, explore its suitability for cultural adaptation for Indigenous families and co-design practical resources to promote program sustainability and trauma-informed practice. This project is Australia’s first randomised trial of a tailored program for kinship carers and expects to generate vital knowledge on evidence-based support. Via implementing an innovative program for kinship carers in statutory child protection, this project should build capacity for research-based practice and benefit family wellbeing and placement outcomes in kinship care.Read moreRead less
Does emotion regulation flexibility improve functioning in refugees? This project aims identify the mechanisms by which low-intensity interventions improve functioning in refugees living in low-and-middle income countries (LMICs). Despite these interventions being implemented with thousands of refugees worldwide, many refugees fail to respond. This project will lead to significant advances in knowledge regarding how and for whom low intensity interventions work. Expected outcomes include enhance ....Does emotion regulation flexibility improve functioning in refugees? This project aims identify the mechanisms by which low-intensity interventions improve functioning in refugees living in low-and-middle income countries (LMICs). Despite these interventions being implemented with thousands of refugees worldwide, many refugees fail to respond. This project will lead to significant advances in knowledge regarding how and for whom low intensity interventions work. Expected outcomes include enhanced capacity of NGOs to deliver effective interventions to refugees living in LMICs, and to tailor their services to those who are at greatest risk of not responding. Benefits include improved functioning of refugees living in LMICs, and enhanced capacity of Australia to meet its international refugee obligations. Read moreRead less
A Phase III Randomised Placebo-controlled Trial Of Mirtazapine As A Pharmacotherapy For Methamphetamine (Ice) Dependence
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,923,009.00
Summary
Crystalline methamphetamine ('ice') is a growing concern in Australia. There are no approved medications that can be used to treat dependence on this drug. This clinical trial will examine whether mirtazapine, a newly identified treatment agent for methamphetamine use, can be used safely and effectively in routine clinical care to manage methamphetamine dependence in Australia.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210100391
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$418,228.00
Summary
Reducing Gendered Harm in Involuntary Mental Health Service Provision. Involuntary mental health treatment is often traumatising, with women reporting additional gendered dimensions of harm. Using an action research framework that draws upon the voices of service users, families and professionals, this study aims to develop improved strategies for responding to acute mental distress in women, with a focus on reducing coercion. Expected outcomes include enhanced understandings of the experiences ....Reducing Gendered Harm in Involuntary Mental Health Service Provision. Involuntary mental health treatment is often traumatising, with women reporting additional gendered dimensions of harm. Using an action research framework that draws upon the voices of service users, families and professionals, this study aims to develop improved strategies for responding to acute mental distress in women, with a focus on reducing coercion. Expected outcomes include enhanced understandings of the experiences and impacts of compulsory mental health treatment on women and a co-designed online resource that will support the development of effective, realistic and non-coercive practices in frontline mental healthcare. The project will provide substantial benefits to mental health reform at a national and international level.Read moreRead less
Regulation of lung immune-epithelial networks sensing environmental change. This study aims to uncover how lung epithelial cells engage with immune cells and determine their cellular and molecular wiring to ensure homeostatic maintenance and essential repair processes of lung tissues. Maintenance of lung epithelial-immune networks is essential to maintain normal lung tissue structure and function, and to induce immune responses to protect against microbial challenges or inhaled potentially toxic ....Regulation of lung immune-epithelial networks sensing environmental change. This study aims to uncover how lung epithelial cells engage with immune cells and determine their cellular and molecular wiring to ensure homeostatic maintenance and essential repair processes of lung tissues. Maintenance of lung epithelial-immune networks is essential to maintain normal lung tissue structure and function, and to induce immune responses to protect against microbial challenges or inhaled potentially toxic substances. Understanding this molecular program of epithelial-immune cell-mediated sensing/repair will be essential to understand how tissue-repair processes can be driven in the lung, an organ critical for respiration and thus life.Read moreRead less
Improving aged care with memory conversations. This project aims to investigate conversational techniques known as "elaborative reminiscing" as a tool for aged care staff to practice relationship-based care in their day-to-day interactions with older clients. The project expects to generate new knowledge about which specific techniques increase reminiscing during routine care, and how these tools have ongoing benefits for aged care clients. Expected outcomes include an evidence-based training pr ....Improving aged care with memory conversations. This project aims to investigate conversational techniques known as "elaborative reminiscing" as a tool for aged care staff to practice relationship-based care in their day-to-day interactions with older clients. The project expects to generate new knowledge about which specific techniques increase reminiscing during routine care, and how these tools have ongoing benefits for aged care clients. Expected outcomes include an evidence-based training program and improved understanding of facilitators and barriers to meeting aged care clients' social needs. This should provide significant benefits by improving wellbeing of clients in aged care, reducing hospitalisations, and enabling aged care providers to meet new industry standards.Read moreRead less
Understanding the link between reading impairments and emotional problems. This Project aims to understand why children with reading impairments are at increased risk for emotional problems. By integrating the statistical power of large-scale longitudinal studies with the causal testing power of intervention case studies, it seeks to fast-track the development of a comprehensive evidence-based theory of the mechanisms linking reading impairments and emotional problems. The outcomes will pave the ....Understanding the link between reading impairments and emotional problems. This Project aims to understand why children with reading impairments are at increased risk for emotional problems. By integrating the statistical power of large-scale longitudinal studies with the causal testing power of intervention case studies, it seeks to fast-track the development of a comprehensive evidence-based theory of the mechanisms linking reading impairments and emotional problems. The outcomes will pave the way for future diagnosis and treatment of concomitant reading and emotional difficulties in children. These outcomes improve our capacity to reduce the incidence of two common problems that limit the life success of Australian children - poor literacy and poor emotional health.Read moreRead less
Living down to expectations: generic medicines and the nocebo effect. This project aims to generate new knowledge of how the awareness of taking a generic medicine can lead to increased nocebo effects (side effects caused by negative expectations). The project is expected to deepen scientific understanding of how generics can trigger nocebo effects by using an innovative experimental approach to tease out contributing key features, explore the role of conscious and nonconscious negative expectat ....Living down to expectations: generic medicines and the nocebo effect. This project aims to generate new knowledge of how the awareness of taking a generic medicine can lead to increased nocebo effects (side effects caused by negative expectations). The project is expected to deepen scientific understanding of how generics can trigger nocebo effects by using an innovative experimental approach to tease out contributing key features, explore the role of conscious and nonconscious negative expectations, and test novel strategies to reduce these nocebo effects. Expected outcomes of this project include theory development and enhanced understanding of nocebo effect causes and mechanisms. This should provide significant benefits, including potential strategies for mitigating nocebo effects of generic medicines.
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Improving Productivity in Emergency Service Personnel. Emergency service personnel experience marked levels of lost productivity, absenteeism, early retirements, and compensation claims as a result of stress reactions. This project aims to improve productivity and reduce compensation costs in emergency service organisations by evaluating a program that reduces stress reactions and increases cognitive functioning in police, firefighters, and paramedics in NSW. An individual program will be admini ....Improving Productivity in Emergency Service Personnel. Emergency service personnel experience marked levels of lost productivity, absenteeism, early retirements, and compensation claims as a result of stress reactions. This project aims to improve productivity and reduce compensation costs in emergency service organisations by evaluating a program that reduces stress reactions and increases cognitive functioning in police, firefighters, and paramedics in NSW. An individual program will be administered to 120 emergency service personnel who have difficulty maintaining their work duties because of stress reactions. Expected outcomes will be reduction in absenteeism, improved productivity, and reduced costs to insurers.
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