Assessment And Prevention Of The Early Signs Of Anxiety And Depression In Children.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$149,363.00
Summary
Anxiety and depression are common mental health problems and children rate them as their most common emotional problems. Recent research has indicated that brief psychotherapy programs are effective in reducing these problems in 8 to 14 year olds, however, the earliest signs of these problems are detectable in the preschool years. Thus there is an urgent need for adequately evaluated community prevention programs to address the promotion of sound mental health in much younger children. The aim o ....Anxiety and depression are common mental health problems and children rate them as their most common emotional problems. Recent research has indicated that brief psychotherapy programs are effective in reducing these problems in 8 to 14 year olds, however, the earliest signs of these problems are detectable in the preschool years. Thus there is an urgent need for adequately evaluated community prevention programs to address the promotion of sound mental health in much younger children. The aim of this study is to conduct a comprehensive controlled trial of a community based programme for the detection and prevention of early signs of internalising disorders (i.e., shyness, fears and anxiety, depression). It is hypothesised that by intervening when children are young with the aim of improving parent-child interaction patterns, children will be steered towards a more competent and resilient approach to life. The study consists of three major components. First, we will evaluate the psychometric properties and predictive validity of the best available measures of teachers', parents' and children's' perceptions of the child's adjustment status. Second, we will follow-up the full cohort of preschool children to test which combination of the measures best predicts internalising disorders after 2 years. Third, we will conduct a controlled trial with a sample of the larger cohort to evaluate the effects of a brief parent and teacher training programme on children's adjustment. The major questions of this project are: a) Can we successfully identify children in a community preschool setting and under the age of 6 who are at risk of developing internalizing disorders? b) What assessment measures are the most reliable and valid predictors of the development of internalising disorders in this age group? c) What are the short-term and medium-term effects of a parent and teacher prevention program on children stratified according to risk for internalising disorders?Read moreRead less
The Role Of EBV And HHV-6 Infection In Demyelinating Disease With A Consideration Of Past UVR Exposure.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$305,800.00
Summary
The marked increase in immune disorders over the past fifty years is thought to reflect modern environmental and lifestyle factors, rather than changes in diagnosis. The hypothesis that has the most evidence to support it is the 'hygiene hypothesis'. That is, that a reduction in early life infection among modern children leads to immune system dysfunction and thus an increase in immune disorders. Delayed child infection, particularly of Epstein-Barr Virus has been prospectively linked to multipl ....The marked increase in immune disorders over the past fifty years is thought to reflect modern environmental and lifestyle factors, rather than changes in diagnosis. The hypothesis that has the most evidence to support it is the 'hygiene hypothesis'. That is, that a reduction in early life infection among modern children leads to immune system dysfunction and thus an increase in immune disorders. Delayed child infection, particularly of Epstein-Barr Virus has been prospectively linked to multiple sclerosis (MS) risk. This project aims to document the role of herpes virus (EBV, HHV-6) infection in the onset of first demyelinating events, a precursor to MS. The strength of this proposal is that it lies within an existing study framework - the Ausimmune Study, allowing detailed exploration of related associations with latitude, early life infant contact and past sun exposure. The incidence of MS has doubled from 1.2-100,000 to 2.4-100,000 from 1961 to 1996 in Newcastle, Australia. Although incidence is low, the disease has a median age of first onset of 24 years and progresses to serious disability even with immunomodulatory therapy (50% will need assistance in walking within 13 years) thus the current prevalence of 1 per 1,000 adults in Tasmania and 0.8 per 1,000 in Newcastle represent a serious burden of morbidity.Read moreRead less
Calling The Tune? Investigating Corporate Influences On Media Reporting Of Health
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$462,016.00
Summary
This project will examine and evaluate the relationships between Australian journalists and health-related industries (pharmaceutical, medical devices-diagnostics, complementary medicines, food and alcohol) in order to determine the extent to which, and ways in which, these relationships influence the health-related information received by health professionals and the Australian public. The project aims to inform strategies to improve industry and journalistic policy and practices.
Evaluation Of The Effectiveness Of Mobile Preschool For Child Health And Development In Remote Aboriginal Communities
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$456,369.00
Summary
This project is a retrospective study of the effectiveness of the NT Mobile Preschool Program using assessment data for children's emergent literacy, social and emotional competencies and health status. Effectiveness will be established by comparison with achievement and health status data for children not attending preschool and those in communities with no preschool service. The study will identify and describe the key factors influencing the health and learning outcomes of the three groups.
Health Care Priorities: The Community's Preferences For Using Community Preferences
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$52,355.00
Summary
Determining how health care resources should be allocated - often termed rationing or priority setting - has traditionally been carried out by health care personnel, usually doctors but increasingly managers. More recently there has been a move to involve the general public in this process. Much of the research in this area has focussed on the methods used to elicit community preferences. While this is an important area of investigation, a prior issue of how community members feel about the use ....Determining how health care resources should be allocated - often termed rationing or priority setting - has traditionally been carried out by health care personnel, usually doctors but increasingly managers. More recently there has been a move to involve the general public in this process. Much of the research in this area has focussed on the methods used to elicit community preferences. While this is an important area of investigation, a prior issue of how community members feel about the use of their preferences in informing health care priorities needs to be investigated. Four specific questions will be addressed in this study: (i) do members of the general public feel that, as individuals, they have a legitimate role to play in informing priority decisions in health care? if so why? if not, why not? (ii) does the nature-level-setting of the decisions for which priorities are to be set affect whether individual members of the public would wish to participate in the priority setting process? (e.g. different health services, medical procedures-treatments, diseases) (iii) whose preferences should be used if not the community's? (iv) faced ex post with the preferences of the community and the preferences (possibly different) of health service decision makers (i.e. Oexperts'), does this knowledge affect preferences for having community preferences count? A number of health authorities are currently looking for ways of engaging local communities in health care decision making. This study will indicate the appropriate levels at which community preferences are to be elicited and the type of decisions and settings in which they are most relevant.Read moreRead less
Long Term Impact, Capacity Gains And Cost-effectiveness Of A Successful Community-wide Child Obesity Prevention Program
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$703,191.00
Summary
Be Active, Eat Well is the first community-wide obesity prevention project to successfully reduce the weight and waist gain of children. The 'intervention' was to 'boost' community capacity to enable the local organisations to create their own solutions to childhood obesity. This research will continue to assess the project 3 years after that 'boost' to determine the long-term sustainability, impact and cost-effectiveness of this approach to prevent childhood obesity.
Gudaga Project: Understanding The Health, Development, And Service Use Of Aboriginal Children In An Urban Environment
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,424,845.00
Summary
The Gudaga project is a birth cohort of Aboriginal children that will be followed from 18 months to 5 years and describe their health, development and service (health and children's) use. This is the first study of its kind in Eastern Australia. The research team are working closely with stakeholders in Aboriginal health care including the Aboriginal community to implement the research. The research will contribute to services for Aboriginal children in the local and wider community.
Urban Locational Disadvantage And Health: Compositional And Contextual Determinants
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$608,050.00
Summary
Research has shown that where you live can affect your health, with poorer areas tending to have lower levels of health. Relationships have also been found between an individual's income and their health. It is not clear, however, which has the greatest influence on health difference - characteristics of the areas themselves or the type of people living in the area. Recent research has suggested that the levels of social capital (that is, links between people, the amount of voluntary community a ....Research has shown that where you live can affect your health, with poorer areas tending to have lower levels of health. Relationships have also been found between an individual's income and their health. It is not clear, however, which has the greatest influence on health difference - characteristics of the areas themselves or the type of people living in the area. Recent research has suggested that the levels of social capital (that is, links between people, the amount of voluntary community activity, and the degree to which people trust others and civic institutions) has a significant impact on health. The nature of physical environments also has an impact on peoples' lives. The study will examine how the communities in which people live influence their health and will consider both aspects of the physical and social environments of areas, and their demographic composition. The research is in three stages. The first stage involves a telephone survey of residents of metropolitan Adelaide and includes questions about social capital, area of residence and health. Existing information about areas, such as crime rates, availability of services and air and water pollution, will be collected. The second stage involves detailed case studies of four suburbs in Adelaide, two of which are more affluent than average and two of which are poorer than average. These case studies will: catalogue the facilities available; survey a random sample of residents about their health, their participation in community activities and their perceptions of their area; talk about these issues in detail with residents in each area; and assess the quality of the physical environment. In the third stage, the findings of the research will be discussed with community members and key policy makers in state and local government to determine how communities can be best structured so that they support individuals' health status.Read moreRead less
Health Status And Development Among Aboriginal Infants In An Urban Community.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$436,650.00
Summary
This research is a descriptive study of the health outcomes of Aboriginal infants, born at Campbelltown Hospital. The research will build on Centre for Health Equity's (CHETRE) work, since 1997, with the Aboriginal community, Aboriginal Medical Service (AMS) and Area Health Services (AHS) in the region to develop and advocate for services to address the needs of Aboriginal and other disadvantaged communities. CHETRE has supported the Aboriginal workers to develop additional services for Aborigin ....This research is a descriptive study of the health outcomes of Aboriginal infants, born at Campbelltown Hospital. The research will build on Centre for Health Equity's (CHETRE) work, since 1997, with the Aboriginal community, Aboriginal Medical Service (AMS) and Area Health Services (AHS) in the region to develop and advocate for services to address the needs of Aboriginal and other disadvantaged communities. CHETRE has supported the Aboriginal workers to develop additional services for Aboriginal women, such as the Aboriginal Home Visiting Team (AHV) and assisted with evaluation of these services. The AHV management comprises representatives from AMS, AHS, the Aboriginal community and CHETRE, and will provide advice and oversight for this project. The AHV developed from community concern about health status of Aboriginal infants and provides ante and postnatal care to infants and mothers. As a part of this service Aboriginal infants are systematically identified by the AHS. Further development of services is limited by lack of information on health status, use of health services, or achievement of developmental milestones by Aboriginal infants in an urban community and the assumption that outcomes are a factor of disadvantage. The researchers intend to describe in meticulous detail obstetric outcomes for 150 Aboriginal infants and their mothers born in 2004-5 and the health and development outcomes of the infants at 12 months. Baseline information on birth weight, Apgar score and obstetric history will be collected from maternal report at 2-3 week post-delivery and from routine data collections. Infants and their mothers will be followed up prospectively with further data collection points at 6 months and 12 months. Information on health status, health service use, and achievement of developmental milestones will be obtained by measurement and maternal report. An assessment by a paediatrician will be undertaken at 12 months.Read moreRead less
Improving Metabolic Fitness In Aboriginal And Torres Straight Islander Women: A Pragmatic Controlled Trial Of Waist Loss
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$556,193.00
Summary
Torres Strait Islanders have the highest prevalence of diabetes in Australia and weight gain in young women can increase further the risk of diabetes for themselves and their babies. Waist loss can reduce the risk of diabetes and heart disease. A pilot study in the Torres Strait in 2007, has demonstrated that this is achievable and acceptable in young Indigenous women. This proposal aims to conduct a larger trial, to look at effectiveness and sustainability of waist loss in young women.