A Solution Based Approach Developing Child Health Research With A Focus On Preventive Interventions For Common Childhood
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,599,538.00
Summary
There is an increasing recognition that research into child health should focus not only on disease but also on common childhood disorders such as obesity, depression and poor literacy. In addition, such research should include solution-based activity. That is, child health research should have an active program of testing new interventions to prevent the onset of disorders, or to allow optimal early management. The Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, the largest Australian child health resear ....There is an increasing recognition that research into child health should focus not only on disease but also on common childhood disorders such as obesity, depression and poor literacy. In addition, such research should include solution-based activity. That is, child health research should have an active program of testing new interventions to prevent the onset of disorders, or to allow optimal early management. The Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, the largest Australian child health research institute, is in a very good position to develop Australia's capacity further with regard to a coordinated research program into preventative interventions in child health. This is because of: - the Institute's location at the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, the largest paediatric health service provider in Australia - the many individual relevant research projects that are already occurring in MCRI - the strong existing teams of researchers with skills in many different fields of child health such as psychology, speech pathology, clinical-medical care, epidemiology and biostatistics, and laboratory science including genetics. This capacity building program will coordinate population health work to develop the knowledge and skills of eight population health researchers. This development will occur within the context of an internationally competitive research program with structured continuing education and training to promote public health leadership. The capacity building program will develop skills not only in study design, conduct and analysis, but also in collaboration and the translation of research findings into better health services, government policy and parental knowledge to prevent problems and improve the health and well being of children and their families. To care for children in the best way, parents, families, schools, health care providers, and government need the best evidence base possible on the prevention of common child disorders.Read moreRead less
Capacity Building In Childhood And Adolescent Obesity Prevention
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,080,191.00
Summary
As obesity prevalence in children and adolescents continues to climb, there is an urgent need to build Australia's ability to undertake solutions-orientated research across several fronts. This program covers the four areas of greatest need for building research capacity in obesity prevention.Whole-of-community intervention programs: These evaluate what works and what does not work in the real world of trying to get integrated action at the community level and how to get the maximum uptake by ch ....As obesity prevalence in children and adolescents continues to climb, there is an urgent need to build Australia's ability to undertake solutions-orientated research across several fronts. This program covers the four areas of greatest need for building research capacity in obesity prevention.Whole-of-community intervention programs: These evaluate what works and what does not work in the real world of trying to get integrated action at the community level and how to get the maximum uptake by children and adolescents, their families, schools and other community settings.Assessing the cost-effectiveness of interventions: This research combines existing and emerging evidence with new modeling techniques to estimate the costs, population impacts, and cost-effectiveness of a variety of interventions.Socio-cultural contexts for obesity prevention: This research seeks to understand the various attitudes, beliefs, perceptions and values relating to food, physical activity and body size perception so that social marketing messages and intervention programs are socially and culturally appropriate and resonate with the variety of communities involved.Analysing policy processes and interventions: Policy changes are important early and powerful drivers of creating environments where the health choices are the easy choices, and the evidence base for such changes in obesity prevention is urgently needed.The four Lead Applicants in the team are all highly experienced researchers across the range of disciplines involved and are already working on a number of combined projects which will provide the research platform for the seven Team Investigators to build their skills. The Team Investigators are at various stages in their research careers and are already contributing to a significant extent. This capacity building grant will substantially boost this critical area of research by developing a team of cross-disciplinary researchers of international standing.Read moreRead less
Linking Research, Policy And Health Services To Build A Better Evidence Base For Workplace
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,683,991.00
Summary
This application brings together four of Australia’s leading population and occupational health researchers to develop much needed national research capacity to reduce the burden of the largely hidden problem of occupational disease and to improve health and wellbeing in Australian workplaces. It is designed to develop a wide range of skills in a group of post-doctoral Team Investigators to improve the link between research, policy and practice. This program will address several of the National ....This application brings together four of Australia’s leading population and occupational health researchers to develop much needed national research capacity to reduce the burden of the largely hidden problem of occupational disease and to improve health and wellbeing in Australian workplaces. It is designed to develop a wide range of skills in a group of post-doctoral Team Investigators to improve the link between research, policy and practice. This program will address several of the National Health Priorities such as asthma, cancer, mental health and musculoskeletal disorders.Read moreRead less
The Impact Of Urban Design On Physical And Mental Health Building Capacity For Research Across The Life Course
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,194,515.00
Summary
In the last decade there has been growing recognition that the urban environment influences health. The design of neighborhoods and public open space design as well as transport planning is associated with levels of walking, cycling and use of public transport, as well as the sense of community, positive mental health, depression and asthma. Low-density, automobile dependent suburbs discourage the use of non-motorized forms of transport and public transport use, thereby reducing physical activit ....In the last decade there has been growing recognition that the urban environment influences health. The design of neighborhoods and public open space design as well as transport planning is associated with levels of walking, cycling and use of public transport, as well as the sense of community, positive mental health, depression and asthma. Low-density, automobile dependent suburbs discourage the use of non-motorized forms of transport and public transport use, thereby reducing physical activity and opportunities for casual contacts between neighbors. Nevertheless, how to optimize urban environment to meet the needs of different population groups (eg. Children and young people, older adults, as well as the general public) has been largely unexplored. While more walkable neighborhoods (i.e., those characterized by higher density, mixed use planning and enhanced connectivity) may encourage able-bodied adults to do more working, the impact on children, young people and older adults is unknown. For example, adults generally report there is more traffic in more walkable areas. Exposure to traffic decreases the likelihood of children walking. In addition, higher levels of traffic increase traffic pollution, thereby increasing the likelihood of asthma. Moreover, while some research suggests that social capital or sense of community is higher in more walkable neighborhoods; other research suggests that living on a busy road decreases one�s social networks. Thus, it is likely that there is an optimum level of walkability that encourages sense of community. The proposed research will build upon and strengthen and extensive program of research examining the impact of the urban environment on adults, by adding programs of work with children and older adults. It will build our group�s capacity for research in this area, by building expertise within the whole team for appropriate qualitative, statistical and geo-spatial methods which will assist our team to work in this complex, multi-disciplinary area. With input from consumers, practitioners and policy-makers a major focus of this applied research program will be designing research that can be translated into policy and practice with the aim of creating urban environments that promote good health.Read moreRead less
Building Capacity For Physical Activity Research In Population Health
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,118,560.00
Summary
The program will focus on the 'diseases of inactivity' and will look at factors like obtaining accurate statistics on rates of inactivity and better statistics on which social groups are least active. It will look at: • the types of activity that are best for different people; • what the best types of exercise programs are; • the types of information campaigns that will be most effective; and • how community amenities and local environments might be used to help people to be active in ways that ....The program will focus on the 'diseases of inactivity' and will look at factors like obtaining accurate statistics on rates of inactivity and better statistics on which social groups are least active. It will look at: • the types of activity that are best for different people; • what the best types of exercise programs are; • the types of information campaigns that will be most effective; and • how community amenities and local environments might be used to help people to be active in ways that are more convenient and enjoyable.Read moreRead less
Health Care In The Round: Building Capacity For Integrated Decision-making For Improving Health Services.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,156,378.00
Summary
Our title, ‘Healthcare in the round’, reflects two key perspectives on improving health services. First, we wish to ‘close the loop’ between the introduction of an innovation and measuring its uptake and impact. Second, we are seeking to explore how decisions about health services might be ‘rounded out’ if the ethical dimensions, economic implications and community’s views on what is being proposed were routinely considered in deciding what changes to make to existing patterns of care.
Methodology For Population Health Research: Training And Innovation In Longitudinal Studies
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,963,750.00
Summary
This proposal builds on the applicants' experience with existing cohort studies to identify, evaluate and address areas of methodological concern, particularly with longitudinal studies. The group's ability to develop robust longitudinal methods in relation to these concerns will have the potential for both increasing knowledge of the determinants of population health and increasing their ability to attract trainee biostatisticians, an identified area of need in the country as a whole. The grant ....This proposal builds on the applicants' experience with existing cohort studies to identify, evaluate and address areas of methodological concern, particularly with longitudinal studies. The group's ability to develop robust longitudinal methods in relation to these concerns will have the potential for both increasing knowledge of the determinants of population health and increasing their ability to attract trainee biostatisticians, an identified area of need in the country as a whole. The grant will help position Australia at the cutting edge of research skills and methodology involved with longitudinal studies. Longitudinal studies provide a powerful means of collecting information about the health of populations. This grant will use multi-disciplinary approaches to develop innovative methods for designing longitudinal studies, collecting and analysing data and communicating results to improve people's health.Read moreRead less
Improving Population Health By A Multidisciplinary, Multi-method Focus Kindey Disease Of The Young, The Old And Of Indigen
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,625,261.00
Summary
Drawing together a multidisciplinary team of experts in their field (epidemiology, biostatistics, health services research, health economics, clinical medicine, and qualitative research) this grant will develop 8-10 promising young population researchers by a targeted program of research and training. Using data from multiple well funded, large scale studies the team investigators will engage in two types of research; methods research and applied research. The methods research will include socio ....Drawing together a multidisciplinary team of experts in their field (epidemiology, biostatistics, health services research, health economics, clinical medicine, and qualitative research) this grant will develop 8-10 promising young population researchers by a targeted program of research and training. Using data from multiple well funded, large scale studies the team investigators will engage in two types of research; methods research and applied research. The methods research will include socioeconomic determinants of disease, systematic reviews of tests and interventions, community and patient preference elicitation, cost effectiveness modeling, and monitoring to support intervention decisions in population health. The applied research will include quantifying the effect of kidney disease on non-kidney outcomes, modeling the effect of better kidney care on population health, and preventing kidney disease in the young, old and in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Kidney disease has been chosen because it is the interest of many of the lead applicant team, because there are excellent existing population-based databases and because it is an example of chronic disease which has a much bigger impact than on just kidney-related health outcomes alone. The training program is structured and covers initial evaluation of the goals, skills and aspirations of the team investigators, development of personal training programs, modular coursework learning from units provided by the School of Public Health at the University of Sydney, mentoring, co-mentoring, rotational placement, skills and methods support, evaluation and limited direct research funding.Read moreRead less
Improving Health Outcomes With Population-based Biological, Social And Environmental Information And Research Methods.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,050,000.00
Summary
This proposal brings together two partner institutions and research teams in an integrated program through pooling of experience, sharing of databases and other resources and joint mentoring of new researchers to achieve improved health status through a whole of life and intergenerational view of health and health determinants. The proposal incorporates real consumer participation throughout the grant. The grant will help position Australia in the newly emerging research skills and methodology i ....This proposal brings together two partner institutions and research teams in an integrated program through pooling of experience, sharing of databases and other resources and joint mentoring of new researchers to achieve improved health status through a whole of life and intergenerational view of health and health determinants. The proposal incorporates real consumer participation throughout the grant. The grant will help position Australia in the newly emerging research skills and methodology involved with data linkages. Building on the successful multi-disciplinary research environments at both institutions, the grant will provide additional funds for these two groups to work cooperatively together. The groups currently operate with established links to researchers on a national basis and will be exploring aspects from the biomedical, clinical and health service delivery perspective to link environmental and social determinants of health from early childhood to adulthood. The grant will provide research training in a whole of life approach. In particular, researchers will gain experience in linking research findings into health policy with active consumer involvement to improve health outcomes.Read moreRead less