Extending The Australian Arm Of The International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Study
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$881,295.00
Summary
This project is to provide for the Australian arm of a large multi-national study to determine how tobacco control policies work. It is being conducted in the context of the implementation in 2005 of the World Health Organisation's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, to which Australia is a party. We will provide new knowledge on the impacts of specific policies which are being implemented in Australia, as well as ones that occur in other countries that are part of the larger study. These i ....This project is to provide for the Australian arm of a large multi-national study to determine how tobacco control policies work. It is being conducted in the context of the implementation in 2005 of the World Health Organisation's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, to which Australia is a party. We will provide new knowledge on the impacts of specific policies which are being implemented in Australia, as well as ones that occur in other countries that are part of the larger study. These include the adoption of graphic health warnings on tobacco packaging, removal of misleading constituents levels information from packs, bans of misleading descriptors such as Light and Mild, and implementation of smoke-free bars. In addition it will advance our understanding of how policy effects persist over time, their equity, and the means by which they contribute to increased cessation and reduced relapse. We do this by following smokers every year in each of the countries and asking them about their thinking and actions with regard to smoking, as well as about their awareness of the policies. By comparing the responses of smokers exposed to policies with those from other countries that are not exposed, we can work out the contribution of the policies to changes in smoking. Understanding policy effects on smokers and smoking cessation will lead to improved policies in Australia and the likelihood of improved dissemination of policies that work here to other countries. Similarly policies found to work in other countries, can be best adapted to Australia if we understand how they work. Taken in total, it should advance our efforts to reduce the burden of smoking-related harm both in Australia and the rest of the world.Read moreRead less
Investigation Of Tobacco Industry Efforts To Counteract Tobacco Control In Australia, 1970-2000
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$333,225.00
Summary
Tobacco use continues to be both the most important preventable cause of premature death and a key determinant of health inequity in Australia. Tobacco is a legally sold product which addicts many of its consumers, mostly as adolescents, and then kills half of them when used as intended. Comprehensive policy change, product regulation and litigation is required to put a halt to the tobacco industry's decades of avoidance, delay and disruption of tobacco control. In an interview for the Wall Stre ....Tobacco use continues to be both the most important preventable cause of premature death and a key determinant of health inequity in Australia. Tobacco is a legally sold product which addicts many of its consumers, mostly as adolescents, and then kills half of them when used as intended. Comprehensive policy change, product regulation and litigation is required to put a halt to the tobacco industry's decades of avoidance, delay and disruption of tobacco control. In an interview for the Wall Street Journal in 1995, Stan Glantz, from the University of California at San Francisco, equated the tobacco industry with other disease vectors: If you want to do something about malaria, you have to study mosquitoes and if you want to do something about lung cancer, you have to study the tobacco industry. Regulatory changes can only be justified by specific local evidence of both the private plans and knowledge of the tobacco industry to attack tobacco control and their public statements and actions designed to mislead consumers and effectively prevent or delay tobacco control. This study will document the public actions and statements of the tobacco industry in Australia between 1970 and 2000. It will draw on interviews with and personal records of tobacco control experts and former state and federal health ministers; as well as tobacco retail trade publications; print media reports; material obtained via Freedom of Information from State and Federal Health Departments; Federal Cabinet papers released under the 30 year rule (ie papers are available from prior 1972); and radio and television reports. It will complement a parallel study of the tobacco industry's internal documents. The outcome will be provision of strategically vital evidence to support effective tobacco control advocacy, policy formation, regulation and litigation in Australia, in the face of continuing industry countermeasures.Read moreRead less
Epithelial cell surface mucins are large complex proteins found on the surface of all mucosal epithelial tissues, for example in the respiratory, gastrointestinal, reproductive and urinary tracts. Most bacterial and viral pathogens enter the body via mucosal tissues. We have recently demonstrated that mucin proteins are a vital component of initial defence against mucosal pathogens. Defects in these proteins probably predispose individuals to common chronic infective and inflammatory diseases. T ....Epithelial cell surface mucins are large complex proteins found on the surface of all mucosal epithelial tissues, for example in the respiratory, gastrointestinal, reproductive and urinary tracts. Most bacterial and viral pathogens enter the body via mucosal tissues. We have recently demonstrated that mucin proteins are a vital component of initial defence against mucosal pathogens. Defects in these proteins probably predispose individuals to common chronic infective and inflammatory diseases. The proposed research aims to explore the mechanims by which mucins protect from infection, with a focus on the gastrointestinal tract. Gastrointestinal infections remain one of the major causes of mortality in children in undeveloped countries. We believe that these proteins are a critical hereto unrecognised element of immunity and that the proposed studies will have broad significance for treatment and prevention of infection. Additionally, understanding the function of mucins could lead to the development of new drugs to treat epithelial inflammation such as that seen in inflammatory bowel diseases and respiratory diseases such as asthma and cystic fibrosis.Read moreRead less
Australia has limited systems in place to identify, then reduce or withdraw (disinvest) ineffective or inappropriate health care practices. Such practices result in sub-optimal care and inefficient use of scarce resources. Disinvestment models are few and have not been tested in Australia. We will develop a novel, systematic policy framework by linking policy, clinical, patient and community members as partners in the decision process for disinvesting (or not) selected health care practices.
Contextual And Composition Determinants Of Urban Health Inequities: An Indigenous Perspective
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$426,317.00
Summary
This research studies the life experiences of Indigenous Australians living in suburban Australia. The project is exploring whether the characteristics of suburbs have an effect on residents' health, regardless of the make up of the resident population. In particular, this research is examining whether this locational impact is any different for Indigenous people compared to non-Indigenous people. It will specifically take into account the impact of social and economic factors on health. More pa ....This research studies the life experiences of Indigenous Australians living in suburban Australia. The project is exploring whether the characteristics of suburbs have an effect on residents' health, regardless of the make up of the resident population. In particular, this research is examining whether this locational impact is any different for Indigenous people compared to non-Indigenous people. It will specifically take into account the impact of social and economic factors on health. More particularly, the research will consider how Indigenous people's patterns of social interaction, trust and reciprocity - elements of social capital - affect their perceived health status. The research will examine the extent to which people are able to use their social networks to gain access to benefits such as assistance in daily life, access to jobs or to people with influence in ways that directly or indirectly contribute to improved health within the Indigenous population. The impact of racism on health will also be considered. The research will be conducted in two high income and three low income suburbs in Adelaide in order to allow comparisons between the suburbs and between Indigenous and non-Indigenous residents in each. Information will be collected from detailed interviews, a face-to-face survey and observation of the social environment, services and facilities available in the case study suburbs. The final stage of the research will engage policy makers and program planners to determine the implications of the research for their work. The research findings are designed to be used by policy makers and practitioners when they devise interventions aimed at improving health status and outcomes in Indigenous communities.Read moreRead less