The Natural History Of Injecting Drug Use Among IDU In Melbourne: A Prospective Cohort Study
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$760,869.00
Summary
Our response to the emergent epidemic of methamphetamine injection is hampered by our lack of understanding of injecting drug use (IDU) natural history that place users at risk of harm and the effectiveness of interventions. This study will examine typical trajectories of IDU and provide a framework for service evaluation. The study will focus on untreated methamphetamine and heroin users, providing the first clear indication of the comparative harms associated with these different types of IDU.
EFFECT OF EBV AND HHV-6 LATENT INFECTION OR REACTIVATION ON MS ACTIVITY: A PROSPECTIVE CLINICAL COHORT STUDY
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$263,845.00
Summary
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a severely debilitating neurodegenerative disease, affecting over 16,000 Australians. There is a need to examine which factors drive the progression of this disease. We examine the role of two viral infections on MS activity. It has the potential to contribute to antiviral interventions that might prevent relapses and-or decrease the clinical progression of this debilitating disease.
Injecting Drug Users: Social Networks And Molecular Epidemiology Of The Hepatitis C Virus
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$543,868.00
Summary
The hepatitis C virus (HCV) continues to spread among injecting drug users (IDUs) in Australia at a very high rate, despite success in preventing the spread of HIV in the same groups; the complete reasons for this remain unclear. There is an urgent need for the HCV epidemic among IDUs to be contained. To do so, we must better understand the ways in which it is spreading among IDUs. Much is known about risk behaviours of individual IDUs and how they contribute to HCV transmission; much less is kn ....The hepatitis C virus (HCV) continues to spread among injecting drug users (IDUs) in Australia at a very high rate, despite success in preventing the spread of HIV in the same groups; the complete reasons for this remain unclear. There is an urgent need for the HCV epidemic among IDUs to be contained. To do so, we must better understand the ways in which it is spreading among IDUs. Much is known about risk behaviours of individual IDUs and how they contribute to HCV transmission; much less is known about how these behaviours are modified by the influence of the IDUs peer group, especially their immediate and intimate social networks. Despite its importance in influencing attitudes and behaviours, and therefore HCV transmission, this has never been studied in Australia, nor, in relation to HCV, in the world. We hope that by studying social and risk networks of IDUs we shall discover new ways in which control of the HCV epidemic can be achieved in Australia. We intend to do this among two groups of young IDUs, one of Vietnamese ethnicity, located in the one suburb of Melbourne. By using field techniques for gathering information (ethnography), and sophisticated analytic techniques to understand how these networks are formed and influence behaviours, we hope to be able to identify interventions which work at the level of the social group rather than the individual in bringing about the behaviour change necessary to prevent HCV transmission. To ensure that the risk networks we describe are as influential as they appear, and to discover more about the variability of HCV, we will also be investigating the relationship between the various strains of HCV in members of the IDU networks, particularly as another measure of the connectedness of networks and network members. This will be done using sophisticated genetic analysis of the HCV obtained from network members by blood test.Read moreRead less
Effectiveness, Cost-effectiveness And Equity Of Strategies To Reduce The Burden Of Obesity-related Conditions
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$46,900.00
Summary
Decision-makers need a systematic, coordinated approach to the targeting and prioritisation of preventive strategies. But the evidence base for obesity interventions is for the most part small, narrow in approach, limited in impact, and lacking in cost-effectiveness and equity information. This thesis will add to the evidence base regarding the nature of the obesity epidemic in Australia and internationally and the relative cost-effectiveness of strategies to reduce the obesity burden.
Translation Of Effective Interventions In Injury Prevention And Trauma Care To A Chinese Setting
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$349,407.00
Summary
Evidence informed injury policy is not currently well developed in China. This research project will provide measures of the effectiveness of both a trauma care protocol in a hospital setting, and an intervention program for novice driver education-training in China, and will therefore contribute to the building of an evidence based injury prevention capacity in China.
Risk Factors For Serious Farm-work Related Injury Among Adult Males
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$665,930.00
Summary
This study addresses occupational injury among male adult farm workers. The health and safety performance of agricultural industries is among the worst in Australia. A recently published study of work-related fatalities from 1989 to 1992 found that rural industries ranked third, with a fatality rate 3-4 times that for all industries. The rural industries accounted for 80 deaths annually. Best estimates place the cost of farm injury between $0.5 and $1.29 billion per year. This study is designed ....This study addresses occupational injury among male adult farm workers. The health and safety performance of agricultural industries is among the worst in Australia. A recently published study of work-related fatalities from 1989 to 1992 found that rural industries ranked third, with a fatality rate 3-4 times that for all industries. The rural industries accounted for 80 deaths annually. Best estimates place the cost of farm injury between $0.5 and $1.29 billion per year. This study is designed to contribute to farm injury prevention by: (1) identifying factors associated with a higher risk of serious injury among adult farm workers and (2) determining the proportions of the farm workforce who are exposed to various injury risks. The study will recruit 300 seriously injured or killed farm workers from regional Victoria and collect information about themselves, their working life and the property on which they work. This information will be compared with 600 randomly selected farm workers who are not seriously injured to determine which personal, work and environmental factors place farm workers at higher risk of injury. The study will lead to the development of new or more refined prevention strategies and programs. A study of this kind has not been conducted before in Australia and would contribute to a continuing scientific basis for selection of interventions for farm injury and targeting of prevention programs, at a time of increasing momentum in agricultural health and safety.Read moreRead less
Road Traffic Injury Prevention: A Public Health Approach
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$380,558.00
Summary
The proposed research program will have a positive impact on road safety in Australia, particularly for young drivers, by using a series of intervention and observational studies to provide strong evidence for policy makers, and build research capacity. Furthermore, the development and adaptation of effective road safety interventions for low income countries in the region has the potential to improve health and economic conditions for many people in these countries.
I am a public health academic leading a multi-disciplinary research team and working with multi-sector partners, studying the impact of the BE on physical and mental health outcomes. My research helps build the evidence required to change policy and pract