The Effectiveness Of A School-based Parent Education Program In The Promotion Of Adolescent Health: A Randomised Trial
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$422,900.00
Summary
Youth mental health and behaviour problems such as depression, suicidal behaviour, tobacco use, alcohol abuse and illicit drug use are currently priority issues within Australian national and state public health policies. This project has been designed to contribute to knowledge on the effectiveness of interventions that can be used to prevent youth mental health and behaviour problems. Until recent years the development of programs to support families through the transition into adolescence has ....Youth mental health and behaviour problems such as depression, suicidal behaviour, tobacco use, alcohol abuse and illicit drug use are currently priority issues within Australian national and state public health policies. This project has been designed to contribute to knowledge on the effectiveness of interventions that can be used to prevent youth mental health and behaviour problems. Until recent years the development of programs to support families through the transition into adolescence has been neglected. This is remiss, as there is evidence that a range of youth mental health and behaviour problems may be preventable through interventions through this transition. The overall objective of this project is to evaluate the effectiveness of a multi-level, family intervention designed to promote adolescent health within secondary schools. The intervention will be implemented over the first two years of high school and incorporates both universal components (for all families) and selected components (for families with particular difficulties). The intervention elements have been developed and partially evaluated in work undertaken by the applicant and collaborators over the past five years. To evaluate this intervention a representative sample of 12 Victorian secondary schools will be randomly assigned to intervention and compared to 12 control schools with prior matching on school demographics and student behaviour variables. Intervention processes will be closely monitored and evaluated for impacts on relevant risk and protective factors. Effectiveness will be evaluated by testing whether reductions in youth mental health and behaviour problems were greater for intervention families compared to controls. The evaluation has been designed to test the theory that improvement across the whole secondary school environment can be encouraged by preventing the negative peer influences that can emerge within families experiencing adolescent adjustment problemsRead moreRead less
Adequate nutrition is necessary for recovery from illness. 30-40% of hospitalised patients may be malnourished. The critically ill are at higher risk because of increased energy requirements yet often receive less than 50% of required nutritional intake. Adequate nutrition therapy is associated with improved patient outcomes, such as reduced mortality and reduced infectious complications. Robust strategies to implement of evidence-based recommendations for nutrition therapy are required.
The meaning of home for children following parental separation. This project aims to identify the meaning of home for children in separated families by interviewing children and parents about children’s experiences of home and homemaking. Since most children now traverse two households, there needs to be an increasing emphasis in policy, law and professional practice on listening to children regarding their post-separation living arrangements. By describing and analysing home for children, the p ....The meaning of home for children following parental separation. This project aims to identify the meaning of home for children in separated families by interviewing children and parents about children’s experiences of home and homemaking. Since most children now traverse two households, there needs to be an increasing emphasis in policy, law and professional practice on listening to children regarding their post-separation living arrangements. By describing and analysing home for children, the project will provide a solid basis for shifting the prevailing focus on parents’ needs in application of the law toward more child-responsive parenting arrangements. This new knowledge will support parents and professionals to achieve child-responsive approaches to post-separation parenting arrangements, reducing potentially adverse impacts of parental separation on children, and benefitting children, families and the community.Read moreRead less
Ready to launch? young Australians’ work and family transitions. This project aims to establish reasons for young Australians delaying life-course milestones such as nest leaving and marriage. Are we seeing a shift of these milestones from “cornerstones” that lay the foundations for accomplishment to “capstones” that depend on economics accomplishments in areas such as employment? The project will investigate the timing of and conditions surrounding young Australians’ economic accomplishments an ....Ready to launch? young Australians’ work and family transitions. This project aims to establish reasons for young Australians delaying life-course milestones such as nest leaving and marriage. Are we seeing a shift of these milestones from “cornerstones” that lay the foundations for accomplishment to “capstones” that depend on economics accomplishments in areas such as employment? The project will investigate the timing of and conditions surrounding young Australians’ economic accomplishments and key household transitions. This will provide significant benefits such as identifying the economic, personal and family drivers of life-course transitions that are consequential for Australians' health, economic and social well-being, and use of public assistance programs.Read moreRead less
The Strong Families Trial: Randomised Controlled Trial Of A Family Strengthening Program To Prevent Unhealthy Weight Gain Among 5- To 11-year Old Children From At Risk Families
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,338,625.00
Summary
The study will test the effectiveness of an integrated package of parenting and lifestyle interventions for parents or carers from socially disadvantaged areas in reducing the risk of obesity among their 5-11 year-old children. It will provide scientific evidence of the additive effectiveness of a mixed parenting program when combined with a standard lifestyle intervention to prevent unhealthy weight gain and improving the family environment among mostly migrant populations
Understanding vicarious trauma in Australian foster care. This project aims to investigate experiences of vicarious trauma in Australian foster care. This project expects to generate new knowledge about antecedents and mitigators of vicarious trauma, and will do so by using interdisciplinary approaches to understand the specific contexts in which vicarious trauma may occur. Expected outcomes of this project includes the generation of national data about vicarious trauma in foster care through th ....Understanding vicarious trauma in Australian foster care. This project aims to investigate experiences of vicarious trauma in Australian foster care. This project expects to generate new knowledge about antecedents and mitigators of vicarious trauma, and will do so by using interdisciplinary approaches to understand the specific contexts in which vicarious trauma may occur. Expected outcomes of this project includes the generation of national data about vicarious trauma in foster care through the development of a new measure of vicarious trauma. This should provide significant benefits, such as providing a clear means to assessing vicarious trauma, and through the development of a mobile app that will enable foster families in Australia to monitor and report experiences of vicarious trauma.Read moreRead less
The 'long arm of the job': Improving parents' jobs and child development. This project aims to identify the priority job stressors that impact working families' wellbeing and child development, and to generate innovative job-based strategies to reduce work-family conflicts for working parents. Conflicts between work and family are common in Australia, reported by one in three parents. These affect productivity, family relationships and ultimately, child development. Evidence reveals that employe ....The 'long arm of the job': Improving parents' jobs and child development. This project aims to identify the priority job stressors that impact working families' wellbeing and child development, and to generate innovative job-based strategies to reduce work-family conflicts for working parents. Conflicts between work and family are common in Australia, reported by one in three parents. These affect productivity, family relationships and ultimately, child development. Evidence reveals that employers have struggled to implement family-friendly practices despite recent national policy initiatives. Using national cohort data and industry partnerships, this project investigates solutions to this urgent national dilemma to benefit those most affected by parents' job stressors – working parents and their children.
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