Influences on farmer suicide in Queensland and New South Wales. Australian farmers have been identified as being at high-risk of suicide. This project will provide direction for targeted suicide prevention strategies by quantifying the individual and environmental factors that place farmers at higher risk of suicide, as well as the protective factors that may buffer against suicide and suicidal behaviours.
Normative study of a checklist of emotional and behavioural disturbance in adults with intellectual disability. People with intellectual disability (ID) are three times more likely to suffer mental illness than the general community, making this a bigger problem than schizophrenia. They are a great burden to their carers and cost to the community but their mental health problems remain largely untreated. This study aims to conduct the largest and most comprehensive survey of the mental health ....Normative study of a checklist of emotional and behavioural disturbance in adults with intellectual disability. People with intellectual disability (ID) are three times more likely to suffer mental illness than the general community, making this a bigger problem than schizophrenia. They are a great burden to their carers and cost to the community but their mental health problems remain largely untreated. This study aims to conduct the largest and most comprehensive survey of the mental health of adults with ID that has been undertaken internationally to date. The population will cover the age span of late adolescence (16 years) through the transition to adult life then through to the elderly. The research will establish the prevalence and nature of mental illness and potential risk factors in a large representative population of adults with ID.Read moreRead less
Trends and predictors of suicide in Australian children. The present study offers an opportunity to evaluate the trends and possibilities of this potential underestimation of suicides among Australian children and determine pathways to suicide with a specific focus on identifying predictive factors. This information is crucial to the future development of effective evidence-based prevention and intervention strategies for children. The outcomes of the project will lead to improved recognition an ....Trends and predictors of suicide in Australian children. The present study offers an opportunity to evaluate the trends and possibilities of this potential underestimation of suicides among Australian children and determine pathways to suicide with a specific focus on identifying predictive factors. This information is crucial to the future development of effective evidence-based prevention and intervention strategies for children. The outcomes of the project will lead to improved recognition and assessment of suicidal risk among children. The suicide process can and often does begin in early childhood and it is logical to assume that prevention and intervention strategies that are directly targeted to children may be a valuable tool in the prevention of suicide later in life.Read moreRead less
Improving management decisions in mental health care through applications of advanced simulation modelling. Evidence to inform management decisions about the best way to structure mental health care services is currently lacking. This project will develop a simulation modelling tool that will allow managers to explore various service configurations in virtual reality, enabling predictions to be made about the cost and quality of care.
Epidemiologic and economic approaches to reduce the burden of depression and related chronic diseases in the workforce. Employers and governments alike are increasingly recognising that mental health impacts productivity, but many employers remain uninformed about the magnitude of the productivity consequences and what they can do about it. The ongoing individual and economic burden from depressive and anxiety disorders among working adults necessitates multi-disciplinary solutions. This series ....Epidemiologic and economic approaches to reduce the burden of depression and related chronic diseases in the workforce. Employers and governments alike are increasingly recognising that mental health impacts productivity, but many employers remain uninformed about the magnitude of the productivity consequences and what they can do about it. The ongoing individual and economic burden from depressive and anxiety disorders among working adults necessitates multi-disciplinary solutions. This series of studies will provide nationally and internationally significant new data to both inform understanding of the magnitude of the problem, and to provide cost-effective solutions to addressing it. Findings will directly inform workplace mental health promotion and prevention activities and be usable by employers, clinicians, and governments.Read moreRead less
Time scarcity in Australian families: another inequity? The globalising economy, financial uncertainties and major democratic changes are all affecting family time. Parent's time is a resource on which children depend, but time scarcity has become a widespread problem for families. Our study helps focus policy attention on this problem. We deliver new methods to assess the experience of time scarcity in families, identifying those who are most likely to experience it, where they live, and how ti ....Time scarcity in Australian families: another inequity? The globalising economy, financial uncertainties and major democratic changes are all affecting family time. Parent's time is a resource on which children depend, but time scarcity has become a widespread problem for families. Our study helps focus policy attention on this problem. We deliver new methods to assess the experience of time scarcity in families, identifying those who are most likely to experience it, where they live, and how time scarcity affects them. This evidence can help support policy approaches to time, benefiting the twin economic and social policy goals of encouraging workforce participation while supporting the health and wellbeing of families.Read moreRead less
Transition to adulthood: the wellbeing of young women and men in Australia. How do young Australians make the transition from adolescence to adulthood in the 21st century, and is it different for women and men? This project seeks to understand the life transitions, plans, and emotional wellbeing of young Australians, providing evidence to underlie policy that supports the wellbeing of all emerging adults.
The NSW child development study. Research shows that a child's development predicts health and social outcomes later in life. This Australian project will be the first to identify risk and protective factors associated with these outcomes in 87,000 children from birth to 10 years. The results will help inform governments to improve our children's health and educational achievements.
Mental health, job quality and workforce participation: evidence from population health research to address complex problems and conflicting policies. Mental disorders such as depression are a major cause of disability. Improving mental health can increase productivity and workforce participation. However, the psychosocial quality of work is a factor that overlays the relationship between work and health. Poor quality work (for example, unreasonable time pressure, insecurity) increases the risk ....Mental health, job quality and workforce participation: evidence from population health research to address complex problems and conflicting policies. Mental disorders such as depression are a major cause of disability. Improving mental health can increase productivity and workforce participation. However, the psychosocial quality of work is a factor that overlays the relationship between work and health. Poor quality work (for example, unreasonable time pressure, insecurity) increases the risk of poor mental health, absenteeism, and exit from the workforce. This project will analyse data following people over time to investigate the long-term health and employment consequences of poor psychosocial job quality, and consider the special case of mature age workers. It will identify those individuals at greatest risk, and factors that can buffer against the adverse effects of poor quality work.Read moreRead less
The importance of gender and socio-economic disadvantage for the mental health of people living with disabilities. The twenty per cent of Australians reporting a disability are more likely to live in disadvantaged circumstances such as inadequate housing, unemployment, and lower levels of education all of which may contribute to poor mental health. Yet there has not been research on the mental health of people with disabilities. This means that disability services and advocacy groups, which deal ....The importance of gender and socio-economic disadvantage for the mental health of people living with disabilities. The twenty per cent of Australians reporting a disability are more likely to live in disadvantaged circumstances such as inadequate housing, unemployment, and lower levels of education all of which may contribute to poor mental health. Yet there has not been research on the mental health of people with disabilities. This means that disability services and advocacy groups, which deal daily with the lived experiences of disadvantage and poor mental health in people with disabilities, do not have evidence to support policy and service sector reform. This project will provide this critical evidence as well as build research capacity in disability-related research and lead to better monitoring of disability-related health inequities.Read moreRead less