Improving mental health nurses’ retention and quality of nursing practice. This project aims to improve mental health nurses’ resilience, retention and quality of practice through implementation of a resilience-building program. There is a critical national shortage of nurses in mental health, and attrition of the mental health nursing workforce is due in large part to workplace stressors. As a world-first in the field, the study will compare outcomes for mental health nurses who participate in ....Improving mental health nurses’ retention and quality of nursing practice. This project aims to improve mental health nurses’ resilience, retention and quality of practice through implementation of a resilience-building program. There is a critical national shortage of nurses in mental health, and attrition of the mental health nursing workforce is due in large part to workplace stressors. As a world-first in the field, the study will compare outcomes for mental health nurses who participate in the resilience program with a group of nurses who do not. Extending on a successful pilot, we expect the outcomes to be improved nurse resilience, turnover intention, and quality of nursing practice, and reduced negative psychological impacts of workplace stress. Read moreRead less
An exploratory cluster trial of a sustainable capacity building intervention to promote positive child mental health in Family Day Care. Rarely is solution-oriented intervention research built and conducted with rigorous research designs in communities of extreme disadvantage. This study builds on the enthusiasm of a leading child welfare organisation in its commitment to contribute to evidence for practice-oriented solutions. The research will serve as a model for the Family Day Care and childc ....An exploratory cluster trial of a sustainable capacity building intervention to promote positive child mental health in Family Day Care. Rarely is solution-oriented intervention research built and conducted with rigorous research designs in communities of extreme disadvantage. This study builds on the enthusiasm of a leading child welfare organisation in its commitment to contribute to evidence for practice-oriented solutions. The research will serve as a model for the Family Day Care and childcare sectors. The study is an essential step in the development of an intervention prior to a large-scale evaluation. With a strong evidence base, this program may be implemented widely within the sector nationally, thus addressing a key area of children's health inequalities - mental health.Read moreRead less
An Investigation of Intersubjectivity: Music Therapy and Hospitalised Infants. A contingent relationship is vital for normal infant development. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, which supplies life-saving modern medical technology to very sick infants, is also an environment where contingency is rarely available to the infant . In this environment, a Music Therapist ?improvising? with the infant, can re-introduce contingency to the infant, and encourage infant self-regulation. This project inv ....An Investigation of Intersubjectivity: Music Therapy and Hospitalised Infants. A contingent relationship is vital for normal infant development. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, which supplies life-saving modern medical technology to very sick infants, is also an environment where contingency is rarely available to the infant . In this environment, a Music Therapist ?improvising? with the infant, can re-introduce contingency to the infant, and encourage infant self-regulation. This project investigates the efficacy of a Music Therapy intervention in improving infant health, and micro-analyses the interaction between infant and therapist in order to further understand the nature of the Communicative Musicality of the interaction.Read moreRead less
Beyond Bullying in Primary Schools: Explicating Psychosocial Antecedents and Implementing an Effective Intervention to Enhance Pro-Social Behaviour, Well-Being and Academic Engagement. Early intervention to combat bullying in primary schools is vital given the pervasiveness and long-term consequences of bullying for academic failure, mental health costs, and anti-social behaviour. Consistent with National Research Priorities (promoting/maintaining good health & well-being), our research offers i ....Beyond Bullying in Primary Schools: Explicating Psychosocial Antecedents and Implementing an Effective Intervention to Enhance Pro-Social Behaviour, Well-Being and Academic Engagement. Early intervention to combat bullying in primary schools is vital given the pervasiveness and long-term consequences of bullying for academic failure, mental health costs, and anti-social behaviour. Consistent with National Research Priorities (promoting/maintaining good health & well-being), our research offers important educational and socio-economic benefits by enriching the psychosocial adjustment and life potential of young Australians. Effective intervention and explicating the determinants/consequences of primary school bullying enhances pro-social behaviours, self-concept, mental health, and school engagement of bullies and victims. This fosters safer schools that contribute to individual, local community, and national well-being.Read moreRead less
The expanded role of the community mental health nurse: perspectives of health care professionals, consumers and carers. This study will examine the expanded practice role of community mental health nurses in metropolitan, rural and remote community environments from the perspective of multiple stakeholders. The aims are to gain an understanding of current and potential roles of community mental health nurses, to develop, implement and evaluate an educational program that addresses identified k ....The expanded role of the community mental health nurse: perspectives of health care professionals, consumers and carers. This study will examine the expanded practice role of community mental health nurses in metropolitan, rural and remote community environments from the perspective of multiple stakeholders. The aims are to gain an understanding of current and potential roles of community mental health nurses, to develop, implement and evaluate an educational program that addresses identified knowledge deficits; and develop best practice guidelines that define the scope and boundaries of their role. The study, which emphasises the specific needs of community mental health nurses employed in different geographical environments, will contribute to ensuring a high standard of care for people experiencing a mental illness.Read moreRead less
Facilitating the transfer of training through values clarification. Mental health service workers who attend training programs seldom transfer that training into routine practice. This is at considerable cost to health services, patients and the community. This research program aims to improve skills transfer by supplementing training with a values-based intervention and ongoing coaching. By helping staff connect their training experience with important personal values we believe they will be mo ....Facilitating the transfer of training through values clarification. Mental health service workers who attend training programs seldom transfer that training into routine practice. This is at considerable cost to health services, patients and the community. This research program aims to improve skills transfer by supplementing training with a values-based intervention and ongoing coaching. By helping staff connect their training experience with important personal values we believe they will be more likely to use their new skills in routine practice, will engage in better health care will be more satisfied and less burnt out, and will be less likely to leave their jobs. It will help with future values-based interventions to improve workforce development initiatives in a range of Australian workplaces.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
The effect of cochlear implants on cognitive decline in ageing Australians. This project aims to investigate the impact of cochlear implants on cognitive function in elderly people with deafness. Deafness has been found to be independently associated with a 30–40 per cent accelerated rate of cognitive decline in elderly adults. There is currently no effective treatment for cognitive decline. The intended outcomes of this observational study will help us to understand the biological process of co ....The effect of cochlear implants on cognitive decline in ageing Australians. This project aims to investigate the impact of cochlear implants on cognitive function in elderly people with deafness. Deafness has been found to be independently associated with a 30–40 per cent accelerated rate of cognitive decline in elderly adults. There is currently no effective treatment for cognitive decline. The intended outcomes of this observational study will help us to understand the biological process of cognitive decline, whether hearing loss is causal, and whether the process can be altered. These findings should be applicable to all individuals with hearing loss. If cochlear implants delay cognitive decline, this would significantly affect policy, quality of life for the elderly, and the cost to society.Read moreRead less
Effectiveness of social skills training for children with autism. Our industry partner, Aspect Australia, is one of the world's largest providers of educational and other services for people with autism. The demonstration of effectiveness of the program in Aspect classes will likely lead to widespread use and benefit of the program in the education sector nationally and internationally. This in turn would lead to potential lessening of disability in children with autism with improvements in thei ....Effectiveness of social skills training for children with autism. Our industry partner, Aspect Australia, is one of the world's largest providers of educational and other services for people with autism. The demonstration of effectiveness of the program in Aspect classes will likely lead to widespread use and benefit of the program in the education sector nationally and internationally. This in turn would lead to potential lessening of disability in children with autism with improvements in their mental health and significant cost savings to the community.Read moreRead less
Interaction Mining for Cyberbullying Detection on Social Networks. This project plans to build an interactive mining system to detect cyberbullying on social networks that have a large number of participants and a variety of inputs, including conversation texts, time-variant changes and user profiles. The project is designed to change the existing cyberbullying prevention services from reactive keyword filtering to proactive social interaction pattern mining. The intended outcome will enable the ....Interaction Mining for Cyberbullying Detection on Social Networks. This project plans to build an interactive mining system to detect cyberbullying on social networks that have a large number of participants and a variety of inputs, including conversation texts, time-variant changes and user profiles. The project is designed to change the existing cyberbullying prevention services from reactive keyword filtering to proactive social interaction pattern mining. The intended outcome will enable the early detection and warning of cyberbullying and approach open a new way to discover interaction patterns with a large number of participants over evolving and complex social networks.Read moreRead less