Improving The Mental Health Outcomes Of Australian Young People
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$437,034.00
Summary
A majority of mental health problems begin in adolescence and young adulthood, but we lack effective prevention and early intervention strategies for poor mental health in young people. My aim is to improve the prevention of mental disorders in young people, and improve treatments and service provision for young people, with a focus on Aboriginal and transgender individuals. The findings will have important implications for prevention strategies and clinical care.
A prospective study investigating factors related to foster placement stability and the developmental outcomes of foster children. The study will aim to identify factors that influence the stability of placements and the developmental outcomes of children in foster care. The results of the study will have implications for the recruitment, training and support of foster carers. The study will lead to the refinement of procedures for the recruitment of appropriate foster carers, and the developmen ....A prospective study investigating factors related to foster placement stability and the developmental outcomes of foster children. The study will aim to identify factors that influence the stability of placements and the developmental outcomes of children in foster care. The results of the study will have implications for the recruitment, training and support of foster carers. The study will lead to the refinement of procedures for the recruitment of appropriate foster carers, and the development of an intervention for foster families relevant to the Australian context. Improving the developmental outcomes of children in foster care will help to reduce the intergenerational transmission of abuse and neglect and thus promote the mental health of the nation.Read moreRead less
Parents as Partners: Getting children off to a healthy start in literacy. Our nation is best served by children getting off to a healthy start in literacy. However, almost one in six children fails to do so. This group has reduced academic and vocational options, increased social, emotional and mental health problems, higher youth unemployment, and is significantly over-represented among offenders. The nation bears the costs of these problems through reduced productivity and expenditure on unemp ....Parents as Partners: Getting children off to a healthy start in literacy. Our nation is best served by children getting off to a healthy start in literacy. However, almost one in six children fails to do so. This group has reduced academic and vocational options, increased social, emotional and mental health problems, higher youth unemployment, and is significantly over-represented among offenders. The nation bears the costs of these problems through reduced productivity and expenditure on unemployment benefits, social programs, mental health services, and incarceration. This project targets both these sources of loss to the nation by utilising a hitherto untapped community resource: Training parents of preschoolers to develop critical pre-literacy skills in their children at home before they begin to fail. Read moreRead less
Testing A Comprehensive Targeted Intervention To Reduce Student Bullying.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$620,000.00
Summary
The serious effects of frequent bullying suffered by targets remains a major public health problem, with limited evidence to help school staff to successfully treat students who frequently bully others. This study is innovative as it involves students at a time of heightened risk of bullying and measures the additional contribution of comprehensive training and support to school staff, such as school psychologists who work with students who bully, to a whole school bullying prevention program.
Investigating older Australians' beliefs about and understanding of mental health and their practice of relevant protective behaviours. Healthy ageing and mental health are acknowledged national priorities. This project will generate new knowledge relating to older Australians' mental health literacy and the motivators and barriers influencing their engagement in protective behaviours. The resulting communications strategy will provide tangible outcomes for the industry partners to utilise. The ....Investigating older Australians' beliefs about and understanding of mental health and their practice of relevant protective behaviours. Healthy ageing and mental health are acknowledged national priorities. This project will generate new knowledge relating to older Australians' mental health literacy and the motivators and barriers influencing their engagement in protective behaviours. The resulting communications strategy will provide tangible outcomes for the industry partners to utilise. The project will thus produce knowledge advancement and tools for practitioners, both of which will enhance public welfare and reduce long-term healthcare costs. While this project focuses on older Australians, those of all ages will benefit from a communications campaign that provides individuals with knowledge to protect and strengthen their mental health.Read moreRead less
Developing useable markers of mental health deterioration. The project aims to improve risk management in mental health. Risk management in mental health is currently hampered because there is no nationally agreed set of markers of deterioration. One strand of the project aims to improve safety procedures by identifying the bases of decisions about adverse outcomes (i.e. symptom deterioration) and testing this knowledge to understand and predict other adverse events (e.g. non-suicidal self-injur ....Developing useable markers of mental health deterioration. The project aims to improve risk management in mental health. Risk management in mental health is currently hampered because there is no nationally agreed set of markers of deterioration. One strand of the project aims to improve safety procedures by identifying the bases of decisions about adverse outcomes (i.e. symptom deterioration) and testing this knowledge to understand and predict other adverse events (e.g. non-suicidal self-injury). A second strand aims to improve prediction of clinical deterioration and non-suicidal self-injury. By identifying ways to inform and implement decisions about risk management, the project intends to lay a foundation for the development of a nationally agreed set of markers for mental health deterioration to be used in occupational safety and health processes.Read moreRead less
E-DiVA (empowering Dementia Carers With An ISupport Virtual Assistant)
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,857,363.00
Summary
We aim to translate the WHO iSupport tool to Bahasa, te reo Māori and Vietnamese, and culturally and contextually adapt the WHO iSupport program to fit the health and social care systems of Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand and Vietnam. A Virtual Assistant comprising a website and a smart-device app will be developed to allow carers to search topics and provide video instruction to support them in their caring role, and evaluated through a randomised controlled trial.
A mental health "thermometer" to monitor and prevent adverse treatment outcomes and self-harm among psychiatric inpatients. Our project stands to prevent adverse outcomes in psychiatric patients. An estimated 660 000 people are admitted to psychiatric hospitals each year; 99 000 of these people are worse off following treatment (assuming a deterioration rate of 15 per cent). Since monitoring can halve that rate, if this project can halve the deterioration rate again, then 24 750 inpatients acr ....A mental health "thermometer" to monitor and prevent adverse treatment outcomes and self-harm among psychiatric inpatients. Our project stands to prevent adverse outcomes in psychiatric patients. An estimated 660 000 people are admitted to psychiatric hospitals each year; 99 000 of these people are worse off following treatment (assuming a deterioration rate of 15 per cent). Since monitoring can halve that rate, if this project can halve the deterioration rate again, then 24 750 inpatients across the nation would not be worse off after treatment representing an annual saving of nearly $19.2 million per annum and reduce the number of patients who fall into a cycle of admission and readmission. Further, although suicide occurs in less than one per cent of admissions, if this research is able to predict and then reduce the suicide rate by as little as 10 per cent, then 660 lives can be saved each year.Read moreRead less
Looking Forward - Moving Forward Project: Transforming Systems To Improve Mental Health And Drug And Alcohol Outcomes For Aboriginal Peoples
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,304,508.00
Summary
Despite the clear need for support, Aboriginal people do not access mental health and drug and alcohol services at a level that corresponds with their need. We need to know how services can respond appropriately to this high-risk group of people. This project brings together Perth-based services, researchers and local Aboriginal Elders to implement and evaluate a framework for organisational change that will transform the way in which services respond to Aboriginal people.
Innovative School-based Interventions To Improve Mental Health And The Social And Emotional Development Of Australian Children
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$763,845.00
Summary
I am a Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Western Australia and the Telethon Kids Institute. My research develops and delivers interventions that improve the quality of life, health, education, safety and social justice outcomes for Australian children. My work is particularly focused on ways to reduce harms from bullying and cyberbullying among children and adolescents.