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Building Best Practice In Child Protection At The Intersection Of Child Protection And Adult Mental Health Services
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$294,590.00
Summary
This research is an investigation of child protection practices with families where at least one parent has been diagnosed with a serious mental illness (affective or non-affective psychosis), and where child abuse or neglect has been substantiated or children are at risk of significant harm. It is specifically concerned to understand processes of interagency collaboration between workers in state government child protection and mental health service systems. The research has several aims. These ....This research is an investigation of child protection practices with families where at least one parent has been diagnosed with a serious mental illness (affective or non-affective psychosis), and where child abuse or neglect has been substantiated or children are at risk of significant harm. It is specifically concerned to understand processes of interagency collaboration between workers in state government child protection and mental health service systems. The research has several aims. These are, first, to identify and examine the current practices of child protection and mental health workers where protective concerns have been identified in relation to children whose parent-s have been diagnosed with a mental illness. Practice will be examined at the assessment, child protection follow-up and post-order phases. Second, to identify and examine any barriers to effective collaboration between child protection and mental health organisations; and third, to develop inductively derived descriptions of 'best practice' in relation to these cases. The research will be conducted in four stages, including a survey of child protection and mental health workers, tracking of cases through the child protection system, in-depth interviews with child protection workers, mental health workers and parents, and group discussions with highly experienced child protection and mental health workers. The expected outcomes of the study are: the development of child protection practice guidelines for working with families where children have been harmed or at risk of harm by a parent who has a mental illness, including practice guidelines for interagency collaboration in this field; and identification of supervisional, training, administrative and policy responses to this issue.Read moreRead less
The Effectiveness Of An Indicated Prevention Program For Anxiety
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$867,982.00
Summary
Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) is a common disorder. In this research project, we evaluate the effectiveness of a new automated Internet program which is designed to reduce the risk of GAD and to promote self help. If found to be effective, this website will provide assistance to those at risk living in rural and remote areas without access to other resources, and individuals who prefer to seek help anonymously.
Climate Change And Rural Communities: Integrated Study Of Physical And Social Impacts, Health Risks And Adaptive Options
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$611,599.00
Summary
Rural Australia has begun to experience climate change impacts - which will increase in future. Losses in farm yields, water supplies, property, community morale and family incomes have diverse health effects. We will study the separate and joint effects of climate change and associated extreme events (e.g., bushfires) on selected health outcomes. Using integrative methods, we will clarify the main influences on health risks, their future projections, and how best to intervene to lessen risks.
A Parent Education And Skills Training Intervention For Young Adolescents With Autism
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$436,500.00
Summary
Autism is a most severe and prevalent lifelong developmental disorder affecting approximately one in every thousand children and their families. Autism is associated with personal suffering and is a significant burden and stress for parents, families and carers and cost to the community. In earlier work we have demonstrated that providing a structured program of parent education and guidance to families with preschool children with autism leads to improved parental adjustment and mental health. ....Autism is a most severe and prevalent lifelong developmental disorder affecting approximately one in every thousand children and their families. Autism is associated with personal suffering and is a significant burden and stress for parents, families and carers and cost to the community. In earlier work we have demonstrated that providing a structured program of parent education and guidance to families with preschool children with autism leads to improved parental adjustment and mental health. The program also led to behavioural and developmental benefits for the child. The early secondary school years bring further stress and difficulty to adolescents with autism and their families. This project aims to assess the effectiveness of a parent education and training program for parents with autistic adolescents aged 12-14 years. If shown to be effective, this manual based intervention can be readily used by professionals to promote parent mental health, family adjustment and improve the wellbeing and outcome for adolescents with autism. As a result, family stress and the necessity of out of home care may be reduced and school participation improved.Read moreRead less
Estrogen - A Potential New Treatment For Women & Men With Schizophrenia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$227,545.00
Summary
Estrogen - the major female hormone, has been shown in animal studies to decrease the two main brain chemicals (dopamine and serotonin) that are implicated in causing schizophrenia. The effect of estrogen in the brain is similar to current antipsychotic drugs. We have carried out a study that showed that when we gave 12 young women with schizophrenia 100 micrograms of estrogen in a skin patch form plus standard antipsychotic drug treament they recovered more quickly than 12 young women who recei ....Estrogen - the major female hormone, has been shown in animal studies to decrease the two main brain chemicals (dopamine and serotonin) that are implicated in causing schizophrenia. The effect of estrogen in the brain is similar to current antipsychotic drugs. We have carried out a study that showed that when we gave 12 young women with schizophrenia 100 micrograms of estrogen in a skin patch form plus standard antipsychotic drug treament they recovered more quickly than 12 young women who received standard antipsychotic drug treatment only. 100mcg is a safe dose of estrogen. In this proposal we want to expand and clarify the pilot study resutls by conducting a 28 day trial in a total of 60 women with schizophrenia. 30 women would receive 100 mcg skin patch estrogen plus antipsychotic medication and 30 women would receive antipsychotic medicationly only. We also tested the value of adding a very small dose of oral estrogen to antipsychotic drug treatment in five men with schizophrenia and found that they made a better recovery compared to five men who received standard antipsychotic drugs only. We trialled the use of estrogen for seven days in men, but this may not have been long enough to examine the real impact of estrogen treatment in men. In this proposal we want to conduct a 14 day trial in a total of 60 men with schizophrenia. 30 men would receive 2mg of oral estrogen plus antipsychotic drug treatment and their results would be compared with 30 men who received standard antipsychotic drug treatment plus a placebo tablet identical in appearance to estrogen. For 14 days, this low dose of estrogen is very safe. Potentially estrogen may be a useful addition to the current standard treatment of schizophrenia. It may decrease the duration of acute illness and in women it may have a role in preventing relapses of schizophrenia as well as improving the general health of women with schizophrenia.Read moreRead less
Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators (SERMs) - A Potential New Treatment For Women Of Child-bearing Age With Psychotic Symptoms Of Schizophrenia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$210,480.00
Summary
Schizophrenia is a devastating illness urgently requiring a new treatment approach. We have discovered that estrogen is an effective treatment for women with schizophrenia and are currently trialling a safer Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulator (SERM) known as brain estrogen� in postmenopausal women with schizophrenia. Regulatory permission is now available to trial the SERM in younger women, and we seek to extend our current SERM study into child bearing age women with schizophrenia.
Enhanced Treatment For Social Phobia Through The Incorporation Of Attentional Re-training.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$465,162.00
Summary
Social phobia is a serious difficulty that can cause tremendous interference in an individual's life. Social phobia can interfere with an individual's social and romantic life, work and study aspirations, and even increase medical and other psychological problems. Psychological programs to help individuals manage their anxiety have been developed and shown to lead to relatively strong positive outcomes. Recent theoretical understanding has suggested that one maintaining factor in social phobia m ....Social phobia is a serious difficulty that can cause tremendous interference in an individual's life. Social phobia can interfere with an individual's social and romantic life, work and study aspirations, and even increase medical and other psychological problems. Psychological programs to help individuals manage their anxiety have been developed and shown to lead to relatively strong positive outcomes. Recent theoretical understanding has suggested that one maintaining factor in social phobia may be these people's tendency to focus onto negative information. In some exciting developments, several researchers have shown that simply training people with social phobia to focus their attention away from negative information, with no other treatment components, can produce a marked change in their fears. Therefore it makes sense that incorporating these methods into current standard treatment packages, may increase their effectiveness. The current study aims to compare the current best practice treatment package for social phobia with a combination of this package plus the recent attention re-training methods. It is expected that incorporating attention re-training into standard treatment with significantly improve its effects.Read moreRead less
Re-orientating General Practice Systems Toward Youth Friendly Care: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,387,497.00
Summary
This project aims to improve young people's health care by helping general practice become youth friendly and measuring the effects of this on: willingness to visit for mental health and risky behaviours such as tobacco, alcohol and other drug use and unprotected sex; parents' perceptions of the care received; the sense of competence staff have in dealing with young people's issues; the practice's effectiveness in responding to young people's health risks and on the cost of general practice.