Drivers of ageing and adaptive ageing in middle-aged and older adults. This project aims to answer crucial questions about how our early years influence our health and wellbeing in middle and later life. Drawing on one of Australia’s longest running studies of social and emotional development, we link decades of developmental data collected since 1983 to social, emotional, cognitive and physical wellbeing in participants turning 40 (midlife) and 70 (later life). It will provide insight into impo ....Drivers of ageing and adaptive ageing in middle-aged and older adults. This project aims to answer crucial questions about how our early years influence our health and wellbeing in middle and later life. Drawing on one of Australia’s longest running studies of social and emotional development, we link decades of developmental data collected since 1983 to social, emotional, cognitive and physical wellbeing in participants turning 40 (midlife) and 70 (later life). It will provide insight into important and largely unanswered questions about the way social factors in the first half of life shape our later selves. This study will inform government and health policy targeting ageing populations.
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Families with multiple and complex needs: refocusing on early intervention. Families with multiple and complex needs have been determined to be a priority group in Australia (National Child Protection Framework 2021-31). This study will fill the evidence gap by determining the typologies of families with multiple and complex needs and child protection involvement who face intersecting risk factors (e.g. family violence, mental health, intergenerational trauma, alcohol/drug use, justice involveme ....Families with multiple and complex needs: refocusing on early intervention. Families with multiple and complex needs have been determined to be a priority group in Australia (National Child Protection Framework 2021-31). This study will fill the evidence gap by determining the typologies of families with multiple and complex needs and child protection involvement who face intersecting risk factors (e.g. family violence, mental health, intergenerational trauma, alcohol/drug use, justice involvement, disability, poverty and housing insecurity). Intergenerational (child and parent) linked data in three states will be utilised to investigate these families longitudinal trajectories of system involvement and to identify opportunities for enhanced prevention, points of early intervention and service planning. Read moreRead less
Identifying optimal daily levels of movement behaviours in early childhood. This project aims to discover how much physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep young children need each day to best support their development. Through the creation of an international database and the application of innovative analytics, the project seeks to determine the optimal daily balance of these behaviours that results in the best developmental outcomes for young children. The project is expected to infor ....Identifying optimal daily levels of movement behaviours in early childhood. This project aims to discover how much physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep young children need each day to best support their development. Through the creation of an international database and the application of innovative analytics, the project seeks to determine the optimal daily balance of these behaviours that results in the best developmental outcomes for young children. The project is expected to inform national movement behaviour guidelines. The expected benefit for parents and professionals is improved confidence in supporting children’s physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep. The expected benefit for children is positive development, given the broad impacts of these behaviours on health and well-being.Read moreRead less
High-resolution multiscale modelling of pandemics: COVID-19 and beyond. The project aims to develop high-resolution computational models for pandemic mitigation and control, focussing on the novel coronavirus and its emerging variants, and leveraging demographic, genomic and epidemiological data. It expects to rigorously compare multi-scale effects of complex vaccination and social distancing strategies and quantify optimal responses under the COVID-19 induced uncertainty. The intended outcomes ....High-resolution multiscale modelling of pandemics: COVID-19 and beyond. The project aims to develop high-resolution computational models for pandemic mitigation and control, focussing on the novel coronavirus and its emerging variants, and leveraging demographic, genomic and epidemiological data. It expects to rigorously compare multi-scale effects of complex vaccination and social distancing strategies and quantify optimal responses under the COVID-19 induced uncertainty. The intended outcomes include computational models of how the most infectious viral variants emerge and spread in presence of interventions, how to predict the outbreaks, and which are the most vulnerable communities. This should make a significant economic and social impact, improving population health while maintaining a resilient economy.Read moreRead less
Healthy and working life expectancies in an ageing Australia. This project aims to identify social circumstances that optimise healthy and working life years in Australia. The project draws on international multidisciplinary expertise to critically evaluate social variation and inequalities in the years older adults live in good health and are engaged in work. Expected outcomes include the generation of new policy-relevant knowledge on older workers, active retirement, and healthy ageing which w ....Healthy and working life expectancies in an ageing Australia. This project aims to identify social circumstances that optimise healthy and working life years in Australia. The project draws on international multidisciplinary expertise to critically evaluate social variation and inequalities in the years older adults live in good health and are engaged in work. Expected outcomes include the generation of new policy-relevant knowledge on older workers, active retirement, and healthy ageing which will advance the field of life course epidemiology and inform the debate about Australia’s future ageing. This project should provide benefits for individual wellbeing, and provide evidence that can inform long-term public policy on health, work, welfare, and retirement.Read moreRead less
Quantifying emergence and dynamics of foodborne epidemics in Australia. The project aims to greatly improve the accuracy and scope of computational epidemiological models predicting emergence and evolution of foodborne diseases in Australia. It expects to reveal key pathways for both biological evolution of microorganisms, and their spread though food supply chains and human interactions. The intended outcomes include discovering how the most dominant strains of foodborne infection emerge and se ....Quantifying emergence and dynamics of foodborne epidemics in Australia. The project aims to greatly improve the accuracy and scope of computational epidemiological models predicting emergence and evolution of foodborne diseases in Australia. It expects to reveal key pathways for both biological evolution of microorganisms, and their spread though food supply chains and human interactions. The intended outcomes include discovering how the most dominant strains of foodborne infection emerge and self-organise in complex networks, how to predict and contain the epidemics closer to their source, and which are the most vulnerable groups and communities. This should make a significant economic and social impact, improving health of the population, while also safeguarding national and international supply chains.Read moreRead less
User-centric solutions to optimise safety of children in cars. Globally, incorrect use of child restraints and inappropriate use of adult seat belts are widespread and longstanding problems. In Australia alone >2 million children are at increased risk of injury because of the lack of understanding about how to solve these problems. We have pioneered development of methods to allow novel user-centred approaches coupled with behavioural theory to effectively tackle these problems. In this project ....User-centric solutions to optimise safety of children in cars. Globally, incorrect use of child restraints and inappropriate use of adult seat belts are widespread and longstanding problems. In Australia alone >2 million children are at increased risk of injury because of the lack of understanding about how to solve these problems. We have pioneered development of methods to allow novel user-centred approaches coupled with behavioural theory to effectively tackle these problems. In this project we will build on and extend these innovative methods to to deliver new understanding about how (i) to communicate with parents to ensure behaviours and decisions about restraint optimise safety, and (ii) user-driven design can solve problems inhibiting optimal protection of in cars.Read moreRead less
Climate Change and Burden of Disease: Current Risk and Future Burden. Climate change has had a negative impact on human health. However, few studies have assessed burden of diseases (BOD) for these climate-sensitive/heat attributable diseases. We will generate the first national picture of the climate attributable BOD in Australia, measured in Disability-Adjusted Life Year (DALY), the attribution from climate, and project future BOD under various climatic/demographic change scenarios. This proje ....Climate Change and Burden of Disease: Current Risk and Future Burden. Climate change has had a negative impact on human health. However, few studies have assessed burden of diseases (BOD) for these climate-sensitive/heat attributable diseases. We will generate the first national picture of the climate attributable BOD in Australia, measured in Disability-Adjusted Life Year (DALY), the attribution from climate, and project future BOD under various climatic/demographic change scenarios. This project will rank Australian climate-sensitive/heat attributable diseases by their current burden and projected increase under climate changes, and provide needed scientific evidence to policy-makers in the development, prioritization and implementation of current and future climate change and health adaptation strategies. Read moreRead less