Ageing in prison: A strategic framework for the management of ageing offenders in the Australian criminal justice system. The knowledge and strategies offered by this research will contribute to significant improvements in planning of programs and facilities for Australian prisons and prisoner support services. In turn, ageing prisoners will benefit from improved mental and physical health, reduction in homelessness, and reduced recidivism. Improved knowledge of the needs of ageing prisoners wil ....Ageing in prison: A strategic framework for the management of ageing offenders in the Australian criminal justice system. The knowledge and strategies offered by this research will contribute to significant improvements in planning of programs and facilities for Australian prisons and prisoner support services. In turn, ageing prisoners will benefit from improved mental and physical health, reduction in homelessness, and reduced recidivism. Improved knowledge of the needs of ageing prisoners will allow reduced costs, through better planning, less inefficiencies and a decreased burden on community health and welfare systems. The project will also assist government departments to ensure national and international human rights obligations are met.Read moreRead less
Transition to retirement by adults with chronic disabilities: increasing community capacity. This project will contribute to healthy, productive ageing by people with chronic disabilities. This group are living longer and will retire from their disability-specific supported employment and day program services. They then risk social exclusion, loneliness and associated poor health outcomes. This project will provide training and support to local community groups and voluntary work settings, to in ....Transition to retirement by adults with chronic disabilities: increasing community capacity. This project will contribute to healthy, productive ageing by people with chronic disabilities. This group are living longer and will retire from their disability-specific supported employment and day program services. They then risk social exclusion, loneliness and associated poor health outcomes. This project will provide training and support to local community groups and voluntary work settings, to increase community capacity to support this group to participate actively in and contribute to their community in retirement. This will result in increased participation by this group and improvements in their well-being. Training resources developed by the project will be available to disability service providers nationally.Read moreRead less
The Weight of Modernity: Mitigating Obesity. Health scientists have warned about the implications to the nation's health if the rise in obesity continues as is predicted and the National Obesity Taskforce puts the cost of obesity at $1.3 billion per year. The Taskforce recognises the need to "address the broader social and environmental determinants of poor nutrition and sedentary lifestyles". By analysing the multiple social trends contributing to the rise of obesity and another major disease o ....The Weight of Modernity: Mitigating Obesity. Health scientists have warned about the implications to the nation's health if the rise in obesity continues as is predicted and the National Obesity Taskforce puts the cost of obesity at $1.3 billion per year. The Taskforce recognises the need to "address the broader social and environmental determinants of poor nutrition and sedentary lifestyles". By analysing the multiple social trends contributing to the rise of obesity and another major disease of the twentieth century (CHD), we will highlight the barriers and opportunities that must be acknowledged in order to mitigate obesity, particularly in disadvantaged populations.Read moreRead less
Pathways to healing: determining effective care pathways for chronic wounds for timely healing, prevention and cost effectiveness. Care for chronic leg ulcers is reported to cost 1-2.5% of total health budgets (>3 billion $US/year, $500 million AUD/year). Efficient use of health resources and improved health as a result of effective chronic wound management (early healing and prevention) are the most significant potential outcomes from this study. In addition to direct health care costs, chronic ....Pathways to healing: determining effective care pathways for chronic wounds for timely healing, prevention and cost effectiveness. Care for chronic leg ulcers is reported to cost 1-2.5% of total health budgets (>3 billion $US/year, $500 million AUD/year). Efficient use of health resources and improved health as a result of effective chronic wound management (early healing and prevention) are the most significant potential outcomes from this study. In addition to direct health care costs, chronic wounds are associated with significant hidden burdens on the community resulting from loss of mobility, decreased functional ability, social isolation and loss of participation in the workforce/society. This study will provide much needed information on management of this chronic disease to promote improved quality of life, health and independence in this population.Read moreRead less
Statistical Inference for Probability-Linked Longitudinal Data. The Strategic Roadmap for the Australian Government's National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy states that analysis of linked data, and particularly linked longitudinal data, has the potential to revolutionise Australian public health research. Similar benefits should flow from analysis of linked datasets in other areas, e.g. the Statistical Longitudinal Census Dataset that the Australian Bureau of Statistics intends ....Statistical Inference for Probability-Linked Longitudinal Data. The Strategic Roadmap for the Australian Government's National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy states that analysis of linked data, and particularly linked longitudinal data, has the potential to revolutionise Australian public health research. Similar benefits should flow from analysis of linked datasets in other areas, e.g. the Statistical Longitudinal Census Dataset that the Australian Bureau of Statistics intends to create by linking individual records across censuses. These benefits will be maximised by controlling the impact of linkage error when analysing these datasets. This proposal will develop the statistical theory and related methodology to solve this problem in a statistically efficient manner.Read moreRead less
Knowledge and attitudes about life extension technology: public and stakeholder perspectives. This comprehensive investigation will contribute new knowledge that will help Australians to better cope with the social and economic consequences of an ageing population. New developments in the biosciences promise the possibility of extending human life past 120 years. This study will assist government, healthcare providers and researchers to understand the public reaction to such developments and en ....Knowledge and attitudes about life extension technology: public and stakeholder perspectives. This comprehensive investigation will contribute new knowledge that will help Australians to better cope with the social and economic consequences of an ageing population. New developments in the biosciences promise the possibility of extending human life past 120 years. This study will assist government, healthcare providers and researchers to understand the public reaction to such developments and enable them to plan for the future. The study will contribute to future strategic research and train a future researcher in the priority health goal of ageing well, ageing productively.Read moreRead less
Air pollution: do modern statistical model selection techniques make the silent killer speak too loud? Air pollution is estimated to cause 2400 deaths annually in Australia with an associated cost to the community of $17.2 billion. The outcomes of this project will enable an improved understanding of the association between air pollution and mortality in Australia, thereby allowing government, public health authorities, and regulatory agencies to implement better air pollution standards and pro ....Air pollution: do modern statistical model selection techniques make the silent killer speak too loud? Air pollution is estimated to cause 2400 deaths annually in Australia with an associated cost to the community of $17.2 billion. The outcomes of this project will enable an improved understanding of the association between air pollution and mortality in Australia, thereby allowing government, public health authorities, and regulatory agencies to implement better air pollution standards and provide more informed advice to the public on the necessity of avoiding exposure to air pollutants. These two outcomes are particularly important given Australia's ageing population and the fact that the elderly are among those most susceptible to harm from air pollution exposure.Read moreRead less
Development of domain information model for aged & community care in Australia. The aim of this research is to develop a care-oriented reference information and communication model (RIM) that will inform national policy for the development of a national information technology strategic plan for aged care. The model will reflect the domain specific content and work of service providers and consumers in the aged and community care context and the unique cultural, social and professional attributes ....Development of domain information model for aged & community care in Australia. The aim of this research is to develop a care-oriented reference information and communication model (RIM) that will inform national policy for the development of a national information technology strategic plan for aged care. The model will reflect the domain specific content and work of service providers and consumers in the aged and community care context and the unique cultural, social and professional attributes of this sector. The model will be used to evaluate the applicability of the HealthOnline framework, including the relevance of emerging interoperability standards to the aged and community care sector.Read moreRead less
Changing Places: An exploration of factors influencing the move of older people from retirement villages to residential aged care. Older Australians living in retirement villages, an increasing community population segment, make choices both about the place at which they live, and the support needed to optimise health and wellbeing at that place. Changing places for this group often involves moving from retirement village to residential aged care facility. This study explores how and why this ....Changing Places: An exploration of factors influencing the move of older people from retirement villages to residential aged care. Older Australians living in retirement villages, an increasing community population segment, make choices both about the place at which they live, and the support needed to optimise health and wellbeing at that place. Changing places for this group often involves moving from retirement village to residential aged care facility. This study explores how and why this change occurs, how it might be avoided, and, when the move is unavoidable what can improve the moving process. Findings will inform innovations in policy, service and health care provision designed to facilitate appropriate ageing in place congruent with best practice principles.Read moreRead less
Alone in a crowd: Supporting older Australians managing loneliness. The project provides crucial understandings and knowledge about loneliness as understood by older Australians and support/service providers, and solutions to assist them manage it. The findings will provide immediate practical outcomes that can be implemented by support/service providers, whilst also providing information that can assist policy makers and managers in the service provision area. The findings will enhance the heal ....Alone in a crowd: Supporting older Australians managing loneliness. The project provides crucial understandings and knowledge about loneliness as understood by older Australians and support/service providers, and solutions to assist them manage it. The findings will provide immediate practical outcomes that can be implemented by support/service providers, whilst also providing information that can assist policy makers and managers in the service provision area. The findings will enhance the health and well-being of older Australians with concomitant social and economic benefits. The study contributes to ensuring the optimum use and deployment of finite health and social resources.Read moreRead less