Alcohol and caffeinated energy drinks: exploring patterns of consumption and associated harms. Very little research has been conducted on the functions, contexts, effects and harms associated with combining energy drinks and alcohol, despite the widespread consumption of these beverages by young people. This project will contribute to the knowledge base of this under-researched area and inform harm reduction policy and practice.
Investigating the Indirect Effects of Child-Targeted Food Promotion on Children's Diets. Obesity is forecast to cost the Australian community more than $58 billion in 2008. The prevention and reduction of obesity thus has the potential to create significant savings in terms of obesity-related treatment costs and impairments. Children have been identified as a population requiring particular attention in efforts to combat obesity. The proposed study will provide an enhanced understanding of the r ....Investigating the Indirect Effects of Child-Targeted Food Promotion on Children's Diets. Obesity is forecast to cost the Australian community more than $58 billion in 2008. The prevention and reduction of obesity thus has the potential to create significant savings in terms of obesity-related treatment costs and impairments. Children have been identified as a population requiring particular attention in efforts to combat obesity. The proposed study will provide an enhanced understanding of the role that food promotion plays in sub-optimal food choices made by children and their parents. The results of the study will be translated into specific public policy recommendations to assist governments and health agencies in determining appropriate courses of action to promote healthy diets among children and their families.Read moreRead less
Policy orientation of non-health sectors to social determinants of health. This project aims to advance understanding of how Australian government policies in four sectors (justice, environment, planning, and industry) are oriented to action on social determinants of health equity (SDHE), including Indigenous health. Evidence shows that government policy in all sectors affects health. The World Health Organization and the United Nations have called for whole-of-government approaches to SDHE. The ....Policy orientation of non-health sectors to social determinants of health. This project aims to advance understanding of how Australian government policies in four sectors (justice, environment, planning, and industry) are oriented to action on social determinants of health equity (SDHE), including Indigenous health. Evidence shows that government policy in all sectors affects health. The World Health Organization and the United Nations have called for whole-of-government approaches to SDHE. The project plans to apply theory to understand how policy values and strategies in the selected sectors provide for or present barriers to this approach. Expected project outcomes will produce evidence for policy-makers on how to strengthen policy coherence across sectors to address SDHE more effectively in order to promote Australian health and reduce health inequities.Read moreRead less
Cataract and crash risk for older drivers: evidence from a population based study. Older drivers are the fastest growing segment of the driving population, which has implications for road safety. The removal of cataract is a common surgical procedure for older drivers, therefore, it is necessary to determine the effects of cataract surgery on crash risk. This project will be the largest population based study to examine crash risk for older drivers with cataract and the cost-effectiveness in ter ....Cataract and crash risk for older drivers: evidence from a population based study. Older drivers are the fastest growing segment of the driving population, which has implications for road safety. The removal of cataract is a common surgical procedure for older drivers, therefore, it is necessary to determine the effects of cataract surgery on crash risk. This project will be the largest population based study to examine crash risk for older drivers with cataract and the cost-effectiveness in terms of a reduction in crashes. The development of effective countermeasures will have direct relevance for road safety, medical practitioners and licensing authorities in Australia and is also pivotal to reducing the financial burden associated with older driver crashes.
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An assessment of late night alcohol restrictions in Queensland. An assessment of late night alcohol restrictions in Queensland. This project aims to assess the effect of 2.00am cease of alcohol service for licensed venues across Queensland, identify modifiable elements and develop policy advice. Alcohol-related harm is a major social order issue which requires evidence-based policy. Using the most sophisticated models to date—including outlet density, enforcement, demographic variables and other ....An assessment of late night alcohol restrictions in Queensland. An assessment of late night alcohol restrictions in Queensland. This project aims to assess the effect of 2.00am cease of alcohol service for licensed venues across Queensland, identify modifiable elements and develop policy advice. Alcohol-related harm is a major social order issue which requires evidence-based policy. Using the most sophisticated models to date—including outlet density, enforcement, demographic variables and other variables—this project will build unique datasets, including archival data, foot-traffic counting, key stakeholder and patron interviews, to evaluate the effect of alcohol restrictions and identify policy lessons for other jurisdictions in Australia and internationally.Read moreRead less
Does risk-based licensing of alcohol sales reduce alcohol-related harm? Alcohol-related harm is a major public health and social order issue which requires sophisticated evidence-based policy. This project capitalises on a unique window of policy adoption across Australia to investigate the introduction of risk-based licensing schemes for the sale of alcohol, assessing their impacts, identifying modifiable elements and developing policy advice. There is an urgent need for evidence about which in ....Does risk-based licensing of alcohol sales reduce alcohol-related harm? Alcohol-related harm is a major public health and social order issue which requires sophisticated evidence-based policy. This project capitalises on a unique window of policy adoption across Australia to investigate the introduction of risk-based licensing schemes for the sale of alcohol, assessing their impacts, identifying modifiable elements and developing policy advice. There is an urgent need for evidence about which interventions are effective, and which of these can survive the political process. It builds on the team’s extensive work and unique datasets around alcohol policy and licensed venues to analyse archival data, key stakeholder interviews and venue observations in three states, using the most up-to-date and reliable methods.Read moreRead less
Selling The Punt: An interdisciplinary analysis of the extent and impact of sports wagering marketing strategies in Australia. Sports wagering is the fastest growing segment of the gambling market in Australia. Despite widespread concern about the impact of marketing strategies on the risky consumption of wagering products by young men and adolescents, research and policy has failed to keep up with this rapidly growing industry. This study will provide: detailed information about the range of ma ....Selling The Punt: An interdisciplinary analysis of the extent and impact of sports wagering marketing strategies in Australia. Sports wagering is the fastest growing segment of the gambling market in Australia. Despite widespread concern about the impact of marketing strategies on the risky consumption of wagering products by young men and adolescents, research and policy has failed to keep up with this rapidly growing industry. This study will provide: detailed information about the range of marketing strategies used to sell sports wagering in Australia; important qualitative insights into the impact of these marketing strategies on gambling behaviours; and, recommendations for a comprehensive public health approach to help counter the potential long and short term risks associated with sports wagering marketing.Read moreRead less
Investigating the health benefits of volunteering by seniors. For humanitarian and economic reasons, it is important to promote health-enhancing behaviours among older people to optimise their well-being. Volunteering constitutes one such behaviour. While there is some evidence that older people benefit from volunteering, there is inadequate data for policy development purposes. This project will quantify the physical and mental outcomes of seniors’ engagement in volunteering activities to asses ....Investigating the health benefits of volunteering by seniors. For humanitarian and economic reasons, it is important to promote health-enhancing behaviours among older people to optimise their well-being. Volunteering constitutes one such behaviour. While there is some evidence that older people benefit from volunteering, there is inadequate data for policy development purposes. This project will quantify the physical and mental outcomes of seniors’ engagement in volunteering activities to assess the potential to enhance their health while providing much-needed labour inputs to the Australian economy. The results will also suggest ways to encourage older people to engage in volunteering by identifying effective ways to communicate the benefits to this audience.Read moreRead less
Characterisation of deficits in driving performance and self-regulation practices among older drivers with bilateral cataract. Despite the high prevalence of cataract among the older population, there is limited evidence on the impact of first and second eye cataract surgery on driving outcomes. This prospective study will use naturalistic in-vehicle driver monitoring devices and a state-of–the-art driving simulator to examine the association between clinical measures of vision, refractive manag ....Characterisation of deficits in driving performance and self-regulation practices among older drivers with bilateral cataract. Despite the high prevalence of cataract among the older population, there is limited evidence on the impact of first and second eye cataract surgery on driving outcomes. This prospective study will use naturalistic in-vehicle driver monitoring devices and a state-of–the-art driving simulator to examine the association between clinical measures of vision, refractive management, driving patterns, self-regulation and driving performance for bilateral cataract patients before first eye surgery, between surgeries and after second eye surgery. The results will inform Ophthalmology and licensing authorities regarding surgical and refractive management as well as fitness to drive assessments for older drivers with bilateral cataract.Read moreRead less
The impact of first and second eye cataract surgery on falls and utilisation of mental health services among older Australians. This population-based study will investigate the association and timing of cataract surgery and health-related costs in reducing the incidence of falls and utilisation of mental health services following first and second eye cataract surgery. Evidence-based recommendations will be developed to improve safety for older Australians.