HIV Treatment As Prevention: A Longitudinal Assessment Of Population Effectiveness
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$783,160.00
Summary
This project is a large-scale evaluation of an HIV strategy known as ‘treatment as prevention’ (TasP). Through routine and repeat HIV testing for gay men and early treatment initiation following diagnosis, TasP aims to reduce HIV community infection rates. Through the establishment of a large cohort of gay men in NSW and Victoria, this study will track HIV testing, treatment and management to assess the real-world efficacy of TasP for reducing HIV infections among this at-risk population.
Is The Incidence Of Heart Attack Still Decreasing In Australia? Developing More Reliable Methods For Monitoring Trends In Myocardial Infarction And Coronary Heart Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$762,021.00
Summary
Our study is a collaboration between the University of WA and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare to investigate population trends in incidence and outcomes of heart disease and its major sub-groups including heart attack, angina and chest pain. Using linked data from WA, we will identify the sub-groups for which trends over time are a realistic estimate of the true population trends. These will be applied to national data to monitor heart disease more accurately in Australia.
Early Introduction Of Dietary Allergen To Reduce The Population Prevalence Of Infant Food Allergy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$412,468.00
Summary
Australia has the highest recorded prevalence of childhood peanut allergy, a potentially life-threatening condition. New evidence shows introducing peanut into the diet in infancy can reduce the risk of developing peanut allergy in high risk infants, and allergy prevention guidelines now recommend giving peanut before 12 months. This study will evaluate how effective these guidelines have been in promoting earlier peanut introduction and reducing the population prevalence of peanut allergy.
Vaccination Timeliness In Aboriginal And Non-Aboriginal Infants: Risk Factors For Delayed Vaccination And Impact On Disease Burden—a Record Linkage Study
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$538,183.00
Summary
Vaccination has had a significant impact, but preventable infections continue to occur, perhaps due to delayed uptake of scheduled doses. For the first time, we will link vaccination and other health records to: provide accurate estimates of the impact of vaccination; identify reasons for delayed vaccination; and quantify the expected reduction in disease burden if vaccination timeliness was improved. The study will help determine who would benefit most from efforts to improve timeliness.
Evaluation Of Long-Term Clinical And Health Service Outcomes Following Coronary Artery Revascularisation In Western Australia: Future Implications
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$638,412.00
Summary
Heart attacks occur when arteries of the heart become blocked, and current treatment involves unblocking the affected vessel by inserting a stent fed through a leg artery or using bypass surgery. There are different types of stents and whether they offer better outcomes than surgery in the long-term is currently undecided. We will evaluate whether patients who receive stents have better outcomes after 5 years than patients who have surgery, and what the various costs are to the health system.
Improving Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) Initiation For People Living With HIV In Australia: A Realistic And Feasible Approach?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$434,722.00
Summary
Antiretroviral treatment (ART) has improved the lives of people living with HIV (PLHIV). This study will investigate barriers, incentives and reasons that influence decision making of PLHIV and clinicians regarding whether to start ART and when. The study will examine the potential public health impact of promoting ART use on the HIV epidemic. The study will make significant contributions to improvement of ART use and advances in HIV prevention.
Improving Global Tuberculosis Control With The AuTuMN Platform
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$655,059.00
Summary
Tuberculosis (TB) is the world’s leading infectious killer, with the failure of global control responsible for the vast majority of Australia’s cases. Using our robustly developed software platform, we have performed several country-level studies to predict the future burden of disease and compare the impact of alternative responses to controlling the epidemic. In this project, we will extend our platform to perform simulations at the global level and answer key questions in TB control.
M-SAKHI : Mobile Health Solutions To Help Community Providers Promote Maternal And Infant Nutrition And Health - A Community-based Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial In Rural India
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,379,427.00
Summary
The proposed research will examine the impact of the mobile phone counselling on child feeding practices, & undernutrition & cognitive development in a rural setting in India. The study aims to collect high-level evidence of whether mobile phone counselling about nutrition in pregnancy, and child feeding, directed at pregnant women and mothers in rural India will i) reduce low birthweight, ii) improve infant & child feeding, and iii) reduce child undernutrition at 24 months.
School Versus Community-based Albendazole Deworming For Control Of Soil Transmitted Helminths In School-age Children In The Philippines – A Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,336,408.00
Summary
Intestinal parasites are a global health problem. The World Health Organization recommends regular distribution of deworming drugs, targeting school aged children. This is effective for the children receiving the drugs but does not have an impact in the wider community. We aim to determine the best strategy for delivery of deworming drugs, to achieve the maximum benefit both for children and wider community, by directly comparing the benefits of a school-targeted vs a community-mass approach.
Implications Of The Increasing Duration Of Life Spent With Obesity For Population Health
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$251,830.00
Summary
As the prevalence of obesity at younger ages increases, people are living longer with obesity. We have recently shown that this has an increased risk of mortality and diabetes. In this project we will look at the extent to which an increasing length of time lived with obesity is also associated with increased risks of hypertension, heart disease, cancer, arthritis and disability. We will also look at the effect of this increasing duration on the overall health of Australian adults.