Environmental Risk Factors For Iron Overload-related Disease In A Cohort Study Of Hereditary Haemochromatosis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$152,936.00
Summary
Results published last year from our Melbourne HealthIron study of hereditary haemochromatosis (iron overload disease) show that almost one third of the 50,000 men genetically at risk of iron overload in Australia will develop symptoms of disease including fatigue, arthritis and liver damage. We will use data from the recent follow-up of the Health2020 cohort, of which HealthIron is a sub-study, to determine environmental risk factors for progression to disease in people with iron overload.
Use And Adequacy Of Diabetic Retinopathy Screening: A Whole Population Linked Data Study
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$219,382.00
Summary
Diabetes and its health complications are major public health issues presently facing Australia. Currently, around 7% of Australians have diabetes and it is estimated that 300 million people will be diabetic within 20-years. One major complication of diabetes is diabetic retinopathy, which is the most common cause of blindness in working-age adults. Although early treatment can prevent vision loss from diabetic retinopathy, often there are no visual symptoms until the condition is more advanced ....Diabetes and its health complications are major public health issues presently facing Australia. Currently, around 7% of Australians have diabetes and it is estimated that 300 million people will be diabetic within 20-years. One major complication of diabetes is diabetic retinopathy, which is the most common cause of blindness in working-age adults. Although early treatment can prevent vision loss from diabetic retinopathy, often there are no visual symptoms until the condition is more advanced and less treatable. Consequently, it is vital that people with diabetes have their eyes examined regularly. We aim to investigate the use of eye services by people with diabetes. The WA Data Linkage System provides the unique opportunity to efficiently examine the benefits of specialist eye care in diabetics within WA over a 17-year period. The study period encompasses the introduction of NHMRC guidelines for diabetic retinopathy screening in 1997. This will enable us to examine the effectiveness of these guidelines in increasing ophthalmic services use by people with diabetes. Evaluating these trends will provide important data on the effectiveness of policy and NHMRC guidelines in improving diabetic eye care, which has never been comprehensively investigated. Early intervention can prevent and delay vision loss from diabetic retinopathy, substantially reducing the personal and community burden from diabetes. The identification of poorly screened groups will enable more targeted programs to improve the use of ophthalmic series, which in turn may reduce the risk of: i) eye surgery related to diabetes, ii) injury resulting from diabetes-related vision disorder or iii) blindness. The feasibility of using linked health data to evaluate eye screening in diabetics will enable future work addressing processes of care in the prevention of other diabetic complications to be undertaken quickly and cost-effectively.Read moreRead less
Practice- And Policy-relevant Research In Skin Cancer Epidemiology, Prevention And Screening
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$483,402.00
Summary
This Fellowship will enable me to lead an internationally-competitive program of research in skin cancer epidemiology, prevention & screening that will lead to improved patient and population health through impacts on clinical practice and health policy. My aim is to lead paradigm-shifting contributions in: ? Genetic epidemiology of melanoma, ? Precision skin cancer prevention & screening, and ? Public health genomics for cancer prevention.
Risks And Benefits Of Breast Cancer Screening: BreastScreen WA Cohort Study Of Overdiagnosis And Breast Cancer Mortality
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$201,524.00
Summary
Overdiagnosis is the major downside of screening for breast cancer. This occurs when screening detects cancers that would not have caused symptoms in the woman's lifetime. This study aims to quantify the amount of overdiagnosis that occurs in the Australian breast cancer screening program (BreastScreen)
Global Corporate Challenge Evaluation: The evaluation of a low-cost, low-impact physical-activity workplace intervention. Societal increases in obesity and physical inactivity have led to consideration of workplace interventions as a potential for improving health. However, long-term evaluations of such interventions are rare. Here we will evaluate the Global Corporate Challenge (GCC), which engages employees to participate in a four month pedometer-based program aimed at increasing their physic ....Global Corporate Challenge Evaluation: The evaluation of a low-cost, low-impact physical-activity workplace intervention. Societal increases in obesity and physical inactivity have led to consideration of workplace interventions as a potential for improving health. However, long-term evaluations of such interventions are rare. Here we will evaluate the Global Corporate Challenge (GCC), which engages employees to participate in a four month pedometer-based program aimed at increasing their physical activity levels. We will follow 1000 participants for two years to determine the short and long-term health benefits of the program and to provide insight into factors that may improve the success of such programs. Such findings are essential for appropriate government and industry policy decisions in this area of chronic disease prevention. Read moreRead less
Planning female and male vaccination and cervical screening strategies to achieve optimal prevention of HPV-related disease. The findings from this research will inform the development of public health policy on the most cost-effective utilisation of resources for preventing cervical, anogenital and head/neck cancers, and genital warts, in women and men, due to human papillomavirus (HPV). We will evaluate strategies for using emerging screening and vaccine technologies to prevent HPV-related dis ....Planning female and male vaccination and cervical screening strategies to achieve optimal prevention of HPV-related disease. The findings from this research will inform the development of public health policy on the most cost-effective utilisation of resources for preventing cervical, anogenital and head/neck cancers, and genital warts, in women and men, due to human papillomavirus (HPV). We will evaluate strategies for using emerging screening and vaccine technologies to prevent HPV-related disease, and assess potential adverse outcomes of vaccination. Men are currently not covered by routine vaccination or screening programs; this research will assess the benefit to men of vaccinating women only, and will consider the impact of vaccination and other interventions targeted towards men.Read moreRead less
Testing And Treatment For Prostate Cancer In Australia: Epidemiology And Modelling
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$267,886.00
Summary
We aim to use observational data and mathematical modelling to investigate testing and treatment for prostate cancer in Australia. We will incorporate changes in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing and in clinical practice to investigate: a) over-diagnosis, being cancer cases diagnosed through PSA testing that would not have been otherwise diagnosed; b) the effect of PSA testing on prostate cancer mortality; and c) mortality and health care use under different PSA test scenarios.