The relationships between retail availability, peer smoking and tobacco purchase and consumption: a diary study of smoking behaviour. Despite multiple public health initiatives, smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death, costing the Australian community more than 19,000 lives each year. Public awareness of the dangers of smoking is high, yet around 19% of Australians continue to smoke. Social effects (e.g. the presence of nearby smokers) and the high retail availability of cigarette ....The relationships between retail availability, peer smoking and tobacco purchase and consumption: a diary study of smoking behaviour. Despite multiple public health initiatives, smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death, costing the Australian community more than 19,000 lives each year. Public awareness of the dangers of smoking is high, yet around 19% of Australians continue to smoke. Social effects (e.g. the presence of nearby smokers) and the high retail availability of cigarettes are likely to be associated with smoking rates and failed quit attempts, yet there is little research in this area. By providing a better understanding of the effect of these factors on smoking patterns, the study will suggest the most effective avenues for reducing the rate of smoking in Australia, and thus decreasing its substantial cost to individuals and the community.Read moreRead less
Strengthening community responses to hepatitis B. Australians who have been born overseas often have high rates of chronic hepatitis B. In this project people with hepatitis B and people who provide them with health and social services will be interviewed to understand individual responses to the infection, and to identify barriers to effective health care delivery.
Resistance to pediculicides in head lice, Pediculus humanus var. capitis. The number of children with head lice in countries like Australia is increasing. One factor that promotes lice is resistance to pesticides. Yet until now resistance has not been studied in Australia. We propose a new approach to studying resistance: "field" tests by school nurses and other health workers. Existing tests require lice to be sent alive to labs in cities. Our test will, if successful, allow people in the ....Resistance to pediculicides in head lice, Pediculus humanus var. capitis. The number of children with head lice in countries like Australia is increasing. One factor that promotes lice is resistance to pesticides. Yet until now resistance has not been studied in Australia. We propose a new approach to studying resistance: "field" tests by school nurses and other health workers. Existing tests require lice to be sent alive to labs in cities. Our test will, if successful, allow people in the "field" to test lice. Expected outcomes are: (i) scientific information on resistance to pediculicides in head lice, and thus, improved control of head lice; (ii) reduced exposure of children to pesticides; and (iii) a strategic alliance between six organisations that should outlive the project.Read moreRead less
Implementing teleauscultation for remote user health services in Australia: A case study with economic evaluation. By reducing the requirement for patients to travel to major centres for assessment, this project is expected to result in significant direct savings per individual patient. Indirect cost reductions will also result from the minimisation of travel for patients, with the potential for national savings in transport infrastructure costs, greenhouse gases emissions, and decreasing other ....Implementing teleauscultation for remote user health services in Australia: A case study with economic evaluation. By reducing the requirement for patients to travel to major centres for assessment, this project is expected to result in significant direct savings per individual patient. Indirect cost reductions will also result from the minimisation of travel for patients, with the potential for national savings in transport infrastructure costs, greenhouse gases emissions, and decreasing other undesirable consequences of either private or public transport travel for patients and/or specialist physicians. Further indirect benefits include incidental learning by staff working with patients in remote location through the remote link. Other advantages include happier patients as they will not need to leave their home and loved ones as often.Read moreRead less
Remote patient assessment using digital stethoscope for telehealth systems in Australia. The direct saving will be about $15 600 per individual patient. Indirect cost reductions will significantly minimise travel for patients, national savings in transport infrastructure costs, greenhouse gases emissions and all the other undesirable consequences of either private or public transport travel for patients and/or specialist physicians. Other indirect benefits include incidental learning by staff w ....Remote patient assessment using digital stethoscope for telehealth systems in Australia. The direct saving will be about $15 600 per individual patient. Indirect cost reductions will significantly minimise travel for patients, national savings in transport infrastructure costs, greenhouse gases emissions and all the other undesirable consequences of either private or public transport travel for patients and/or specialist physicians. Other indirect benefits include incidental learning by staff working with patients in the remote location through the remote link. Other advantages include happier patients as they will not need to leave their home and loved ones as often. This can be translated into national benefits through reduction in anxiety and less stressful patients.Read moreRead less
Citizens' juries: enabling effective influenza pandemic policy through engagement with the community. The project will provide information and practical guidance to assist with South Australian pandemic management specifically and will have implications for the state and national disaster planning generally. The project will provide resources for both state and national policy makers in the form of technical reports and comprehensive public health information modules appropriate for disseminatio ....Citizens' juries: enabling effective influenza pandemic policy through engagement with the community. The project will provide information and practical guidance to assist with South Australian pandemic management specifically and will have implications for the state and national disaster planning generally. The project will provide resources for both state and national policy makers in the form of technical reports and comprehensive public health information modules appropriate for dissemination to the wider Australian community. The project will contribute to increased community awareness of pandemic influenza and enhanced community acceptance of (and cooperation with) pandemic management plans while establishing a mechanism for future pandemic and disaster policy planning and evaluation.Read moreRead less
Effects of feedback and incentive-based insurance on driving behaviours. This project aims to examine the extent to which direct-feedback and incentive-based insurance modify a drivers’ behaviour. The project plans to apply in-vehicle telematics and to link information obtained from the technology directly to personalised safety messaging. The project then plans to assess the impact of this by calculating individual personal injury and the potential reduction to property damage insurance premium ....Effects of feedback and incentive-based insurance on driving behaviours. This project aims to examine the extent to which direct-feedback and incentive-based insurance modify a drivers’ behaviour. The project plans to apply in-vehicle telematics and to link information obtained from the technology directly to personalised safety messaging. The project then plans to assess the impact of this by calculating individual personal injury and the potential reduction to property damage insurance premiums. The study has the potential to profoundly influence not only the insurance industry by reducing individual risk and insurance scheme liability, but also deliver reductions in road trauma among the target population namely, young drivers.Read moreRead less
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.
Public and ethical responses to mandated alcohol warning labels about increased long-term risk of cancer. This project will determine how the Australian public will respond to the proposed introduction of alcohol product warning labels. It will establish how such at point of sale messages can acceptably and effectively inform Australians about the long-term, but modifiable, cancer risk associated with alcohol use and reduce the national cancer burden.
Understanding engagement to regulate the commercial determinants of health. This project aims to generate new knowledge on how government and non-government organisations can prevent
poor health via their effective regulation of harmful commodity industries, specifically alcohol and highly-processed
food. The significance of this project is its innovative approach to regulation, with a focus on engagement
processes between state and non-state actors for the management of harmful commodities. Exp ....Understanding engagement to regulate the commercial determinants of health. This project aims to generate new knowledge on how government and non-government organisations can prevent
poor health via their effective regulation of harmful commodity industries, specifically alcohol and highly-processed
food. The significance of this project is its innovative approach to regulation, with a focus on engagement
processes between state and non-state actors for the management of harmful commodities. Expected outcomes
include improved methodologies in the field of health governance, and enhanced capacity among Partner
organisations to engage effectively with different industries. These outcomes should benefit health policy
prevention goals.Read moreRead less