How Do Lay People Understand The Risk Of Developing Cancer? A Qualitative Study Using Grounded Theory Procedures.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$282,118.00
Summary
This project is about cancer risk. New discoveries are regularly made about the contribution of genes, environmental exposures, and lifestyles to cancer risk. These findings are often reported in the mass media, or used in television advertising to encourage us to attend cancer screening or change our habits. Some cancers are said to be almost entirely preventable. In fact some experts argue that whether or not we get cancer is largely our own responsibility. This study doesn't ask what causes c ....This project is about cancer risk. New discoveries are regularly made about the contribution of genes, environmental exposures, and lifestyles to cancer risk. These findings are often reported in the mass media, or used in television advertising to encourage us to attend cancer screening or change our habits. Some cancers are said to be almost entirely preventable. In fact some experts argue that whether or not we get cancer is largely our own responsibility. This study doesn't ask what causes cancer. Instead it asks what the risk of developing cancer means to Australians and in Australian society. This question will be answered by conducting a rigorous analysis of healthy lay people's descriptions of their own and others' risk of developing cancer. The researchers will talk with a wide range of people about cancer risk. They will ask: how do we think about cancer risk for ourselves? how do we engage with information about cancer risk? Do we listen to it? Do we trust it? Does it make sense to us? What do we think should be done about it? The resulting findings will be compared with the assumptions that underlie cancer prevention activities. Finally, the discoveries made about similarities and differences will be actively translated for expert and lay audiences. There have been many studies of what it is like to be a cancer patient or to be screened for cancer. But there has been very little systematic study of the way in which healthy Australians make sense of cancer risk. This study will develop a detailed model of what cancer risk means to Australians. It will provide new knowledge to researchers and practitioners in public health, health psychology and sociology, and risk communication, guiding communication about cancer risk and research about cancer risk well into the future. It will help lay people and professionals to communicate more effectively about cancer risk, and thus support continuing improvement in cancer prevention in Australia.Read moreRead less
Can Systematically Developed Alcohol Health Warnings Reduce Drinking Intentions And Behaviours?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$782,617.00
Summary
This research will develop differently worded and formatted warnings about a wide range of harms of alcohol and assess adult drinkers’ responses to them, compared to current messages on alcohol containers. The study will use population surveys, discussion groups, message ratings and an experimental study with follow-up to determine the content and format of warnings with the greatest potential to encourage drinkers to reduce their alcohol-related risk.
Public Health Policies And Interventions To Reduce Tobacco-related Harms Among Socially Disadvantaged Populations And ‘low Probability Quitters’
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$421,747.00
Summary
Tobacco continues to be a leading cause of preventable death and disease in Australia. Those who are socially disadvantaged are at higher risk of smoking, which contributes to the health gap between the rich and poor. This research will provide evidence for policy makers on interventions which could reduce smoking among the most disadvantaged in society. It will also examine whether less harmful nicotine products could a reduce health risks in smokers who find quitting difficult.
The Effectiveness Of A Responsible Hospitality Audit And Feedback Intervention To Reduce Alcohol Related Harm
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$466,875.00
Summary
Alcohol is a major cause of death, injury and illness in Australia accounting for over 3,000 deaths and over 72,000 hospital admissions each year. Excessive drinking is estimated to cost the Australian community $7,560 million each year, representing 22% of all drug-related harm. Alcohol is a significant contributor to the occurrence of violence and crime. It is estimated that up to 70% of incidents attended by the police, and 77% of street offences such as assaults and malicious damage to prope ....Alcohol is a major cause of death, injury and illness in Australia accounting for over 3,000 deaths and over 72,000 hospital admissions each year. Excessive drinking is estimated to cost the Australian community $7,560 million each year, representing 22% of all drug-related harm. Alcohol is a significant contributor to the occurrence of violence and crime. It is estimated that up to 70% of incidents attended by the police, and 77% of street offences such as assaults and malicious damage to property, are alcohol-related. It is also estimated that 70% to 80% of night-time single-vehicle accidents are alcohol-related. A large proportion of assaults, offensive behaviour, malicious damage to property and drink driving occur following excessive drinking at licensed premises such as hotels and registered clubs. The risk of harm arising from the consumption of alcohol on licensed premises can be reduced by modifying such factors as service of alcohol to intoxicated patrons, service-supply of alcohol to underage patrons, management practices (eg. late closing) and environmental factors (eg. poor lighting). Auditing of licensed premises is an approach currently used by authorities to ensure compliance with licensing requirements. However, such audits do not focus on harm reduction and do not incorporate best practice audit and behaviour change features. No controlled studies have reported the effectiveness of such an audit approach in reducing the risk of violence and crime emanating from hotels and registered clubs. The proposed study aims to assess the effectiveness of a Responsible Hospitality Audit and feedback intervention in reducing service to intoxicated and underage patrons, and in reducing assaults-malicious damage to property following alcohol consumption on licensed premises. The outcomes of this study will be improved responsible service of alcohol actions and reduced alcohol-related crime associated with premises.Read moreRead less
Do People's Environments Influence Their Habitual Physical Activity?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$196,650.00
Summary
People seem to prefer to drive to the corner shop rather than walking. Or, they will drive the car to work instead of walking to the bus or train. Or, they send off e-mails instead of walking down the corridor at work. The result is that people are not using up the energy that they should and they get fatter. The average weight of many groups of Australians has gone up by several kilograms in the past 10 years. Active people not only have healthier weights. They are less likely to get heart dise ....People seem to prefer to drive to the corner shop rather than walking. Or, they will drive the car to work instead of walking to the bus or train. Or, they send off e-mails instead of walking down the corridor at work. The result is that people are not using up the energy that they should and they get fatter. The average weight of many groups of Australians has gone up by several kilograms in the past 10 years. Active people not only have healthier weights. They are less likely to get heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. But too many people do no exercise at all. Only about 10% of Australians adults do fitness and sporting activities three or more times a week. More than half do not walk, cycle or do anything moderately active on any regular basis. To get people to be regularly active and to stay active, promoting deliberate 'exercise' is not the answer. Making it easier for people to choose to be more active as they go about their daily lives will be more effective. Road transport researchers and geographers have a lot to offer to health researchers. They have found that where there are footpaths and cycle ways, where shops and businesses are close by or where the roads make it easy and safe to get from place to place, people are much more likely to walk or ride bikes. We can now use large, complex computerised databases (called Geographic Information Systems) to put together this type of information on peoples' local environments. We will combine these 'geographic' data with other information from surveys on people's physical activity, exercise and transport habits. Starting our research in this way, we will be able to work out whether there are factors in people's local environments that really do make them less active. Governments, health planners and local councils will use this information to find ways to create communities that are more activity-friendly. This will have real health benefits.Read moreRead less
Enabling Safe Leisure Activity Participation For Young Hearing Aid Wearers
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$47,537.00
Summary
There is community concern that exposure to loud sound during everyday activities, (such as, using iPods,MP3 players), may be damaging young peopleÍs hearing, and researchers around the world are investigating this issue. There is little information about how exposure to loud sound affects young people who already have permanent hearing loss, so the National Acoustic Laboratories (NAL) is conducting a study (iHEAR2) to find out whether loud sound exposure is affecting young hearing aid wearers.
Online Pornography And Sexual Risk Behaviour, Health And Wellbeing: An Evidence-informed And Needs-based Approach To Health Promotion And Sex Education For Young People
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$81,361.00
Summary
Young people have unprecedented access to online pornography. To date, little is known about it's actual impact on sexual risk behaviours, negative or violent attitudes towards women, mental health and body image. There is a need for better evidence about young people’s online pornography usage and its impact on their health and wellbeing, to inform the development of evidenced based health promotion strategies.
Advanced Non-invasive Cardiovascular Risk Screening In The Community: Practical And Cost Effective?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$287,321.00
Summary
This research focuses on the practicalities and cost of mobile, advanced, non-invasive cardiovascular assessments to determine the extent of CVD and clinical risk factors and its likely impact on patterns of treatment and care to “disadvantaged” individuals living in rural and remote regions and Indigenous Australians. The advantage of directly acquiring risk profile information has not been fully explored and its potential to address an “epidemic” of CVD world-wide cannot be overstated.
Mobile Intervention For Drinking In Young People (MIDY): Randomised Controlled Trial
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$403,378.00
Summary
Binge drinking is a significant health and social issue in Australia. In this innovative trial, we will communicate with young people via their mobile phones while they are on a night out. Young people will send hourly information about their drinking and will receive a relevant message in response, encouraging them to slow down or avoid harmful activities. The methods and the messages were developed in partnership with young people and have been tested in real drinking situations.