I am an epidemiologist whose research is concerned with investigating the behavioural, social, structural and environmental determinants of obesity and its antecedent behaviours
Caries Initiation Across Childhood To Adulthood By Exposure To Water Fluoridation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$198,297.00
Summary
This research program is expected to contribute to filling significant gaps in the understanding of factors determining the oral health of Australian children and young adults. The purpose of the project is to develop a better understanding of the outcome of long-term exposure to fluoridated water among young adults.
SES And Injury In Children: A Cohort Study To Identify And Measure The Effects Of Preventable Mediating Factors
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$360,505.00
Summary
While changing an individual or group SES is at best a long term and challenging social objective, proximal risk factors for injury can be more readily modified. Once the proximal risk factor differential across SES groups has been adequately delineated, then the possibility arises for targeted public health intervention to redress the SES differential in the incidence of injury. The sophistication of the proposed modeling will result in a good assessment of the best point to target.
Evaluation And Planning Of Coronary Revascularization Services.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$591,527.00
Summary
This project concerns operations to unblock or bypass the coronary arteries that supply the muscle of the heart. The project has two parts. One is concerned with checking that changes in medical and surgical treatment of coronary artery disease have been followed by improvements in survival of affected patients. The second will use data on changes in the Australian population, changes in the frequency of heart disease and changes in treatments for heart disease to predict how many coronary opera ....This project concerns operations to unblock or bypass the coronary arteries that supply the muscle of the heart. The project has two parts. One is concerned with checking that changes in medical and surgical treatment of coronary artery disease have been followed by improvements in survival of affected patients. The second will use data on changes in the Australian population, changes in the frequency of heart disease and changes in treatments for heart disease to predict how many coronary operations will be needed in Australia over the next decade. This is a vital step in planning hospital services for patients with coronary disease.Read moreRead less
Explaining Social Inequality In Population Oral Health Using A Multilevel Approach
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$103,500.00
Summary
Our preliminary research demonstrated a social gradient in the oral health of Australian adults. Adults who occupy higher positions on the social hierarchy experienced less disease and symptom experience, enhanced quality of life, and better self-rated oral health. Not only were associations made between social position and oral health, but a range of other factors such as personal control, social support, stress, life satisfaction, and workplace and childhood social environments were also assoc ....Our preliminary research demonstrated a social gradient in the oral health of Australian adults. Adults who occupy higher positions on the social hierarchy experienced less disease and symptom experience, enhanced quality of life, and better self-rated oral health. Not only were associations made between social position and oral health, but a range of other factors such as personal control, social support, stress, life satisfaction, and workplace and childhood social environments were also associated with oral wellness. This work is new Australian research and is yet to be published. In an expansion of this project, we move from describing oral health inequalities and identifying their social determinants to provide a better understanding of pathways to population oral health. In doing so we shift the focus from the individual to the social context in which individuals live. We suggest that characteristics of social environments contribute independently to the variation in oral health outcomes accounted for by the characteristics of the residents themselves. In particular, we seek to demonstrate that social cohesion (the social integration, trust, and reciprocity within an area) influences conditions linked to oral health. Previous research has demonstrated variation in health according to area. Such studies are able to demonstrate a clustering of health, but are not able to distinguish whether observed social patterns in health reflect characteristics of residents or some feature of the area itself. Such conclusions require multilevel statistical models designed to separate individual effects from contextual effects while simultaneously examining interactions between both levels. Oral health is ideally suited as a proxy for general health because of the ubiquity of dental diseases, the broad utilisation of dental services within the population, and the shared risk factors between oral disease and a wide range chronic health conditions.Read moreRead less