Social Media To Enhance Indigenous Tobacco Control
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$922,680.00
Summary
Smoking prevalence among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is more than twice as high as the overall Australian population, and smoking is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity of Indigenous Australians. Accelerating the decline in smoking prevalence is an urgent priority to Close The Gap in health outcomes. The aim of this project is to understand how social media can be harnessed to enhance the impact of proven tobacco control strategies among Indigenous Australians.
Improving Communication About Immunisation Through Social Sciences Research
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$415,219.00
Summary
Vaccination is one of the greatest public health acheivements of the last century. Yet new threats to vaccine programs arise as diseases become less visible. Waning public confidence in immunisation and specific vaccine scares continue to threaten programs globally. This research will help to improve our understanding of why people do and don't immunise and the role communication can play. It will develop and test novel interventions to address public concerns and assist health professionals in ....Vaccination is one of the greatest public health acheivements of the last century. Yet new threats to vaccine programs arise as diseases become less visible. Waning public confidence in immunisation and specific vaccine scares continue to threaten programs globally. This research will help to improve our understanding of why people do and don't immunise and the role communication can play. It will develop and test novel interventions to address public concerns and assist health professionals in the way they communicate vaccine risk and benefit.Read moreRead less
Creating Sustainable Healthcare: Ensuring New Diagnostics Avoid Harms, Improve Outcomes, And Direct Resources Wisely
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,497,658.00
Summary
Novel imaging, biomarkers and genomic tests for risk assessment and early detection are emerging as major forces for change in clinical practice. While providing advances and new benefits for patients, new technologies can also have harmful, unintended consequences - overdiagnosis and overtreatment. This multidisciplinary CRE will investigate how to respond to emerging technologies to optimise health outcomes while avoiding harms and directing healthcare resources wisely.
An Evaluation Of Trust In A Primary Health Care System
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$135,550.00
Summary
Trust is a critical issue in the relationships between organisations that need to work together to achieve integrated services for consumers. As organisational representatives get to know one another trust may develop permitting a greater degree of collaboration. In Victoria, the Primary Care Partnerships Strategy process aims to strengthen the relationships between agencies in alocal areas to improve collaboration and achieve services that operate in an integrated way in the provision of servic ....Trust is a critical issue in the relationships between organisations that need to work together to achieve integrated services for consumers. As organisational representatives get to know one another trust may develop permitting a greater degree of collaboration. In Victoria, the Primary Care Partnerships Strategy process aims to strengthen the relationships between agencies in alocal areas to improve collaboration and achieve services that operate in an integrated way in the provision of services to consumers. It is about strengthening the system of care. The aim of this study is to understand how people within a primary care system build and maintain relationships of trust between individuals and between organisations. Individuals will be interviewed to learn how they experience trust and related issues, documents will be analysed to learn about the policy and organisational environments of trust relationships, and the Trust Evaluation Scale used to measure the factors associated with trust over a two year period. The outcomes of this study will be an understanding of how organisations establish the relationships that allow them to collaborate effectively. In particular it will help us understand how they can be encouraged to share the same protocols and procedures, to share information, and become more skilful at managing organisational differences, and it will provide a deeper understanding of relationships between primary health care organisations and the strategies that can help individuals and organisations create trust and collaborate.Read moreRead less
Social Norms Regarding HIV-STI Risk And Risk Reduction Behaviours Among Men Who Have Sex With Men In Australia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$692,269.00
Summary
In Australia, 85% of HIV infections are due to male homosexual contact. HIV-STI risk behaviour of individual gay-community-attached men has been well-studied, but social norms regarding behaviours are less well understood. We will collect new data about the norms regarding HIV-STI risk and risk reduction behaviours and compare their communication in gay communities in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. This study will provide information to better target HIV prevention and promote safe sex among men.
Multidisciplinary Translational Research To Address Social Disparities In Osteoporosis: Understanding The Social Context Of Biological Mechanisms
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$419,180.00
Summary
Osteoporosis (OP) prevalence is greater for disadvantaged groups, as are less healthy lifestyles. Whilst reasons for this social gradient of OP are unknown, some biological phenomena are influenced by lifestyle factors. I will provide novel evidence about biological mechanisms underlying the social gradient of OP (epigenetics), and, using that information, engage disadvantaged communities in multidisciplinary discussions to inform effective public health interventions (community engagement).
An Exploration Of The Nature And Meaning Of Informal Communities In Cancer Treatment
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$92,745.00
Summary
The interactions that occur in cancer treatment with other patients, family members and staff are often unavoidable. Recent research examining patient's interactions has demonstrated the importance of these communications, as social support, a forum to exchange information and ideas, and a gathering of people facing the same challenges. This study aims to examine the role of these interactions between patients, staff and family members to explore the purposes and effects of these interactions.
The Impact Of Oxytocin On Social Cognition And Behaviour In Youth With Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$261,117.00
Summary
Deficits in social functioning are one of the core features of Autism Spectrum Disorders and evidence suggests that the Oxytocin (OT) system may be dysregulated in these individuals. This proposal tests the effects of synthetic OT in a sample of youth with ASD on measures of social cognition and behaviour. This research may lead to more efficient and effective treatments for ASD and may enhance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying Autism and related disorders.
Building Best Practice In Child Protection At The Intersection Of Child Protection And Adult Mental Health Services
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$294,590.00
Summary
This research is an investigation of child protection practices with families where at least one parent has been diagnosed with a serious mental illness (affective or non-affective psychosis), and where child abuse or neglect has been substantiated or children are at risk of significant harm. It is specifically concerned to understand processes of interagency collaboration between workers in state government child protection and mental health service systems. The research has several aims. These ....This research is an investigation of child protection practices with families where at least one parent has been diagnosed with a serious mental illness (affective or non-affective psychosis), and where child abuse or neglect has been substantiated or children are at risk of significant harm. It is specifically concerned to understand processes of interagency collaboration between workers in state government child protection and mental health service systems. The research has several aims. These are, first, to identify and examine the current practices of child protection and mental health workers where protective concerns have been identified in relation to children whose parent-s have been diagnosed with a mental illness. Practice will be examined at the assessment, child protection follow-up and post-order phases. Second, to identify and examine any barriers to effective collaboration between child protection and mental health organisations; and third, to develop inductively derived descriptions of 'best practice' in relation to these cases. The research will be conducted in four stages, including a survey of child protection and mental health workers, tracking of cases through the child protection system, in-depth interviews with child protection workers, mental health workers and parents, and group discussions with highly experienced child protection and mental health workers. The expected outcomes of the study are: the development of child protection practice guidelines for working with families where children have been harmed or at risk of harm by a parent who has a mental illness, including practice guidelines for interagency collaboration in this field; and identification of supervisional, training, administrative and policy responses to this issue.Read moreRead less
Grassroots To Government: Social Inclusion, Health Promotion And The Third Sector
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$116,791.00
Summary
A more socially inclusive society should lead to better health outcomes for disadvantaged Australians. The Fed Govt has launched a major Social Inclusion policy initiative. Third Sector Organisations have been identified as critical to its implementation. This study will examine the impact of these policy changes on the organizations that are at the coalface of service delivery and ask whether and under what conditions the third sector can deliver on the promise of social inclusion.