Applying Human Rights Legislation In Closed Environments: A Strategic Framework For Managing Compliance. The project will be a principal source of knowledge about the application of human rights in secure settings in Australia. It will improve the delivery and quality of services to people held in closed environments, such as prisons, detention centres, and settings accommodating the aged and persons with disabilities. It will assist both human rights monitoring bodies, and staff and management ....Applying Human Rights Legislation In Closed Environments: A Strategic Framework For Managing Compliance. The project will be a principal source of knowledge about the application of human rights in secure settings in Australia. It will improve the delivery and quality of services to people held in closed environments, such as prisons, detention centres, and settings accommodating the aged and persons with disabilities. It will assist both human rights monitoring bodies, and staff and management of closed settings to implement human rights obligations in everyday operations, and will heighten awareness in the community of the rights of people in these settings.Read moreRead less
Managing risk in community services. A preliminary study of the impacts of risk management on Victorian services and clients. Most older people and those with a disability or a mental illness now live in the community. They receive help from a vast range of community services, which are also expected to keep them safe, and their workers and the wider community safe. Risk management is now an important part of the work of all services and businesses involved in community care. This project will s ....Managing risk in community services. A preliminary study of the impacts of risk management on Victorian services and clients. Most older people and those with a disability or a mental illness now live in the community. They receive help from a vast range of community services, which are also expected to keep them safe, and their workers and the wider community safe. Risk management is now an important part of the work of all services and businesses involved in community care. This project will study the unforeseen impacts and costs of the new risk management, identify the problems, and explore the ways risk management can achieve its goals without reducing services and limiting the lives of the clients.Read moreRead less
Fathers, family violence and intervention challenges. Men who use family violence remain a strong presence in the lives of their children. In this project, a research consortium of government, Indigenous organisations, and Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) will identify the fathering issues and develop standards for practice interventions in this contentious area in which the need is great and the evidence is partial.
New directions in health inequalities research: understanding the intersection between housing, employment and health in Australia. People employed on a casual basis in Australia are nearly three times more likely to live in a household that is in housing affordability stress than their permanently employed counterparts. Employment and housing are both determinants of health. While social inclusion, employment and housing affordability are critical components of the government's current social p ....New directions in health inequalities research: understanding the intersection between housing, employment and health in Australia. People employed on a casual basis in Australia are nearly three times more likely to live in a household that is in housing affordability stress than their permanently employed counterparts. Employment and housing are both determinants of health. While social inclusion, employment and housing affordability are critical components of the government's current social policy agenda, articulation between these policy domains is limited and little researched. This important study will provide robust evidence on the ways that housing and employment interact to both cause and prevent health inequities. This will directly benefit agencies delivering services to vulnerable people and contribute to an evidence base of benefit to policy makers.Read moreRead less
The impact of haemoglobin deferral on blood donors: perceptions, health and non-return. Blood donors are an vital in ensuring the health of the Australian community. However, they are few in number and difficult to recruit. It is crucial to keep existing donors in the system so that Australia has an assured blood supply, not only for the traditional reasons (road trauma, replacement in surgery, treatment of diseases such as cancer), but also to cope with natural disasters, emergent diseases and ....The impact of haemoglobin deferral on blood donors: perceptions, health and non-return. Blood donors are an vital in ensuring the health of the Australian community. However, they are few in number and difficult to recruit. It is crucial to keep existing donors in the system so that Australia has an assured blood supply, not only for the traditional reasons (road trauma, replacement in surgery, treatment of diseases such as cancer), but also to cope with natural disasters, emergent diseases and the potential results of terrorist activities. Apart from providing new information on blood donor behaviour, the project will also contribute to more general knowledge about volunteers in the community and their role in the maintenance and development of health services.Read moreRead less
Meals on Wheels: building towards a new social experiment for our times. This project contributes directly to the National Research Priority, promoting and maintaining good health: ageing well, ageing productively, through developing evidence-based knowledge on which to build future volunteer business models. With the rapid ageing of the Australian population, it is imperative that volunteer-based organisations, such as Meals on Wheels, innovate to continue to deliver essential community service ....Meals on Wheels: building towards a new social experiment for our times. This project contributes directly to the National Research Priority, promoting and maintaining good health: ageing well, ageing productively, through developing evidence-based knowledge on which to build future volunteer business models. With the rapid ageing of the Australian population, it is imperative that volunteer-based organisations, such as Meals on Wheels, innovate to continue to deliver essential community services in a sustainable and cost-effective way. Meals on Wheels is integral within community care for frail, older people and those with disabilities, keeping people in their own homes and out of institutional care. Using national and international examples, the research has the potential to be adopted by the broad community services sector in Australia.Read moreRead less
Creating and sustaining a strong future for volunteering in Australia. This project seeks to answer the question of how to increase social participation by converting non-volunteers to the benefits of volunteering. In Australia today, communities and governments are increasingly dependent on volunteers to build social capital and deliver an increasing range of services. A world first, this project aims to create new theory by examining three levels of analysis: the micro level of the individual ....Creating and sustaining a strong future for volunteering in Australia. This project seeks to answer the question of how to increase social participation by converting non-volunteers to the benefits of volunteering. In Australia today, communities and governments are increasingly dependent on volunteers to build social capital and deliver an increasing range of services. A world first, this project aims to create new theory by examining three levels of analysis: the micro level of the individual volunteer or non-volunteer; the mezzo level of the volunteer-involving organisation; and the macro level of society. This innovative approach aims to identify, analyse and develop a tool to help organisations build Australia’s civil society and develop policy to create a sustainable volunteer sector into the future.Read moreRead less
Recruitment and Retention of the Australian Medical Practitioner Workforce - a Longitudinal Electronic Cohort Study. Identifying and acknowledging the significant personal and professional influences on the career decisions of doctors, including the choice to leave the profession for several years and factors driving the decision to return or not return, will provide not only the major public employers of doctors, but also government, community and private practice groups with reliable current e ....Recruitment and Retention of the Australian Medical Practitioner Workforce - a Longitudinal Electronic Cohort Study. Identifying and acknowledging the significant personal and professional influences on the career decisions of doctors, including the choice to leave the profession for several years and factors driving the decision to return or not return, will provide not only the major public employers of doctors, but also government, community and private practice groups with reliable current evidence to inform medical workforce planning and design, and ensure quality health care. 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.
A cross-disciplinary investigation of creative arts as intervention activity for young people at risk in urban and rural Victoria. The research project will investigate whether the involvement of "at risk" teenagers in creative arts activities can act as effective diversions from harmful risk taking behaviour. The project will set up, document and analyse creative arts projects in three urban and rural Victorian localities where there is a high proportion of marginalised youth. This research wil ....A cross-disciplinary investigation of creative arts as intervention activity for young people at risk in urban and rural Victoria. The research project will investigate whether the involvement of "at risk" teenagers in creative arts activities can act as effective diversions from harmful risk taking behaviour. The project will set up, document and analyse creative arts projects in three urban and rural Victorian localities where there is a high proportion of marginalised youth. This research will explore how involvement in creative expression results in increased self-esteem, an improved sense of goal setting and achievement together with community commitment. It will provide justice and social agencies with a model for effective youth program planning which will facilitate re-education and work opportunitiesRead moreRead less