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Body Mass Index And Mortality In Aboriginal Australians In Northern Territory: A Cohort Study
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$136,220.00
Summary
The ultimate goal of this study is to define a healthy weight range for Aboriginal people. To fulfil this goal, we will investigate the health implications of body weight and weight change in Aboriginal communities. We will assess the association between body weight (as measured by body mass index) and the risk of death by examining how the death rate changes with body weight. The findings will have important implications for health professionals to provide adequate advice to Aboriginal Australi ....The ultimate goal of this study is to define a healthy weight range for Aboriginal people. To fulfil this goal, we will investigate the health implications of body weight and weight change in Aboriginal communities. We will assess the association between body weight (as measured by body mass index) and the risk of death by examining how the death rate changes with body weight. The findings will have important implications for health professionals to provide adequate advice to Aboriginal Australians, and for Aboriginal people to adopt a healthy life style in relation to body weight. Due to the differences in body shape and physiological and environmental factors between Aborigines and other populations, the optimal body weight obtained from other populations may not be applicable to Aboriginal communities. Do males and females have different optimal body weights? Do old and young people have different optimal body weights? This study will provide evidence for answering various questions like these. Individuals with different characteristics may have different optimal body weight values. Such information is useful for the development and modification of dietary guidelines for Aboriginal Australians. The results on the health impact of weight change are important for guiding weight control programs in Aboriginal communities.Read moreRead less
The Aetiology And Prevention Of Pneumonia Of Indigenous Children In Northern Australia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$344,258.00
Summary
This research aims to identify the causes of pneumonia in Indigenous children and to find out whether new and existing vaccines can reduce the amount of infections and their complications.
Assessing Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Risk In Aboriginal People
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$73,550.00
Summary
Aboriginal Australians have higher death rates from cardiovascular disease (CVD) than other Australians, with rates in young and middle aged people increased 15-fold or more. A multi-factor approach, which considers all the risk factors, is the best strategy to identify and reduce CVD risk. The first step for selection of risk-reduction therapy in an individual is to assess his-her risk status and the benefit of intervention. Several risk assessment tools, incorporating traditional risk factors, ....Aboriginal Australians have higher death rates from cardiovascular disease (CVD) than other Australians, with rates in young and middle aged people increased 15-fold or more. A multi-factor approach, which considers all the risk factors, is the best strategy to identify and reduce CVD risk. The first step for selection of risk-reduction therapy in an individual is to assess his-her risk status and the benefit of intervention. Several risk assessment tools, incorporating traditional risk factors, have been developed from Western populations. They would be most appropriately applied to individuals who resemble the study sample; their validity in Aboriginal Australians has not been evaluated and no risk prediction formulae have been developed specifically for Aboriginal people. Recent reports suggest that a variety of other non-traditional risk factors also influence CVD risk, including markers of central fat deposition, inflammation, nutrition, alcohol use and early growth. Given the disadvantaged circumstances of many Aboriginal people, it is likely that some of the factors are influencing their CVD risk. The applicants have collected baseline risk factor data on volunteers in one Aboriginal community and followed their course, including CVD deaths and CVD hospitalisations, for more than a decade. From this baseline information, which goes beyond traditional risk markers, and from additional measures like birthweight, and markers of inflammation and nutrition assayed in retrieved serum, we will develop a variety of models for predicting a CVD risk in this group. We will also lay plans to evaluate these tools in other Aboriginal groups. A better understanding of the causes of CVD in this population is important to influence public health policy for CVD prevention. The models will be helpful health education tools at the community level and will allow therapeutic or lifestyle intervention in individuals to be targeted at their individual risk profile.Read moreRead less
Aetiology, Burden And Causal Pathways Of Acute Lower Respiratory Infections Using Population Linked Data
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$437,476.00
Summary
Lower respiratory, or chest infections, are a problem for many children. This project will investigate the impact of chest infections on hospitals and emergency departments, the viruses and bacteria that cause them, identify those children who are at an increased risk of having chest infections and investigate the impact of routine immunisations on specific types of infections. This project will greatly add to our understanding of chest infections so appropriate interventions can be developed.
Investigating The Application Of Population Data To Improve Maternal And Child Health Services In Two Remote Communities
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$83,281.00
Summary
This project will contribute to the understanding of how routinely collected population health data relate to remote Aboriginal communities and how such data can be used in two field sites. Population data are widely used, but the opportunity to investigate these matters is limited. The nesting of this study within a larger project aimed at improving health services for mothers and babies provides a unique opportunity to investigate aspects of applying macro level data at a local level.
The National Survey of Adult Oral Health will interview and dentally examine 7,500 people aged 15 or more across all States and Territories of Australia. It will provide a national snap-shot of the nation's oral health, including levels of tooth loss, dental decay and gum disease. The survey, to be conducted in 2004-04, will be directed by researchers at the Australian Research Center for Population Oral Health at The University of Adelaide. It will be conducted in collaboration with the Commonw ....The National Survey of Adult Oral Health will interview and dentally examine 7,500 people aged 15 or more across all States and Territories of Australia. It will provide a national snap-shot of the nation's oral health, including levels of tooth loss, dental decay and gum disease. The survey, to be conducted in 2004-04, will be directed by researchers at the Australian Research Center for Population Oral Health at The University of Adelaide. It will be conducted in collaboration with the Commonwealth and State-Territory health departments. Occurring 17 years after the first National Oral Health Survey of Australia, this new survey will monitor changes in oral health among all Australians. The survey will identify groups at particular disadvantage in terms of oral diseases, and it will search for lifestyle and community-level hazards that increase the risk of oral disorders. The study will have a compare patterns of dental health among people born before and after the fluoride generation of adults born in the 1960s when most of Australia's capital city water supplies became fluoridated. The study has been designed to automatically capture national statistics on general health among the 7,500 study participants over the next decade. The researchers will use that information to study links that have been observed in other countries between gum disease and heart disease. Results from the survey will provide the basis for monitoring progress towards national health targets and provide information to help direct dental health services into the 21st century.Read moreRead less
Translational Public Health Research Addressing Complex Questions In Maternal, Perinatal And Indigenous Health
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$420,872.00
Summary
The health of women during pregnancy and the first year after giving birth is critical to the health and well-being of children. This research aims to improve understanding of the causes and consequences of poor maternal health and contribute to better informed policy and practice in maternity, early postnatal and primary care services. It focuses on 3 major themes: improving women’s health after childbirth; maternity and early postnatal care; and Indigenous women’s and children’s health.
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