A Randomised Trial of Early Childhood Sustained Home Visiting in a Disadvantaged Community. Home visiting programs comprising intensive and sustained professional home visits over the entire first two years of life (SPHV) show promise as interventions to promote child health and family functioning, and ameliorate disadvantage. This study is the first Australian randomised trial to determine the impact of a comprehensive SPHV program commencing antenatally in a population group living in an area ....A Randomised Trial of Early Childhood Sustained Home Visiting in a Disadvantaged Community. Home visiting programs comprising intensive and sustained professional home visits over the entire first two years of life (SPHV) show promise as interventions to promote child health and family functioning, and ameliorate disadvantage. This study is the first Australian randomised trial to determine the impact of a comprehensive SPHV program commencing antenatally in a population group living in an area of known disadvantage. As such this trial is a best-practice demonstration model for professional home visiting in Australia, with significant implications for the development of early childhood policy and strategy throughout Australia.Read moreRead less
Foot-down not ground-up: moving from splint to natural models for children's shoe design. We will provide much-needed knowledge of the impact of children's footwear on their musculoskeletal development, by conducting rigorous experimental comparisons of a standard school shoe, a custom-built 'midfoot flexing' shoe, bare feet, and a new school shoe design concept developed by university researchers to enhance rather than disrupt natural foot function. The innovation will make Bata Australia the f ....Foot-down not ground-up: moving from splint to natural models for children's shoe design. We will provide much-needed knowledge of the impact of children's footwear on their musculoskeletal development, by conducting rigorous experimental comparisons of a standard school shoe, a custom-built 'midfoot flexing' shoe, bare feet, and a new school shoe design concept developed by university researchers to enhance rather than disrupt natural foot function. The innovation will make Bata Australia the first manufacturer to embrace evidence-based shoe design, and will be an opportunity for the Company to provide global leadership in the field. Our advances will inform health professionals, manufacturers and parents in the task of improving the musculoskeletal health of young Australians.Read moreRead less
Childhood obesity, physical activity and wellbeing: Discovering the influence of children's understandings and experiences of places, spaces and communities. The study aims to discover 3-13 yr old children's understandings, perceptions & experiences of physical activity & associated places & spaces. Childhood obesity is a modern 'epidemic' & governments agree that low physical activity levels contribute significantly. Epidemiological & clinical research has been undertaken, but we lack Australia ....Childhood obesity, physical activity and wellbeing: Discovering the influence of children's understandings and experiences of places, spaces and communities. The study aims to discover 3-13 yr old children's understandings, perceptions & experiences of physical activity & associated places & spaces. Childhood obesity is a modern 'epidemic' & governments agree that low physical activity levels contribute significantly. Epidemiological & clinical research has been undertaken, but we lack Australian studies that systematically listen to & understand the pivotal voices of children themselves. Failure to develop such theoretically sound, practice-based understandings may mean ineffective interventions that misunderstand children's worlds. This collaborative study unites highly experienced researchers, practitioners & policy makers who will actively involve children in creating & using new knowledge.Read moreRead less
Cumulative Harm: Reducing child abuse through improved decision-making. In 2005/06 56,000 cases of child abuse were substantiated in Australia, and this figure is rising exponentially. Disillusionment is growing with an incident based approach to children's safety which fails to either acknowledge or intervene effectively in the cumulative effects of harm to the child's development and well-being. This project uses the leverage of new legislation to re-focus on an earlier intervention with vulne ....Cumulative Harm: Reducing child abuse through improved decision-making. In 2005/06 56,000 cases of child abuse were substantiated in Australia, and this figure is rising exponentially. Disillusionment is growing with an incident based approach to children's safety which fails to either acknowledge or intervene effectively in the cumulative effects of harm to the child's development and well-being. This project uses the leverage of new legislation to re-focus on an earlier intervention with vulnerable children at risk of cumulative harm within a hospital setting. An interdisciplinary lens is bought to the development of new knowledge to provide a better and healthier start to life for this group of children.Read moreRead less
Child health and developmental inequities: Evidence for precision policy. The project aims to use cutting edge analytic approaches applied to existing data to identify how policy interventions related to parents’ mental health, preschool programs, and the built environment can be optimised to reduce inequities in children’s mental, academic, and physical health outcomes. The project will be informed by our partners and advisers from across government portfolios and service delivery, ensuring tha ....Child health and developmental inequities: Evidence for precision policy. The project aims to use cutting edge analytic approaches applied to existing data to identify how policy interventions related to parents’ mental health, preschool programs, and the built environment can be optimised to reduce inequities in children’s mental, academic, and physical health outcomes. The project will be informed by our partners and advisers from across government portfolios and service delivery, ensuring that the evidence generated has contemporary policy relevance. The project expects to identify clear and actionable policy pathways to reduce child inequities in Australia, which can benefit decision makers by helping them to direct limited public funds towards intervention opportunities that will have the greatest impact.Read moreRead less
Children Walking Well. Healthy feet in childhood are the foundation for musculoskeletal health and mobility throughout life. However, little is known about the effect of shoes worn on children. This Australian project is the first to address this shortcoming. A multidisciplinary team will investigate: factors contributing to consumer decision-making; footwear usage and selection; and the relationship between footwear styles, anatomical profile, biomechanics and physical activity. From our id ....Children Walking Well. Healthy feet in childhood are the foundation for musculoskeletal health and mobility throughout life. However, little is known about the effect of shoes worn on children. This Australian project is the first to address this shortcoming. A multidisciplinary team will investigate: factors contributing to consumer decision-making; footwear usage and selection; and the relationship between footwear styles, anatomical profile, biomechanics and physical activity. From our identification of mismatches between evidence of the relationship between shoes and function and current stakeholder knowledge and decision-making, we will make recommendations for how shoe manufacturers and health professionals can promote healthy feet in children.Read moreRead less
Development of a comprehensive model and programmed intervention for emotion processing deficits in childhood-onset mental health problems. This research is in the National Research Priority, promoting and maintaining good health. Mental health problems cost Australia millions of dollars every year as well as creating immeasurable social adversity for individuals and families. The proposed research represents a significant step towards reducing these costs and improving the effectiveness of earl ....Development of a comprehensive model and programmed intervention for emotion processing deficits in childhood-onset mental health problems. This research is in the National Research Priority, promoting and maintaining good health. Mental health problems cost Australia millions of dollars every year as well as creating immeasurable social adversity for individuals and families. The proposed research represents a significant step towards reducing these costs and improving the effectiveness of early intervention and prevention. The research will lead to improvements in methods for early detection of child psychopathology with potential for implementation in both community health and educational services nation-wide. The research partnership will build Australia's capacity for innovative research in the development, early intervention and treatment of mental health problems.Read moreRead less
A study of contemporary family, social and cultural influences on first-time mothers' decisions about infant feeding and early parenting practices. Children who are never breastfed are more likely to experience respiratory infections, gastroenteritis, diabetes and as adults, high blood pressure, obesity and type-2 diabetes. This study of infant feeding decision-making in first-time mothers will inform strategies, grounded in the daily lives of women and families to assist mothers to breastfeed f ....A study of contemporary family, social and cultural influences on first-time mothers' decisions about infant feeding and early parenting practices. Children who are never breastfed are more likely to experience respiratory infections, gastroenteritis, diabetes and as adults, high blood pressure, obesity and type-2 diabetes. This study of infant feeding decision-making in first-time mothers will inform strategies, grounded in the daily lives of women and families to assist mothers to breastfeed for longer particularly in communities where breastfeeding is not the norm. Increased support for breastfeeding women from family, community and health professionals is likely to reduce the distress reported by many new mothers. Strategic application of findings will lead to health gains from increased breastfeeding and translate into significant cost savings for the Australian health system. Read moreRead less
Diagnosis of depressive disorder and risk for depression in adolescents using acoustic speech analysis. Depression is the most common mental health problem in young people in Australia. Early diagnosis can minimise the disturbance of typical functioning and development of social and academic skills. Current assessment techniques consume significant time in urgent clinical situations, where an immediate assessment of risk is required. An automatic diagnostic system will provide an important objec ....Diagnosis of depressive disorder and risk for depression in adolescents using acoustic speech analysis. Depression is the most common mental health problem in young people in Australia. Early diagnosis can minimise the disturbance of typical functioning and development of social and academic skills. Current assessment techniques consume significant time in urgent clinical situations, where an immediate assessment of risk is required. An automatic diagnostic system will provide an important objective indicator giving an immediate quantitative assessment of the mental state of a patient. The quantitative measure given by the diagnostic system proposed will give physicians and therapists an improved metric by which they can gauge the effectiveness of various treatments in reducing depression and suicidality. Read moreRead less
Preventing mental health problems in children: a population-based cluster controlled trial. The National Mental Health Survey (2000) found 1 in 7 children have externalising (aggression) and internalising (anxiety, depression) problems. Early mental health problems beget later problems with high costs to society, including clinical, remedial education and criminal justice services. Hence, early prevention is vital for national well-being and productivity. The few preventive early childhood progr ....Preventing mental health problems in children: a population-based cluster controlled trial. The National Mental Health Survey (2000) found 1 in 7 children have externalising (aggression) and internalising (anxiety, depression) problems. Early mental health problems beget later problems with high costs to society, including clinical, remedial education and criminal justice services. Hence, early prevention is vital for national well-being and productivity. The few preventive early childhood programs to date are limited in effectiveness and not truly population-based. The proposed parenting / family support trial aims to overcome these obstacles, by comparing and costing two approaches that can be implemented within whole communities. The trial will help clarify optimal primary care to prevent mental health problems early in life.Read moreRead less