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
Tipping the Scales: Fostering a healthy adolescence through musical participation. The prevention of mental illness is a priority for the Australian community. The death of a parent or sibling during childhood or adolescence is a significant risk factor for mental illness because of the multiple losses that stem from the original bereavement. Early intervention programs with a focus on enhancing resilience have been identified as the most appropriate strategy for promoting mental health. Thi ....Tipping the Scales: Fostering a healthy adolescence through musical participation. The prevention of mental illness is a priority for the Australian community. The death of a parent or sibling during childhood or adolescence is a significant risk factor for mental illness because of the multiple losses that stem from the original bereavement. Early intervention programs with a focus on enhancing resilience have been identified as the most appropriate strategy for promoting mental health. This project investigates and evaluates the potential of creative expression to function as a protective factor in fostering resilience and effective coping with bereavement during adolescence. Innovative models of analysis will provide multiple perspectives on this benefit.Read moreRead less
Safety and resiliency at home: voices of children who live with fear. Finding out what can help children feel safer who are currently living in households where there is family violence will enable early intervention for better outcomes for such children. This research is significant because it will focus on targeting appropriate responses by listening to the views of children themselves and hence finding out what is really helpful for them to build resiliency. This is important to the work of a ....Safety and resiliency at home: voices of children who live with fear. Finding out what can help children feel safer who are currently living in households where there is family violence will enable early intervention for better outcomes for such children. This research is significant because it will focus on targeting appropriate responses by listening to the views of children themselves and hence finding out what is really helpful for them to build resiliency. This is important to the work of a key family welfare agency (Berry St) but it also has benefit for health and welfare workers throughout Australia. Appropriate early intervention will not only help the families concerned but will strengthen Australia's economic and social fabric, a priority goal of the national research agenda.Read moreRead less
Can and should we link data at a national level? Vaccine safety surveillance: A case study. This project provides many benefits for the community, exploring the legal and ethical issues around consent for data linkage, convening Citizens' Juries to weigh the evidence and make recommendations. It addresses National Research Priorities: Promoting and Maintaining Good Health and Safeguarding Australia as well as National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy priorities. It uses vaccine sa ....Can and should we link data at a national level? Vaccine safety surveillance: A case study. This project provides many benefits for the community, exploring the legal and ethical issues around consent for data linkage, convening Citizens' Juries to weigh the evidence and make recommendations. It addresses National Research Priorities: Promoting and Maintaining Good Health and Safeguarding Australia as well as National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy priorities. It uses vaccine safety surveillance as a case study to evaluate the effectiveness of data linkage (through linking Commonwealth immunisation data to state hospital data) and the methodologies and lessons learnt from cross jurisdictional data linkage can be transferred to other areas. Read moreRead less
The development of emotion regulation strategies and their relationships with psychological wellbeing: A long-term follow-up study. A largely neglected area, emotion regulation in young people will be comprehensively examined. The first of its kind worldwide, this research will provide a rich understanding of the development of emotion regulation over the course of development from late childhood to early adulthood. An understanding of the role played by emotion regulation in wellbeing will prov ....The development of emotion regulation strategies and their relationships with psychological wellbeing: A long-term follow-up study. A largely neglected area, emotion regulation in young people will be comprehensively examined. The first of its kind worldwide, this research will provide a rich understanding of the development of emotion regulation over the course of development from late childhood to early adulthood. An understanding of the role played by emotion regulation in wellbeing will provide important foundations for the development of intervention and prevention strategies that incorporate emotional functioning processes. This is predicted to result in a marked increase in the efficacy of existing prevention and intervention efforts which will lead to significant health care cost savings and social benefits, particularly for our youth.Read moreRead less