Attrition in longitudinal studies: advancing and evaluating statistical methods. Longitudinal studies are a vital tool for monitoring the health and well-being of Australians. They are uniquely placed to examine changes in diseases over time and prospectively collect data on exposure and disease onset. There have been many successful longitudinal studies in Australia that have lead to significant breakthroughs in evidence-based health (e.g. the Nambour Skin Cancer Prevention Trial). Unfortunatel ....Attrition in longitudinal studies: advancing and evaluating statistical methods. Longitudinal studies are a vital tool for monitoring the health and well-being of Australians. They are uniquely placed to examine changes in diseases over time and prospectively collect data on exposure and disease onset. There have been many successful longitudinal studies in Australia that have lead to significant breakthroughs in evidence-based health (e.g. the Nambour Skin Cancer Prevention Trial). Unfortunately all longitudinal studies suffer from attrition, or loss of participants, which leads to questions concerning their validity and generalisability. This project will investigate the causes of attrition, and the effect attrition has on longitudinal studies, in order to improve their design and analysis.Read moreRead less
Targeting early contact with the criminal justice system in young people. This project aims to identify who and why young people first come in contact with the criminal justice system and what determines the early course of contact. The project will focus on first police contact, as a victim, witness or offender, as a means of identifying young people at-risk of adverse life outcomes. It intends to build on the NSW Child Development Study, a large population-based intergenerational cohort, to de ....Targeting early contact with the criminal justice system in young people. This project aims to identify who and why young people first come in contact with the criminal justice system and what determines the early course of contact. The project will focus on first police contact, as a victim, witness or offender, as a means of identifying young people at-risk of adverse life outcomes. It intends to build on the NSW Child Development Study, a large population-based intergenerational cohort, to develop services and interventions aimed at preventing young people from becoming enmeshed in the criminal justice system.Read moreRead less
Transition to adulthood: the wellbeing of young women and men in Australia. How do young Australians make the transition from adolescence to adulthood in the 21st century, and is it different for women and men? This project seeks to understand the life transitions, plans, and emotional wellbeing of young Australians, providing evidence to underlie policy that supports the wellbeing of all emerging adults.
Humanitarian migrants' settlement in Australia: A longitudinal study. Current evidence suggests that humanitarian migrants settle less successfully than other immigrants both economically and socially. This project aims to examine the causal mechanisms and pathways to economic, sociocultural and political settlement outcomes of humanitarian migrants to Australia. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of humanitarian migrants’ settlement by using nationally representative dat ....Humanitarian migrants' settlement in Australia: A longitudinal study. Current evidence suggests that humanitarian migrants settle less successfully than other immigrants both economically and socially. This project aims to examine the causal mechanisms and pathways to economic, sociocultural and political settlement outcomes of humanitarian migrants to Australia. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of humanitarian migrants’ settlement by using nationally representative data and cutting-edge longitudinal techniques.Expected outcomes include enhanced research capacity in causal methods, interdisciplinary and institutional collaborations, and evidence-based social policy for humanitarian migrants, significantly benefitting humanitarian migrants directly and society more broadly. Read moreRead less
An Investigation into Suicidal Behaviours by Males during the Process of Marital and De Facto Separation. The project has a likelihood of reducing rates of fatal and non-fatal suicidal behaviour by high-risk groups such as males aged 25 - 44, and growing Australian populations such as the separated/divorced. The anticipated saving of lives, injuries, and mental distress is expected to achieve substantial and sustainable cutback in individual, corporate and public expenditure on mental health, i ....An Investigation into Suicidal Behaviours by Males during the Process of Marital and De Facto Separation. The project has a likelihood of reducing rates of fatal and non-fatal suicidal behaviour by high-risk groups such as males aged 25 - 44, and growing Australian populations such as the separated/divorced. The anticipated saving of lives, injuries, and mental distress is expected to achieve substantial and sustainable cutback in individual, corporate and public expenditure on mental health, injury control and suicide prevention by government, community and corporate agencies. Time and personnel resources utilised by the police, ambulance, coroner, hospital, and insurance departments can be diverted from highly preventable suicides to other areas. Read moreRead less
Epidemiology of pathogens in wildlife populations: significance for conservation, human health and livestock. Recent research shows that pathogens may play a central role in wildlife population dynamics. Emergent disease problems in humans and livestock may result from reservoir infections in wildlife. However, methods to determine the impact of pathogens on populations, as distinct from individuals within populations, are poorly developed, as are models necessary to evaluate alternative control ....Epidemiology of pathogens in wildlife populations: significance for conservation, human health and livestock. Recent research shows that pathogens may play a central role in wildlife population dynamics. Emergent disease problems in humans and livestock may result from reservoir infections in wildlife. However, methods to determine the impact of pathogens on populations, as distinct from individuals within populations, are poorly developed, as are models necessary to evaluate alternative control strategies for pathogens, particularly where reservoir hosts are involved. This project will develop these methods using four case studies: chyridiomycosis in frogs, Hendra virus in bats, Newcastle disease in wild birds and arboviruses in kangaroos and other macropods.Read moreRead less
Occupational injury prevention in high temperature environments. This project aims to explore the contribution of heat as a risk factor in work-related illness and injury. Approximately 600 000 Australians experience a work-related illness or injury each year. Hot weather may directly or indirectly lead to accidents, but heat as a risk factor has not been systematically explored, and is particularly relevant in a warming climate. This project aims to improve safety and productivity in Australian ....Occupational injury prevention in high temperature environments. This project aims to explore the contribution of heat as a risk factor in work-related illness and injury. Approximately 600 000 Australians experience a work-related illness or injury each year. Hot weather may directly or indirectly lead to accidents, but heat as a risk factor has not been systematically explored, and is particularly relevant in a warming climate. This project aims to improve safety and productivity in Australian industry by generating new evidence and predictive models to inform injury prevention policy and guidance, and facilitating the development of practical, targeted resources. This project expects to add to the body of knowledge regarding workers’ health and safety and to be of benefit to industry and subpopulations at risk.Read moreRead less
Epidemiology and pathogenesis of chytridiomycosis in Australian frogs. Strong evidence exists that chytridiomycosis is an introduced disease of amphibians that has caused mass mortality resulting in amphibian population declines and extinctions. Epidemiologic studies will include i) field and experimental studies to determine mortality rates, transmission rates, differences in species susceptibility, and persistence of the pathogen as a saprobe, and ii) molecular epidemiology of fungal strains t ....Epidemiology and pathogenesis of chytridiomycosis in Australian frogs. Strong evidence exists that chytridiomycosis is an introduced disease of amphibians that has caused mass mortality resulting in amphibian population declines and extinctions. Epidemiologic studies will include i) field and experimental studies to determine mortality rates, transmission rates, differences in species susceptibility, and persistence of the pathogen as a saprobe, and ii) molecular epidemiology of fungal strains to examine spread and origin. Pathogenicity studies will be aimed at how chytridiomycosis causes death in frogs. The results will be significant for the conservation of amphibians worldwide and in improving our understanding of diseases in free-living animals.Read moreRead less
Disease in endangered species: The importance of multiple-host infection and spatial structure. Pathogens are increasingly recognised as threats to endangered species. Managing such threats requires models to assess alternative strategies. Most current models deal with a single host and single pathogen, without spatial structure, although multiple-host pathogens pose the greatest conservation threats. This project develops a new generation of spatially-structured multiple-host models, and applie ....Disease in endangered species: The importance of multiple-host infection and spatial structure. Pathogens are increasingly recognised as threats to endangered species. Managing such threats requires models to assess alternative strategies. Most current models deal with a single host and single pathogen, without spatial structure, although multiple-host pathogens pose the greatest conservation threats. This project develops a new generation of spatially-structured multiple-host models, and applies them to two case studies. The first is the chytrid fungus that is thought to have lead to widespread declines and extinctions of frogs in Australia and overseas. The second is birdpox and malaria that have led to the extinction and endangerment of much of Hawaii's endemic avifauna.Read moreRead less
Bereavement of suicide and sudden death. Losing someone to suicide can have devastating affects on the survivors left behind. The aims of the present study include the identification of the processes and impacts of bereavement on survivors in various age groups. It also aims to identify critical points during the bereavement and factors which exacerbate and moderate negative impacts. This has been previously neglected in suicide research in Australia and its findings will add a multi-dimensional ....Bereavement of suicide and sudden death. Losing someone to suicide can have devastating affects on the survivors left behind. The aims of the present study include the identification of the processes and impacts of bereavement on survivors in various age groups. It also aims to identify critical points during the bereavement and factors which exacerbate and moderate negative impacts. This has been previously neglected in suicide research in Australia and its findings will add a multi-dimensional aspect to postvention not currently understood. It is expected that findings will help develop guidelines to ensure more effective detection and intervention for survivors, as well as enhancing social support and personal resilience.Read moreRead less