A prospective study of the mental health of grandparents providing part-time child care for their preschool age grandchildren. This project addresses national research priorities and will identify the characteristics of a high-risk subgroup of Australian grandparents for whom the childcare burden has a deleterious impact on health and well being. Results will enable development of improved approaches to education and awareness in health professionals and the lay community about this subgroup, fa ....A prospective study of the mental health of grandparents providing part-time child care for their preschool age grandchildren. This project addresses national research priorities and will identify the characteristics of a high-risk subgroup of Australian grandparents for whom the childcare burden has a deleterious impact on health and well being. Results will enable development of improved approaches to education and awareness in health professionals and the lay community about this subgroup, facilitating early identification and intervention. The study will provide evidence-based guidance to policy makers about the most appropriate support services for grandparents involved in high levels of childcare, reducing their level of stress and improving the quality of the childcare they provide.
Read moreRead less
The importance of gender and socio-economic disadvantage for the mental health of people living with disabilities. The twenty per cent of Australians reporting a disability are more likely to live in disadvantaged circumstances such as inadequate housing, unemployment, and lower levels of education all of which may contribute to poor mental health. Yet there has not been research on the mental health of people with disabilities. This means that disability services and advocacy groups, which deal ....The importance of gender and socio-economic disadvantage for the mental health of people living with disabilities. The twenty per cent of Australians reporting a disability are more likely to live in disadvantaged circumstances such as inadequate housing, unemployment, and lower levels of education all of which may contribute to poor mental health. Yet there has not been research on the mental health of people with disabilities. This means that disability services and advocacy groups, which deal daily with the lived experiences of disadvantage and poor mental health in people with disabilities, do not have evidence to support policy and service sector reform. This project will provide this critical evidence as well as build research capacity in disability-related research and lead to better monitoring of disability-related health inequities.Read moreRead less
Strengthening Indigenous adolescent mental health and wellbeing. Using Continous Quality Improvement processes, the research will collaboratively conceptualise, design, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of new approaches to mental health service delivery for adolescents aged 10-24 in three regionally diverse Indigenous Primary Healthcare Services. Expected research outcomes are a rigorous assessment of the impact and economic benefits of making quality improvements to mental health servic ....Strengthening Indigenous adolescent mental health and wellbeing. Using Continous Quality Improvement processes, the research will collaboratively conceptualise, design, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of new approaches to mental health service delivery for adolescents aged 10-24 in three regionally diverse Indigenous Primary Healthcare Services. Expected research outcomes are a rigorous assessment of the impact and economic benefits of making quality improvements to mental health services for Indigenous adolescents, Key benefits are 1) A locally-responsive adolescent mental health screening instrument; 2) Comprehensive evidence-informed service model in adolescent mental healthcare; 3) Best practice protocol for developing and managing adolescent mental health as a service delivery stream. Read moreRead less
Stopping the run-around: comorbidity action in the north (CAN). The purpose of the project is to identify the barriers and facilitators to effective use of mental health and drug and alcohol services in a metropolitan region of South Australia. The evidence base will then drive the development and implementation of effective change to service delivery to improve outcomes for people with comorbidity.
Influences on farmer suicide in Queensland and New South Wales. Australian farmers have been identified as being at high-risk of suicide. This project will provide direction for targeted suicide prevention strategies by quantifying the individual and environmental factors that place farmers at higher risk of suicide, as well as the protective factors that may buffer against suicide and suicidal behaviours.
Children's memory for traumatic events. Many children are exposed to negative and distressing events. Understanding the processes underlying memories of such events is critical, especially in the present world climate in which the Australian public is increasingly confronted with threats of terrorism and other negative world events. This research will contribute directly to understanding why some children develop maladaptive responses to major life events, and others appear to adjust with few ps ....Children's memory for traumatic events. Many children are exposed to negative and distressing events. Understanding the processes underlying memories of such events is critical, especially in the present world climate in which the Australian public is increasingly confronted with threats of terrorism and other negative world events. This research will contribute directly to understanding why some children develop maladaptive responses to major life events, and others appear to adjust with few psychological difficulties. The research will pinpoint better management strategies for children affected by trauma by improved understanding of how traumatic memories are developed, as well as identifying critical variables that are amenable to change early after trauma exposure.Read moreRead less
An investigation of the cognitive processes underlying intrusive traumatic cognition. Intrusive unpleasant thoughts and memories occur in sufferers of anxiety and depression, and are common in normal individuals. Understanding the processes underlying intrusive cognition is critical, especially in the present world climate in which the Australian public is increasingly confronted with threats of terrorism and other negative world events. This research will have the direct benefit of leading to i ....An investigation of the cognitive processes underlying intrusive traumatic cognition. Intrusive unpleasant thoughts and memories occur in sufferers of anxiety and depression, and are common in normal individuals. Understanding the processes underlying intrusive cognition is critical, especially in the present world climate in which the Australian public is increasingly confronted with threats of terrorism and other negative world events. This research will have the direct benefit of leading to improved health of sufferers of anxiety and depression in the Australian community, and has the potential to increase normal individuals' ability to contribute to society by reducing intrusions that can interfere with work productivity, promote absenteeism, and have a negative impact on general wellbeing.Read moreRead less
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 NSW child development study. Research shows that a child's development predicts health and social outcomes later in life. This Australian project will be the first to identify risk and protective factors associated with these outcomes in 87,000 children from birth to 10 years. The results will help inform governments to improve our children's health and educational achievements.
Normative study of a checklist of emotional and behavioural disturbance in adults with intellectual disability. People with intellectual disability (ID) are three times more likely to suffer mental illness than the general community, making this a bigger problem than schizophrenia. They are a great burden to their carers and cost to the community but their mental health problems remain largely untreated. This study aims to conduct the largest and most comprehensive survey of the mental health ....Normative study of a checklist of emotional and behavioural disturbance in adults with intellectual disability. People with intellectual disability (ID) are three times more likely to suffer mental illness than the general community, making this a bigger problem than schizophrenia. They are a great burden to their carers and cost to the community but their mental health problems remain largely untreated. This study aims to conduct the largest and most comprehensive survey of the mental health of adults with ID that has been undertaken internationally to date. The population will cover the age span of late adolescence (16 years) through the transition to adult life then through to the elderly. The research will establish the prevalence and nature of mental illness and potential risk factors in a large representative population of adults with ID.Read moreRead less