Communication Connect: Improving Long Term Communication And Mental Health Outcomes Following Stroke And Brain Injury
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,809,756.00
Summary
The 250,000 Australians living in the community with communication disability caused by stroke and traumatic brain injury experience unacceptably high rates of depression, anxiety, inactivity and social isolation. Their carers experience high levels of burden, and they struggle to access health and community services. We aim to develop and test a program of community and self-managed care, aimed at reversing these negative impacts and reducing reliance on high cost health care services.
Identifying A Modifiable Risk Factor For PTSD: Insomnia-related Disruption Of Trauma Recovery Mechanisms
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,072,993.00
Summary
About 4.6 million Australians will experience PTSD during their life. Having insomnia before or immediately after trauma exposure makes it 2.5-3 times more likely someone will develop PTSD, but no one knows why. This project will, for the first time, propose and test a reason why insomnia increases the risk of PTSD. If successful, we will identify one of the few risk factors that can actually be modified in order to reduce the likelihood of developing PTSD after a trauma.
A Practice Change For Patients With Severe Chronic, Clinically Unexplained Gastrointestinal Symptoms: A Randomised, Controlled Intervention To Assess Efficacy And Cost-effectiveness
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,276,080.00
Summary
Unexplained chronic gastrointestinal symptoms are extremely common and costly to the health system. Currently patients are managed in the hospital setting with the 'typical' face-to-face office-based model which sees the clinician spending valuable time gathering information and often treatments (e.g. allied health) delivered in a non-standard way. This project will evaluate the effectiveness of a new standard best-practice clinical model with a structured technology enabled management approach.
The LAPSE Study: Impact Of Local Sleep In The ADHD Brain
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$621,113.00
Summary
Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is characterised by inappropriate levels of inattention. ADHD patients also frequently experience sleep disturbances and abnormal daytime sleepiness. We will examine to what extent sleep disturbances can account for ADHD symptoms by examining if the attentional deficits associated with ADHD can be explained by a phenomenon called local sleep, whereby parts of the brain spontaneously fall asleep in the context of a globally awake brain.
Unravelling The Behavioural And Brain Mechanisms Of Compulsive Disorders, And New Ways To Treat Them
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$635,076.00
Summary
Disorders of compulsion, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and substance use disorder, are chronic, debilitating, and present a significant cost to the individual and to society. Together, these disorders affect more than 10% of the population. Moreover, 40-60% of these individuals are resistant to current treatment. The current project is aimed at improving the preclinical research underlying our understanding the behavioural and brain mechanisms of such disorders and how to treat them.
Understanding The Role Of Light Exposure In Individual Differences In The Circadian Response To Shift Work
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$803,672.00
Summary
This study will evaluate the effects of environmental light exposure on the response of the circadian pacemaker to night shift in a large sample of shift workers. It will refine a novel biomathematical model of the circadian pacemaker to improve predictions of circadian timing for individual shift workers. This prediction will inform personalised recommendations to enhance circadian adaptation to night shift and reduce the negative implications of circadian misalignment on health and safety.
Orygen Virtual World Project: Bringing To Life A New Age Of Digitally Enhanced Youth Mental Health Services
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$396,423.00
Summary
Providing mental health care to young people is essential as we know that most mental health problems begin before the age of 25. Harnessing technologies to connect young people to youth mental health (YMH) services remotely has enormous potential to improve access and engagement. The project aims to design a unique virtual world or 'clinic' with the help of young people with lived experience and then test three types of therapy to see if they are liked by young people and feasible to deliver.
Working With Horses To Promote The Wellbeing Of Aboriginal Youth: An Experiential Learning Approach For The Kimberley
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,516,797.00
Summary
This project aims to implement an Aboriginal-led Equine-Assisted Learning (EAL) program in multiple locations across the Kimberley to enhance the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal youth. EAL is a learning approach where participants learn important life skills by 'doing' activities with horses. These activities enhance problem-solving skills, communication, selfâawareness, and emotional regulation by engaging multiple brain systems, which can help cope with disruptive life stressors.