Predictors And Consequences Of Allergies That Impact On Children Getting A Healthy Start To Life:a Prospective Study
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$893,559.00
Summary
Allergic diseases prevent Australian children getting a healthy start to life by causing long term illnesses. This group of diseases includes asthma, hay fever, eczema and food allergies. Half of all Australian children are born into families with a history of these conditions and these children are at increased risk. Some of these children develop allergies while the others do not. It is also known that allergic conditions change over time, but we have no information on causes of these changes. ....Allergic diseases prevent Australian children getting a healthy start to life by causing long term illnesses. This group of diseases includes asthma, hay fever, eczema and food allergies. Half of all Australian children are born into families with a history of these conditions and these children are at increased risk. Some of these children develop allergies while the others do not. It is also known that allergic conditions change over time, but we have no information on causes of these changes. For example some infants with eczema continue to have eczema or develop hay fever and asthma, while others do not. The aim of this study is to determine what factors cause allergies and what factors influence these changes. This will provide evidence to guide health policy and clinical practice. Looking at the different conditions in family members over time is a good way to answer these types of questions, because parents and siblings share similar exposures, but not all the same genes. This helps to disentangle the effects of the environment and genes. The Melbourne Atopic Cohort Study (MACS) is amongst the world�s major studies on the development of allergies. MACS commenced in 1991-94 by recruiting 620 babies prior to birth. Only infants born into families with a history of allergic disease were included. MACS is unique because all family members and the home environment were assessed at the time of birth of the child. These children have been followed regularly over the first ten years of their life. The MACS now provides a unique opportunity to conduct a family study that can examine genes, childhood environment and individual risk factors for allergies. This will also allow exploration of the impact of allergies on families and the health care system, and how we can reduce that impact. Such information will provide evidence to guide health care policy and clinical practice. Also, the current study will provide a platform for future studies to investigate the progression of allergies in this family cohort. This will be the world's only longitudinal family follow-up of allergies that spans all of childhood. It will assist in reducing the impact of these common conditions, and the findings will be original and significant not only in Australia but also internationally.Read moreRead less
Studies in cancer control. As life expectancy in Australia (and throughout the world) continues to rise, so will the burden of cancer escalate. Treating cancer after diagnosis is costly, and in many instances, unsuccessful. Preventive strategies promise to reduce the future cancer burden, yet our knowledge in this arena is limited by the lack of credible research as to what works and what does not. This application addresses this gap directly by conducting research into the control of two cancer ....Studies in cancer control. As life expectancy in Australia (and throughout the world) continues to rise, so will the burden of cancer escalate. Treating cancer after diagnosis is costly, and in many instances, unsuccessful. Preventive strategies promise to reduce the future cancer burden, yet our knowledge in this arena is limited by the lack of credible research as to what works and what does not. This application addresses this gap directly by conducting research into the control of two cancers which exact a growing toll in Australia and elsewhere. The work seeks to identify and understand the causal pathways to cancer, and then use this information to devise evidence-based strategies for cancer control.Read moreRead less
Maintaining And Developing The Health In Men Study
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$403,014.00
Summary
The aim of this study is to improve our understanding of healthy aging in older men. The outcomes we are interested in include common acute medical problems such as heart attacks or stroke, chronic debitilating problems such as dementia or heart failure and psycho-social challenges of ageing such as depression and isolation. We have been studying a group (4,250) men for nearly a decade. These men have provided us with a large amount of information about their background, life style and health an ....The aim of this study is to improve our understanding of healthy aging in older men. The outcomes we are interested in include common acute medical problems such as heart attacks or stroke, chronic debitilating problems such as dementia or heart failure and psycho-social challenges of ageing such as depression and isolation. We have been studying a group (4,250) men for nearly a decade. These men have provided us with a large amount of information about their background, life style and health and we are now following them to see what predicts the outcomes of interest. This research is important because the proportion of the population aged 75 years and over is expanding rapidly. Although we know a lot about predictors of health and illness in middle age, we know surprisingly little about these things in the elderly. This research aims to answer some of these questions.Read moreRead less
The use of social marketing strategies and adult education principles to improve asthma self management in older people. Asthma is estimated to affect up to 10 per cent of people aged 65+ some of whom experience the condition for the first time later in life. Mortality rates from asthma in Australia are highest in the older population and statistics show that older people are most likely to be admitted to hospital following attendance at an Emergency Department for asthma. Older people lack aw ....The use of social marketing strategies and adult education principles to improve asthma self management in older people. Asthma is estimated to affect up to 10 per cent of people aged 65+ some of whom experience the condition for the first time later in life. Mortality rates from asthma in Australia are highest in the older population and statistics show that older people are most likely to be admitted to hospital following attendance at an Emergency Department for asthma. Older people lack awareness about asthma, often manage it poorly, and their health related quality of life is impacted by asthma. There is disparity in asthma information, management and service provision targeted specifically to the needs of the elderly. This project will provide much-needed evidence on the effectiveness of carefully researched and targeted programs for older asthmatics.Read moreRead less
The effectiveness of pro-active telemarketing of a smoking cessation telephone counselling service. Despite the availability of services, such as telephone support lines to help people quit, only a small number of smokers seek help. One solution is to pro-actively contact and offer support with quitting to smokers in the community. This study will involve pro-actively contacting households by telephone and offering intensive, personalised telephone counselling to smokers to support them in the q ....The effectiveness of pro-active telemarketing of a smoking cessation telephone counselling service. Despite the availability of services, such as telephone support lines to help people quit, only a small number of smokers seek help. One solution is to pro-actively contact and offer support with quitting to smokers in the community. This study will involve pro-actively contacting households by telephone and offering intensive, personalised telephone counselling to smokers to support them in the quitting process. Such a service will provide treatment to smokers who might not otherwise seek assistance to quit, thereby greatly increasing the potential impact of quit smoking services at a community level.Read moreRead less
Combating rising sexually transmitted infections among older Australians. This project aims to explore older Australians' knowledge of, and safe sexual practices in regards to, sexually transmitted infections (STIs). STI rates have increased rapidly amongst older age groups in recent years, yet there is a significant research gap concerning older Australians' knowledge of STIs and the preventative sexual practices they engage in. This project is understood to be the only known Australian study c ....Combating rising sexually transmitted infections among older Australians. This project aims to explore older Australians' knowledge of, and safe sexual practices in regards to, sexually transmitted infections (STIs). STI rates have increased rapidly amongst older age groups in recent years, yet there is a significant research gap concerning older Australians' knowledge of STIs and the preventative sexual practices they engage in. This project is understood to be the only known Australian study considering older people's knowledge and practices in relation to STI prevention. In examining this issue the project aims to contribute towards the development of policy and educational resources for older Australians, and is expected to work towards enabling optimal sexual health for older individuals.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354827
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
HEALTHY AGEING - PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION (HA-PI) NETWORK:
A RESEARCH NETWORK PROPOSAL ON THE BIOLOGICAL, SOCIAL AND PRIMARY CARE DYNAMICS OF AGEING
. Australian ageing research is dispersed across bioscience, social science and primary care organisations. Advances in healthy, productive ageing require connection of these three vital links. Bioscience and social science groupings are engaged in generating the evidence that primary care experts need to promote healthy ageing. Primary ....HEALTHY AGEING - PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION (HA-PI) NETWORK:
A RESEARCH NETWORK PROPOSAL ON THE BIOLOGICAL, SOCIAL AND PRIMARY CARE DYNAMICS OF AGEING
. Australian ageing research is dispersed across bioscience, social science and primary care organisations. Advances in healthy, productive ageing require connection of these three vital links. Bioscience and social science groupings are engaged in generating the evidence that primary care experts need to promote healthy ageing. Primary care experts also need to act as ?direction finders? for research on ageing so that the right questions are addressed. All these groups are relatively under-funded and poorly connected. The HA-PI Network will connect and support them to over-come barriers to the implementation of existing research and to create innovations for the future.Read moreRead less
Using mathematical modelling to inform HIV/AIDS public health policy. This research will directly inform HIV/AIDS policy officials on the most effective strategies for preventing new cases in HIV in the community. Consequently, there are health benefits for Australia and for the other countries in which the research is being conducted. HIV/AIDS community groups, educators, and other advocacy groups will also be engaged in the research, leading to the development of focussed prevention campaigns ....Using mathematical modelling to inform HIV/AIDS public health policy. This research will directly inform HIV/AIDS policy officials on the most effective strategies for preventing new cases in HIV in the community. Consequently, there are health benefits for Australia and for the other countries in which the research is being conducted. HIV/AIDS community groups, educators, and other advocacy groups will also be engaged in the research, leading to the development of focussed prevention campaigns by these stakeholders to inform the appropriate communities. Reducing the health burdens of HIV/AIDS will also have economic benefits.Read moreRead less
Ginger-based agents for delaying the onset of metabolic syndrome: type-2 diabetes and dyslipidemia. We will determine the potential of ginger, a relatively safe and popular food and spice, to be developed as a preventative nutraceutical agent to delay the onset of type 2 diabetes and its complications. Our research will allow us to formulate a standardised ginger preparation of known mechanism of action that delivers safe and reproducible effects The project has the capacity to reduce the debili ....Ginger-based agents for delaying the onset of metabolic syndrome: type-2 diabetes and dyslipidemia. We will determine the potential of ginger, a relatively safe and popular food and spice, to be developed as a preventative nutraceutical agent to delay the onset of type 2 diabetes and its complications. Our research will allow us to formulate a standardised ginger preparation of known mechanism of action that delivers safe and reproducible effects The project has the capacity to reduce the debilitating effects of type 2 diabetes in the nation's health and its high economic costs, and to improve the quality of life of the Australian community, more than 1 million of whom are affected by this growing epidemic.Read moreRead less