Enhancing wellbeing over the family life course. This project aims to investigate the impact of family life transitions, such as relationship formation and dissolution or births, on wellbeing over the life course. It will do this by analysing data following people over time and will provide information about the negative and positive effects of family transitions for wellbeing, track changes in wellbeing before, during and after transitions, and highlight the intersections of the family life cou ....Enhancing wellbeing over the family life course. This project aims to investigate the impact of family life transitions, such as relationship formation and dissolution or births, on wellbeing over the life course. It will do this by analysing data following people over time and will provide information about the negative and positive effects of family transitions for wellbeing, track changes in wellbeing before, during and after transitions, and highlight the intersections of the family life course with gender, age and socioeconomic status. This will considerably enhance understandings of wellbeing over the family life course, providing insights for targeted policies and interventions to improve health and wellbeing.Read moreRead less
Socio-economic determinants and health inequalities over the life course: Australian and English comparisons. Our multidisciplinary investigation will yield Australia's first major body of knowledge on the socio-economic determinants of health and health inequalities over the life course. It will point the way towards policies that can promote health and reduce the health inequalities experienced by disadvantaged individuals and families. It will indicate how improving the health of ageing Aus ....Socio-economic determinants and health inequalities over the life course: Australian and English comparisons. Our multidisciplinary investigation will yield Australia's first major body of knowledge on the socio-economic determinants of health and health inequalities over the life course. It will point the way towards policies that can promote health and reduce the health inequalities experienced by disadvantaged individuals and families. It will indicate how improving the health of ageing Australian men and women can increase productivity and reduce needs for health services during the rapid population ageing that lies ahead. Comparisons with England will inform policy choices. We will train researchers who will play a future role in building Australia's evidence base to guide constructive policies to 2020 and beyond.Read moreRead less
Living Alone in Australia Project (LAAP). This study investigates one aspect of the changing nature of Australia's social fabric. It asks whether the sharp rise in living alone reflects a breakdown in Australia's social fabric or simply marks a change in the way in which the fabric is woven. Living alone has important implications for social policy, service provision and housing. But before these implications are identified we need a much better understanding of who lives alone and what living ....Living Alone in Australia Project (LAAP). This study investigates one aspect of the changing nature of Australia's social fabric. It asks whether the sharp rise in living alone reflects a breakdown in Australia's social fabric or simply marks a change in the way in which the fabric is woven. Living alone has important implications for social policy, service provision and housing. But before these implications are identified we need a much better understanding of who lives alone and what living alone means for people in terms of their social ties. By understanding the causes and consequences of the increasing popularity of living alone the study will help identify those who are at ?risk? and thus assist with effective targeting of supports and interventions.Read moreRead less
Pandemic Influenza, Human Resources and Critical Infrastructure Dependencies: Mitigating The Impact on Hospitals. Pandemic planning is conducted from a health-centric model which only considers subsystems within health. This study will determine the impact of a pandemic on the hospital system by failures of human resources and external systems (such as power, finance and teleocmmunications) which comprise critical infrastructure of society. The results will enable identification of key weak poin ....Pandemic Influenza, Human Resources and Critical Infrastructure Dependencies: Mitigating The Impact on Hospitals. Pandemic planning is conducted from a health-centric model which only considers subsystems within health. This study will determine the impact of a pandemic on the hospital system by failures of human resources and external systems (such as power, finance and teleocmmunications) which comprise critical infrastructure of society. The results will enable identification of key weak points, strengthening of health systems and resilience in the event of a pandemic or other disruption.Read moreRead less
The role of the internet in building social capital amongst homosexually active men: virtual communities in HIV prevention. Social capital comprises features of social organisation such as civic participation, norms of reciprocity and trust in others that facilitate cooperation for mutual benefit, including health and wellbeing. The proposed research focuses on the role of the internet in producing the networks that engender social inclusion and community connectedness. There is scepticism about ....The role of the internet in building social capital amongst homosexually active men: virtual communities in HIV prevention. Social capital comprises features of social organisation such as civic participation, norms of reciprocity and trust in others that facilitate cooperation for mutual benefit, including health and wellbeing. The proposed research focuses on the role of the internet in producing the networks that engender social inclusion and community connectedness. There is scepticism about whether the 'virtual community' of the Internet can build social capital. The study will explore the potential benefits as well as harms to those homosexually active men who use the internet to access health information, meet sexual partners and build friendships that affirm gay identity and community inclusion.Read moreRead less
Working longer, staying healthy and keeping productive. Working longer, staying healthy and keeping productive. This project aims to develop a policy suite to respond to an older workforce. By 2060, nearly half of Australians aged 64 or older will be employed. Failure to address their health problems could threaten Australia’s economy, tax base and provision of health and care services. This collaboration between national policy portfolios (employment, social services, workplace health and socia ....Working longer, staying healthy and keeping productive. Working longer, staying healthy and keeping productive. This project aims to develop a policy suite to respond to an older workforce. By 2060, nearly half of Australians aged 64 or older will be employed. Failure to address their health problems could threaten Australia’s economy, tax base and provision of health and care services. This collaboration between national policy portfolios (employment, social services, workplace health and social equity) and expert scientists in work, health, social equality and policy process intends to reveal the diversity of older workers’ work-health dilemmas and effective ways for national policies to solve them. The policy suite will promote financial independence and meet social goals of equity and healthy ageing.Read moreRead less
An action research project to strengthen inter-professional learning and practice across the ACT health system. There are 14 beneficial reasons why this project is vital to the fabric of our nation. These include: the economic benefits of a more efficient health-care system; the social benefits of more responsive and resilient workplaces; the research benefits of better knowledge about how professionals can work together effectively; the consumer benefits of improved patient care; health sector ....An action research project to strengthen inter-professional learning and practice across the ACT health system. There are 14 beneficial reasons why this project is vital to the fabric of our nation. These include: the economic benefits of a more efficient health-care system; the social benefits of more responsive and resilient workplaces; the research benefits of better knowledge about how professionals can work together effectively; the consumer benefits of improved patient care; health sector benefits in assisting health reforms to be more effective; and education sector benefits in understanding how professionals from different disciplines can learn together more collaboratively. The benefits are transferable to other industries and professional groups, as well as to Australia's international partners.Read moreRead less
Impact of parents' employment on children's well-being: The influence of employment quality, time and activities with children, and parenting practices. Most Australian children now grow-up in families where both their mother and their father are employed. Using a new national dataset, this research examines how parents' working conditions are related to children's well-being. It is proposed that parents' availability, resources, and family functioning mediate between parental employment and chi ....Impact of parents' employment on children's well-being: The influence of employment quality, time and activities with children, and parenting practices. Most Australian children now grow-up in families where both their mother and their father are employed. Using a new national dataset, this research examines how parents' working conditions are related to children's well-being. It is proposed that parents' availability, resources, and family functioning mediate between parental employment and child outcomes. The Growing-Up in Australia study (available in 2005) surveys 10,000 children, combining measures of child well-being, existing validated measures of work conditions and family functioning, with a new child-focused diary that measures time and activities undertaken with children. New knowledge generated will inform future policy development.Read moreRead less
Job quality and the mental health and well-being of working parents and their children. Maximizing workforce participation is a national priority, essential to support an ageing population. Also critical is the full development of children's capabilities; part of a healthy start to life. Jobs, parents, children and family life lie at the centre of these priorities. Although employment supports families financially, this may come at a cost if aspects of the job affect parent well-being, or strain ....Job quality and the mental health and well-being of working parents and their children. Maximizing workforce participation is a national priority, essential to support an ageing population. Also critical is the full development of children's capabilities; part of a healthy start to life. Jobs, parents, children and family life lie at the centre of these priorities. Although employment supports families financially, this may come at a cost if aspects of the job affect parent well-being, or strains family relationships, which are critical to children's development and well-being. As well as informing industrial relations changes, this project will benefit the twin economic and social policy goals of workforce participation while at the same time supporting the health and well-being of parents and their children.Read moreRead less
Young injecting drug users, embodied identities and social worlds: an ethnographic study. This research explores the social experience of young injecting drug users, mapping processes of initiation, the hidden drug experience, and modes of maturing out of drug use. It analyses and compares the trajectories of young drug users in both rural and urban contexts, focusing on the experience of embodied selfhood, social worlds and identities, exploring injecting use as a medium of relationship with t ....Young injecting drug users, embodied identities and social worlds: an ethnographic study. This research explores the social experience of young injecting drug users, mapping processes of initiation, the hidden drug experience, and modes of maturing out of drug use. It analyses and compares the trajectories of young drug users in both rural and urban contexts, focusing on the experience of embodied selfhood, social worlds and identities, exploring injecting use as a medium of relationship with the self and the other, and mapping social networks and cultures of risk. It will develop key implications for national and local drug policy in three critical areas: prevention, harm minimisation and withdrawal.Read moreRead less