Defining Risk And Mechanisms Of Permucosal Transmission For Acute HCV Infection Within High-risk Populations.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$395,182.00
Summary
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is usually transmitted by blood-to-blood contact. The risk of transmission by sexual contact has been thought to be low. However, in recent years increasing hepatitis C infection has been documented among HIV-positive gay men, with sexual contact the most most likely means of infection in the majority of cases. This grant will use established cohorts to define levels of hepatitis C risk through sexual contact among homosexual men to inform public health strategies.
Cohort Study Of Risk Factors For Young Driver Injuries
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$689,830.00
Summary
Injuries impose a substantial burden on young people, both in Australia and internationally. In 1998, 70% of all deaths among young men, and 57% of deaths among young women, aged 15-24 years in Australia were due to injuries. The single largest cause of injury-related fatalities, hospital admissions and emergency department presentations among this age group is transport-related incidents. Technological advances in motor vehicle engineering and road design, and the implementation of various road ....Injuries impose a substantial burden on young people, both in Australia and internationally. In 1998, 70% of all deaths among young men, and 57% of deaths among young women, aged 15-24 years in Australia were due to injuries. The single largest cause of injury-related fatalities, hospital admissions and emergency department presentations among this age group is transport-related incidents. Technological advances in motor vehicle engineering and road design, and the implementation of various road safety measures, such as random breath testing, have led to an overall decline in the incidence of motor vehicle-related injuries in Australia in the past three decades. However, young people still have substantially higher rates of motor vehicle-related mortality than older people. This suggests that if the burden of injuries among young drivers is to be reduced to levels that are at least as comparable with those in other age-groups, then the identification of factors that are specifically associated with an increased risk of motor vehicle injury among young people, must be a priority. The current study aims to determine the role of several postulated risk factors in the incidence of young driver injuries. The specific risk factors to be examined include pre-licence road and driving exposure-experience; type, quality and quantity of driver training; and road risk perceptions and engagement in sensation seeking behaviours. The study also seeks to determine whether factors associated with increased risk of driver injury are the same for different socio-economic groups and for different ethnic and cultural groups. Information obtained in this study should provide reliable evidence about causal factors for motor vehicle crash injury among young drivers. Such information should be useful to licensing and road safety professionals, in the design of practical road safety strategies aimed at reducing the burden of young driver injuries.Read moreRead less
This study will follow up over 12,000 men aged 65-83 years who have previously completed a questionnaire about their medical, social, family and occupational history and lifestyle and have undergone a simple physical examination (height, weight, waist, girth at the hips and blood pressure). The first aim is to determine which of these factors predicts serious ill-health from heart disease, stroke and certain cancers in old age. In addition, we will test the hypothesis that risk factors for heart ....This study will follow up over 12,000 men aged 65-83 years who have previously completed a questionnaire about their medical, social, family and occupational history and lifestyle and have undergone a simple physical examination (height, weight, waist, girth at the hips and blood pressure). The first aim is to determine which of these factors predicts serious ill-health from heart disease, stroke and certain cancers in old age. In addition, we will test the hypothesis that risk factors for heart disease also predict the development of dementia because it seems that part of dementia in some patients is explained by their having suffered multiple small strokes. Finally, we will examine the relationship between development of dementia and previous major surgery as there is growing evidence that major surgical operations in older patients can be followed by confusion and impairment of thinking that may never recover fully. The overall aim is to discover preventable factors for several of the leading causes of ill-health in old age.Read moreRead less
Follow Up Of The 1985 Australian Schools Health And Fitness Survey Cohort
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,309,456.00
Summary
This study provides a unique opportunity to follow up a cohort of children on which an extensive range of physical and lifestyle measures were made in 1985. This study has the capacity to find out whether childhood lifestyle and physical measures are related to the risk of heart disease, diabetes and other common health problems in adulthood.
Mortality In Young Offenders Who Have Had Custodial Sentences
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$60,448.00
Summary
The proposal seeks funding to investigate the death rate in young people who have received custodial sentences. There is evidence in the literature and anecdotal evidence from workers in the field that young offenders are at particularly high risk of dying from drug overdose, violently or by suicide, yet deaths in this group have not yet been investigated in Australia. As far as we are aware, there are also no reports worldwide of standardised mortality rates for young offenders who have been in ....The proposal seeks funding to investigate the death rate in young people who have received custodial sentences. There is evidence in the literature and anecdotal evidence from workers in the field that young offenders are at particularly high risk of dying from drug overdose, violently or by suicide, yet deaths in this group have not yet been investigated in Australia. As far as we are aware, there are also no reports worldwide of standardised mortality rates for young offenders who have been incarcerated. A group of young people who have received their first custodial sentences between 1988 and 1999 in Victoria will be identified, starting with 10 year olds in 1988. Their details will then be matched with data held by The National Death index, housed at the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, and with the Victorian Coroner's data in order to identify deaths that have occurred, the cause of death and the circumstances of death. This will provide an index of the excess deaths experienced by this group of young offenders compared with Victorian population data for the same age group and gender. Further analysis will elucidate cause specific mortality, will enable the identification of subgroups at particular risk and the examination of trends over time. The study will provide a solid foundation for health priorities, the development of interventions and policy in relation to young offenders. It will provide a resource for Australasia and be of worldwide interest. Juvenile offenders are a well-defined group who has extended contact with support services. There is a unique opportunity for the delivery of interventions aimed at improving the welfare and adult outcomes of this enormously disadvantaged and marginalised section of our community. The Centre for Adolescent Health, as the auspicing body for the Adolescent Forensic Health Service is in an excellent position to respond to this challenge.Read moreRead less
Psychosocial Disorders Of Youth: A Population-based Prospective Study Into Young Adulthood
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$450,939.00
Summary
Much earlier work in adults has pointed to the teens as a common point at which many of the important causes of chronic disease and disability in adults begin. These include problems such as tobacco use, depression and anxiety disorders, obesity, alcohol abuse and illicit drug use. However, only a prospective study is able to clarify to what extent common health risk behaviours of teenagers pose a threat to later health and well-being and what characteristics indicate those most likely to go on ....Much earlier work in adults has pointed to the teens as a common point at which many of the important causes of chronic disease and disability in adults begin. These include problems such as tobacco use, depression and anxiety disorders, obesity, alcohol abuse and illicit drug use. However, only a prospective study is able to clarify to what extent common health risk behaviours of teenagers pose a threat to later health and well-being and what characteristics indicate those most likely to go on to problems such as nicotine dependence, recurrent depression and illicit drug abuse. The proposal deals with the follow-up ten years on of a representative sample of 2000 Victorian teenagers. Seven earlier waves of data collections have ascertained levels and risk factors for common behavioural and mental health problems in the teens and early twenties. These problems included depression and anxiety, smoking, heavy alcohol consumption, illicit drug use, deliberate self-harm, obesity, eating disorder, sexually risky behaviour, intravenous drug use, antisocial behaviours and accidental injury. This follow-up of participants at the age of 24 to 25 years will ascertain persisting rates of these problems including levels of substance dependence and mental disorder. Social outcomes such as educational achievement, employment, relationships, parenthood and friendships will be ascertained. In addition mouth washes will be used to collect DNA to allow investigation of genes that may make a contribution to more severe mental disorder and substance dependency. This study will give a clear picture of the outcome and consquences of common adolescent health problems. It will also clarify further psychosocial factors that contribute to their onset or outcome. Together with an analysis of candidate genes the study should make a great contribution to the information necessary for planning effective preventive intervention.Read moreRead less
A Prospective Study Of Health, Social And Forensic Outcomes In Young Offenders.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$189,000.00
Summary
In our environment of increasing illicit drug abuse and violent crime, there is an urgent need to gain an understanding of the forensic, health and social factors leading to offending by young people in Australia. Little research has been conducted worldwide looking at the health profile of young people offending across the entire spectrum of seriousness, and we could not find any studies examining this population in Australia. Most reports concern offenders who have received custodial sentences ....In our environment of increasing illicit drug abuse and violent crime, there is an urgent need to gain an understanding of the forensic, health and social factors leading to offending by young people in Australia. Little research has been conducted worldwide looking at the health profile of young people offending across the entire spectrum of seriousness, and we could not find any studies examining this population in Australia. Most reports concern offenders who have received custodial sentences, the most serious end of the offending spectrum. Furthermore, overseas studies are of limited usefulness in the Australian context, as it is difficult to apply observations from communities where the social, ethnic and crime profile may be markedly dissimilar. We propose to interview 450 young people immediately after they obtain their first sentence, usually a community-based order. The problems we will ask about include depression and anxiety, heavy alcohol consumption, heavy use of cannabis and other illegal drugs, deliberate self harm, sexual risk taking behaviour and offending behaviour. We will also ask about the social circumstances, friends and family structure and support. We will then repeat this interview six months later. In addition, we will monitor the participants' compliance with their order, treatment programs they may be on and re-offending until the end of data collection. The study will give us the basis to examine continuity and inter-relationship between problems such as depression and substance abuse, social factors and continued offending. Further, the study will establish a framework to follow-up these young offenders in the medium and long-term. The development of this sound and thorough research program will provide a rational basis for the planning of preventative interventions, aimed at improving the health and welfare and at reducing recidivism in this marginalised and often disadvantaged group of young people.Read moreRead less