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AUSTRALIAN ROTARY HEALTH ANNOUNCES  MENTAL HEALTH RESEARCH FUNDING FOR 2018

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Australian Rotary Health is pleased to announce they will dedicate $1,598,008 towards research in a wide variety of mental health areas in 2018. This includes 11 new Mental Health Research Grant projects, 10 continuing Mental Health Research Grant projects, 2 new Postdoctoral Fellowships, 2 continuing Postdoctoral Fellowships, and 4 new Ian Scott PhD Scholarships in mental health. The research will focus on important topics such as suicide prevention, child mental health, depression and anxiety, and perinatal mental health. Australian Rotary Health CEO Joy Gillett OAM said it is always a pleasure to award new funding to deserving research candidates. “As always, there were many outstanding applications this round, and it was difficult to choose from so many worthwhile projects,” Ms Gillett said. “We are positive that the projects we have selected will produce some interesting findings in the mental health field.”

A total of $691,611 will be put towards the following new Mental Health Research Grant projects:

  • Louise Mewton, University of New South Wales – The long-term effectiveness of a combined prevention model for anxiety, depression and substance use in adolescents.
  • Delyse Hutchinson, Deakin University – Breaking the intergenerational cycle of mental disorder: A longitudinal study of the social determinants of childhood psychosocial adjustment problems.
  • Sonja March, University of Southern Queensland – Improving efficiency of online cognitive behaviour therapy for childhood anxiety through stepped care.
  • Caroline Donovan, Griffith University – Improving Pre-schoolers’ Transition to School: Targeting Sleep Problems.
  • Elizabeth Elliott, University of Sydney – Longitudinal study of wellbeing and quality of life in remote Indigenous youth: the Biswun Kid* Project.
  • Justin Kenardy, University of Queensland – Effectiveness trial of the CARE screen-and-treat early intervention for improving physical and mental health outcomes in young injured children and their parent.
  • Sian McLean, Victoria University – Enhancing social media literacy to decrease body dissatisfaction: A randomised controlled trial.
  • Amanda Baker, University of Newcastle – Pilot randomised controlled trial of a telephone delivered intervention for comorbid mental health disorders and hazardous alcohol use misuse among young people.
  • Sally Fitzpatrick, Macquarie University – Reducing the impact of bullying victimisation on children’s mental health outcomes.
  • Tegan Cruwys, University of Queensland – Groups 4 health: Can a social identity intervention reduce social isolation in young adults more effectively than traditional cognitive behaviour therapy?
  • Mark Boyes, Curtin University – Promoting mental health in children with dyslexia: Piloting the ‘clever kids’ programme.

An additional $582,521 will be put towards the following continuing Mental Health Research Grant projects:

  • Alison Calear, Australian National University – Silence is Deadly: a cluster-randomised controlled trial of a mental health help-seeking intervention for young men.
  • Helen O’Connor, University of Sydney – Reducing body dissatisfaction and internalised weight stigma in young women with obesity. The everyBODY study.
  • Susan Byrne, University of Western Australia – A randomised controlled trial of an efficacious school-based eating disorder risk reduction program: A comparison of 2,4 and 8 lessons.
  • Viviana Wuthrich, Macquarie University – Psychological Stepped Care for Anxious Adolescents in Community Mental Health Services: An Effectiveness Trial.
  • Anthony LaMontagne, Deakin University – Employment outcomes following adolescent-onset mental illness in a longitudinal cohort of young Victorians.
  • Ilona Juraskova, University of Sydney – Enhancing treatment decision making in bipolar II disorder: Evaluation of an online decision-aid for young adults.
  • Jeneva Ohan, University of Western Australia – Using Social Norms to Engage Parents in Interventions for their Child’s Behaviour problems.
  • Gin Malhi, University of Sydney – Preventing suicide in young Australians with mood disorders: Adjunctive Lithium for Acute Suicidality (AliAS) study.
  • Lexine Stapinski, University of New South Wales – Making InRoADs: Trial of an innovative early intervention to interrupt the cycle of anxiety and drinking in young Australians.
  • Melissa Green, University of New South Wales – Determinants of risk and resilience in maltreated children using multi-agency administrative records: A population record-linkage study.

An allocation of $150,000 will be put towards the following Postdoctoral Fellowships:

  • Nicole Reilly (Geoffrey Betts Postdoctoral Fellowship), University of Newcastle – Prevention and early intervention for maternal mental illness: a research program that will inform policy and clinical practice.
  • Erin Hoare (Royce Abbey Postdoctoral Fellowship), Deakin University – Lifestyle modification to prevent common mental illness among young Australians: A community-based systems approach.

A total of $61,875 will be put towards the following continuing Postdoctoral Fellowships:

  • Louise Mewton, University of New South Wales – Preventing adolescent mental illness through brain training.
  • Laura Hart, La Trobe University – Confident Body, Confident Child: Effectiveness trial community-based dissemination of a resource to support parents of preschoolers in preventing body dissatisfaction, eating disorders and obesity in their children.

And, a contribution of $112,000 will go towards the following Ian Scott PhD Scholarships:

  • Angela Nicholas, University of Melbourne – Building a suicide prevention campaign targeted at family members and friends of those at risk of suicide.
  • Rebecca Blackmore, Monash University – Perinatal mental health in women of refugee backgrounds.
  • Illaria Pozzato, University of Sydney – Preventing mental health problems following motor vehicle crash, by early detection of high risk survivors (the IMPRINT study).
  • Bianca Kavanagh, Deakin University – Personality disorder as a moderator of psychiatric clinical outcomes.

Australian Rotary Health is one of the largest independent funders of mental health research within Australia. For more information, visit the Australian Rotary Health website: www.australianrotaryhealth.org.au MEDIA CONTACT: Media and Communications Manager, Jessica Cooper – (02) 8837 1900, 0431315253 or jessica@arh.org.au

President’s Message

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First – we are again fast approaching Easter (If you went to Coles between Christmas and NY they already had Hot Cross Buns out) and for us that means doing our thing for the Easter Shut Ins. Those people identified by Meals on Wheels in need of a few treats for Easter. We will again get sponsorship from places like Uncle Toby’s, but do ask all members if they could dig into their own wallets and purses a little to help bring a little happiness to these less fortunate souls. Julie will have a collection box out this week.

Julie also tells me that she spoke last week about the Share the Love project with St Matthews. We are still in our 40 year anniversary so this looked like a good project with  which to be involved. There will be bags at next meeting, but if you would like to contribute small amounts, bring to meeting. We want to collect:

  • 1 can or bottle each day
  • 1 item of clothing
  • 1 book each day
  • This will happen for 40 days – ready for Easter

Club Meeting 14 February 2018

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Guest Speaker Rosemary Creed has come from a farming background near Jerilderie NSW.  We had four daughters and we were very involved in many organisations in the District. In the early 1980’s I became a member of “Health Right” a branch of Albury Community Health, where I coordinated and ran health related groups between Albury and Deniliquin, mainly for Women. Rosemary has been a Lifeline councillor with Albury Lifeline for six years, and was one of the first members of Palliative Care in Wodonga when it began in the nineties. For the last 11 ½ years Rosemary has been coordinating the “Look Good, Feel Better” workshops for the Albury/Wodonga and surrounding region.  These have grown enormously, when she began in this role in 2006 there were only four workshops a year with six participants and now she with her volunteers runs eight workshops a year with between eight and 14 participants. Rosemary enjoys her volunteer work and social interacting with many people from all walks of life.

Club Meeting 07 February 2018

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Guest Speaker this week was Bree Pickering from MAMA … Artists from across the local region and around the country were invited to apply to exhibit at MAMA in August this year. The sixty-five applications received were then assessed by local Waragerie (Wiradjuri) artist Lorraine Connelly-Northey and Artistic Director of Melbourne’s Gertrude Contemporary, Mark Feary with MAMA Director, Bree Pickering and MAMA Curator, Michael Moran. Proposals were assessed on grounds of innovation, artistic potential and relevance to a local audience. This year the program has been updated to better reflect the supportive role MAMA plays in local art. With increased support this year from Create NSW, upgrades to the program have been instated. These include the removal of financial barriers to local artists seeking to exhibit at MAMA, such as the removal of hire fees and the payment of national-standard artist fees. MAMA staff will work closely with the selected artists on the development of their exhibitions, offering professional support, assistance with production and advice on advancing emerging careers.

 

Club Meeting 31 January 2018

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Guest Speaker Mick Brennan, Assistant Curator at the Albury Botanic Gardens gave us an insight into future projects planned for this four hectare site  known for its established trees, meandering pathways and colourful garden beds.

When Albury Mayor, Alderman William Jones opened the gardens with the planting of an English Elm tree in 1877, he created an icon which has stood the test of time. The gardens have a long history and are extremely popular with horticultural enthusiasts and garden lovers, many travelling from around the country to explore the 1,000 plus native and exotic plant species. There are a range of things to do when you visit the gardens such as self-guided walks, the dinosaur family in the children’s garden or you can simply relax and watch the world pass by. From a conservation point of view, work is going into regeneration and replacement of species that have reached the end of their life-span, in particular the elm trees in Elm Avenue. With the assistance of the Friends of the Botanic Gardens, there is  planned a range of improvements to not only keep people going here, but to engage a whole new audience, in particular children through the creation of a Children’s Garden.  To guide the management and ongoing improvements to the gardens the Conservation Management Plan was developed in 1997 and a Marketing Strategy in 2005. While the gardens already attract around 300,000 people a year, including over 75 weddings, there is room for many more, making the Albury Botanic Gardens one of the most visited outdoor attractions in Australia.