Preventative Health Research in Rural and Regional Communities (Tasmania)
Description: An ageing Australia will increasingly impact social, health and economic activity, as exemplified in complex disorders such as dementia. Obesity is also increasing at a rapid rate and is a major antecedent risk factor for a range of chronic illnesses. Both conditions will be a particular challenge for rural and regional communities as they have the highest rates of related risk factors and chronic illness, and also relatively reduced access to specialist medical services and preventative health programs. This proposal focusses on dementia and obesity in north-west Tasmania, developing innovative initiatives to manage and reduce risk of these conditions, which will reduce medical procedures overall including presentations to hospital. The program involves two major projects: the Island Study Linking Ageing and Neurodegenerative Disease (ISLAND) and the Critical Age Periods for Impacting Obesogenic Lifestyles (CAPITOL) study. The ISLAND study will involve a pragmatic clustered randomised controlled on interventions for major potentially modifiable risk factors for dementia, including obesity, physical activity, diabetes, smoking, hypertension, depression and cognitive stimulation/education, most of which are antecedents to chronic illness. The CAPITOL study will facilitate a transdisciplinary professional network to build a community-specific, sustainable approach to supporting children and families in relation to physical health and wellbeing. This project will identify enabling contextual factors which influence engagement in healthy physical play practices; foster buy-in from families (at multiple entry points); improve school readiness (through enhancing outcomes for children (0-8 years) in the AEDC domain of physical health and wellbeing), and generate sustainable communities of practice. North-west Tasmania is an ideal ‘test-bed’ to develop preventative health strategies that are relevant and scalable to other Australian rural and regional communities.
Funder: Medical Research Future Fund
Amount: A$2,400,000
Funding type: grant
Funder scheme: 2018 Keeping Australians Out of Hospital - Preventative Health Research in Rural and Regional Communities (Tasmania)
Start date: 2019-03-27
End date: 2023-03-31
Investigator: James Vickers
Institution: University of Tasmania
Funded outputs count: 0
Funder award ID: MRF1170820
OpenAlex ID: G4190761781