Healthway’s Board recently approved three new health promotion research grants that will make a big difference the the health of Western Australians where it’s most needed.
One of the new grants aims to help school children with hearing loss. Another focuses on helping older people stay physically and mentally independent and the third grant will test the use of online coaching can in encouraging overweight people to improve their diet and physical activity.
Improving the mental health and wellbeing of children with hearing loss is the aim of an experienced team of health promotion researchers, led by Professor Donna Cross, based at the Telethons Kids institute.
Children and young people with hearing loss risk not doing well with their school education and they are more likely to be socially isolated. They are also up to four times more likely to have mental health issues. Problems associated with hearing loss affect around one in four Aboriginal school children.
The three-year study will explore mental health needs of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal school children aged between 10 and 12 years who have impaired hearing. The research team will actively involve children registered with the School of Special Education Needs, with many outside the Perth area including Geraldton, Kalgoorlie, Esperance, Bunbury, Northam, Port Hedland, Broome, Mt Barker and Newman. Their classmates, parents and guardians and school staff will be included.
Professor Cross said the researchers would work together with young people who have hearing loss to create an online program which would then be tested by them, their friends, parents and teachers.
“We’ll be including strategies the children can use to build their skills and to support them to overcome barriers that can lead to poor mental health,” said Professor Cross.
“The long term aim is to reduce depression and anxiety among affected children and help them to improve their relationships with their teachers and their ability to interact socially with a wide range of people in their lives.”
The online program will be translated to ensure language is appropriate for Aboriginal children and trialled in 152 metropolitan and regional schools in WA.
This study brings together a team of high level experts in ear and hearing health, special education, mental health and Aboriginal health and has the support of the WA Department of Education.
Promoting walking, less sitting and better mental health in older adults is a Curtin University based research project, led by Associate Professor Cecilie Thogersen-Ntoumani. The plan is to create a program to motivate seniors in retirement villages to be more active. The long term aim is to build positive mental health.
Physical activity is essential to remaining physically and mentally healthy and living independently. But the majority of older people are not physically active enough to make a real difference and many don’t participate in programs offered in retirement villages.
The researchers will use especially skilled ambassadors to inspire older people to get up and about.
Computer-tailoring to change overweight adults’ diet and physical activity is the focus of a Curtin University-based research project by Associate Professor Deborah Kerr using the LiveLighter public health education campaign to look at whether personalised feedback via an online program can help overweight people aged 25 to 64 lose weight.
People who register on the Livelighter website will be invited to get involved in the research by going online to provide details of their diet and physical activity and receive feedback. Through this approach, the research team expects to significantly improve the lifestyles of overweight people and to achieve a 5% reduction in their weight within a year.
Healthway’s Director, Health Promotion, Dr Jo Clarkson, said there was strong competition for Healthway health promotion research grants.
“Of the applications received, the Board of Healthway felt these were the most likely to make a real difference to the health of the WA community,” Dr Clarkson said.