The Morrison Government is providing more than $4.8 million for research initiatives that will lead to improved health outcomes and preventative measures for conditions such as suicide prevention, gestational weight gain and low back pain.
The latest round of funding through the Government’s National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) Partnership Projects scheme will fund six projects.
The Government’s investment is matched by Partner Organisations, demonstrating a joint commitment to bringing the best and most up-to-date research discoveries to the Australian community.
The University of Melbourne will receive over $415,920 to assess suicides in public places that have become known as ‘suicide hotspots’. The research will provide practical guidance on how best to prevent suicides and save lives at these sites.
Suicides are traumatic for those who live or work at these sites, and can create a devastating ripple effect that flows through families, friendship groups, schools, workplaces and communities. Almost a third of all suicides occur in locations that are or may become hotspots, and there may be as many as 120 hotspots in Australia.
The research team will collaborate with five Partner Organisations that fund, deliver, advise on and advocate for interventions to prevent suicides in public places.
The University of Newcastle will receive $734,163 to improve antenatal care to prevent excess weight gain.
Weight gain outside recommended levels during pregnancy contributes to a range of adverse outcomes for the mother and child, including gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, preterm birth and obesity.
Despite guidelines recommending routine weighing and weight gain care being provided by antenatal services, 50-70% of women gain weight outside recommended levels during pregnancy.
The University of Sydney will receive $1,108,389 to develop the Get Health Coaching Service to reduce the burden of low back pain.
Australia spends $9 billion annually on low back pain management. The proposed approach aims to improve health services and processes in low back pain management, at low cost, and be readily implementable across Local Health Districts in NSW.
These grants will support our health and medical research workforce, providing opportunities for more health advances and for direct impact on Australians’ quality of life.
A list of recipients can be found on NHMRC’s Partnership Projects web page and in the table below.
| App ID | Chief Investigator Name | Application Title | Administering Institution | Budget $ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| APP1180474 | CIA – Associate Professor Paulo Ferreira CIB – Associate Professor Manuela Ferreira CIC – Professor Adrian Bauman CID – Professor Paul Hodges CIE – Professor Chris Maher CIF – Doctor Milena Simic CIG – Associate Professor Rachael Morton CIH – Professor Chris Lonsdale CII – Mr Qiang Li CIJ – Associate Professor Melissa Baysari | The Get Healthy Coaching Service to reduce the burden of low back pain: effectiveness, cost effectiveness, and scalability. | University of Sydney | 1,108,389.00 |
| APP1189756 | CIA – Professor John Wiggers CIB – Doctor Melanie Kingsland CIC – Professor Karen Campbell CID – Professor Craig Pennell CIE – Associate Professor Luke Wolfenden CIF – Professor Chris Rissel CIG – Professor John Attia CIH – Professor Maralyn Foureur CII – Professor Francesco Paolucci CIJ – Doctor Jenna Hollis | A practice change intervention to increase the routine provision of care addressing gestational weight gain: a stepped-wedge trial. | University of Newcastle | 734,163.00 |
| APP1190373 | CIA – Doctor Nicole Nathan CIB – Associate Professor Luke Wolfenden CIC – Professor John Wiggers CID – Professor Adrian Bauman CIE – Professor Chris Rissel CIF – Professor Patti-Jean (PJ) Naylor CIG – Doctor Rachel Sutherland | A randomised trial of an intervention to sustain schools’ implementation of a state-wide physical activity policy. | University of Newcastle | 1,054,151.00 |
| APP1191793 | CIA – Professor Danielle Mazza CIB – Doctor Wendy Norman CIC – Associate Professor Kirsten Black CID – Professor Angela Taft CIE – Professor Deborah Bateson CIF – Associate Professor Kevin McGeechan | The AusCAPPS Network: A community of practice to support the provision of long acting reversible contraception and medical termination of pregnancy in primary care. | Monash University | 1,207,160.00 |
| APP1191874 | CIA – Professor Jane Pirkis CIB – Associate Professor Jo Robinson CIC – Associate Professor Matthew Spittal CID – Doctor Lay San Too CIE – Doctor Dianne Currier CIF – Professor Byron Keating CIG – Doctor Mark Larsen | Preventing suicide in public places. | University of Melbourne | 415,920.00 |
| APP1191897 | CIA – Associate Professor Gary Sacks CIB – Associate Professor Adrian Cameron CIC – Professor Cliona Ni Mhurchu CID – Professor Bruce Neal CIE – Doctor Kathryn Backholer CIF – Professor Anna Peeters CIG – Mrs Jaithri Ananthapavan | Supporting food companies to implement policies for improving population nutrition. | Deakin University | 309,498.00 |
| Total | $4,829,281.00 |
