University of Newcastle Researchers Receive More Than a Million Dollars to Address Mental Health Inequities

BY DAKOTA TAIT

Researchers at the University of Newcastle have been awarded $1.3 million in funding by the National Health and Medical Research Council to examine the capacity of community health services and preventative care for people with a mental health condition.

Professor Jenny Bowman, from the University of Newcastle's School of Psychology, will lead a team of researchers in a three year project which also includes experts from the University of Melbourne, Flinders University, and the Hunter Medical Research Institute.

Professor Bowman says a large number of potentially preventable risk factors, both social inequities and physical health conditions such as poor nutrition and low levels of physical activity, cause individuals with a mental health condition to die an average 10 to 15 years earlier than the general Australian population.

"Many folk with mental health problems experience social marginalization, isolation, are more likely to be of a lower socioeconomic status, less likely to be employed, be living under the poverty level, et cetera," Professor Bowman said.

"It's actually quite a complex range of those kind of factors that come into play."

According to Professor Bowman, clinical and structural issues such as inadequate time, low levels of clinician confidence, and a perceived lack of referral options contribute to a poorer provision of preventative care for people affected by a mental health condition.

Researchers are hoping to develop a new approach to mental health and encourage clinicians to incorporate preventative care strategies into their practice.

"This project, we hope, will at least provide people with an opportunity to have those lifestyle risk behaviours assessed, recognized, and then offered support in a way that is meaningful for them, feasible for them to take up, and is likely to work to actually help them change that behaviour."

Professor Jenny Bowman

University of Newcastle Research Project Receives Special Seed Funding

BY HANNAH-LOUISE ANDERSON

A research project involving antimicrobial resistance run through the University of Newcastle has been included amongst five groups to receive funding as part of a tertiary Impact program.

The initiative run by NUW, an alliance between the Universities of Newcastle, Wollongong and New South Wales, selects research projects every year to receive financial contributions that will aid in resolving problems faced by the broader community. This years recipients have received almost a total of $540 000 in funding to promote their studies.

Newcastle's own Antimicrobial Research Task force run by Professor Peter Lewis was included amongst the successful recipients.

"More and more infections are becoming resistant to antibiotics to the point where there are some infections that we now no longer have any antibiotics available that work against them. We've run out and we need more." says Professor Lewis.

"The funding enabled us to run a workshop where we had researchers from the three universities, and external experts from around the world and around Australia, and we used that opportunity to really try and identify the most common areas where we as a group felt we could collaborate in a productive and mutual way to solve this problem."

University Researchers Receive Funding Boost

BY HANNAH-LOUISE ANDERSON

Researchers from the University of Newcastle have received extra funding to continue their studies into the connection between women's reproductive health and cancer.

The research project conducted by the University in collaboration with the Hunter Medical Research Institute will receive $566 000 dollars over the next three years from the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation to help better understand how changes in a female's reproductive hormones affect their risk of developing ovarian cancer.

The intention is to investigate how medications already on the market, such as the oral contraceptive pill, can be utilised over an extended period to reduce the risk of developing the life-threatening disease.

Associate Professor Pradeep Tanwar says the project team hopes to alter the way the pill is perceived.

"With the pill, our aim is to shift the focus from birth control to cancer prevention," says Professor Tanwar. "We are developing a strong scientific foundation that shows the benefits of using contraceptive pills to reduce the risk of ovarian cancer and other gynaecological cancers."

Photo belonging to the University of Newcastle