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The Albanese Government is committed to supporting young Australians with their mental health by translating research into personalized health care focused on their needs.
The Partnership Project funds collaborations between researchers, local governments, health service providers and non-profit organizations to work together to research, interpret and translate findings into health policy and practice.
These youth mental health projects are part of a broader investment in collaborative health and medical research projects, totaling more than $15.6 million in funding. The projects funded today will be supported by many diverse funding partners, who will contribute an additional $28.6 million to the 12 projects, bringing the total investment to $44.2 million.
More than $4.6 million will go towards new research to improve young people’s mental health support and services under the recent cycle of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) partnership project.
Among these projects is research led by Professor Penelope Hasking of Curtin University, who has developed a screening tool that accurately identifies university students at higher risk of suicide, enabling a proactive approach to planning security and support for people at risk.
This project, in partnership with Beyond Blue, headspace, Department of Health WA and Lifeline Western Australia, will use the results of their programme, Mental health screening that offers alternatives to suicide for students (COMPAS-S), to support students identified with a high risk of suicidal behavior.
Self-regulated learning is a way for students to take charge of their own learning by setting goals, planning, monitoring, evaluating, and adjusting their learning strategies.However, this is not something that is traditionally taught in school.
Professor Sally Brinkman and the team at the University of South Australia will determine whether a program based on self-regulated learning has positive effects on student success and well-being.
Dr Rachel Toovey from the University of Melbourne will lead a research team to implement and evaluate a co-designed cycling program (CycLink) to improve the participation of disabled children in their local communities.
CycLink project co-investigator and research associate mother Ms Miriam Yates said the project will help bridge the gap between learning to ride a bike in a therapy session and becoming a cyclist for fun and fitness , next to family and friends. .
Professor Debra Rickwood from the University of Canberra will define, design and test real-time measures of change in client outcomes and clinician actions during online chat-based services.
Cyberspace consumer and youth advocate Joey said online mental health support is a vital resource for so many young people as it is more widely accessible by navigating geographical location and times of just wait.
This research pays attention to the needs of young people and focuses young people in the design and practice of service delivery,
I, along with many other young people, am excited about this research and the incredible implications it will have for young people, in providing quality online services, said Joey.
Professor Rickwoods’ team combines expertise in psychology, informatics, online mental health, measurement and implementation science, together with youth and clinical end-user co-design, to address this knowledge and practice gap in digital care of young people’s mental health.
Quotes attributed to Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, the Honorable Emma McBride:
Projects receiving funding under today’s announcement will inform national mental health policies and services, ensuring they meet the real needs of young Australians.
Driven by a shared goal of improving the health of all Australians, these projects demonstrate the power of collaboration and how it can positively impact access, equity and delivery of health care across the country.
Quotes attributed to NHMRC Director General Professor Steve Wesselingh:
The partnership project scheme offers exciting opportunities for researchers and policy makers to work together to create improved health policy and health services.
This scheme allows researchers to collaborate with partners across Australia, bringing together the expertise needed to deliver research that leads to better health outcomes.
Quotes attributed to Professor Penelope Hasking, Curtin University:
In this research we will identify college students at increased risk of suicide and work with our clinical psychology trainees to proactively reach out to provide telehealth and support before they reach a suicidal crisis. This is a new approach to suicide prevention that aims to catch and support people before they kill themselves.
We have trialled this approach at Curtin University and, with the support of NHMRC and our partner organisations, we are now ready to trial this approach in universities across Australia.
Quotes attributed to Professor Sally Brinkman, University of South Australia:
A study in Germany has shown that a simple and inexpensive program was able to help young students with self-regulated learning. We are very pleased to partner with the South Australian Department of Education to adapt and evaluate this program.
Matched funding from the NHMRC will now allow us to see whether it has similar positive effects on student success and wellbeing.
Quotes attributed to Dr Rachel Toovey, University of Melbourne:
The CycLink partnership project will address a gap between evidence and practice through the implementation and evaluation of the CycLink programme, which links children and young people with disabilities to better health and wellbeing through participation in cycling in their local community
The project team has co-designed this program with families and cross-sectoral professionals to address unresolved barriers to participation. It combines three key elements; a group program that is delivered jointly by allied health professionals and coaches from local cycling clubs, opportunities to try out adapted bikes and an online resource.
Quotes attributed to Professor Debra Rickwood, University of Canberra:
This is a really exciting research program that will measure the outcomes achieved for young people accessing digital mental health services and develop a whole new way of improving the quality and delivery of these much needed services.
With headspace National Youth Mental Health Foundation as a service partner through its eheadspace service, we will use real-time machine learning techniques to determine how young people experience their online service interactions, rather than a post-survey the appointment to collect data.
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Image Source : www.health.gov.au