Two projects lead by researchers at UWA aiming to improve the long-term health outcomes and quality of life of people with an intellectual disability or age-related hearing loss are to receive a combined $2 million in grants from the NHMRC Targeted Calls for Research.
Associate Professor Jenny Downs, from the UWA Centre of Child Health Research and The Kids Research Institute Australia, has been awarded $1.5 million for research into Improving Health of People with Intellectual Disability 2021, a project looking at reducing preventable hospitalisations and building health literacy for children and adolescents with intellectual disability.
“Children with intellectual disability have high health care needs but access to primary care services can be hampered by difficulties they and their carers face day to day, leading to potentially preventable hospitalisations,” Associate Professor Downs said.
“We will examine the use of health services in hospital and primary care settings for these children, along with the enablers and barriers to using primary care services, and how health service use can be optimised for better care and be available across the community.”
Image: Associate Professor Jenny Downs and Dr Andrew Ford.
Dr Andrew Ford from the UWA Medical School will receive $570,000 for research into Hearing Health: Evidence Based Support Services for his project on hearables and behavioural activation for mental distress and social isolation in hearing impaired older adults.
“Age-related hearing loss is common and may lead to depression, social isolation, loneliness and reduced quality of life,” Dr Ford said.
“Hearing aids are expensive and simpler and cost-effective hearing amplification devices or ‘hearables’ may offer an alternative treatment strategy.
“This trial will test if hearables, in addition to a psychological intervention (behavioural activation) can improve mood, quality of life, mental distress and social isolation in older adults with mild to moderate hearing loss.”
These NHMRC Targeted Calls for Research grants are awarded to projects designed to reduce the number of avoidable presentations to emergency and the number of preventable and prolonged hospitalisations.
The involvement of consumers including their families and carers during the design of the research and its implementation were key factors for achieving funding success.