DoctorNick Cooling

Project Total: $10,000; This project will provide the first economic assessment of the burden of allergic respiratory disease (allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma) in Tasmania. Together, allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma affect over 20% of the Tasmanian population, yet there has been no rigorous analysis of the health and economic impacts. This project will cost the direct and indirect costs of these conditions across Tasmania. In doing so, we will provide a rigorous evidence base to build a case for allergic respiratory research, and directly inform government and non-government investment in interventions. Our research will be co-designed with expert input from government and non-government stakeholders (Asthma Australia) to ensure alignment with end-user needs. Funded by: University of Tasmania - Grant-Research Enhancement Program; University of Tasmania ($10,000).

Project Total: $18,322; We will use a novel technique known as HalogenImmunoAssay to help improve allergy diagnosis and treatment by testing which pollen types Tasmanians are sensitised to. Funded by: Tasmanian Community Fund - Grant ($18,322); University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $22,525; This project will use a survey and semi-structured interviews to investigate the gambling behaviours of international students in Tasmania. The research team will also communicate findings of the research to organisations that support and represent the health and wellbeing interests of migrants and international students in Tasmania. Research themes to investigate: * What are the rates of gambling, including rates of problem gambling amongst students in Tasmania? * What types of gambling are most popular amongst that cohort? * How much and how frequently are international students betting? * What are the financial and other implications of their gambling? * What are the risk factors that increase the likelihood of problem gambling amongst international students? Funded by: Department of Health and Human Services Tasmania ($22,525); University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $842,956; A $1 million partnership between the University of Tasmania, the Tasmanian Environment Protection Agency, CSIRO, the Australian National University, and the Tasmanian Government's Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The AirRater project will build a Tasmania-wide sensor network to measure real-time air quality, and develop a smartphone app to provide individualised alerts to people whose health is at risk from smoke, pollen, heat or pollution. The sensor network will also be used to support community-wide air pollution health advisories, heatwave forecasting and alerts, and fire weather mapping to assist firefighters, landowners and government. Funded by: University of Tasmania ($842,956)

Project Total: $89,576; This project will deliver a flexible, open access asynchronous e-learning package that will assist individual health professionals and organisations in Tasmania to learn to the principles of the Talking Points Guidelines (TPG) for Shared Transfer of Care (STC). Funded by: Primary Health Tasmania ($89,576); University of Tasmania.

Project Total: $43,588; This project will pilot resources to improve the health literacy of newly-arrived former refugees in Tasmania. Health literacy is an essential life skill and is defined as an individual's ability to read, understand and obtain adequate health care in order to maintain their health. The project will focus on medication concordance for chronic disease as many former refugees are at an increased risk of developing one or more chronic diseases. Health professionals working in refugee health services, and adult former refugees who have arrived in Tasmania in the past 12 months will be invited to participate. Within culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities, it is suggested there are four domains, which contribute to health literacy: scientific literacy (understanding disease processes); civil literacy (understanding the health system); fundamental literacy (ability to read and write in a national language); and cultural literacy (ability to understand and navigate interactions with service providers). This project aims to address each of these domains through the involvement of both the members of the CALD community and the health professionals. It seeks to address medication health literacy by: 1) investigating what interventions newly-arrived former refugees and health providers believe will improve medication health literacy and concordance in Tasmania; 2) developing an audio-based intervention to improve medication concordance based on the input of community members and health professionals; 3) piloting the intervention within health services in order to test effectiveness with the CALD community and health professionals; 4) disseminating the results of the project and utility of the intervention so similar interventions can be used in other populations with low health-literacy in the future. Funded by: Tasmanian Community Fund - Grant ($43,588); University of Tasmania.