An important consideration for future age-friendly cities is that older people are able to live in housing appropriate for their needs. While thermal comfort in the home is vital for the health and well-being of older people, there are currently few guidelines about how to achieve this. This study is part of a research project that aims to improve the thermal environment of housing for older Australians by investigating the thermal comfort of older people living independently in South Australia and developing thermal comfort guidelines for people ageing-in-place. This paper describes the approach fundamental for developing the guidelines, using data from the study participants’ and the concept of personas to develop a number of discrete “thermal personalities”. Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) was implemented to analyse the features of research participants, resulting in six distinct clusters. Quantitative and qualitative data from earlier stages of the project were then used to develop the thermal personalities of each cluster. The thermal personalities represent dierent approaches to achieving thermal comfort, taking into account a wide range of factors including personal characteristics, ideas, beliefs and knowledge, house type, and location. Basing the guidelines on thermal personalities highlights the heterogeneity of older people and the context-dependent nature of thermal comfort in the home and will make the guidelines more user-friendly and useful. Original publication at MDPI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17228402 © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI.
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Many countries and health systems are pursuing integrated care as a means of achieving better outcomes. However, no standard approaches exist for comparing integration approaches across models or settings, and for evaluating whether the key components of integrated care are present in different initiatives. This study sheds light on how integrated care is being implemented in Australia, using a new tool to characterise and compare integration strategies at micro, meso and macro levels. In total, 114 staff from a purposive sample of 38 integrated care projects completed a survey based on the Rainbow Model of Integrated Care. Ten key informants gave follow-up interviews. Participating projects reported using multiple strategies to implement integrated care, but descriptions of implementation were often inconsistent. Micro-level strategies, including clinical-professional service coordination and person-centred care, were most commonly reported. A common vision was often described as an essential foundation for joint work. However, performance feedback appeared under-utilised, as did strategies requiring macro-level action such as data linkages or payment reform. The results suggest that current integrated care efforts are unevenly weighted towards micro-level strategies. Increased attention to macro-level strategies may be warranted in order to accelerate progress and sustain integrated care in Australia.
While the optimal mean annual temperature for people and nations is said to be between 13 °C and 18 °C, many people live productive lives in regions or countries that commonly exceed this temperature range. One such country is Australia. We carried out an Australia-wide online survey using a structured questionnaire to investigate what temperature people in Australia prefer, both in terms of the local climate and within their homes. More than half of the 1665 respondents (58%) lived in their preferred climatic zone with 60% of respondents preferring a warm climate. Those living in Australia's cool climate zones least preferred that climate. A large majority (83%) were able to reach a comfortable temperature at home with 85% using air-conditioning for cooling. The preferred temperature setting for the air-conditioning devices was 21.7 °C (SD: 2.6 °C). Higher temperature set-points were associated with age, heat tolerance and location. The frequency of air-conditioning use did not depend on the location but rather on a range of other socio-economic factors including having children in the household, the building type, heat stress and heat tolerance. We discuss the role of heat acclimatisation and impacts of increasing air-conditioning use on energy consumption.
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Youth GEMS zal vijf jaar lang onderzoek doen naar genetische en omgevingsfactoren die van invloed zijn op de geestelijke gezondheid van jongeren. Doel Dit project beoogt middels vroegdetectie en het gebruik van vroegtijdige interventies het welzijn te bevorderen van jongeren die o.a. zijn blootgesteld aan traumatische ervaringen. Resultaten Het opzetten van een internationaal netwerk van jongere ervaringsdeskundigen, het ontwikkelen van instrumenten en tools. Looptijd 01 juni 2022 - 01 juni 2026 Aanpak Participatief actieonderzoek met jongeren in combinatie met neurobiologische en klinische studies maken deel uit van de aanpak. Samenwerking met kennispartners Universiteit Maastricht, (Nederland) UMCU, (Nederland) MPI, (Germany) RCSI & UCD (Ireland) UNEXE & Kings College London, University London, Cardiff University, EYMH (UK) University Barcelona & CRG, HGM (Spain) TU (Estonia) CNCPY, (Serbia) ABACUS, (Italy) University of Queensland Australia (associated partner) Relevantie/impact Vanuit UMC Utrecht en Hogeschool Utrecht zal in samenwerking met Euro Youth Mental Health gewerkt worden aan het opzetten van een Europese leergemeenschap van ervaringsdeskundige jongeren. Zij zullen op basis van collectieve ervaringen feedback geven op de verschillende projectonderdelen en mede helpen het bewustzijn onder jongeren én professionals te vergroten, onder andere met behulp van e-health. Deze e-health zal ook benut gaan worden in diverse onderwijssettingen.
Youth GEMS zal vijf jaar lang onderzoek doen naar genetische en omgevingsfactoren die van invloed zijn op de geestelijke gezondheid van jongeren. Doel Dit project beoogt middels vroegdetectie en het gebruik van vroegtijdige interventies het welzijn te bevorderen van jongeren die o.a. zijn blootgesteld aan traumatische ervaringen. Resultaten Het opzetten van een internationaal netwerk van jongere ervaringsdeskundigen, het ontwikkelen van instrumenten en tools. Looptijd 01 juni 2022 - 01 juni 2026 Aanpak Participatief actieonderzoek met jongeren in combinatie met neurobiologische en klinische studies maken deel uit van de aanpak. Samenwerking met kennispartners Universiteit Maastricht, (Nederland) UMCU, (Nederland) MPI, (Germany) RCSI & UCD (Ireland) UNEXE & Kings College London, University London, Cardiff University, EYMH (UK) University Barcelona & CRG, HGM (Spain) TU (Estonia) CNCPY, (Serbia) ABACUS, (Italy) University of Queensland Australia (associated partner) Relevantie/impact Vanuit UMC Utrecht en Hogeschool Utrecht zal in samenwerking met Euro Youth Mental Health gewerkt worden aan het opzetten van een Europese leergemeenschap van ervaringsdeskundige jongeren. Zij zullen op basis van collectieve ervaringen feedback geven op de verschillende projectonderdelen en mede helpen het bewustzijn onder jongeren én professionals te vergroten, onder andere met behulp van e-health. Deze e-health zal ook benut gaan worden in diverse onderwijssettingen.
