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The Healthy Lifestyles program: An innovative implementation model for online interventions to prevent common and emerging risk factors for chronic disease in young Australians

Research program: Prevention and early intervention
Project status: Current
Start date: July 2018
Expected end date: December 2024
Completion date:
Funded by: Paul Ramsey Foundation
Lead organisation: University of Sydney

Project Description

The Health Lifestyles Program aims to reduce the burden of chronic disease by utilising established frameworks for primary and secondary prevention to reduce or delay the risk factors for chronic disease, including alcohol and smoking/vaping, and intervene early where early signs of risk factors have already emerged.The project focuses on young people in secondary school, who are in a critically important developmental ‘window of opportunity’ for changing individual risk and protective factors to prevent chronic disease, before established patterns of behaviour and thinking have occurred. These universal primary preventive interventions will be delivered in the classroom (13-14 year olds), using instructional and skills-based approaches cultivated for other key risk behaviours via the Climate Schools projects.

To reduce chronic disease risk in Australia this project has conducted a cluster randomised controlled trial (80 schools, 8,000 Year 8 students) to evaluate the effectiveness of an online intervention to simultaneously target the Big 6 risk factors (including alcohol and smoking/vaping) for chronic disease among young Australians (The Healthy Lifestyles Program).

PhD Student

PhD Supervisors

NDRI Project Staff

Name & Contact Details

Role

Research Program

Location

Professor Steve Allsop
Tel: 61 (0)8 9266 1606
s.allsop@curtin.edu.au
View profile

Chief Investigator

Alcohol policy and strategies

Perth

Associate Professor Nyanda McBride
Tel: 61 (0)8 9266 1600
n.mcbride@curtin.edu.au
View profile

Chief Investigator

Prevention and early intervention

Perth

NDRI Adjunct Project Staff

External Project Staff

Chief Investigator: Maree Teesson, University of Sydney
Chief Investigator: Nicola Newton, University of Sydney
Chief Investigator: Frances Kay-Lambkin, University of Newcastle
Chief Investigator: Katrina Champion, University of Sydney
Chief Investigator: Catherine Chapman, University of Sydney
Chief Investigator: Louise Thornton, University of Sydney
Chief Investigator: Timothy Slade, University of Sydney
Chief Investigator: Katherine Mills, Burnet Institute
Chief Investigator: Matthew Sunderland, University of Sydney
Chief Investigator: Judith Bauer, University of Queensland
Chief Investigator: Belinda Parmenter, University of New South Wales
Chief Investigator: Bonnie Spring, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Chief Investigator: David Lubans, University of Newcastle
Chief Investigator: Leanne Hides, University of Queensland

Project Contact

Sustainable Development Goals and Targets

This project aligns with the following Sustainable Development Goals and Targets:

Related Publications

Champion, K., E., Newton, N., C., Gardner, L., A., Chapman, C., Thornton, L., Slade, T., Sunderland, M., Hides, L., McBride, N., O'Dean, S., Kay-Lambkin, F., J., Allsop, S., Lubans, D., R., Parmenter, B., J., Mills, K., Spring, B., Osman, B., Ellem, R., Smout, S., Whife, J., Stewart, C., McCann, K., Catakovic, A., Hunter, E., Teesson, M. and Health4Life Team, _. (2023). Health4Life eHealth intervention to modify multiple lifestyle risk behaviours among adolescent students in Australia: a cluster-randomised controlled trial. Lancet Digital Health, 5, (5), pp. E276-E287. doi:10.1016/S2589-7500(23)00028-6 [RJ1940] View web page

Parmenter, B., J., Burley, C., Stewart, C., Whife, J., Champion, K., E., Osman, B., Newton, N., C., Green, O., Wescott, A., B., Gardner, L., A., Visontay, R., Birrell, L., Bryant, Z., Chapman, C., Lubman, D., Sunderland, M., Slade, T. and Thornton, L. (2022). Measurement Properties of Smartphone Approaches to Assess Physical Activity in Healthy Young People: Systematic Review. JMIR mHealth and u Health, 10, (10), pp. e39085. doi:10.2196/39085 [RJ1890] View web page

Thornton, L., Brown, H., Osman, B., Stewart, C., Whife, J., Champion, K., E., Gardner, L., A., McBride, N., Allsop, S., Spring, B. and Teesson, M. (2022). Factors associated with adolescents’ engagement with a Healthy Lifestyles app, 206, pp. 56-67. doi:10.1016/j.procs.2022.09.085 [RJ1936] View web page

Thornton, L., Osman, B., Champion, K., E., Green, O., Wescott, A., B., Gardner, L., A., Stewart, C., Visontay, R., Whife, J., Parmenter, B., J., Birrell, L., Bryant, Z., Chapman, C., Lubans, D., R., Slade, T., Torous, J., Teesson, M. and Van de Ven, P. (2022). Measurement Properties of Smartphone Approaches to Assess Diet, Alcohol Use, and Tobacco Use: Systematic Review. JMIR mHealth and u Health, 10, (2). doi:10.2196/27337 [RJ1794] View web page

Teesson, M., Champion, K., E., Newton, N., C., Kay-Lambkin, F., J., Chapman, C., Thornton, L., Slade, T., Sunderland, M., Mills, K., Gardner, L., A., Parmenter, B., J., Lubans, D., R., Hides, L., McBride, N., Allsop, S., Spring, B., Smout, S. and Health4Life Team, _. (2020). Study protocol of the Health4Life Initiative: A cluster randomised controlled trial of an eHealth school-based program targeting multiple lifestyle risk behaviours among young Australians. BMJ Open, 10, (7). doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2019-035662 [RJ1611] View web page

Champion, K., E., Parmenter, B., J., McGowan, C., Spring, B., Wafford, Q., E., Gardner, L., A., Thornton, L., McBride, N., Barrett, E., Teesson, M., Newton, N., C., Chapman, C., Slade, T., Sunderland, M., Bauer, J., Allsop, S., Hides, L., Stapinski, L., Birrell, L. and Mewton, L. (2019). Effectiveness of school-based eHealth interventions to prevent multiple lifestyle risk behaviours among adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet Digital Health, 1, (5), pp. e206-e221. doi:10.1016/S2589-7500(19)30088-3 [RJ1504] View web page