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Research Assistant/Data manager, PhD student

The Kids Research Institute Australia and The University of Western Australia researchers have been awarded more than $1 million in funding from Healthway, for projects to improve the mental health of LGBTQA+ young people, encourage early physical activity in childcare centres and create healthier local environme

Hayley Karen Christian Lombardi BSc (1st Class Hons), PhD (Distinction) W.Aust. BHSc (Hons), PhD Head, Child Physical Activity, Health and

The BEACHES project aims to provide high quality evidence of aspects of the built environment which can be modified to reduce the negative impact on children’s physical activity, eating behaviours and weight status.

Hayley Christian BSc (1st Class Hons), PhD (Distinction) W.Aust. Head, Child Physical Activity, Health and Development; Ascend Senior Research Fellow

Natural outdoor environments such as green and blue spaces have increasingly been seen as key health and wellbeing determinants for adults. However, it is unclear if these effects are seen in young children. We examined the associations between access to natural green and blue space and young children's socioemotional development. 

Most outdoor food advertising (e.g. billboards and bus stops) features foods that are considered unhealthy. The most important technical challenge when designing policies to restrict unhealthy outdoor food advertising is defining 'unhealthy food'. To date, most restriction policies have used nutrient profiling models (i.e. foods are classified according to their nutritional composition) to determine which foods and beverages may be advertised. In Australia, state governments have endorsed a food category-based classification system, with no prescribed nutrient limits, which may create ambiguity when multiple users are identifying food advertisements to be restricted. 

The observed decline in children's active school transport (AST) across numerous countries over recent decades necessitates targeted, multi-level interventions to reverse this trend. However, data on young people's preferred AST interventions is lacking. This study aimed to explore children's preferences for AST interventions and assess differences between AST users and non-users among primary and secondary school students.

Dog ownership is a potential strategy for maintaining physical activity levels and supporting healthy aging. This study examined longitudinal effects of dog ownership and dog walking on physical activity and mental health in mid-to-older aged adults. 

To examine the longitudinal effects of dog ownership and dog walking on self-reported and objective measures of physical function in mid- to older-aged adults.