Our Research
Healthy People, Families & Communities
Our research is aligned with the La Trobe University theme of Healthy People, Families and Communities. Our researchers build clinical capability and policy expertise to enhance individual and community wellbeing, reduce disease, and create equitable health solutions for all.
Research Streams
The research conducted within the Holsworth Research Initiative is operationally organised into three research streams:
- Human Performance
- Active Rural Individuals
- Active Rural Communities
Human Performance
The Human Performance stream aims to improve human function in exercise and sports tasks, with a focus on developing interventions that optimise the performance of various populations during physical activity.
The theme draws together La Trobe Rural Health researchers from the departments of Exercise Physiology, Physiotherapy, Podiatry, Paramedicine, Public Health, Dietetics & Human Nutrition, Rural Health, the Violet Vines Marshman Centre for Rural Health Research and the John Richards Centre for Rural Ageing Research, as well as drawing on expertise from other La Trobe disciplines such as Sport Exercise and Rehabilitation.
Research partners include the Bendigo Braves, Bendigo Spirit, AFL Victoria, Bendigo Health, the School of Physical Education of the Brazilian Army, Ibtec-Brazil and Australia Post. The stream is led by Dr Daniel Wundersitz and Dr Rodrigo Bini and is aligned under three research projects.
The contribution of sport participation to physical activity, health, function and wellbeing in regional Victoria
This research aims to review the motivators and barriers to participating in community sport, understand if and how this contributes to overall health and wellbeing profiles, and evaluate the different interventions to promote sport participation. Results from this body of work will form phase one of our plan to improve sports participation in rural and regional areas.
The effect of endurance exercise on cardiovascular function and movement efficiency in community level cycling
This research, in partnership with La Trobe University and Bendigo Health, aims to understand how endurance exercise training impacts the heart function and physical health for participants in community and social cycling in regional Victoria. The team seek to design effective interventions, implement them, and then follow up on the impact of these findings on the health and wellbeing in rural and regional cyclists.
The efficacy of e-bike use for improving health and function
This research aims to determine the effectiveness of e-bikes in improving the physical fitness of inactive people, by comparing e-bike uptake with walking or education-only programs.
Active Rural Individuals
The Active Rural Individuals stream seeks to address the increasing problem of chronic disease and injury in rural and regional areas by researching the best ways to prescribe exercise as medicine to reduce the burden of disease and where possible, prevent illness and injury from occurring.
The theme draws together La Trobe Rural Health researchers from the departments of Exercise Physiology, Physiotherapy, Podiatry, Paramedicine, Public Health, Dietetics & Human Nutrition, Rural Health, the Violet Vines Marshman Centre for Rural Health Research and the John Richards Centre for Rural Ageing Research.
Research partners include Notre Dame University, Auckland University, Bendigo Health, Swinburne University, the University of Queensland, Austin Health and Murdoch University, Sheffield Hallam University (UK) and the University of Northumbria (UK).
Our Active Rural Individuals stream is led by Associate Professor Brett Gordon and is aligned under two research projects.
Multidisciplinary interventions to enhance adherence to exercise and lifestyle behaviours in rural adults with chronic disease
This research aims to identify feasible and effective multidisciplinary strategies to improve exercise prescription and increase adherence to exercise and lifestyle recommendations in rural adults with chronic disease such as diabetes and obesity.
Improving the exercise base for exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation
This research aims to develop methods to assess exercise capacity and prescribe appropriate exercise intensity to improve cardiovascular health outcomes. It aims to enhance compliance and attendance at cardiac rehabilitation, and ongoing healthy behaviours following a cardiac event.
Active Rural Communities
The Active Rural Communities stream seeks to encourage the adoption of a public health lens through which to view physical inactivity and how this varies across specific populations, with a focus in regional and rural areas. This stream seeks to foster innovative solutions to the problem of suboptimal uptake of physical activity promotion efforts, particularly in high-risk populations such as people with existing chronic disease, marginalized groups, and Indigenous populations. Current partners include Bendigo Health and Geelong Council.
Our Active Rural Communities stream is led by Associate Professor Steve Begg and Associate Professor Byron Perrin and is aligned under three research projects.
Healthy 4 U2 – The role of regional hospital-clinic based behavior change interventions
In collaboration with Bendigo Health, with Dr Steven Barrett, we are investigating the role of behaviour change interventions in non-admitted secondary hospital care. This work has already demonstrated the efficacy of innovative telephone coaching techniques to increase and maintain moderate to vigorous physical activity in ambulatory care patients. We are currently exploring the role of specialists in helping clinic patients improve their motivation and mindset around exercise with the goal of increasing routine healthy behavior in the patients' daily lives.
Participation in the Loddon Mallee Health Worker COVID study
The Loddon Mallee Health Worker COVID study is funded by the Victorian Government and aims to examine how health care workers cope with the long-term impact of the coronavirus pandemic. It will use a 3-year cohort design to uncover which resilience factors, including patterns of physical activity, help workers cope best.
Barriers and facilitators to active travel in the Bellarine
We are working with Barwon Health to investigate the individual barriers and facilitators to active travel uptake in the Geelong area. Although government investment in schemes to increase participation in active transport are encouraging, population level uptake in active transport is limited, particularly in regional and rural areas of Australia. The findings from this work, along with findings from the 2019 Active Living Census (City of Greater Bendigo), will be explored with potential to better inform and promote uptake of active transport in regional and rural Australia.
