Director: Professor Keith Davids
Head of School
Email: k.davids@qut.edu.au
Phone: (07) 3138 8744
Fax: (07) 31383980
The School of Human Movement Studies engages in three main fields of collaborative research which include:
Injury Prevention & Rehabilitation
Focuses on individuals at risk of or recovering from injury. Examples include a miner undertaking a hazardous work task underground, an elderly person with a neurological disorder at risk of falls, or an amputee with a new type of prosthesis that requires objective evaluation. This injury research requires measures of biomechanical, physiological, metabolic,
neurological, sensory and psychological areas, concentrating on high-risk groups.
Causes and Mechanisms of Injury:
- Musculoskeletal injuries account for the vast majority of injuries experienced within occupational and sporting settings. These injuries frequently result from manual materials handling, overuse through repetitive actions or participation in contact sports.
- Neurological injuries acute/acquired following trauma.
Injury Prevention In High-Risk Groups:
- Prevention of older peoples injuries including falls.
- Prevention of injuries in elite performers—dancers and athletes.
- Assessment of physiological and psychological risk factors that lead to injury or impaired performance.
You can learn more about Injury Prevention and & Rehabilitation within IHBI.
Prevention & Management of Chronic Disease
Disease is a major challenge for society, as collectively, the burden of disease is substantial. There is increasing evidence of the role of physical activity in the prevention, treatment and management of chronic diseases such as obesity, non-insulin dependent diabetes, osteoarthritis, cardiovascular and peripheral arterial disease and some cancers.
Promotion of Physical Activity and the Prescription of Exercise in the Context of Chronic Disease:
- Behavioural approaches to improve the knowledge, understanding and participation of children and adults in physical activity.
- Targets include cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, overweight/obesity in children and adults, and children with coordination disorder.
- Settings include schools and general practice.
Community-Based Health Behaviour Interventions:
- Multi-level interventions to promote healthy behaviours across entire communities including environmental and policy approaches to reinforce factors supporting healthy lifestyles.
- Examples include community-based interventions to promote physical activity and prevent falls among older adults.
Human Health & Wellness
Regular physical activity contributes to health and wellness through more efficient function of body systems, weight maintenance, reduced risk of degenerative diseases and mortality and an improvement in quality of life. Emphases in this domain relate to the importance of regular physical activity during childhood and adolescence, which continue into and throughout adulthood, for the collective health and well-being of individuals and the population.
Physical Activity in Children and Adults:
- Projects to measure and evaluate development and effectiveness of intervention programs to promote physical activity, health and wellness.
Physical Education:
- Programs to examine and develop curriculum, thinking skills, teaching and learning skills, and performance activities in schools.
Indigenous Sports Studies:
- Research of traditional games and their role in culture and society and compilation of sports biographies of Indigenous Australians.
You can learn more about Human Health and Wellbeing within IHBI.
QUT, Research and Commercialisation
Research collaborations which involve commercialisation of QUT intellectual property, technology transfer or other QUT intellectual property transactions are managed by qutbluebox, the commercialisation company for QUT.