 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Research |
|
|
The Centre has established a research program which seeks to be responsive to community and health service needs, with an emphasis on collaborative effort and capacity building. The Centre has particular strengths in remote health services research, health services planning and development. Centre staff seek to build partnerships with communities and organisations so that research activities are guided by community knowledge in order to improve the health of people in remote regions of Australia. One of CRH's primary aims has been to support communities to benefit not only from the results of research but also from involvement in the research process. The Centre's capacity building capability was greatly enhanced by the Commonwealth Primary Health Care Research Evaluation and Development program funding (PHCRED).
The Centre's research activities have been characterised by a broad range of research topics and collaborations. The strong partnerships built over this period will allow further appropriate growth of the Centre's research effort in order to strike a balance of shorter, contracted research and sustained longer term research programs.
Research News
Mary Moylan Award
Nettie Flaherty has won the Mary Moylan Award for 2012. The award is an initiative of the NT Branch of the Australian Association of Social Workers which recognises the dedication and achievement of Northern Territory Social Workers and specifically acknowledges one social worker whose exemplary practice has made a difference to a profession.
Nettie has worked as a social worker, manager, educator and researcher in the Northern Territory since 1995. She has developed a post-graduate Certificate in Remote Child Protection for child protection workers and a two day workshop about child abuse and neglect issues for frontline primary health care practitioners. She is also carrying out research into the practice of child protection workers in the completion of a PhD.
The Centre of Research Excellence launch
On Tuesday 20th September 2011 in Parliament House Canberra, the Acting Minister for Health, Mark Butler, officially launched the Centre of Research Excellence (CRE). The Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute has invested in the CRE as part of its primary health care research program, intending to make health services more efficient to ensure best health outcomes for all Australians. The Centre for Remote Health is part of this recently established CRE, together with the Monash University School of Rural Health, the Monash University Gippsland Medical School and the University of Sydney Department of Rural Health, Broken Hill.
Nowhere is the problem of access to health services greater than in rural and remote areas. Poor access and social inequity are not confined to non-metropolitan areas. However, for geographically large countries such as Australia and Canada, these problems translate into major inequities in resource distribution and service provision. The consequent inequalities in the health and well-being of rural and remote citizens, especially Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, are unacceptable. Problems of access to services have persisted over time, and remain the single biggest impediment to improving the health outcomes of geographically disadvantaged groups of the population.
The CRE will show how improved access to appropriate primary health care services for populations with poorest access will increase equity in health care through improved health literacy, service utilisation and health outcomes. The Centre will provide systematic evidence and identify objective criteria related to the nature, volume and distribution of the resources required to overcome problems of poor access to primary health care services and to deliver equal health outcomes. This new knowledge will provide health consumers, service providers and policymakers with the evidence that enables them to plan, monitor and evaluate the equitable provision of health care for all Australians.
This research will develop and trial the most appropriate indicators and their corresponding benchmarks for primary health care services (e.g. workforce size and mix) and performance (e.g. early intervention, treatment of acute and chronic disease) that can be used to quantify the volume and distribution of available care (that is ‘who gets how much of what services’) after taking account of population size, location and need to minimise barriers (such as distance and affordability) and maximise access to care. This work will highlight primary health care models that work best to deliver optimal care in different contexts, particularly focussing on aged care, mental and Indigenous health.
Click here to visit the CRE website
11th National Rural Health Conference
The National Rural Health Conference was held in Perth last year. Kylie Stothers received the 2011 friends Unsung Hero award in recognition of the energy and compassion she provides to strengthen her local community. Kylie was nominated by Faye McMillan, President of Indigenous Allied Health Australia (AIHCA), who says "Kylie has a generous spirit and is warm, encouraging, fair and ethical - a wonderful role model in her community". Jess Lopes was also awarded a Des Murray Scholarship, which enabled her to attend and present at the conference.
Kylie Stothers & Janie Smith
© Jen de Vos - Albedo Photography.
|
|
|
|
Alice Springs Campus
Cnr Simpson & Skinner Sts
PO Box 4066
Alice Springs NT 0871
Tel: (08) 8951 4700
Fax: (08) 8951 4777
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
|
|
|
Katherine Campus
PO Box 433
Katherine
NT 0851
Tel : (08) 8971 2758
Fax : (08) 8971 1839
|
|
|
