HSRAANZ Special Interest Groups

30/08/2010 2:00:00 AM

Read the Association's new policy on Special Interest Groups and catch up with the Emerging Researchers' Group and the Indigenous Health Services Research Group. In this editions Kim O'Donnell reports on the work of the Lowitja Institute.

 
With the establishment of the indigenous health services research group and growth of the emerging researchers group the Association’s executive committee has recently prepared a new policy on special interest groups. The policy provides guidance on the establishment and operation on such groups. It recognizes that whilst initially some of the researchers engaging with special interest groups may not be members of the Association encouraging involvement with and subsequently full membership of the Association should be an important goal for each Group.

Special Interest Groups

Emerging Researchers Group (ERGO)

We are very sad to report that Dr Adam Elshaug (MPH, PhD) from the University of Adelaide has stepped down as convenor of the Association’s emerging Researcher’s Group. Adam is currently in the US having been awarded the 2010-2011 Harkness Fellowship in Health Care Policy and Practice. Adam was a very active co-leader of ERGO and an ex-officio member of the Executive Committee advising on early career issues. He contributed to the oganisation of emerging researcher activities at the 2007 and 2009 conferences and a very successful seminar held in Auckland in 2008.

The Executive Committee has appointed Christine Lu to replace Adam and to assist Laura Wilkinson-Meyers in overseeing ERGO

 
Read more about Christine and Laura.

"My name is Christine Lu and I have recently taken up the role of the Australian-based representative of ERGO. I am a pharmacist with a Masters degree in Science (Biopharmaceuticals), the University of New South Wales, and a PhD, UNSW. My doctoral work (2003-2006) examined the impact of controlled access to high cost biologic medicines via the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. I was a Pharmaceutical Drug Policy Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School in 2007-2008 during which I assessed the impact of a “prior authorization” policy on use of medications and health services. I also worked as a Research Fellow in the Sansom Institute for Health Research, the University of South Australia (2008-2010), focusing on pharmacoepidemiological research. I have recently joined the Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmaceutical Policy Group of the Adult Cancer Program, UNSW and my current research focuses on the effects of co-morbidities on medication use and outcomes among cancer patients with multiple chronic illnesses using secondary data sources (Funding: Australian National Health and Medical Research Council Training Fellowship). As an Early Career Researcher, I have increasingly realised the importance of mentors. ERGO can provide a valuable opportunity for experienced researchers to share their insight and learning to support early career researchers and students in their career development and planning. Working with Laura, I hope that ERGO will help to improve students’ and junior researchers’ professional and social networks and create an engaged and lively community in health services research. "

"My name is Laura Wilkinson-Meyers and I've been working as the New Zealand-based representative of the Emerging Researchers Group (ERGO) for the past four years. So far, this role has largely involved participating in the HSRAANZ Executive Committee meetings to ensure links between students/emerging researchers and the organization, organizing ERGO events at conferences and setting up a web site for ERGO members to stay in touch and share resources. I received my MSc in Health Policy Planning and Financing from the London School of Economics and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in 2004. Since then I have been based in the Health Systems Section at the University of Auckland where I've been involved in teaching and health services research (particularly economic evaluations and cost studies) in the fields of disability and aged care. I just submitted my doctoral thesis (Estimating the additional costs of disability) for examination in July 2010 and after four years of being a student am now embarking on the transition from PhD to academic. Given how diverse and dispersed health services researchers are in New Zealand and Australia, I really see the ERGO group and the Association as a network that brings us a bit closer together and can help navigate some of these professional hurdles - whether it is finding funding, finding a job, or finding opportunities to collaborate and to continue to develop research ideas and expertise.

The 2011 HSRAANZ conference in Adelaide will offer another opportunity to bring us all together face-to-face. A priority for Christine and I over the coming months will be to develop activities for ERGO members at the conference - and we'll be looking forward to your feedback and ideas to ensure the events are successful in meeting your needs. If you haven't joined the ERGO google group already, please email me (l.wilkinson-meyers@auckland.ac.nz) or Christine (Christine.Lu@unisa.edu.au) and we'll put you on our email list. If you have ideas about the types of events you would like to see at the next conference, please don't hesitate to let us know!"

Indigenous Health Services Research

In the last newsletter we reported that building on the highly successful indigenous panel session at our 2009 conference, the Association had invited two indigenous health researchers to be co-opted onto the Executive Committee: Dr Amohia Boulton (Ngāti Ranginui, Ngai Te Rangi and Ngāti Pukenga) and Ms Kim O’Donnell (Malyangapa/Barkindji, NSW). Their role will be to advise and assist the Association to engage better with indigenous health researchers and to create an Association that values and respects indigenous health researchers’ knowledge and skills. In the first of a series of articles for this newsletter Kim and Amohia set how they hope this initiative would work. In this edition Kim O’Donnell reports on the Lowitja Institute, Australia

The Lowitja Institute

The Lowitja Institute is an innovative research body that brings together Aboriginal organisations, academic institutions and government agencies to facilitate collaborative, evidence-based research into Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. From 2014, the Institute will fund research and implement programs in its own right, thereby providing a permanent organisation for Indigenous health research.

Approach to Research

The Lowitja Institute is building its research program using the approach to research developed by its predecessor the CRC for Aboriginal Health (CRCAH).   The approach places a high value on stakeholder involvement at every stage of the research, including priority setting, conducting research and implementing the findings. As a result, the research is developed in conjunction with stakeholders, to increase the likelihood that its products will be both feasible and acceptable in Aboriginal health care settings. The aim is to address gaps in knowledge that could enable stakeholders to work together to implement policy goals and programs in a more timely way with a greater focus on delivery.  There is also a strong emphasis on building the capacity of the Indigenous health and research workforce. Capacity development activity is focused on building the capability of stakeholders to take up and use research as well as developing researchers’ skills.

The Congress Lowitja, held every two years, will provide a forum for community representatives, researchers and other stakeholders to have input into the research agenda.

Research Programs

With the support of the Lowitja Institute, the Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health (CRCATSIH) has developed three new research and development programs to take the organisation through to June 2014. The programs are as follows: 

Program 1: Healthy Start, Healthy Life – research focused on reducing the chronic illness risk across the life-course, and improving early intervention and chronic illness management. 
Program 2: Healthy Communities and Settings – research focused on the capacity of local communities and organisations to develop interventions that address the determinants of health across a range of local sectors and settings. 
Program 3: Enabling Policy and Systems – research enabling the reform of policy and programs, workforce development, and whole-of-government approaches to Indigenous health.

Each Program is overseen by two Program Leaders, one of whom is Indigenous. Program Leaders are appointed by the Board to advise on good research practice and how best to ensure that the research is used.  These programs build upon the work of the CRC for Aboriginal Health carried out between 2003 and 2009.

For more information: http://www.lowitja.org.au/

September 2010 Newsletter