How policy intentions shift: Research on NDIS implementation

As the NDIS faces significant ongoing reforms, it can be useful to look back at where we’ve come from – from disability rights to fights for entitlements, and from investment to cost containment, Eloise Hummell summarises her recent co-authored article on policy drift and evolution in the NDIS.

Policy and governance, Creating using evidencePower to Persuade20 February 2025NDIS, Disability

2024 wrapped - holiday reading from Power to Persuade

Creating using evidence, AdvocacyPower to Persuade20 December 2024Policy advocacy

A Window of Opportunity to Regulate Commercial Foods for Infants and Toddlers in Australia

Health experts are concerned about poor nutritional quality and misleading marketing of many commercially available foods for infants and toddlers. In today’s post, VicHealth (@VicHealth) Research Fellow Alexandra Chung (@Chung_Alexandra) from Monash University (@Monash_FMNHS @MonashNutrition) explains how government regulation could improve these products and protect the health of young children in Australia.

Creating using evidencePower to Persuade28 October 2024Children, public health

The Big Question: How can we help end child poverty in Australia?

This week's posts are being sourced by the Life Course Centre(@lifecourseAust) to continue to the conversation on social and economic disadvantage following last week’s Anti-Poverty Week (@AntiPovertyWeek). Today @lifecourseAust researchers share approaches that could help end child poverty in Australia.

Creating using evidenceLife Course Centre21 October 2024Children, Poverty, housing and homelessness

Using popular smartphone app FrogID to think about the relational nature of citizen science

Katie Moon, Sophie Yates, Maureen Thompson and Corey Callaghan have recently published some research in People and Nature about frogs, citizen science, and agential realism. Here they explore their findings about how we can think more relationally in the field of citizen science.

Creating using evidencePower to Persuade29 August 2024co-production, environment, climate change

The Rise of Online Food Delivery Services: Global trends and their disruptive impact on our food environments

Online Food Delivery Services are becoming a popular mode of purchasing out-of-home meals, with a projected global increase from 800 million users in 2018 to almost 2.9 billion users in 2029. This week, VicHealth Postdoctoral Researcher Adyya Gupta (@AdyyaGupta) and Deakin Distinguished Professor Anna Peeters (@AnnaPeetersAus), of Deakin University (@IHT_Deakin @GLOBE_obesity) explain the burgeoning trend of online food delivery services and their implications for public health.

Creating using evidence, InnovationPower to Persuade22 July 2024technology, health, Population health

Colombian transitional justice: the need for prioritizing local voices in peacebuilding.

The term ‘transitional justice’ encompasses a wide range of initiatives and mechanisms to address legacies left by human rights atrocities committed amidst situations of armed conflict or in transitions from autocratic to democratic rule. Mechanisms like the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, The International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda or the Former Yugoslavia (ICTR/ICTY) or Timor Leste’s Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor (CAVR in Portuguese) are among some of the most internationally known transitional justice processes. In this blog post Dr Louis Monroy-Santander explains the need to prioritise local voices in peacebuilding.

Thinking differently about evidence: Collaborating with policy makers to create, share and apply knowledge for public health

Public health research generates a wealth of evidence but there are challenges when it comes to making that evidence available to audiences beyond the research sector. In today’s post, VicHealth (@VicHealth) Research Fellow Alexandra Chung (@Chung_Alexandra) of Monash University (@MonashNutrition) discusses a unique project that demonstrates the value of collaborative approaches to create and share knowledge with policymakers.

Holiday reading from Power to Persuade

Creating using evidence, Advocacy, Policy and governancePower to Persuade19 December 2023Policy making, Poverty, gender

Deadlier than flames: The devastating impacts of bushfire smoke

2023 has made headlines as the hottest year in recorded history, and Australia is gearing up for a serious bushfire season. In today’s post, VicHealth Postdoctoral Research Fellow Rongbin Xu (@RongbinXu) of Monash University (@MonashUni) shares his research into how bushfire smoke is an increasingly hazardous public health threat and needs a more focused policy response.

Creating using evidencePower to Persuade21 November 2023climate change, public health, public policy, health

LGBTQ+ training in social care should be mandatory for all social workers

Accessibility, Creating using evidence, Lived experience, Service Delivery, Social Service FuturesPower to Persuade25 October 2023Policy making, LGBTIQ+ issues, social care, social services

What research says about studying with the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP)

This year marked the 75th year of Australia’s Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP). It also saw the release of the largest study in the AMEP’s history to better understand participation in the program, and the AMEP’s broader impact on employment and welfare outcomes. Associate Professor Francis Mitrou and Dr Ha Nguyen from Telethon Kids Institute (@telethonkids) and Life Course Centre (@lifecourseAust) outline some of the key findings.

Rethinking scholarly assumptions about vulnerable workers: A call for reflection and action

Creating using evidencePower to Persuade31 August 2023employment, work

When policy lessons don’t speak for themselves – a “traveller’s guide” for practitioners of policy learning

Policy lessons don’t travel on their own - a lot goes into helping them from their place of origin to new homes (or stopping them from getting there). Drawing on research with disaster management personnel in Queensland, Dr Jenny van der Arend (@JennyvdA) and A/Prof Alastair Stark distil a ‘traveller’s guide’ of practical insights for policymakers who want to help lessons from place to place. The post is based on their new article in the Journal of European Public Policy and is free to read until October 2023.

Peer-led services: reducing barriers to healthcare for LGBTIQA+ people

LGBTIQA+ people are more likely to experience marginalisation, stigma, social exclusion, abuse, and violence than the wider community. Philippa Moss, CEO of ACT-based LGBTIQA+ peer-led health service Meridian, and Alison Barclay, researcher and social impact consultant, explain how peer-led services are helping to address this gap, and what more needs to be done.

Forced marriage as family violence: Potential for change, but more needs to be done

Victoria recognised forced marriage as a form of family violence 4 years ago, however there’s been no examination or reporting regarding its impact. Dr Siru Tan, Lecturer, Criminology, Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre, explores what can be done to increase opportunities for support. This article was originally published in Monash Lens.

Findings from the early evaluation of the UK Children and Young People's Mental Health Trailblazer programme

Globally there is an increasing focus on the mental health and well-being of children and young people as youth mental health problems have replaced childhood mortality as the most significant challenge for society (WEF, 2020). Dr Sarah-Jane Fenton (@S_JFenton) presents findings from the early evaluation of a UK programme, which offers valuable insights (with Jo Ellins (@DrJoEllins) and the Health Services Management Centre (@_HSMCentre)).

Does your bank support gambling? We need to know who sponsors harmful industry associations

We know that alcohol, gambling, tobacco and ultra-processed food products can harm health. But how much do we know about the industry associations representing their interests? In today’s piece, VicHealth (@VicHealth) Research Fellow Jennifer Lacy-Nichols (@JLacyNichols), MPH student Naomi Carr and MPH student Cara Platts (all of the University of Melbourne) discuss some of their research on harmful industry associations.

Cashing in on health: the Commercial Determinants of Health explained

The social determinants of health is a concept that is widely understood in public health circles – access to education, housing, healthcare and income can have a profound impact on the health of individual and societies. But what are commercial determinants of health? In today’s piece, VicHealth (@VicHealth) Research Fellows Alexandra Chung (@Chung_Alexandra) of Monash University, Florentine Martino (@fp_martino) of Deakin University, and Jennifer Lacy-Nichols (@JLacyNichols) of the University of Melbourne explain how commercial actors influence health and argue for prioritisation of health over profits.

How can power theories be applied to public health nutrition? An exploration using ChatGPT

Good nutrition is a requisite for good health; examining the systems that enable some populations to eat well while others struggle has traditionally been examined using a social determinants of health lens. In today’s post, VicHealth postdoctoral researcher Christina Zorbas (@CZ_Christina) of Deakin University (@IHT_Deakin) teams up with Chat GPT to propose how power theories may illuminate inequities in food access and nutrition.

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