Dr Raelene West @raelene_west
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.
Read MoreThe Together Home program's success in NSW shows how stable housing and personalised support offer a new route to improving lives and fostering wellbeing among the homeless.
Read MoreCamps are dynamic, culturally significant spaces. New research from the University of Newcastle proposes the significance of these cultural practices may provide an alternative pathway to protection.
Read MoreWithin mental health research and service delivery, involvement of experts by experience has become increasingly common. The involvement of experts by experience allows for the design and delivery of research that is of higher quality and more rigorous.
Transitioning out of youth-focussed lived experience groups is a matter that is not well understood and, for many reasons, complex. It can be difficult to transition from the role of being a young contributor to research into a professional in the Public and Patient Involvement space. Working in lived experience roles, either as ‘lived experience practitioners’, ‘peer support workers’, ‘PPI facilitators’ or ‘involvement officers’ can be complex and the relationships you hold in these spaces vary depending on your positioning within either the group or the organisation (Carr, 2019).
In this blog we explore the experience of Beckye, a former Youth Advisory Group (YAG) member for the University of Birmingham’s Institute for Mental Health as she begins the making this transition into an employee in a Youth Involvement Officer. The blog takes the form of responses to an with Beckye (Youth Involvement Officer) and Niyah (Senior Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement Lead). The interview offers early reflections that may be of use to organisations or individuals who may be supporting folk undertaking these transitions or in the process of negotiating the transition themselves.
Read MoreEvery young person has a right to evidence-based education to support their sexual health and wellbeing. But Australian schools continue to skirt around the S-E-X word, preach abstinence or throw some bananas and condoms in the break room and hope for the best. As Brianna Delahunty and Linnea Burton Smith from the ERA’s Young Women’s Advisory Group argue, Australians deserve inclusive, safe and respectful education that prepares them for the real world and real relationships.
Read MorePublic inquiries are a frequent response to policy and systems failures. Here A/Prof Alastair Stark and Dr Sophie Yates (@DrSophieYates) give a preview of their new Cambridge Element on public inquiries and policy design – introducing a typology of four design functions that inquiries perform, and discussing how to design for inquiry effectiveness. Public Inquiries and Policy Design is open access until 28 February 2024.
Read MoreThe much-anticipated NDIS review released in late 2023 failed to explicitly consider gender equality or recommend a gender strategy. In today’s post, UNSW PhD candidate Molly Saunders gives a history of gender and the NDIS, and discusses her doctoral research on whether the NDIS supports women with disability to live a life of their own choosing.
Read MoreIt can be very difficult to get traction for meaningful policy change that will benefit the Australian public, particularly for marginalised communities. What can make it even harder is the influence of corporate actors, which is often hidden from public view. In today’s post, VicHealth postdoctoral research fellow Jenn Lacy-Nichols (@JLacyNichols) of University of Melbourne (@unimelbMSPGH) and Katherine Cullerton of University of Queensland (@UQmedicine) share their research findings into tracking the lobbying activities of corporations. This article first appeared in the The Conversation on 13 November 20203; you can read it in its original form here.
Read More2023 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.
Read MoreAustralians consume an average of a ½ kilo of sugar per week, much of it ‘hidden’ in high-sugar foods. For Sugar Awareness Week (13 – 19 November), VicHealth Postdoctoral Researcher Adyya Gupta (@AdyyaGupta) of Deakin University (@IGHT_Deakin @GLOBE_obesity) explains the current policy climate in Australia for regulating free sugars and what policy options are under consideration to create a healthier food environment.
Read MoreThe World Bank reports that nearly 2.4 billion women globally do not have the same economic rights as men. Women are more likely to be impoverished than men, and these disparities are more pronounced in countries in the Global South. Even though international policies have been developed to promote gender equality, their impact is uneven. In today’s piece, Hilda Aboagyewaa Agyekum, PhD candidate at the Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU, examines the influence of culture and context on the interpretation and implementation of gender policies, drawing on examples from Africa.
Read MoreDr Meera Varadharajan highlights a stark lack of cultural diversity within the Australian philanthropic sector and offers 16 actionable recommendations.
Read MoreChanelle Wilson and Keira Bury explore the risks that online alcohol marketing and fast delivery services pose to those in addiction treatment and recovery, advocating for tighter regulations to prevent potential relapses and safeguard health.
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