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Latest News

Associate Professor Ruth Colagiuri elected as a VP of the International Diabetes Federation

 

The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) has elected a new Board at its General Council in Montreal, Canada to lead the Federation into the next triennium and to address the global diabetes epidemic which now affects over 285 million people worldwide. IDF is an umbrella organization of over 200 member associations in more than 160 countries. The mission of IDF is to promote diabetes care, prevention and a cure worldwide. Its main activities include education for people with diabetes and healthcare professionals, public awareness campaigns and the promotion and exchange of information.

The new IDF Executive Board will serve for the period 2009 to 2012. Associate Professor Ruth Colagiuri was elected a Vice-President.

Young Tall Poppy Science Awards 2009

 

Dr Julie Redfern, ANZAC Research Institute, Sydney has won a NSW/ACT Young Tall Poppy Science Award.

Julie’s research aims to help patients who survive a heart event but who do not participate in an existing prevention program. She is currently undertaking a series of scientific studies where patients can access a prevention program that involves goal-setting and regular encouragement and where patients themselves are actively involved in making choices about their treatment. If effective, the strategies developed would lower the risk of future heart attacks among thousands of Australians on a daily basis.

Professor Stephen Leeder mentors Dr Redfern as a National Institute of Clinical Studies (NICS) Fellow.

New Partnership for Better Health Grant

 

Professor Stephen Leeder and others have been awarded a National Health and Medical Research Council Partnership for Better Health Grant.

The project is entitled Developing service policies for Australians with dual sensory impairment: An integrated, collaborative pilot project.

Professor Stephen Leeder awarded Sidney Sax Medal from AHHA

 

Professor Stephen Leeder was awarded the 2009 Sidney Sax Medal by the Australian Healthcare & Hospitals Association.

"The Sidney Sax Medal is awarded to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution in the field of health services policy, organisation, delivery and research (excluding clinical research). The Sax Medal awards outstanding achievement in and contribution to the development and improvement of the Australian healthcare system. To be eligible for the award the individual nominee must still be active in the health services field."

Visit the AHHA website for more information.

Professor Stephen Leeder awarded Sidney Sax Medal from PHAA

 

Professor Stephen Leeder was awarded the Public Health Association of Australia Sidney Sax Medal for 2009.

"The PHAA bestows this competitive award on a person who has provided a notable contribution to the protection and promotion of public health, solving public health problems, advancing community awareness of public health measures and advancing the ideals and practice of equity in the provision of health care."

Click here to read the PHAA Media Release.

Chronic Disease and Sustainability: a Health Research Agenda

 

Professor Stephen Leeder presented at the School of Public Health's Research Leaders Seminar series. The semianr series aims to stimulate ideas, promote debate and make clear for all to see the research themes that will define what research the School does, how it does it and what makes Sydney Public Health a leader in the field.

Click here to view a copy of his presentation: Chronic Disease and Sustainability: a Health Research Agenda

New Biosecurity Grant Awarded

 

Dr James Gillespie and Joel Negin have been awarded a new Biosecurity Grant. The project, Securitisation and Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis: Global and Australian Perspectives aims to to: analyse the different tuberculosis (TB) response strategies contemplated by Australia, the principal regional power and major aid donor; interrogate the use of the concept of ‘securitisation’ to explain and provide remedies for emerging crises around new and emerging diseases; and assess international debates around new forms of regulatory intervention within the framework of the International Health Regulations and policy responses to the TB epidemic.

Prospects for health reform just got worse

 

The prospects for health reform in the near future just reduced considerably with the Senate’s rejection of the legislation to reduce the private health insurance (PHI) rebates for high income earners, writes Robert Wells on Crikey.

You can read the full article by clicking here. Registration with Crikey is required.

New Grant Awarded

 

James Gillespie, Clive Aspin and Stephen Leeder have been awarded a National Seniors Australia grant. The project, Improving Health Literacy in Seniors with Chronic Illness, aims to gain an understanding of how seniors living with chronic illness navigate the health system and obtain access to information about available care and management options to assist them in managing their conditions. The study will approach the issue of patient care and quality of life from the patient’s perspective, giving a voice to individuals who often are disenfranchised in the development of care plans.

Dr Jim Gillespie and Mr Robert Wells' opinion piece on NHHRC Final Report,

 

System 50 years out of date for chronic illness - Dr Jim Gillespie and Mr Robert Wells share their reactions to A Healthier Future For All Australians – Final Report of the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission – June 2009

An extract from the opinion piece is below:

Many people with chronic health conditions have more than one disease, which makes caring for them much more complex. Unfortunately, the way our health system is structured now, and the way it is paid for, reflects the health needs our society had about 50 years ago.

Then the average age of the population was much lower and most health activity was around episodic care, when people were treated for a health problem that would be expected to ‘‘get better’’ at some point.

This capacity remains vital in our world today, but many of us now have health problems for which there is no cure (like diabetes) and which have to be managed to enable us to continue to lead productive and satisfying lives in the community.

Extensive evidence from around the world shows that chronic conditions are better managed within the primary care sector, with hospitals providing relevant interventions for acute episodes. The better the management in primary care, the fewer acute episodes should occur.

In this way the final report of the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission provides a good blueprint for future health reform in Australia....

Letters from Washington

 

Dr Lesley Russell, the Menzies Foundation Fellow, is currently in Washington DC where she is part of the health team at the Center for American Progress, a Democrat think tank, and a Visiting Professor in the Department of Health Policy at George Washington University.

She is following closely progress in implementating President Barack Obama's health care reform commitments, and will report regularly on what is happening through her "Letters from Washington".

Please use the links below to view Dr Russell's letters.

Questions and comments about these letters and Washington issues should be referred to Dr Russell at .

Analysis of the Australian Government's 2009-2010 Health and Ageing Budget

 

Dr Lesley Russell has completed her Analysis of the Australian Government's 2009-2010 Health and Ageing Budget.

Click here for a copy of the analysis.

More information: Please join us on Wednesday, 17 June when Dr Lesley Russell will provide an analysis of the health provisions in the budget, looking at the fiscal and policy implications. Following Dr Russell's presentation, a panel of experts, chaired by Professor Stephen Leeder, will try to determine if 2009-10 was a budget win for the bean counters or the policy wonks.

See Upcoming Events for further details.

Analysis of the Australian Government's 2009-2010 Indigenous Budget

 

Dr Lesley Russell has completed her Analysis of the Australian Government's 2009-2010 Indigenous Budget.

Click here for a copy of the analysis.

Nations that share a crisis of care

 

Professor Steven Lewis, Visiting Fellow at the Menzies Centre for Health Policy, had the following Opinion Piece published in The Australian:

Lewis S. Nations that share a crisis of care,The Australian, 25 April 2009.

New Report: Poverty, Climate Change and Health in Pacific Island Countries

 

As a consequence of Dr Russell's own work in health policy and that of her colleagues at the Menzies Centre for Health Policy, it was inevitable that her attention and interest would be drawn to the impact of the environment on health, and in particular, the health consequences of global warming and climate change.

This paper does not aim to present policies and strategies that might be adopted by Australia and the US, separately and together, to address the environmental and health problems that confront Pacific Island countries. Rather, its purpose is to summarise the underlying issues and the available data. As such, it is hoped that this paper can serve as a useful resource in the course of the development of the needed policies and strategies, and will help generate informed discussion and debate towards these goals.

Click here to view the report.

Submission to the National Health and Hospital Reform Commission

 

The Menzies Centre for Health Policy submitted a response to the National Health and Hospital Reform Commission's Interim Report: A Healthier Future for all Australians - Interim Report December 2008.

Click here for a copy of the submission.

Transformational Change: Where has it happened and what made it possible?

 

Professor Steven Lewis, Visiting Fellow at the Menzies Centre for Health Policy, presented at the School of Public Health on the topic Transformational Change: Where has it happened and what made it possible?. Listen to his presentation by clicking here.

A copy of Professor Lewis's presentation is available by clicking here.

Health's chance in a sick economy

 

Opinion by Professor Stephen Leeder, Sydney Morning Herald, 17 February 2009

With the interim report of the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission published yesterday the time for implementing reform could hardly be better. In Australia the decision to fund infrastructure renewal and development as part of the Federal Government's response to the economic downturn creates opportunities for the health system....

Read more of this article by clicking here.

New Grant Awarded

 

Stephen Leeder is a chief investigator on a recently awarded NHMRC Capacity Building Grant that will use health economics to strengthen ties between evidence, policy and practice in chronic diseases. Professor Leeder will work with colleagues at The George Institute for International Health and the University of Sydney School of Public Health on a broad ranging health economics research program that cuts across and adds value to a range of studies including a number of population-based observational studies, clinical trials and evaluations of health service interventions.

Australian Health Policy Institute now known as the Menzies Centre for Health Policy

 

From 2009, the Australian Health Policy Institute and the Menzies Centre for Health Policy will amalgamate and be known henceforth as the Menzies Centre for Health Policy (MCHP). The Institute and Centre have worked side by side for the last three years and we believe the merged Centre will have strength in numbers, output and an improved national focus. The Menzies Centre will continue to operate as a joint venture between the University of Sydney and Australian National University.

At the Menzies Centre for Health Policy, we will continue to:

  • produce and publish high-quality analyses of current health policy issues;
  • deliver public seminars on a wide variety of health policy topics;
  • offer outstanding postgraduate health policy education programs; and
  • undertake comprehensive research projects on health policy issues.

2009 NHMRC Grants

 

Staff from the Menzies Centre for Health Policy have been successful in obtaining NHMRC project grant funding for 2009.

Stephen Leeder and James Gillespie are part of a team that will investigate what is influential public health research. The study will look at how population health researchers and research consumers understand research impact. The team have been awarded $433,500 over 3 years.

Stephen Leeder and a research team from the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research have been awarded $783,875 over 3 years to look at sex-related changes in asthma during the transition through puberty in the Childhood Asthma Prevention Study birth cohort.

Master of Health Policy - new in 2009!

 

The Master of Health Policy offers a critical perspective on the workings of our health care system. It emphasises that good policy is based on sound evidence and evaluation, but also recognises the role of political power, budgetary constraints and value choices.

The only program of its kind in Australia, the health policy courses extend the professional skills of students.

Further details available at http://www.health.usyd.edu.au/future/coursework/healthpolicy/masters.php

Upcoming Events

Please visit Upcoming Events for a complete list of forthcoming events.

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Authorised by: Director, Menzies Centre for Health Policy. Last Updated: Wednesday, November 11, 2009