Health professionals and community members to address evolving needs of regional communities at ECU forum
Health professionals, researchers and community members will converge at Edith Cowan University in Bunbury on Friday in a bid to address the evolving needs of southern regional communities in WA.
The South Regional Health Research Forum 2025 on June 6 — hosted by the South Regional Health Research Collaborative — will focus on health research tailored for the region.
South Regional Health Research Collaborative chair and ECU professor Beth Armstrong said the theme of this year's forum was Improving Rural Health Our Way — Partnering Together in Research.
'The forum provides a unique opportunity to learn about research projects, share insights and contribute to impactful health initiatives across the southern regions,' she said.
'A local approach of targeted health research, collaboration and action facilitates better health outcomes for regional communities.'
Themes to be explored include ageing well in the South West, researching long-term health conditions in the regions, improving access to mental health support and culturally secure research in Aboriginal health.
The community as well as health professionals are invited to attend the event which will run from 9.30am to 5pm.
Tickets are available
online.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
SBS Australia
17 hours ago
- SBS Australia
Could Australia's cost of living crisis have a silver lining for First Nations communities?
According to the head of Australia's fastest growing Aboriginal housing provider, the current cost of living crisis could provide opportunities for First Nations communities to address long overlooked concerns. Wiradjuri man and Birribee Housing CEO Paul Coe told NITV's The Point that issues like housing affordability and rising costs are now impacting Australians from all backgrounds. We Put The Blak In Blacktown 'When you look at current issues around cost of living ... things that have been a concern for Aboriginal communities for years, society's now joined them in this space,' he said. 'Society is now saying this is an election issue, which makes it a sweet spot for Aboriginal people to push and push for these outcomes as best they can.' Birribee Housing was established by the NSW Aboriginal Land Council in 2019 and now manages hundreds of properties across the state as well as having involvement in major developments like the renewal of Tolland Estate in Wagga Wagga. In Blacktown, home to the country's largest urban Indigenous population, Birribee manages more than 120 properties and operates an Aboriginal homelessness service in the region. 'It's often a sum loss game," said Coe. "There's more money going out than coming in, and it's difficult, particularly in the Aboriginal housing space when the stock in Western Sydney [is] quite aged. 'They're barely standing up. Old cottages that are cold, that are hot, and somehow society accepts that.' Mr Coe said that a broader approach was needed to go beyond the current closing the gap focus on reducing overcrowding. 'We know that homelessness is probably more often than not an outcome of a former institution," he said. "You've been in out-of-home care, you've been in jail, you've been in mental health, or there's been some other institutional effects on you. 'Your pathway to that hasn't been shaped by yourself or your family.... Aboriginal families lean into their family a lot for support, and so we hide that homelessness to a large degree. "But that hiding ... creates its own pressure points in households financially as well as wear and tear, and pressure across schools and everything else.' With around 60,000 people waitlisted for public housing across NSW, the need for new dwellings is critical. However Dharug Elder Uncle Chris Tobin said that growth shouldn't come at the expense of Country. 'This is the hard part for particularly TOs, or traditional custodians looking after their ancestral Country. We've still got that job,' he explained. 'We've got to keep looking at ways to rescue our Country and it's just so hard to do with this model of development that just wants more and more and more and which doesn't add to anyone's quality of life. 'Sadly, I think it's all about dollars and I think the health of the Country will take us in a direction that will be good for us ... "When the Country's healthy, we'll be healthy.' Paul Coe agreed that communities should use the increased political focus on housing solutions to advocate for the ongoing inclusion of culture and respect for the health of the land. 'They do become a real tangible election issue as we've seen through Labor and the push federally around housing,' he said. 'The difficulty you have is around this lack of bipartisan approach on the key issues around housing. A four or three year cycle is never going to solve something so critical to that. 'The development opportunity, or how we go through that, is to, one, make sure that we have housing, and that we curate our land as much as possible and that has to take some time to work through and a sustained effort and focus from people.' The Point airs Tuesdays 7.30 on NITV, and is available after the broadcast on SBS On Demand.
West Australian
a day ago
- West Australian
Emma Garlett: No amount of money can heal the wounds of Stolen Generations
For decades, West Australian children were taken from their families, for no reason other than their race. These were the Stolen Generations — thousands of Aboriginal children forcibly removed from their homes, denied access to their mothers and fathers, their communities and their culture. They were stolen, and they were stolen from. They were robbed of the basic right to live with their loved ones. The impact from that injustice has rippled out for generations. And now, the WA Government has put a dollar figure on their suffering. Under a redress scheme announced by Premier Roger Cook during Reconciliation Week, surviving members of the Stolen Generation are eligible for a one-off payment of $85,000. Mr Cook said the payments were an acknowledgement of a great injustice. 'It acknowledges the Stolen Generations era represents a sorrowful and shameful part of our history, and recognises that it has caused cycles of disadvantage and intergenerational trauma,' he said. 'No amount of money could ever make up for the experience of Stolen Generations members and their families, and the ongoing effects on people's lives.' He is right that it is inadequate. Australia's median annual income is about $72,500. In return for lifetimes of trauma and suffering, victims will receive a little over a year's wages. What of those Stolen Generation members who are no longer living? They receive nothing, their families receive nothing. Intergenerational trauma is exactly that: intergenerational. The death of a person who was stolen doesn't end the suffering. It continues in their own children and grandchildren, handed down through families. It almost seems convenient that we should wait so long to repay the victims of direct government action and then give no heed to the impacts the stolen generations had on their families. That said, there's no way money could ever heal those wounds. Instead, the Government needs to step up on other initiatives which will help to acknowledge the sins of the past and make real steps towards reconciliation. Labor has said it intends to 'partner with Aboriginal stakeholder organisations to develop measures for healing and truth telling'. When it does so, these healing and truth telling measures need to be enshrined in law. They need to be locked in, made more difficult to abolition should a future government have a change of heart. Emma Garlett is a legal academic and Nyiyaparli- Yamatji-Nyungar woman
West Australian
a day ago
- West Australian
Native garden provides space for healing and learning at Kalgoorlie-Boulder Lotteries House
A new garden space has been created at Kalgoorlie-Boulder Lotteries House to provide a place for healing and learning. The Aboriginal Healing Garden was co-designed with Aboriginal community members and features native plants, fruit trees, a vibrant wall mural and seating area. The project was led by Anglicare WA in collaboration with Lotteries House and funded by the Department of Social Services. Anglicare WA Goldfields service manager Joshua Simpaya said the space created an outdoor meeting point for community agencies and their clients. 'It's a place where we meet community members that are engaged into our programs and other organisations . . . clients and staff can meet there,' he said. 'It's a really special place that will continue to evolve. 'I think it's a space that is ongoing, the community of Aboriginal people will continue to add to it.' Lotteries House is an office space occupied by not-for-profit community organisations including Anglicare WA, Cancer Council, Outcare, and Yorgum Healing Services, among others. Shalom Works, the maintenance business arm of rehabilitation service Shalom House, completed landscaping and paving works. 'It was very intentional to have them participate . . . because we're coming from the same principle of empowering and learning,' Mr Simpaya said. Clients engaged in Anglicare WA's social and financial wellbeing service helped build the garden and Goldfields Garden Creation provided horticultural advice. The space also features a vibrant wall mural painted by local artist Jason Dimer. The garden was officially opened on Thursday.
