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Back to AICAFMHA Homepage / News in Brief Index / Issue 20
National Rural Health Alliance E-forum - 19 July 2002
In this issue:
* Rural & Remote Allied Health Professional Conference in North Qld
* NHMRC To Collaborate on Indigenous Health Research
* Growing Demand for Podiatrists
* National Divisions of General Practice Network Forum 2002: Building
Excellence in Primary Health Care
* ACOSS research on social exclusion/inclusion
* AMA Conference on Indigenous Health
* Government Announces National Communications Fund Projects
* Access to International Research
* Safer Prescribing with IT
* 7th National Rural Health Conference
* Contribution and subscription information and disclaimer
From: Joanne Wardle
Subject: Rural & Remote Allied Health Professional Conference in North Qld
Just reminding your group that the rural & remote allied health professional conference in
North Qld in combining with the GP educational week-end to be the Health Professionals in the
North Conference. Held in Townsville from 13/9/02 - 15/9/02. Information is available at
http://www.nqrhtu.org/ahp.htm
Interested in becoming a ?friend? of the Alliance? Become more involved with the work of the Alliance by becoming a ?friend?. ?friends? support the Alliance by being an integral part of the Alliance?s policy and evaluation process. They also receive other benefits. For more information on membership see http://www.ruralhealth.org.au/friends.htm
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +NHMRC TO COLLABORATE ON INDIGENOUS HEALTH RESEARCH
The National Health and Medical Research Council has announced that it has signed a five-year collaboration agreement on Indigenous Health Research with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Health Research Council of New Zealand. CEO of the NHMRC, Professor Alan Pettigrew, said that while many of the challenges facing health of Indigenous populations were common to all three countries, the agreement acknowledged the need to respond to health development priorities within each jurisdiction.
This development is one of a number of initiatives the NHMRC is pursuing to engage with Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander people and encourage productive research. Other initiatives include:
* Development of an Centre of Clinical Research Excellence in Aboriginal and Torres strait Islander
Health
* Training opportunities for Indigenous scholars
* Seeking advice on proposals to Research Committee of NHMRC which relate to Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander
* Revision of Guidelines on ethical matters in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research.
In addition, the NHMRC?s Research Agenda Working Group (RAWG), has developed a ?Road Map? which outlines a consultative process involving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, researchers and other stakeholders. The Group will be embarking on a widespread consultation process during July, August and September to obtain consensus on, and to refine, priority research questions from six broad themes for health research identified in the ?Road Map? consultation document.
The NHMRC announcement is at http://www.health.gov.au/nhmrc/media/2002rel/naidoc.htm and a fact sheet is available at http://www.health.gov.au/nhmrc/media/2002rel/naidocfx.htm
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +PARTYline is the official newsletter of the National Rural Health Alliance. Keep up to date with rural health policy information and good news stories on living and working in the rural health community. Available online on http://www.ruralhealth.org.au/partyline.htm or receive a hard copy by emailing michele@ruralhealth.org.au
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +GROWING DEMAND FOR PODIATRISTS
The ageing of the Australian population appears to be driving strong growth in the supply of podiatry services, according to a report released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). ?Podiatry Labour Force 1999? shows There were 2,011 working podiatrists in Australia in 1999 (including 1,962 clinicians), up from 1,409 in 1991 and 1,653 in 1994.
Head of the AIHW's Labour Force and Rural Health Unit, Glenice Taylor, said that use of podiatry services is highly related to age.
?Podiatry Labour Force 1999? also shows that most podiatrists (73%) worked in capital cities, though the rate per 100,000 population was higher in large rural centres. The podiatry labour force is predominantly young and female-51% of podiatrists were aged under 35 years, and 64% were women.
The AIHW release is at http://www.aihw.gov.au/media/2002/mr020712.html and the publication is available at http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/hwl/podilf99/index.html
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +From: Kerry Ann Ungerer
Subject: National Divisions of General Practice Network Forum 2002: Building Excellence in
Primary Health Care, Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, 7 - 10 November 2002
The Steering Committee invites expressions of interest from Divisions wishing to present a
paper in the concurrent sessions on Saturday, 9 November. The themes of the sessions are
Workplace Support, Peer Support and Small Group CME, Data and Planning, Chronic Disease
Management and Consumer Participation.
From: Gill Whan
Subject: ACOSS research on social exclusion/inclusion
ACOSS is seeking to compile an overview of current research and research in progress in the area
of social exclusion/ inclusion to be published in a research compendium for the ACOSS Congress -
a fair and inclusive Australia. We are also seeking expressions of interest from social welfare
bodies, academics and researchers in presenting their research at the congress on November 28 in
Hobart.
This is an excellent opportunity for you to have your research abstracts promoted alongside others
working in the area, as the congress attracts a broad range of participants from the non-government
sector, government, and academia across Australia.
For further information call Gill Whan or Megan Mitchell at ACOSS on (02) 9310 4844
AMA CONFERENCE ON INDIGENOUS HEALTH
Chair of the AMA Indigenous Health Taskforce, Dr Paul Bauert, has announced that the AMA (Northern Territory) will host an international conference on Indigenous Health in September.
The Darwin conference - ?Indigenous Health Initiatives Across Northern Australia? - will feature Australian and international experts who will discuss overseas progress on indigenous health outcomes, the links between health and education, and ways to better fund indigenous health programs.
The AMA announcement is available at http://domino.ama.com.au/AMAWeb/MediaRel.nsf/Media?OpenView
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +The ?Australian Journal of Rural Health? is a refereed journal with a national and international reputation for quality scholarship. Its focus is multi-disciplinary and it includes articles of interest to general practitioners, nurses, allied health professionals, pharmacists, health administrators, universities and rural health units. Reduced rates apply to members of some organisations. For more information see http://www.blackwell-science.com/ajr
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES NATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS FUND PROJECTS
Prime Minister John Howard has announced the allocation of $50 million from the National Communications Fund for investment in eight large scale telecommunications projects to deliver practical health and educational outcomes and benefits to rural and regional Australia. The Prime Minister?s speech is available at http://www.pm.gov.au/news/speeches/2002/speech1752.htm
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +ACCESS TO INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH
Minister for Health and Ageing, Senator Kay Patterson, has announced a commitment to provide free access for all Australians to the online library of the Cochrane Collaboration.
"The reviews undertaken by the Cochrane Collaboration are the most rigorous in the world and provide a cornerstone for continuous improvement in the quality of health care," Senator Patterson said. "This research is vitally important and it is vital that all Australians have access to the results."
"I have asked the National Institute of Clinical Studies to negotiate with the publishers of the library to secure a national subscription which will give the general public access to this important resource from their own computers," Senator Patterson said.
Senator Patterson?s statement is available at http://www.health.gov.au/mediarel/yr2002/kp/kp02062a.htm
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +SAFER PRESCRIBING WITH I.T.
Prescribing medicines has become a lot safer because of IT advances in general practice, according to doctors who participated in an AMA/Telstra Family Doctor Week survey. 84 per cent of doctors surveyed listed fewer drug interactions as one of the biggest improvements for patients because software packages could now identify drugs that should not be prescribed together.
80 per cent of respondents believe IT is important in improving patient care. Sixty per cent rely on their computers to communicate with other doctors. Around 50 per cent said their patients frequently present them with health information obtained from the Internet. This may explain why doctors, too, are using the Internet and e-mail to keep up with international medical news and to compare notes with their medical colleagues.
The AMA announcement on the survey results is available at http://domino.ama.com.au/AMAWeb/MediaRel.nsf/Media?OpenView
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +7th NATIONAL RURAL HEALTH CONFERENCE
The 7th National Rural Health Conference is to be held at the Grand Chancellor in Hobart Tasmania from 1 - 4 March 2003. Registration for the Conference will be available in September 2002. This will include online registration for the first time. The Conference website is at http://www.ruralhealth.org.au/seventhconf/seventhconf.htm
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +CONTRIBUTION AND SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION AND DISCLAIMER
The NRHA e-forum is edited by a third party moderator, Jim Groves. Contributions are sought on any topic relevant to rural health concerns. Please send contributions to the moderator at grovesc@winshop.com.au.
As such, the Alliance does not control postings and the contents do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Alliance. Nor do postings necessarily reflect the view of Jim Groves or any organisation he is associated with. Jim Groves can be contacted at grovesc@winshop.com.au.
The e-forum is sent to a mailing list of the Alliance and those have indicated interest through the subscription box at the NRHA Web site (http://www.ruralhealth.org.au). This issue is going to 1,154 recipients. Please forward a copy to any colleague you think may be interested.
To subscribe, send a message saying ?subscribe NRHA eforum? to grovesc@winshop.com.au. To unsubscribe, send a message saying ?unsubscribe NRHA eforum? to grovesc@winshop.com.au. The archive of the newsletter is available at http://www.ruralhealth.org.au/newsletter.htm
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