Speakers

Emeritus Professor Lesley Barclay is an educational leader, health services researcher and Systems reformer whose projects have improved maternal child health services in urban and remote Australia and internationally.   Lesley’s most recent research has been rural, remote or indigenous focussed. 

Prior to retiring in 2016 she held the position of Professor and Director of the Centre for Rural Health in Lismore for Sydney University. She also holds conjoint appointments as professor at 4 other universities.

Professor Barclay has been researcher on 12 Category 1 grants and led an NHMRC funded study investigating a Rural Birth Index. In 2014 her work on maternal infant services in the Northern Territory was awarded one of the ‘Top Ten’ awards by NHMRC.

David Butt was appointed CEO of the National Mental Health Commission in January 2014.  David has 30 years of experience in the health system, much of it at CEO and Executive level.

Prior to his appointment to the Commission, David was Deputy Secretary of the Australian Department of Health from August 2011, head of Rural and Regional Health Australia, and the Commonwealth’s first Chief Allied Health Officer.

This followed 15 years as CEO of three major health system organisations: Chief Executive of Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Health and Community Care, National CEO of Little Company of Mary Health Care (the Calvary group – one of Australia’s largest not for profit hospitals and health services providers) and CEO of the Australian General Practice Network.

Prior to this David worked as an executive in a number of positions in Queensland Health, including as Executive Director of Policy and Planning and for a brief time as Regional Director of Peninsula and Torres Strait health region.

The National Mental Health Commission’s Review of Mental Health Programmes and Services – Contributing Lives, Thriving Communities - highlighted the existing complexity, inefficiency and fragmentation of Australia’s mental health system, and persistent inequity for people who live outside major cities. The Review found high levels of unmet mental health need in rural and regional communities and presented a compelling case for a person-centred approach to mental health care, with service integration that is locally targeted and more equitably distributed. This presentation will outline progress to date on reform of the mental health system and implications for regional communities.

Dr Paul Cutting is the Director of the Rural Distribution Section within the Rural Access Branch of the Commonwealth’s Department of Health. His current responsibilities include the maintenance of the Modified Monash Model remoteness classification, which is being used by a range of health workforce programs to better direct resources to areas of need. The section is also responsible for the annual updating of the Districts of Workforce Shortage system, and the provision of advice and evidence on the distribution of the rural health workforce.

Dr Cutting’s education is in pure mathematics, which he relied on in his previous work in the Department of Health’s Economic and Statistical Analysis Branch. In this former role, he provided assistance to areas across the Department in developing models and providing analysis across a range of health programs.

An explanation of the logic behind the Modified Monash Model, and a short exploration on how it can reshape the thinking behind the provision of health services in rural and remote Australia

Carol Davy has had over 12 years’ experience in using both qualitative and quantitative methods to better understand the health needs of particular populations.  Carol’s PhD completed in 2009 utilised a social psychology methodology to better understand the role that belief systems such as the biomedical model, Indigenous knowledge and religion played in informing and guiding the way that people think about health.

Prior to completing her PhD, Carol worked closely with the Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research on a variety of projects, including developing and managing a study which aimed to measure both the patient and health systems costs of treating malaria, in addition to the potential savings which may be recognized if a preventative malaria program was implemented. Dr Carol Davy has also worked at the University of Adelaide where she was an investigator on the Middle East Area of Operations Health Studies, and senior researcher responsible for the Middle East Area of Operations Prospective Study.

Carol is senior research fellow on a number of programs including Centre of Research Excellence in Aboriginal Chronic Disease Knowledge Translation and Exchange and “What Keeps You Strong” a program of work which aims to support the wellbeing of older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Carol was also involved in a study which developed a Wellbeing Framework for use in primary healthcare services and has developed a suite of master classes which aim to strengthen the research capacity of staff working in the Aboriginal healthcare sector.

The South Australian Aboriginal Health Research Accord sets out a number of principles which guide researchers through the complexity of working in equivalent inter-cultural research partnerships. This presentation will guide researchers through this important document, providing practical examples of how these principles have been applied, resulting in a number of far reaching successful outcomes.

Dr Stephen Duckett is Director of the Health Program at the Melbourne-based think tank, Grattan Institute. He has held top operational and policy leadership positions in health care in Australia and Canada including as Secretary of what is now the Commonwealth Department of Health. He has a reputation for creativity, evidence-based innovation and reform in areas ranging from the introduction of activity-based funding for hospitals, to new systems of accountability for the safety of hospital care. An economist, he is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia.

When people end up in hospital for diabetes, tooth decay, or other conditions that should be treatable or manageable out of hospital, it’s a warning sign of system failure. Australia’s health system is consistently failing some communities. Places such as Mount Isa and Palm Island in Queensland have had appalling rates of potentially preventable hospital admissions for at least a decade.

This speech describes some recent research at Grattan institute which identified 'hotspots' of high rates of potentially preventable admissions - places where the rates are more than 50% above the state average for a decade. The paper outlines the approach adopted and what was found.

Jane Farmer became Professor of Social Innovation at the Centre for Social Impact, based at Swinburne University of Technology in mid-2016, following nearly 6 years at La Trobe University as Associate Pro Vice Chancellor, Research, Associate Dean Research and Head of the Rural Health School.

Before that she worked in Scotland as Director of the Centre for Rural Health. Her research has traversed multiple methods, with a current particular interest in involving consumers and communities and using new technologies and new types of roles to support involvement. She has published over 100 journal articles, a book on Community CoProduction and has won around $15m worth of research funding in her career, including large multi-country research projects.

This talk will scan across recent and novel developments in researching health and related themes in rural places and other places, raising some issues, suggestions and ideas. It will highlight interdisciplinarity and give example of a particular case of novel methods used to explore pathways to wellbeing of socially excluded participants using theories from relational geography and qualitative GIS.

Ms Louise Gates is the Director of Health at the Australian Bureau of Statistics.  Over the last 5 years, Louise has been involved in all outputs from the Australian Health Survey, the Patient Experience Survey and the National Health Survey. In addition to this, she is now exploring new areas of health statistics including new survey options and linking to other health administrative sources to further enhance the usefulness of the data.

This presentation will provide information around a number of the new linked datasets within the ABS including the Mental Health Services - Census Data Integration project, the Census - Deaths Data Integration project and the Multi-Agency Data Integration Project . The presentation will include PHN level results from these and a number of other recent health sources as well as looking at future health projects and opportunities

David and his wife Charlotte married in 1990 and have three children: Isabelle 22, Oliver 20 and Alice 17. David and Charlotte have raised their family on their farm in the Hastings Valley, on which they run grass-fed Angus beef for the export market.

David graduated MB BS from University of Sydney in 1981 and Fellow of Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP) in 1991. As an undergraduate, he gained experience training both in Papua New Guinea and British Columbia. David’s post graduate specialist training included stints at hospitals at Bathurst, Orange and Dubbo while based at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPAH) in Sydney (1981-1982 and 1987-1990). David also gained two years of paediatric experience at Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children (RAHC) Camperdown (1983-84), St George Hospital (1991) and at Sydney’s St Vincent’s Hospital (1992). David obtained a Diploma of Anaesthetics (London) and Diploma of Child Health (UK) in 1986 after working in the UK NHS (1985-6).

Before entering Federal Parliament, David had 33 years of medical practice, including 21 years as specialist Gastroenterologist and Consultant Specialist Physician in Port Macquarie (1993 -2013). David was active in Postgraduate Medical Training as Director of Physician training at Port Macquarie Base Hospital (1995 – 2009) and was instrumental in the Base Hospital achieving accreditation by Royal Australasian College of Physicians for Specialist Training and becoming a Centre for College Examinations.

David and Charlotte built, licensed and ran the free standing Hastings Day Surgery in Port Macquarie for 12 years. During this period, David also lectured and tutored at UNSW Rural Medical School since its inception.

David uses his first-hand experience in public and privately managed health delivery and small business to ensure Australia’s health system delivers high quality cost-effective care in an affordable and fiscally sustainable manner.

A journalist by trade, Rohan Greenland was appointed as the Heart Foundation’s national government relations director in 2006. He cut his public health teeth as director of public affairs with the Australian Medical Association (1992 to 2000). He has extensive experience in tobacco control, physical activity, nutrition and Indigenous health advocacy. He has been a member of Australia’s front-of-pack food labelling project committee and the Food and Health Dialogue executive. He has collaborated with the global NCD Alliance and coordinated Australian advocacy seeking support for the UN high level meeting on NCDs in 2011 and the subsequent development of meaningful targets and supporting action plans. He is currently the President of the Asia–Pacific Heart Network, a continental group of the World Heart Federation. He also serves as a member of the Moving Australia 2030 Taskforce, a non-government advocacy group for active travel. He has worked as a media adviser to a senator, chief-of-staff to an ACT health minister, senior adviser to an ACT Chief Minister and an adviser to a federal cabinet minister. Rohan spent three years as director of public affairs for the Australian Local Government Association, attending COAG meetings as part of the ALGA delegation. He has served on the board of the ACT Cancer Council, the ACT Health Promotion Foundation and Focus ACT, a charity providing supported accommodation for people with intellectual and physical disabilities.

This presentation will provide an overview of the Heart Foundation’s Australian Heart Maps. Launched in August this year, the interactive online maps enable standardised cardiovascular hospitalisation (and risk factor) data to be compared across states, territories, regions and local government areas. A brief discussion of the development process will be provided, followed by a short demonstration. Importantly, the presentation will highlight the power of local level data in exposing and addressing the (often hidden) inequities experienced by rural and remote communities.

Elaine Kite originates from South Australia and is of Western Desert heritage; her cultural background being principally Kokatha.

Elaine has worked extensively with Aboriginal communities in South Australia and Western Australia in community development, health and education. Prior to joining SAHMRI Elaine worked as a Facilitator/Health Educator on the evaluation of the Indigenous Chronic Disease Package, this was undertaken in collaboration with other researchers at Menzies School of Health Research.

Elaine will contribute to the development of the Kanyini Vascular Collaboration Chronic Care Model Study at Wardliparingga.

The South Australian Aboriginal Health Research Accord sets out a number of principles which guide researchers through the complexity of working in equivalent inter-cultural research partnerships. This presentation will guide researchers through this important document, providing practical examples of how these principles have been applied, resulting in a number of far reaching successful outcomes.

Professor McDermott is the Director of the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health and Well-Being, Adelaide, at Flinders University.  He is also the Associate Head of Faculty, Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander Health within the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences.  Dennis is a psychologist, academic and poet.  A Koori man, his mother’s family are from Gadigal land (inner Sydney) with connections to Gamilaroi country (north-west NSW).  

Dennis’s teaching and research interests encompass early childhood, social determinants of Indigenous health, racism, incarceration, policy, equity, Indigenous social, spiritual and emotional well-being, workforce development, Indigenous health pedagogy, and the nexus of culture and context in service delivery.

In 2014 he was awarded a National Senior Teaching Fellowship by the Australian Government’s Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT).

There has been decade-long momentum for action to ‘Close the Gap’ between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Non-Indigenous Australian health outcomes. A number of studies on the burden of disease and injury for Indigenous Australians assert that the magnitude of such ‘gap’ indicates potential for major health gain through addressing disparities. Along with improved service delivery, they note clear implications for policy making and implementation.

This presentation will explore questions of both epistemology and nuance in Indigenous health policy research. It particularly considers uptake, or discounting, of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives, knowledges and research imperatives. It will draw on lessons emerging from recent research to suggest barriers and enablers to improving Indigenous health policy, along with reducing health inequities, in the service of potential health gain.

Dr Lynelle Moon is currently responsible for the Health Group at the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, which reports and collects data on the health of Australians, including population health, disease monitoring and primary health care. This includes health inequalities, risk factors, international health comparisons, mortality, the burden of disease, and specific chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, kidney disease, cancer, musculoskeletal conditions, and respiratory conditions.

Lynelle has held a number of health leadership positions in AIHW since 1995, and spent 2 years working in the Health Division of OECD, Paris. She is also the Lead Analyst for the national component of the Australian Burden of Disease Study, which is a large project using international best-practice methods to calculate the fatal and non-fatal burden of 200 diseases and injuries, along with the attribution of this burden to various risk factors. Lynelle holds a PhD in epidemiology, a BMath, and post-graduate qualifications in statistics and population health.

In late 2015, AIHW received 5 years of de-identified Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) data. This is a significant addition to AIHW’s existing data holdings which span diverse health and welfare topics. From 1 July 2016, the AIHW also took on responsibility for Primary Health Network and hospital performance reporting including through the MyHealthyCommunities and MyHospitals websites, strengthening our capacity and capability to report at the local level. These developments, and the latest news about national data linkage activities and research, will be touched on in this presentation.

Liz was born and raised in regional NSW, moving to Canberra in 1998.

Liz works in the Commonwealth Department of Health, Health Workforce Division. She is Director of the Rural Policy Section, assisting with policy and programs to increase the availability of health services in rural, regional and remote Australia through the distribution of health workforce.  Her portfolio includes the Royal Flying Doctor Service, the Rural Health Stakeholder Roundtable and the establishment and support for the Rural Health Commissioner.  Liz has worked in the rural health workforce area since 2010.

Prior to moving to Health in 2006, she worked with the Department of Immigration  and the ACT Government Department of Housing.

A summary of policy settings introduced by the Commonwealth to improve health service access for people living in rural and remote Australia. The presentation will compare service access levels for now against periods in the past.

A dietitian by background, Jane Potter has worked in public health for over 15 years. She has worked extensively in policy development in NSW, Victoria and the UK. Working across a range of priority health issues, including food systems, food security, physical activity, and tobacco control, she developed a passion for equity and systems thinking in public health. In 2013, Jane commenced in her current role, as Senior Policy Advisor for Health Equity at the Heart Foundation, where her focus is on addressing cardiovascular inequities. She has led the development of the Australian Heart Maps as one of the Heart Foundation’s key health equity strategies. In presenting this afternoon, Jane is joined by Rohan Greenland, General Manager for Advocacy at the Heart Foundation.

This presentation will provide an overview of the Heart Foundation’s Australian Heart Maps. Launched in August this year, the interactive online maps enable standardised cardiovascular hospitalisation (and risk factor) data to be compared across states, territories, regions and local government areas. A brief discussion of the development process will be provided, followed by a short demonstration. Importantly, the presentation will highlight the power of local level data in exposing and addressing the (often hidden) inequities experienced by rural and remote communities.

Dr Vahid Saberi
Chief Executive Officer; North Coast PHN
Adjunct Professor, School of Health & Human Science, Southern Cross University
Senior Research Fellow, Sydney University
Prior to his current role (since 2012), Vahid worked in NSW Health senior positions for 19 years.  Vahid has managed a wide range of services from acute specialist hospitals, to all aspects of primary and community health care. Vahid has a long career in Strategic Development, Planning and Population Health and Capital Infrastructure (building of hospitals, community health centers and other facilities). Vahid is extensively involved in research and his postgraduate qualifications include: Doctorate in Business Administration; Master of Business Administration; and Master of Public Health.

 

Of the 762 public hospitals in Australia, 71% have fewer than fifty beds. Hospitals in smaller rural towns were, in most cases, built decades ago. There is a paucity of research related to the future of these hospitals in Australia and internationally. A sample of 25 smaller rural hospitals was examined in detail through quantitative analysis of retrospective data over an 11-year period. The study concluded that there is little direct relationship between Local Government Area catchment population growth and smaller hospital demand and supply. The population that mattered was the township in which the hospital was situated. The closure of surgical and birthing services was found to have an important impact on the future of smaller hospitals. Proximity to a larger hospital had an impact on the mix and volume of care of a smaller hospital. Hospitals that had reinvented themselves were the exception to the trends.

Alasdair Vance is Head, Academic Child Psychiatry, Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, based at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne.  He is also Head, Developmental Neuropsychiatry Program within the Royal Children's Hospital Mental Health Service.  Alasdair has published extensively in the disruptive behaviour, mood and anxiety disorders fields and has recently begun research in the nexus between Indigenous and Western ways of ‘being and doing’ with respect to health.  He has a particular interest in how key biological and environmental risk and resilience factors can be identified and optimally managed.

This presentation will focus on rural and remote cases assessed and treated in the Academic Child Psychiatry Unit/Developmental Neuropsychiatry Program based in the Royal Children’s Hospital. Key psychological, social, cultural and economic factors affecting access to and engagement with services will be reviewed. Innovative uses for new social technologies to aid management will be described.

Professor John Wakerman is the Associate Dean, Flinders Northern Territory. He is a Public Health Medicine specialist and general practitioner, with a long background in remote primary health care services as a medical practitioner, senior manager and researcher.

He has specific academic interests in remote health services research and remote health workforce education and training. He also has a strong interest in utilising evidence for advocacy related to rural and remote health issues. He has held previous positions as the Inaugural Director of the Centre for Remote Health, a Joint Centre of Flinders University and Charles Darwin University, in Alice Springs, and is a past Chair of the National Rural Health Alliance. He is currently Deputy Chair of the Central Australian Health Service Board, a member of the NHMRC Health Care Committee and of the Australian Therapeutic Goods Advisory Council.

Overcoming access barriers in relation to primary health care is crucial to achieving equitable health outcomes for Australians living in rural and remote areas. This presentation will draw on the work of the Centre of Research Excellence in Rural and Remote Primary Health Care to explore what we know about overcoming these barriers.