Musculoskeletal
Musculoskeletal conditions are a leading cause of disability worldwide, affecting over 1.7 billion people and undermining quality of life for individuals, families, and communities.
Statement on the UK Government’s cut to Official Development Assistance
News
Dr Polly Huang
Profile
Dr. Polly Huang holds a Master by Research Degree and a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Sydney. She is currently working as a Senior Data Analyst at the Food Policy Division of the George Institute for Global Health
In the last few years, much of Dr. Huang work has been the development of novel, practical, scalable and low-cost strategies for achieving population dietary sodium reduction. With extended collaboration and involvement in research projects, Dr. Huang’s research is now gradually expanding to reduce cardiovascular risk through improving overall diet quality. At <2 years post PhD, Dr. Huang has 32 high-quality peer-review journal publications, including a few published in the world’s top journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, British Medical Journal and Circulation.
Dr. Huang possesses a wholesome set of research skills, including research design, project implementation, funding application and manuscript writing. Her particular strengths include data quality monitoring, complex statistical analyses as well as streamlining and automating research conduct.
Establish an Australian Centre for Disease Control that addresses both infectious and noncommunicable diseases
Establish a purpose-built Australian Centre for Disease Control that addresses and accelerates action on the prevention, management and treatment of noncommunicable diseases.
Tackling Australia’s biggest health challenge – noncommunicable diseases – requires a greater focus on preventing disease and improving food systems. The Australian Centre for Disease Control, launching on 1 January 20261 should be fit-for-purpose, permanent and focused on addressing both infectious diseases and the national epidemic of noncommunicable diseases.
This should be coupled with accountability for the full resourcing, implementation, monitoring and enforcement of the National Preventive Health Strategy2 and National Obesity Strategy.3 This includes, but is not limited to, government-led, mandatory regulations on
Front-of-pack labelling – Health Star Rating,
Food reformulation – to improve the nutritional value of packaged food, including by reducing salt,sugar, saturated fats and
Strengthen Medicare to put patients at the centre of healthcare
Implement a blended payment model for primary health care providers, supporting the transition of individual practices and encouraging patients to enrol in such models of care.
Early detection and effective management of noncommunicable diseases requires a patient-centred, affordable and accessible health system. While Australia’s health system performs well overall, there are opportunities to improve accessibility and navigation for patients. Minimising out-of-pocket health expenses will help ensure that more Australians can access the care they need without facing financial hardship.
There is a clear need to implement a new blended payment model for primary health care providers, one that supports a multidisciplinary, team-based health care that better meets patient needs. Under this model, 60% of funding wouldcome through Medicare fee-for-service system, while the remaining 40% is intended to enable other healthcare professionals to join primary care teams to fund a comprehensive pa
Prioritise First Nations people's health
Develop and implement First Nations-led climate action plans that address climate emergency impacts alongside food and water insecurity, as well as health prevention, management and treatment.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the First Peoples of Australia. Yet, the ongoing impact of colonisation, including racism, continues to have profound and detrimental impacts on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. This has led to disproportionate and inequitable health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Despite successive policies aimed at improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, progress to “close the gap” on health outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians is not on track. Different ways of thinking about rectifying health inequities faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are needed, that prioritise self-determination, First Nations knowledges, cultural expression, and connection to Countr
Improve health outcomes for women as well as marginalised sex and gender groups
Establish a new Centre of Excellence for Sex and Gender Equity in Health and Medicine to better understand the causes of poor health, and develop better treatments, clinical guidelines and health services for all.
Recognising and addressing the diverse health needs, risks and influences women experience at different stages of life should receive an increased and sustained focus beyond reproductive health. This approach ensures women have access to the necessary support to improve their lifelong health and well-being.5
Noncommunicable diseases, including cardiovascular diseases such as stroke and heart attack, are leading causes of mortality for women. However, data on women’s unique needs for preventing and managing these conditions is limited, and risk factors are often underrecognised. This contributes to poorer clinical outcomes and greater complications in women with cardiovascular diseases.6 More research is needed to understand the unique risk factors women face in developing non
Invest in health in our region
Boost ODA to 0.7% by 2030 to continue Australia’s strong leadership in supporting health system strengthening in our region.
Australia has a key role to play in supporting our Indo-Pacific neighbours to build resilient and equitable health systems, working towards universal health coverage. This is essential for reducing health disparities, ensuring stability and fostering economic development in the region. The International Development Policy is driving investments to tackle challenges including poverty, economic growth, healthcare, infrastructure investment, climate emergency, food security, disability equity and rights and gender equality.8 It is essential that such investments are guided by the priorities of partner countries and carried out through equitable partnerships with governments, civil society organisations and communities to optimise outcomes and long-term sustainability.
Supporting and continuing to increase Official Development Assistance (ODA) will help to address s
Position Australia as a global leader in medical research
Fund health and medical breakthroughs by increasing the National Health and Medical Research Council budget by 30% to cover the full costs of research, both direct and indirect costs.
Independent public health and medical research are critical drivers of health innovation, improving health outcomes, reducing healthcare costs, and enhancing the overall quality of life for all Australians. Medical research from 1990 to 2004 delivered net present gains of $78 billion – $52 billion in health gains and a further $26 billion in wider economic gains.10
In a time of unprecedented health challenges, including the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rising burden of noncommunicable diseases, and emerging health threats such as climate emergency, investing in robust and sustainable public health and medical research is essential.
Australia’s research community has consistently demonstrated capacity to deliver world-leading medical and public health innovations, advancing both na
Dr Brett Abbenbroek
Profile
Dr Brett Abbenbroek is the Program Manager of Sepsis Australia and the Asia Pacific Sepsis Alliance (APSA) in the Critical Care Division at The George Institute.
Brett is a Registered Nurse with extensive critical care clinical, education and management experience. His qualifications include intensive care, health management, a Bachelor of Science and Masters in Public Health. In May 2018 he completed his doctoral studies into the efficiency and effectiveness of organisational models in critical care and the impact on patient and nurse outcomes. Study findings inform the Australasian Health Facility Guidelines for new and redeveloped ICU’s.
Early in his career, Brett worked on several projects within developing nations including Nepal, Vanuatu and China to establish cardiac surgical and critical care programs. Concurrently, Brett gained experience in a range of health policy, planning, project management, digital health and clinical safety advisory roles. As the State-wide Coordinator for Critical Care Service Planning (NSW) across ICU, ED and medical retrieval services he worked closely with clinicians to enhance the development, integration and delivery of critical care services. This led to a successful Treasury bid for funding to build and implement the electronic Record for Intensive Care (NSW) for which Brett was the Program Manager for Change and Adoption. A health service planning and management consultancy business followed leading to project management roles within the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care on a series of national eHealth clinical safety programs, electronic medication safety and the development of evidence-based national clinical care standards. This experience was integral to the development and launch of the national Sepsis Clinical Care Standard in June 2022 which places Australia at the forefront globally towards achieving a systems-based approach for improving outcomes and reducing the burden of sepsis.
Briar McKenzie
Profile
Briar is a National Heart Foundation of Australia Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Accredited Practicing Dietitian within the Food Policy Division and the Professorial Unit at The George Institute for Global Health, Sydney. She is also a conjoint lecturer with UNSW. Her work is currently focused on two main areas: firstly, investigating the relationship between diet and poor brain health in Australia, and secondly, scaling-up of food policy interventions in Pacific Island Countries.
Briar was awarded her PhD in March 2022. Her PhD focused on investigating the relationship of sex and gender with the diet-related burden of cardiometabolic diseases. She used both quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate this topic. Throughout her PhD she worked as a research associate for the WHO Collaborating Center on Population Salt Reduction, at The George Institute.
Briar holds an undergraduate degree in Nutritional Science (BSc) and a Master’s of Dietetics (MDiet) from the University of Otago, New Zealand.
Camila Kairuz
Profile
Camila is a General Practitioner from Colombia with experience in primary health and community care. Camila’s research focus has been on cultural safety and cultural safety training for medical students. More recently, she has developed a special interest in the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Her research focuses on addressing health inequalities and the impact of colonisation and intergenerational trauma on the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. She completed a master’s degree in Public Health and joined the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Program at the George Institute for Global Health in 2021. Currently, Camila is involved in the design, implementation and evaluation of diverse research projects that work at the knowledge interface to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health outcomes from diverse settings including medical education, healthcare, and community settings.