Researching community health needs

Research Fellow, Dr Tony Fallon, Centre for Rural and Remote Area Health Director, Associate Professor Don Gorman and Senior Research Fellow, Dr Robert Eley are all involved with the interactive workshops.

There is only one way to find out what a community really needs – ask the people who live and work there, and that is exactly what the Centre for Rural and Remote Area Health (CRRAH) intend to do.

Over the next month Senior Research Fellow, Dr Robert Eley, and a team of five USQ Academics will conduct a number of interactive workshops in regional communities to assess their health needs.

The study, ‘Identifying and prioritising the health research needs of Southern and Central Queensland communities', aims to explore health issues and research areas appropriate to each region.

Dr Eley said the team will work with key stakeholders from each community.

"Workshop participants are all members of health sector organisations or organisations that have an interest in health," he said.

They include representatives from Queensland Health, City and Shire Councils, indigenous health services, churches and the Police department.

"We will be looking at needs from the perspective of the participants of the community at large, and also within their own sectors," Dr Eley said.

"For example it may be identified that there is a need for an evaluation of the support services for alcohol abuse in the community and there also may be an identification that within the participant's own sector more support is needed for workers who, as a result of work pressures, turn to alcohol."

Although being careful not to plant any seeds, Dr Eley said there are some issues they expect to come up.

"We expect that the needs that arise will fall into categories including but by no means limited to workforce, resources, specific health issues, access, aged care, and Indigenous health."

Workshops will be held in Cunnamulla, Charleville, Dalby, Goondiwindi, Hervey Bay, Kingaroy, Roma, St George, Toowoomba and Warwick. The results from the study are expected to be released by the end of the year.

 

 

Contact Details:

Fiona Taylor, USQ Media, +61 7 4631 2559 or 0423 808 462

Alternative Contact: Amy Cass, USQ Media, +61 7 4631 2092