Steve Ballard, Director Health and Aged Care Southern Metropolitan Region, Grant Russell, Professor of General Practice Research and Director of Primary Care Research, Dandenong and Casey Region and Southern Health, Shelly Park, CEO Southern Health, Steve Wesselingh, Dean of School of Medicine Health Sciences and Nursing, Leon Piterman, Head of SPHC and Campus Director, Anne Peek, Dandenong Casey General Practice Association, and Graeme Downe, Joseph Banks Medical Centre, at the launch of the new primary health care research unit in Dandenong. 60703
By Emma Sun
Leading international and Australian primary care and policy makers launched the new research unit, the Southern Academic Primary Care Research Unit, on Thursday.
Unit Director Doctor Grant Russell said there were many benefits to the unit, both for the community and for future research.
“The idea is that it’s going to be linked with the needs of the community,” Dr Russell said.
The launch also marked the release of the unit’s first piece of research – the Refugee Health Needs Assessment for South-East Melbourne.
“The Dandenong Casey region gets around 1000 refugees per year, which is around one per cent of the world’s resettled refugees,” Dr Russell said.
“We see a need for getting more information and more understanding around the refugees. There are quite a lot of gaps with what we understand and know about them.”
They welcomed international researchers Doctor William Hogg, who is analysing health care reform in Ontario, Canada, Doctors Benjamin Crabtree and William Miller from the United States and many leading Australian researchers to the launch.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for researchers and policy makers to come together and discuss how to implement evidence-based health reform to benefit the local community,” he said.
Dr Russell said the unit was an academic presence in the south-east region of Melbourne, which would allow them to conduct some really high quality research around the area.
“This is about bringing it out into the community, to move it out to where people live.” he said.
The research unit is a collaboration between the Dandenong Casey General Practice Association, Southern Health and Monash University.
