Content
Media Release
Description: NHMRC Joins New Zealand and Canada to Collaborate on Indigenous Health Research |
Type: Ministerial Media Release |
NHMRC Joins New Zealand and Canada to Collaborate on Indigenous Health Research
In this NAIDOC Week, Australia's 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.
It is well recognised that there is a disparity between the health of Indigenous people and the health of the general Australian population. This is also true of Indigenous peoples in Canada and 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.
"Cooperation between governments, institutions, researchers and Indigenous peoples will facilitate a better understanding of factors that both determine and ultimately improve the health of Indigenous populations in all three countries, thus contributing to the global pool of knowledge in the area," Professor Pettigrew said.
"We, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Health Research Council of New Zealand,
have agreed that we will build upon existing networks of researchers to further develop research of Indigenous peoples' health in areas of mutually shared priorities.
"The outcomes we are looking for include information sharing in research methodology, ethical conduct of research, community engagement, transfer of research outcomes and research capacity as well as encouraging direct links between researchers and organisations for the development of collaborative research programs," Professor Pettigrew explained.
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 communities - the NHMRC IARAP;
- Revision of Guidelines on ethical matters in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research; and
- The Research Agenda Working Group Road Map.
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 end result will be the identification and codification of agreed national research priorities in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health.
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.
Professor Pettigrew said both NHMRC and the Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health (OATSIH) in the Department of Health and Ageing, were supporting the consultation process by contributing $150,000 and $75,000 respectively.
"This is a concrete demonstration of NHMRC's commitment to progressing this important initiative and the work of the Research Agenda Working Group," he said.
Fact sheet
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research Agenda Working Group (RAWG)
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