Australian Health Inequities Program Symposium
27 April 2010
Attended by Sandy Muecke and Eleanor Jackson-Bowers, PHC RIS
This final policy event for the National Health and Medical Research Council funded Australian Health Inequities Program, held at the National Wine Centre of Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, focused upon research investigating the links between housing and health.
Dr David Pevalin, from the University of Essex, discussed the relationships between housing, income and health in England, since the time of the Industrial Revolution.
The housing needs of the elderly were described by Mr Rob Hankins, Chief Executive Officer of Elder Care Homes Inc. A panel, comprising of Gary Wilson (Shelter SA), Helen Fletcher (Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs), Sue Crafter (Common Ground, Adelaide) and Simon Schrapel (Anglicare), addressed 'Intervention and Evidence'.
Associate Professor John Edwards from Flinders University gave an extremely interesting, yet disturbing presentation about clandestine drug laboratories. He outlined the dangers associated with the production of methamphetamines, including trauma and burns from explosions and fire, and kidney, liver and brain damage from the fumes. He explained how future occupants of the home may also be exposed to residual chemicals. In an unusual partnership with Housing SA, Prof Edwards and his team conducted an audit of vacated homes and estimated that about 10 per cent have been used in the production or 'cooking' of methamphetamines.
Dr Emma Baker (Flinders University) and Dr Rebecca Bentley (University of Melbourne) highlighted how quality research that focuses upon those most in need is lacking in Australia, and later Carmel Williams manager of the Health in All Policies (HiAP) unit, SA Health, talked about the incorporation of HiAP into SA's Strategic Plan.
A DVD of Professor Sir Michael Marmot, Director of the International Institute for Society and Health and Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College, London, was the final item for the day. Professor Marmot described the gradient effect of disadvantage and poor health outcomes. He proposed a 'universal system' that addresses interventions tailored for those who experience all degrees of disadvantage, not just the poorest.
23rd East Asian Medical Students Conference
14-19 January 2010
Attended by Dilini Gunawardena,
GEMP II Student sponsored by PHC RIS
The 23rd East Asian Medical Students Conference (EAMSC) was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in January 2010. The five day event, themed Men's Health: Defining the Past, Refining the Future, offered over 300 delegates opportunities to network, learn, experience and appreciate different cultures.
 The keynote speaker was Dato' Professor Dr Tan Hui-Meng, former Urologist to the King of Malaysia and a leading figure in several organisations dedicated to men's health. Dato' Prof Dr Hui-Meng explored four major aspects of men's health; risky behaviours, lifestyle diseases, mental health and sexual and reproductive health. He stressed the importance of these factors in our role as health promoters and highlighted their implications for the future of men's health.
The paper and poster presentations were a major highlight of the conference with all participating delegations submitting one scientific paper, one scientific poster and one community poster. I am proud to say that Australia won the first prize in the community poster contest and was placed first runner-up in the scientific paper competition.
On the third day of the conference the delegates were taken to several locations on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur and were given the chance to be part of community health campaigns organised by medical students of the Malaysian National University (UKM). This was a confronting experience for the Australian delegates in particular, as the health problems of a developing country are very different to those we experience here in our own communities.
I feel privileged to have been a member of the Australian delegation at the 2010 East Asian Medical Students Conference. I would like to thank all those who aided us in attending the conference and stress the value of participation by Australian medical students in these types of international events.
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