Vol 7 No 2 April 2007 - June 2007: ISSN 1445-7253
A peer-reviewed electronic journal from the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet
Current topics
This section of the Bulletin contains information about major public events, new programs and relevant staff appointments. If you would like to contribute to this section, contact us.
The 9th National Rural Health Conference: Standing up for rural health: learning from the past, action for the future
This conference was organised by the National Rural Health Alliance and intended for anyone who had a personal or professional interest in the health and well-being of people in rural and remote areas. It detailed the successes so far and the continued challenges in meeting the commitment to achieve equality in health for people in remote and rural areas by 2020.
Under the broad theme of 'Standing up for rural health: learning from the past, action for the future', the conference dealt with issues around both policy and practice, focusing on:
- Health across borders: reform, consumers and quality
- Effective services in the bush
- The politics and economics of early intervention
- Evidence, access and equity: how do we measure up?
- Chronic disease and rural and remote Australia
- Natural disasters: preparation, response, community recovery
The conference involved presentations, papers, workshops, and posters, and also shared yarns in less formal settings. Contributors included health service managers, allied health professionals, Aboriginal health workers, nurses and GPs.
Indigenous health and well-being was once again a major focus of the conference, highlighting the poor state of Indigenous health as a priority social issue. Topics discussed in relation to Indigenous health included: health conditions; health services; workforce issues; capacity building issues; and lessons learned.
For information on the conference presentations of relevance to Indigenous health view details.
The arts-in-health activities were enjoyed by some 300 students of medicine, allied health and nursing, who energised the event, learned from it, and gave other delegates confidence in the future of the health workforce and its leaders. The delegates not only enjoyed this session and were inspired by music, circus skills, poetry and theatre, but also committed themselves to use the evidence base on arts-in-health to seek further support for this strategy from both health and arts authorities.
Sandra Harben and Bronwyn Gee from the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet and Shannon Smith from the Aboriginal & Islander Health Worker Journal conducted a HealthInternet café at the conference. This showcased Aboriginal health information particularly related to rural and remote health.
- For further information
- Conference communiqué and recommendations
View information - Conference media releases
View information - View website: National Rural Health Alliance Inc.
- Conference communiqué and recommendations
We would like to thank the conference participants who provided written permission for us to display their photos (click on the photos to enlarge).
