Rural Health Research Body Launched
The Acting Minister for Health and Ageing, Mark Butler officially launched the Centre of Research Excellence in Rural and Remote Primary Health Care.
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20 September 2011
The Acting Minister for Health and Ageing, Mark Butler today officially launched the Centre of Research Excellence in Rural and Remote Primary Health Care.
The new Centre of Research Excellence (CRE) will research and report on services in small, rural, remote and other communities and guide the Government in its ongoing primary health care reform.
The CRE is a collaboration of the Monash University School of Rural Health, the Centre for Remote Health (a joint centre of Flinders University and Charles Darwin University in Alice Springs) and the University of Sydney’s Department of Rural Health in Broken Hill.
“Centres of Research Excellence are a key component of the Government’s Primary Health Care Research, Evaluation and Development Strategy and will enable researchers across Australia and internationally to better collaborate and understand the health challenges facing rural and regional areas, including limited access to services, workforce shortages and infrastructure issues,” Mr Butler said.
This new CRE will research and report on an “index of access” to services in rural and remote areas and develop an evaluation framework for primary health care service access and equity, taking into account population size, location and need. It will also determine which service models work best to minimise barriers (such as distance and affordability) and maximise access to primary health care, focusing on aged care, mental health and Indigenous health.
“Our support of the CRE will build on the benefits delivered to rural and remote communities through national health reform, including Local Hospitals Networks, developments in e-health, telehealth and rural health workforce support measures,” Mr Butler said.
“With ties to local communities across the nation, the centre will be well placed to research the health needs of people throughout rural and remote Australia, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other vulnerable groups.
“The new centre has the potential to help governments improve access to health services for people in rural and remote area and ensure their needs are taken into account in our policy development.”
The Australian Government is providing a minimum of $2.5 million over four years for each CRE, with additional funding of up to $500,000 over four years for CREs with a core research focus on rural and remote primary health care.
Three CREs will commence this year and up to another seven are expected to commence in 2012.
For more information, please contact the Minister's Office on (02) 6277 7280
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