University of Western Australia
An experienced researcher and social scientist from The University of Western Australia with a commitment to Indigenous health has been awarded an Early Career Research Fellowship from Healthway to build research capacity in Aboriginal communities.
Healthway has awarded the $376,711 Fellowship to Dr Emma Haynes, from UWA’s Centre for Aboriginal Medical and Dental Health and the School of Population and Global Health, to support her work with regional Aboriginal communities to develop health promotion activities over a three-year period.
Through the Fellowship Dr Haynes will collaborate with Aboriginal medical services in the South West and Goldfields regions of WA to co-design and implement locally relevant health promoting research projects.
Image: Dr Emma Haynes.
BothWay learning will support co-design of data collection, analysis and the dissemination of results to determine actions based on the findings. This will give health services a strong evidence base to leverage sustainable health promotion service funding appropriate to the needs of their communities.
At the end of the Fellowship, Dr Haynes will assist in determining the impact of building research capacity and delivering effective Aboriginal-led health promotion projects that support implementing Priority Reform Four (data sovereignty) of the Closing the Gap.
The national strategy aims to reduce Indigenous disadvantage with respect to life expectancy, child mortality, access to early childhood education, educational achievement and employment outcomes.
Dr Haynes, who has worked in Aboriginal heart disease research and translation since 2013, said she was delighted to receive the Fellowship and thanked the many people who have contributed to the achievement, in particular her PhD supervisors, Aboriginal colleagues and community members involved in previous research.
“I am inspired by the support I have received, and believe together we can make a real difference,” Dr Haynes said.
Healthway Lotterywest CEO Ralph Addis said Dr Haynes has the knowledge and skills to deliver health promotion research and programs informed by “Aboriginal ways of knowing, being and doing”.
“Dr Haynes has already established strong partnerships, and we look forward to the outcomes of this project,” Mr Addis said. “We want Aboriginal communities to receive equitable access to health programs no matter where they live in WA.”
Healthway’s Health Promotion Research Fellowship Program is designed to increase the number of experienced and trained researchers working in health promotion in WA. The program supports innovative and evidence-based projects that can influence health promotion policy and/or practice in WA.