Discover what to expect as a Director with Consumers Health Forum in a webinar with Board Chair, Tony Lawson. 

If you are interested in becoming a Board member, or know someone who is, this webinar will take you through the steps, requirements and commitment necessary for this role. Read more about the CHF Board's succession strategy.

Join CHF Chair, Tony Lawson on Monday, 31 July at 6:30pm (Sydney, Melbourne time).

Applications will open soon.

Earlier this month, CHF led a consumer webinar on a national consultation plan to streamline the Australian Government’s investment into health and medical research.  

The Department of Health and Aged Care and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) are undertaking a national consultation on this issue. The Consultation is currently closed but we are expecting Report to be published soon. 

The webinar replay is available on the Department of Health and Aged Care website and you can access the slides here.

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and CHF are also looking to update this Position Statement from 2016. If you are interested in contributing to this please contact Senior Policy Officer, James Ansell on [email protected]    

An interim report from the Senate Inquiry was released in June.  

The main essence of this Report is a summing up of the issues of access and affordability of Dental Care, followed by an outline of proposals put forward through the submission process.

Many of Australia’s vulnerable groups are excluded from timely access to dental health care, and it has been estimated that 750,000 general practitioner consultations each year are sought for dental and oral health issues. As there is a strong correlation between dental health, oral health and overall health it comes as no surprise that better integration between medical and dental services is called for.

For more, read Jason Staines' write up in Croakey, CHF’s submission here and the Report can found here: Interim report – Parliament of Australia 

Queensland Health is seeking two consumer advisor nominations for the Australian Teletrial Program.

Consumers should have had experience participating in a clinical trial, (or have had a close relative who has), come from  Qld, Vic, Tas, NT, SA or WA, be from rural, regional or remote areas who have had to navigate the health system, and have had previous experience as a consumer representative.

Closing: 21 July 2023

Family carers often experience negative outcomes as a result of their caring role. This is the basis for a research project by Dr Natalie Winter, Deeble Summer Scholar and Research Fellow. Dr Winter investigated barriers to supporting carers in our healthcare system and identified four recommendations to better support their needs. Simply, these were: models of care that includes carer needs, widening support for carers to bridge the gap between hospital and home, an education strategy for clinicians, better and coordinated data collection, and an evaluation process similar to current health and wellbeing data.  

Anecdotally Dr Winter heard carers describe how they are not acknowledged by clinicians, health services and the community, that they experience loneliness, isolation and often find peer support is the only support available to them with knowledge of existing services is restricted by who you know. Read more here and here.

The Young Carer Bursary Program young carers to return or continue their education. The program offers 1000 bursaries of $3000 each year to assist with education needs and resources. Young carers across Australia can apply from July until mid-September.

Applications for the Young Carers Bursary Program opens 9am (AEST) 18th July and closes 5pm (AEST) 12 September 2023.

Australian Red Cross LifeBlood  has teamed up with Archibald Prize Winning artist and musician, Blak Douglas to celebrate 2023 NAIDOC week theme ‘For Our Elders’ recognising the role Elders have played and continue to play in our communities, families, in politics and in the legal system. Give Blood in July and receive a bandage Blak’s vibrant and thought-provoking ‘True Colours’ design. Donate Blood today and save lives   

Associate Professor David Scrimgeour AM, General Practitioner, and Public Health Physician and Michael Larkin, Senior Lecturer (Indigenous Health) will present the role of Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations, (ACCHOS) in pursuing health equity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by the Health, Equity, Learning Lab Oz (HELLO), brought to you by the Stretton institute at the University of Adelaide. 

Date: Monday 14th August 2023 Time: 12-1pm ACST  11:30 – 12:30pm (AEST)

Consultation for the expansion of the Health Studies Australian national Data Asset (HeSanda) program. The Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) is Australia’s peak body for research data and facilitates access to national digital research infrastructure, skills, data sets and tools. Currently researchers face issues accessing health data from studies and registries due to issues with different approaches by research groups, different jurisdictions, and patient privacy imperatives.

The ARDC HeSanda program is launching Health Data Australia, a national platform to support sharing of data from clinical trials. The next phase will be the ‘Expansion Project’ to extend support to health cohort studies and other heath research areas.

A series of public consultations will be held from July through to September.

To find out more, or register for the workshops, use the link below:  

Improving physical activity for cancer survivors in general practice: A mixed methods study.

Researchers at UNSW are conducting a project about the role of general practice in implementing physical activity interventions for cancer survivors, including the barriers and enablers.

If you are interested, the research project is looking for cancer survivors who want to take part in this research and who are:

• Aged over 18 years
• Not currently in active treatment for cancer
• Living within an Australian metropolitan area
   

You will receive an $80 shopping gift voucher in appreciation for your time.

A full description of the research activities, risks associated with these activities and any discomforts that you may experience during research can be found by selecting the following link to the Participant Information Statement.  

If you would like more information or are interested in being part of the research study, please contact Dr Renae Lawrence at [email protected] or +61 2 9348 0793.

Consumer representatives are nominated for national committees to ensure that the views and interests of health consumers are represented at the national level. CHF supports consumer representatives by providing resources in a number of ways. Find out how to become a Consumer Rep    

As a member of CHF you will be kept up to date on key health reform issues through our publications and member alerts. CHF membership enables you to influence the national health agenda by contributing to CHF surveys and polls, consultations and campaigns. Members can draw on CHF position statements, media releases and policy submissions to inform your work and advocacy.