Presented by: A/Prof Angus Cook MBChB (Auckland, NZ), PhD (Otago, NZ) SPH Research Coordinator

 Centre for Health Services Research  Centre for the Built Environment and Health  Marine Safety Research  Occupational Respiratory Epidemiology  The Cardiovascular Research Group  Environmental Epidemiology  Busselton Health Study  Ecology and Health  Catastrophic Injury Study  Women's Health  Aged Care Research and Evaluation  Nursing Research

SPH research groups are currently engaged in work on mental health, cardiovascular disease, aged care, a range of respiratory disease, and cancer. We are extending our involvement in intervention research (ranging from non-experimental program evaluations to experimental field trials and clinical trials). This includes an emphasis on: establishing and advancing collaborations between population health and clinical researchers providing a research nexus to examine the population risk profiles, management, intervention and mitigation, especially for chronic diseases developing and implementing education programs relating to chronic disease

Many SPH projects have a strong health economics and/or health policy dimension. We are seeking collaborative links on projects that support research-informed changes in policy and practice. This strategy includes: engaging with health economists and policy- makers to optimise services to people with acute and chronic illnesses developing and evaluating new delivery models for: ─ primary prevention programs ─ primary medical, nursing and allied ─ health care ─ cross-cultural health programs

Much of our research often encompasses or explicitly explores the social, economic and cultural components of health and illness. We are extending research linkages on health disparities and the social determinants of health, including in the following populations: Indigenous Australians people in rural and remote areas people in socio-economically disadvantaged areas minorities, migrants and marginalised population groups people with mental disorders, chronic diseases and disabilities (including cardiovascular disease; cancer) and comorbidities at-risk aged populations

 Expansion of School from “core” Population Health to new disciplines  Now encompasses research and education in Nursing and Social Work Master of Nursing Science students at SPH Nursing research teams

Our Nursing group is currently involved in several projects within the Faculty and with external partners including Brightwater, Silver Chain, SCGH, Bethanie Group and Bethesda Hospital. We are seeking to extend our collaborative links in this field as the number of Nursing researchers increases in the next couple of years.

The Department of Social Work will be joining the School from 2011/12. SPH will work with the Social Work team in providing training and in building research capacity. As the academic staff numbers expand in Social Work, we will be seeking interdisciplinary, collaborative links, particularly in the aspects of social work that impact on mental health and child health issues