Flinders University

Tony Bush - Doctor of Public Health

Currently I am a senior lecturer at RMIT University (Melbourne) where I teach in the Bachelor of Nursing (public health & palliative care subjects). I first became involved with Flinders when I undertook the Master of Primary Health Care (Palliative Care). I followed this with the Doctorate of Public Health. Undoubtedly both of these Courses have allowed me to become much more aware of the issues involved in public health & in palliative care and I have been able to translate this awareness into undergraduate and postgraduate areas within RMIT. As well I have become involved with a few Steering Project Committees for external undergraduate courses and have also applied for an appointment to a board of a metropolitan public hospital. I'm sure none of these avenues would have become available to me without completing the Flinders programs. Recently I have applied for funding for a pilot study to examine the potential role of health carers within a Melbourne soccer club.

My time at Flinders was genuinely enjoyable (especially the intensive weeks) and I can honestly say that the majority of my learning was not only very informative but also very enjoyable. I'm not too sure that many of my associates shared such pleasurable times with their studies in other programs. I recall many Flinders staff that facilitated my learning, including the late Michael Crotty. Interestingly my next door colleague knew him very well as both Michael & my colleague were former priests who worked closely together.

At present I am trying to write some few articles from my dissertation. When I look at the list of publications put out by the Discipline of Public Health I feel very disillusioned with my own efforts and wish for the continued guidance and encouragement of the Flinders staff. No, I don't have any plans for further study, as it's time for me to rejoin my family. Thanks to DPH for the wonderful learning opportunities and memories.

Kate Kennett - Master Primary Health Care

What motivates a podiatrist to take on a Master of Primary Health Care? It's a question I have been asked a lot as the link between such a specialised clinical practice and the holistic outlook of PHC isn't immediately obvious. Part of the reason was the frustration of treating endless clients without really solving any of their problems, and questioning how to do things better. On the other hand, there are many similarities between the PHC approach and community health podiatry. In a recent conference presentation we encouraged podiatrists to embrace PHC in their practice as skills in multi-disciplinary teamwork, problem solving and interpersonal communication provide a strong foundation.

At North & West Queensland Primary Health Care I work with a team of allied health professionals who travel to a wide variety of communities in remote areas of the state. While I live in Mount Isa , the communities I visit are between 150kms and 600kms distant and are of Aboriginal, Caucasian and mixed populations. We travel to each place every 6 weeks and endeavour to be involved in clinical, health promotion and community development activities. Undertaking PHC studies has significantly expanded the ways and levels at which I can participate in communities. These include

appreciating the underlying causes of current issues in communities and consideration of cultural safety in my interactions with people
planning and evaluation of health activities (such as the Good Family Tucker program in Normanton)
focusing on a broad range of health needs identified by communities (eg a Road Safety campaign in Camooweal, an arts program in Dajarra)
working intersectorally (such as partnerships with schools, Oxfam, police, Aboriginal corporations and councils).

Having finally completed the degree, my thoughts often drift to the future and how to best apply the skills and experiences I have had in PHC. I am very interested to be involved in development work or policy direction as I feel the on the ground experience I have had could be valuable in these forums. Right now though, I am going to enjoy having free weekends and all those rodeos.

Anna Malavisi - Master Health and International Development

An intrepid spirit together with a background in community health nursing and midwifery took me to Bolivia in 1991 to work as a Development Worker in a water and sanitation project. Fifteen years later and I am still there! Having worked for local NGOs in the health sector for several years has given me a solid background (not to mention valuable experience) in working at the grass roots level and understanding health and illness from a completely different perspective. It also gave me an insight into the world of development (being witness to the shortfalls as well) and highlighted the importance of considering any development action within a broad framework taking into account social, economic, political and cultural factors. During this time I started my Masters Program at Flinders by distance which was just a wonderful opportunity, to be able to study and work at the same time, to apply the theory in practice; I am truly grateful for that. Studying only broadened my knowledge base reinforcing what I had learned in the field as well as offering new concepts, ideas and methodologies.

For the last few years I have been responsible for the program of Development Workers for International Service in Bolivia and have enjoyed taking on this management role - although it has been challenging. Now after all these years of being a development practitioner I have decided to leave the field for a while and pursue further studies moving on to do a PhD in ethics and development.

Mark Boyd

I am an Infectious Diseases physician working at FMC since October 2004. My pathway to specialist training in infectious diseases derived from a number of formative experiences. Firstly, as a medical student I undertook a medical elective working in a remote Andean hospital in Ecuador . I began at that time to begin to understand the nexus between development and health, and this was reinforced when I returned to South America (this time in Peru) to study tropical medicine and hygiene. Secondly, in 1994 as a junior resident medical officer at St. Vincent 's Hospital in Darlinghurst, Sydney I worked in the HIV/AIDS unit. We were inundated with dying young men, and could offer little beyond comfort-care. More recently I worked in Bangkok, Thailand conducting clinical research trials of antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected Thais.

This year I wanted to more formally explore the links between development and health, and the FUSA MHID perfectly suited my needs. I made the right decision and enjoyed the experience, particularly the chance to apply the principles to my own experiences and ideas.

In the future I hope to be able to translate my medical and public health experiences into improved access to health, and particularly to high quality HIV-care in developing countries including access to antiretrovirals.

Mike Merrigan

Mike is a recent graduate of the DrPH programme at Flinders University . Mike achieved a higher distinction for his DrPH dissertation. He began working in international health and development after graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce from Adelaide University through several volunteer appointments from 1995 to 1997 in South Africa , India and Botswana . He began a Masters degree in Social Science (International Development) through a distance education programme run by Edith Cowan University in 1999, and completed the field work in Cambodia during a stint with Family Health International Cambodia, through the Australian Youth Ambassadors program. After wrapping up his master's degree in 2001, Mike accepted full time employment with Family Health International Cambodia and stayed on in Cambodia for four years, eventually taking over management of women's health, STI control, and support for orphans and children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS programmes. In 2004, Mike transferred to Bangkok to take up a regional position as a technical officer for monitoring and evaluation of HIV/AIDS programmes. This involved providing technical support to country offices implementing USAID and other bi-lateral funded HIV/AIDS prevention and care programs. Up to 75% of Mike's time involved travel and work in countries including Indonesia, the Philippines, China, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Nepal, India and Pakistan. After graduating from the Flinder's Doctor of Public Health programme, Mike was offered a position as Director of Monitoring and Evaluation for FHI Nigeria. Nigeria is FHI's largest country programme, where interventions are taking place in around 6 provinces and over 5,000 people living with HIV/AIDS are currently receiving anti-retroviral therapy. The programme is undergoing a significant scale-up and part of Mike's responsibility will be managing a team of 25 dedicated monitoring and evaluation officers to help support, monitor and evaluate this expansion. He is due to take up residence in Abuja , Nigeria in February 2007.

Marg Rowntree

Marg is a Master of Science (Primary Health Care) student is currently developing a proposal for research on preventing sexual violence. The study proposal involves understanding how men and women, with histories of past sexual abuse, resist violence and practice respect in their current sexual relations, in order to inform the direction of sexual violence prevention policies and programs. She is looking forward to undertaking this research during 2007.

Marg first began studies in the Discipline of Public Health in 2004, enrolling in the Master of Primary Health Care course. Her undergraduate degree was in Social Work and a large part of her professional experience involved addressing the social problem of sexual violence and abuse. Currently working at Women's Health Statewide as Senior Project Officer, Marg coordinates education and training programs about violence and abuse issues.

Marg chose the Discipline of Public Health as the faculty for her post-graduate studies to assist her analysing her professional experience from a public health perspective. She is keen to see a stronger profile on violence as a problem for public health policy and action, noting recent research evidence that sexual and physical violence in intimate relationships was found to be the greatest preventable risk factor for ill-health in women under the age of 45, accounting for 9% of the total disease burden (VicHealth, 2004: 25). She is eager to see more investment in 'upstream' efforts for preventing sexual violence and promoting sexual respect.

Margaret was recently awarded the Norma Parker award for the best article published for the first time peer refereed publication by the Australian Social Work Journal.

Craig Wilkins

Studying the Masters of Primary Health Care at Flinders University was a truly enriching experience. When I began, I was working in the area of drug and alcohol support. However, I soon decided to focus on the environmental sustainability aspects of health, such as food, climate change, and transport - a choice that was actively encouraged and facilitated by the highly supportive teaching team. A flexible approach and course structure enabled me to focus on elements relevant to my desired career direction, and greatly assisted me to find work in my area of passion.

What I enjoyed most was the broad approach to health disadvantage, which invited me to range across disciplines and perspectives. Today's problems are multi-faceted, and the PHC Masters reflects this. The flexibility of the course structure also enabled me to successfully combine study with full time work and parenting young children.

Although I no longer work in the health sector, I constantly refer back to what I learned during my Masters study, particularly the focus on upstream prevention rather than downstream cure, behaviour change approaches, and the respectful involvement of community in change and decision making.

My Masters study at Flinders was an iterative journey full of insight, self development and satisfying experience - reaching beyond an academic qualification to influence my relationships, approach to work, sense of life purpose, and self-perception.

Dr Mike Griffiths

Dr Mike Griffiths, who completed the Master Science (PHC) earlier in 2007, was awarded the Kerry Kirke Student award for excellence in public health research by the Public Health Association (SA). This is great recognition of the quality of Dr Griffiths work. Dr Griffiths produced an exceptional piece of research which is of international significance, whilst working in an extremely difficult political and isolated environment. The title of Dr Griffiths thesis was "Liminality and Risk: Beliefs about HIV/AIDS in Myanmar Implications for HIV Prevention". Dr Griffiths works in Myanmar (Burma) as Country Co-ordinator for The Leprosy Mission International, where he is responsible for developing strategy and projects to help people affected by leprosy and disability to access rehabilitation and development benefits so they can participate in society as equals.

Alumni