Roadmap to navigate national collaboration on farmer health, wellbeing and safety in Australia

Consolidating strong working partnerships and continuing ongoing government support were the central themes to emerge from last week’s National Centre for Farmer Health Parliament House event and Symposium in Canberra.

Keynote speakers, expert panellists and policy makers all identified these two elements as among the most important in maintaining the health, wellbeing, and safety of Australia’s farmers, farming families and the agricultural workforce.

National Centre for Farmer Health Director, Associate Professor Alison Kennedy, said the symposium emphasised the importance of stakeholder collaboration – including industry bodies, regulators, workplaces, researchers, government and policy makers.

“Bringing together these leaders to share their knowledge will now allow us to generate actions to positively transform health, wellbeing, and safety practices in agriculture-dependent communities,” A/Prof Kennedy said.

“With more than 60 symposium attendees from across Australia, the outcomes of the symposium will be a springboard for our programs and projects into the future. 

“And we’ll also continue to advocate to governments at all levels about the importance of ongoing funding for the NCFH as well as the contributions received from our other partners,” she said.

Keynote speaker Professor Faye McMillan, Australia’s first Indigenous community pharmacist, Deputy National Rural Health Commissioner and Professor of Indigenous Health at University of Technology Sydney officially opened the Symposium.  

Later guests were joined via video-link from Ireland by Dr David Meredith, of the Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority (Teagasc).  Dr Meredith described the importance of developing meaningful famer health solutions informed by agriculture’s grassroots, but influencing policy at a national (and international) level.

Attendees heard expert panel members from across the agricultural sector speak about their personal experiences on integrating local supports to improve mental health promotion and prevention initiatives and future strategies to effectively address the health, wellbeing, and safety needs of a diverse agricultural population. 

During the first panel session clinical psychologist Associate Professor Kate Gunn spoke of the importance of involving farmers in the design and development of initiatives addressing farmer health, wellbeing and safety. “Even though it may not always be possible to take on every suggestion made, it’s critical that farmers are involved, have a voice and feel their input is heard and valued”.

Sarah Crosthwaite from Open Road Counselling and a Nuffield Scholarship winner told the session about the importance of complementing powerful lived experience stories with positive examples of seeking help and information about available supports. “It’s not just about a story, it’s about giving people in the room the encouragement and resources to take action and improve their wellbeing.”

Justin Koschitzke, a former St Kilda AFL football star and a mental health advocate, drew on his background and his own experience of telling his story to create positive change in farming communities.

The second panel session explored the changing nature of the agricultural workforce with a focus on current and future strategies to effectively address the health, wellbeing, and safety needs of a diverse agricultural population. 

Panellist Mick Fuller, a specialist risk management and safety executive, told the session about steps the dairy industry was taking to collaboratively address risks to the health, wellbeing and safety of workers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Mick outlined opportunities to be working with a range of partners from education providers, labour hire companies and employers to ensure more effective and accessible training and induction materials. 

The founder of the Ability Agriculture Foundation which enables people with disabilities to enter or remain, thrive and succeed in agriculture Josie Clarke spoke about the development of Ability Agriculture – what started as a social movement is fast becoming a platform for advocacy, education and entrepreneurship to improve opportunities for people of all abilities in agriculture.  

FarmSafe Australia Chief Executive Stevi Howdle drew on both her personal experience of balancing motherhood with farming, and her professional role at FarmSafe – highlighting the need for improved consideration of farming womens’ safety. “It wasn’t until I became pregnant and then had a young child, that I realised just how challenging this can be. There is inadequate information and resources out there to support farming women at this critical time of their lives. This is particularly important when we are trying to attract women to be part of the agricultural workforce”.

Following an afternoon of interactive workshops, it was clear that this was only the start of an ongoing national conversation and a launching point for expanded and new collaborative partnerships. NCFH Director said “the room was buzzing and alive with new ideas and opportunities and there was a collective call for these gatherings to continue. Long-term funding is critical to supporting improved farmer health, wellbeing and safety. But it also requires a collective commitment to come together and work collaboratively, to ensure funds are used efficiently and effectively for evidence-based initiatives that reach every farmer. That commitment was clearly in the room here today.”

The symposium was supported by Deakin University’s Rural Health University Network, with sponsorship support from Dairy Australia, Gentlemen of Geelong and Udder Delights.

* END OF RELEASE*

For more information, please contact:

A/Prof Alison Kennedy
Director, National Centre for Farmer Health
P: (03) 5551 8533 | M: 0407 549 970
E: alison.kennedy@wdhs.net | W: www.farmerhealth.org.au

Finding the keys to unlock the full potential for farming in Australia

Big questions about the health, wellbeing and safety of farmers, farming families and the agricultural workforce will be explored in Canberra next month.

The National Centre for Farmer Health is hosting a symposium in the national capital to highlight how governments and policy makers, industry bodies, regulators, workplaces and researchers can all play their part to improve our agricultural sector.

National Centre for Farmer Health Director, Associate Professor Alison Kennedy, said the symposium will emphasise the importance of every stakeholder collaborating to achieve positive outcomes for Australia’s farming communities.

“Our goal is to bring together leaders to share knowledge and generate action that will positively transform health, wellbeing, and safety practices in agriculture-dependent communities.

“Acknowledged leaders and specialists from across a variety of agricultural pursuits will be posing the questions and seeking the answers to many of the issues which confront farmers and their communities across Australia,” A/Prof Kennedy said.

On Wednesday, August 14, members of the public can attend the symposium which will focus on advancing health, wellbeing and safety in agriculture.

Across a day featuring keynote speakers, panel discussions and workshops, a group of national and international experts will discuss how the sector can work together for transformative action.

The symposium will be officially opened by Professor Faye McMillan, Australia’s first Indigenous community pharmacist, a Deputy National Rural Health Commissioner and Professor of Indigenous Health at University of Technology Sydney.

One of the featured guest speakers is Dr David Meredith, from the Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority (Teagasc), who will join via video-link from Ireland. Dr Meredith is an international leader in his field with extensive expertise in understanding the complex social and economic factors that influence farmer behaviour and rural population dynamics.

As well as the guest speakers there will be two panel sessions, followed by an opportunity to network over lunch, and then concurrent workshops will round out the day.

In the first panel session, the discussion will be on the importance of integrating personal experience with evidence and appropriate local supports to improve mental health promotion and prevention initiatives.

Bringing their insights to this session will be Associate Professor Kate Gunn, as well as Sarah Crosthwaite and Justin Koschitzke.

A/Prof Gunn is a clinical psychologist leading a team of behavioural science-focused researchers at UniSA who work with the rural sector to co-develop meaningful, evidence-based solutions. Finding creative ways to improve farmers wellbeing, prevent suicide and improve rural cancer outcomes are her professional passions.

Sarah is a rural person at heart with a background in sheep and now dairy farming. This has resulted in a career as a rural outreach worker and the establishment of Open Road Counselling, a therapeutic service tailored for farmers, their families and farm workers. In 2023 Sarah was awarded a Nuffield Scholarship to understand how farming communities worldwide are being supported to improve their mental health and wellbeing.

Justin is a former St Kilda AFL football star and a mental health advocate. No stranger to farm life, Justin has navigated his own mental health challenges, allowing his insights to resonate deeply with the many rural communities he engages with.

The second panel session will explore the changing nature of the agricultural workforce and discuss current and future strategies to effectively address the health, wellbeing, and safety needs of a diverse agricultural population.

The panel members will include Mick Fuller, Josie Clarke and Felicity Richards.

Mick is a specialist risk management and safety executive who has experience Australia-wide, improving the health, safety and wellbeing of workers on farms and in associated industries. Mick is currently the National People Lead at Dairy Australia.

Josie is a founder of the Ability Agriculture Foundation which enables people with disabilities to enter or remain, thrive and succeed in agriculture. When father Glen became a paraplegic when she was just five, Josie saw first-hand the impact this had on her farming family. Now Ability Agriculture supports farmers with disabilities.

Among a multitude of roles, Felicity is the chair of FarmSafe Australia. A lawyer with policy and regulation experience, the call back to the land was too hard to resist. She also manages a beef and lamb operation with husband Mark on Flinders Island and near Launceston in Tasmania.

The two interactive workshops in the afternoon will allow a deep dive into the following topics:

• Collaborating for Safer Farmers: National interests and place-based approaches.
• How do we reach every Australian farmer? Conceptualising frameworks for scaling up evidence-based health, wellbeing and safety programs nationally.

At Parliament House the day before the symposium Federal MPs from all parties will be given an opportunity to hear first-hand about the farmer health, wellbeing and safety topics from the National Centre for Farmer Health team through a series of five lightning presentations.

These sessions will be introduced by the Honourable Emma McBride, MP, the Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention and Rural and Regional Health, Senator Hollie Hughes, Shadow Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention and David Jochinke, President of the National Farmers Federation.

The 90-minute session will also allow MPs to experience the Centre’s famous Farmer Health Checks – a service that is highly valued by Australian farmers and agricultural workers.

The symposium is supported by Deakin University’s Rural Health University Network, with sponsorship support from Dairy Australia and the Gentlemen of Geelong.

Registration for the symposium is still available by visiting the NCFH website at:

Farmer Health Symposium 2024

* END OF RELEASE*

For more information, please contact:

A/Prof Alison Kennedy
Director, National Centre for Farmer Health
P: (03) 5551 8533 | M: 0407 549 970
E: alison.kennedy@wdhs.net | W: www.farmerhealth.org.au

Shifting Gears for National Farm Safety Week

The Allan Labor Government is putting workplace safety for agriculture workers first this National Farm Safety Week, with funding to provide free access to educational resources, aimed at equipping young people with farm safety knowledge.

Acting Minister for Agriculture Steve Dimopoulos today announced a $100,000 grant to the National Centre for Farmer Health to support the delivery of farm safety education in schools, teaching young people about the risks they are exposed to when visiting, living and working on farms.

Agriculture makes up two per cent of Victoria’s workforce while having 14 per cent of workplace fatalities. In 2022/23 young people aged 15 to 19 comprised 6.3 per cent of total workplace injuries and 13.3 per cent of non-work related injuries on farms.

The ‘Shifting Gears’ teaching resource will provide educators with materials to facilitate meaningful discussions about farm safety within their classrooms. The resources have been funded through the Farming Safe and Well program and will be available for use from January 2025.

This initiative aligns with the theme of this year’s National Farm Safety Week theme, ‘In Safe Hands’, which emphasises the importance of keeping our farmers and their families safe. 

Throughout farm safety week, Farmsafe Australia will share practical safety tips from farmers to increase the safety of everyday tasks and foster a more safety focused farming culture. 

The Labor Government’s investment in ‘Shifting Gears’ follows the $900,000 provided to the National Centre for Farmer Health in the Victorian Budget 2024/25 for the delivery of agriculture-focused health and medical services, research, and education which will lead to direct benefits for farmers and their communities.

For more resources to support safety, health and wellbeing on farms, visit agriculture.vic.gov.au.

Quote attributable to Acting Minister for Agriculture Steve Dimopoulos

‘Through the National Centre for Farmer Health and Shifting Gears, we are empowering the next generation of farmers and agricultural professionals to prioritise safety in all aspects of their work.’ 

Quote attributable to Member for Western Victoria Jacinta Ermacora

‘Together we can ensure that our farmers and agricultural communities are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge needed to truly be in safe hands.’

Quote Attributable to National Centre for Farmer Health Senior Lecturer, Education Lead Dr Jacquie Cotton

‘We are pleased to be able to expand our current suite teacher resources to enable even more farm safety discussions in the classroom. It’s important that young people in agriculture can continue see themselves as having a role in continuing those safety conversations on farms, Shifting Gears brings those voices front and centre.’

A rapid review of leading indicators to measure Australian farm safety culture

Abstract:

Agriculture accounts for over half of Australia’s land use therefore the farmers managing this land need to be safe at work. This paper offers measuring farm safety culture as a way to overcome the stagnation in the trend of fatal farm injury burden. To work towards achieving a way to measure farm safety culture, this research reviewed the leading indicators of safety. Following PRISMA guidelines, we screened for globally significant literature in the field of methodologies to measure safety climate and safety culture. We performed a rapid review of literature resulting in nineteen articles that add to our understanding of how to create and re-adapt existing questionnaires and produce validated metrics. The leading indicators were grouped into 8 dimensions where we found a translational disconnect between safety for organisational structures and safety for family farm businesses. This paper provides recommendations for government, safety regulators, policymakers, and industry of the leading indicators that may be applicable for measuring farm safety culture for Australian farmers.

Ensuring greater utility of climate-related acute health impact data for health services and municipal public health planning in rural and regional Australia

Summary:

Letter to the Editor describing the importance of utilising health data from rural and regional Australia. This research found 50% of presentations to rural and regional hospitals in south-west Victoria on high heat days were to hospitals not required to report to the Victorian Emergency Minimum Dataset, meaning this data is not considered during planning and policy development.

National Centre for Farmer Health has $900k funding confirmed

ABC Rural / By Warwick Long, Angus Verley, and Emma Field

Posted Wed 15 May 2024 at 11:25amWednesday 15 May 2024 at 11:25am, updated Wed 15 May 2024 at 5:52pm

Funding for the National Centre for Farmer Health (NCFH) has been confirmed after the centre previously said the Victorian government had cut their funding. The Victorian government has called representatives of the National Centre for Farmer Health to inform them the funding has been confirmed for another year. A spokesperson from the government said the funding had been found outside the budget through “other sources”. “We’re continuing our support of the centre with a $900,000 investment next financial year — as we have done every year, when in government,” the spokesperson said. “The NCFH plays an important role identifying and preventing chronic disease and safety risk factors in the agriculture and farming community.” Board members of the centre said they were relieved after spending the last few days holding emergency meetings about its future. “It was devastating when we lost the funding and really disappointing,” chair Greg Walcott said. “You’ve got to give credit to the government. We were angry with the decision originally but give credit to someone who has made a mistake and reversed it.” “That’s not usually happening anywhere but certainly [not] in politics. The centre, which is based in Hamilton, south-west Victoria, runs a series of preventative programs to improve farmer physical and mental health, improve workplace safety, and conduct research. Prior to the funding reinstatement, NCFH director Alison Kennedy said the government had confirmed $900,000 in annual funding had been cut. “We have had [the cut] confirmed from staff at both the Department of Health and Agriculture Victoria,” Ms Kennedy said. NCFH used this funding to run core activities and attract funding and grants for health projects and research from around Australia. The National Centre for Farmer Health stood to lose $900,000 in state government funding before the decision was reversed.(ABC News: Karen Percy) A dangerous time for farming In 2022, Safe Work Australia listed agriculture, forestry, and fishing as having the highest fatality rate of any industry in the country and work from the National Centre for Farmer Health has been trying to address that issue. Ms Kennedy said the organisation tracked the success of each of its programs. “Farmers have come back to us on a pretty regular basis to say, ‘That actually did save my life,'” she said. “We were able to demonstrate that we save the health system money by running health check programs by preventing cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes and absolutely saved lives.”  Alison Kennedy says the centre would have had to cut some services if it had lost the funding. (Photo: Samantha Kaspers) Andrew Perry from Gobur near Alexandra in regional Victoria is one of the farmers who has relied on the services of the NCFH during downturns in the dairy industry and again after widespread flooding in 2022. “These people do terrific work and they keep helping us out,” he said.  “Agriculture is $19.5 billion of Victoria’s GDP annually and yet what are we doing [cutting funding], we are pulling away the services that make us the lucky state and the lucky country. “When I say I received help, I probably wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for these good people.” Uncertain future for farmer health The organisation is a national centre by name but has always run with Victorian funding. Directors were meeting this week to decide the centre’s future with limited funding.  “There will be an impact on our ability to deliver direct services to farming communities,” Ms Kennedy said.  “We may have to cut back on health checks at field days, our agri-space clinics, the sort of research we can do, particularly long-term larger-size projects. “It will have an impact on the sort of education we can deliver from the postgraduate level down to secondary schools and that direct communication with farming populations themselves.”  While the centre has had its funding confirmed for the next year, its future beyond that is still uncertain. The loss of funding in the future would also affect the regional Victorian town of Hamilton, where the National Centre for Farmer Health is based. Ms Kennedy said bringing skilled medical professionals and researchers to a regional community that needed them was critical.

Addressing Farm Safety: Insights from SafeWork NSW Industry Roundtable

In April, A/Prof Alison Kennedy and Dr Jacquie Cotton were invited by Minister Sophie Cotsis (NSW Minister for Work Health and Safety) to attend the SafeWork NSW industry roundtable to explore ways of improving work health and safety compliance and reduce fatalities and serious injuries on farms. Despite high levels of engagement with the agriculture industry over the last 10 years SafeWork NSW acknowledged that the number of farming-related fatalities had not significantly reduced and were keen to identify requirements for more work to improve safety in the industry.

Approximately 40-50 people attended the roundtable discussion held in Griffith, including the NSW Minister for Agriculture, local Member of Parliament Helen Dalton, representatives from SafeWork NSW, NSW Department of Primary Industries, NSW Local Lands Service, Country Women’s Association, a range of industry representatives (including horticulture, cotton, dairy, transport), along with a number of farmers bringing lived experience of personal injury and fatality on farms.

The program included brief presentations and opportunities for everyone to discuss challenges and propose solutions to the challenges of farm safety—including the importance of considering physical and mental health as causes of, and outcomes of, poor safety practices on farms. The packed program included discussions on:

• The role that all stakeholders have in making farms safer—not only farmers—and where investment in further support might be of greatest benefit.
• Prioritising prevention of risks to health, wellbeing and safety, to avoid having to deal with the outcomes of injury.
• Ensuring that safety messaging is appropriate to meet the needs of a diverse farming population (considering language, culture, learning styles, literacy levels, etc.)
• Ensuring that links between safety and productivity are made clear across the supply chain (from machinery manufacturers actively marketing safe farming equipment to farmers being aware of the cost savings to having a safe workplace)
• The need for continuing research to identify and track leading safety indicators—proactive and preventative measures that can help track how effective safety initiatives are and can highlight potential problems in safety programs—over time.
• Removing unsafe farming practices in the depiction of agriculture in media and social media (e.g. images, language) as ‘accepted’, ‘normal’ and ‘unavoidable’.
• Reducing the stigma associated with speaking up about safety and seeking support.
• Ensuring that policies, procedures and safety resources don’t just exist, but also being used, understanding their use, and whether they effect change.
• The need to address the cumulative pressures in the agriculture sector (e.g. time, climate, costs, workforce availability, supply chain) which encourage fatigue, risk taking and poor decision making.
• The need to question the necessity of pressure driven fast-paced systems/tasks that are inherently dangerous e.g. seed cleaning, harvest, and look at different ways to achieve these tasks more safely.

A huge amount of information was collected on the day and we look forward to seeing how the National Centre for Farmer Health can be a part of addressing the challenges and creating the solutions moving forward.

Emergency presentations for farm-related injuries in older adults residing in south-western Victoria, Australia

Abstract

Introduction

Farm workers are at high risk for injuries, and epidemiological data are needed to plan resource allocation.

Objective

This study identified regions with high farm-related injury rates in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, for residents aged ≥50 yr.

Design

Retrospective synthesis using electronic medical records of emergency presentations occurring during 2017–2019 inclusive for Local Government Areas (LGA) in the study region. For each LGA, age-standardised incidence rates (per 1000 population/year) were calculated.

Findings

For men and women combined, there were 31 218 emergency presentations for any injury, and 1150 (3.68%) of these were farm-related. The overall age-standardised rate for farm-related injury presentations was 2.6 (95% CI 2.4–2.7); men had a higher rate than women (4.1, 95% CI 3.9–4.4 versus 1.2, 95% CI 1.0–1.3, respectively). For individual LGAs, the highest rates of farm-related emergency presentations occurred in Moyne and Southern Grampians, both rural LGAs. Approximately two-thirds of farm-related injuries occurred during work activities (65.0%), and most individuals arrived at the hospital by transport classified as “other” (including private car, 83.3%). There were also several common injury causes identified: “other animal related injury” (20.2%), “cutting, piercing object” (19.5%), “fall ⟨1 m” (13.1%), and “struck by or collision with object” (12.5%). Few injuries were caused by machinery (1.7%) and these occurred mainly in the LGA of Moyne (65%).

Discussion and Conclusion

This study provides data to inform future research and resource allocation for the prevention of farm-related injuries.

What is already known on this subject?

• Agricultural workers have some of the highest rates of injury of any occupation.
• WorkSafe Victoria released the “Agriculture Strategy 2020-23” describing the dangers and a plan to improve safety in agricultural settings, which requires contemporary evidence and data.
• Farm workers often continue work-related activities past the age of retirement.

What does this study add?

• Approximately 3.7% of all emergency presentations in adults aged ≥50 years occurred in in a farm environment.
• Higher rates of farm-related emergency presentations occurred in the Local Government Areas of Moyne and Southern Grampians.
• These results can help inform future research and prevention strategies for farm-related injuries.

How healthy are the healthcare staff in a rural health service? A cross sectional study

Summary:

The research reports that:

• Healthcare workers operate in a stressful environment; with rotating shifts impacting health and recent evidence suggesting health service/hospital staff have sub-optimal dietary and physical activity behaviours and experience psychological distress.
• Workplace settings are an ideal place to promote healthy behaviours amongst staff.
• The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the need to understand the health and wellbeing of healthcare workers in hospital settings.

There are clear leverage points for intervention in the rural /regional hospital workplace to enable healthier behaviours and support positive mental health and wellbeing.

Working with Udder Delights to raise money for farmer mental health!

We are excited to announce that we have partnered with Udder Delights, co-branding a special brie to help raise funds for the important work we do to support farmer mental health. 

Udder Delights is a premium dairy company that calls Lobethal, South Australia, home. Working closely with the local dairy farmers, the team at Udder Delights understand and values the long days and incredible commitment farmers make.   

Working with their local dairy farmers, they create handcrafted, delicious dairy products. One of which, the Double Brie, is now raising money for the National Centre for Farmer Health!   

Keep an eye out for the NCFH x Udder Delights cheese in stores at Coles across the country! Every purchase sends .20c our way, to be used to help improve the lives of farmers and farming communities in Australia.

Find out more about Udder Delights and the incredible work they do with local dairies through the button below.

More MRFF funding announced for Deakin

Deakin University health and social work researchers have received more than $2.75 million in the latest round of Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) grants, specifically for projects to improve health and wellbeing outcomes for LGBTIQA+ people.

The funding is in addition to the almost $9.5 million in MRFF grants awarded to Deakin in February and is part of the largest ever investment in LGBTIQA+ health research by an Australian government.

It recognises that LGBTIQA+ people have unique and often complex health needs, and difficulty getting appropriate health care, which can lead to poorer physical and mental health outcomes.

‘We know that there are unacceptable disparities in health outcomes and significant barriers to getting the health care LGBTIQA+ people deserve,’ said Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Hon Ged Kearney MP.

Deakin’s Associate Professor Alison Kennedy, Dr James Lucas, Dr Amie O’Shea and Dr Louisa Smith will lead research projects that seek to overcome these barriers and improve care for LGBTIQA+ people.

Caring for young LGBTIQA+ people in rural communities

Deakin health researchers have received almost $2 million to develop and implement a safe spaces model of primary healthcare (SSMPH) for sexuality diverse young people in rural Western Victoria.

Co-designed with the sexuality diverse community, the model will be embedded in local health services for young people aged 12-25 years.

The research is led by the School of Medicine’s Associate Professor Kennedy, Director of the National Centre for Farmer Health (NCFH), and Dr Lucas and Dr O’Shea, from Deakin’s Institute for Health Transformation (IHT) and School of Health and Social Development.

The project will combine systems thinking and health economics in an innovative whole-of-community systems approach to support health services and consumer advocates in building safe and equitable rural primary healthcare ‘from the ground up and the inside out’.

‘The intersectional needs of sexuality diverse young people in rural communities are a national and local priority and primary healthcare services are a key first-point-of-call in addressing those needs,’ Associate Professor Kennedy says.

‘Intersectional needs’ refers to how people may experience overlapping forms of discrimination or disadvantage based on attributes such as race, age, disability, ethnicity, gender identity, and sexuality.

The research team at Deakin, which includes Professor Suzanne Robinson (Director of IHT’s Deakin Health Economics), Professor Gary Rogers (Dean of Medicine), Professor Susan Brumby, and Dr Jo Macdonald (NCFH) will initially focus on working with key community groups and organisations, consumer advocates and local health services across Western Victoria to co-design the SSMPH, before looking at community-driven implementation of the model.

A key feature is establishing a scalable prototype for a whole-of-community systems approach to co-designing and implementing models of primary healthcare that meet the intersectional needs of sexuality diverse young people in rural communities that can be adapted in other communities, including raising awareness and delivering education and training for mainstream primary healthcare providers on the needs of LGBTIQA+ young people.

Professor Alison Kennedy, Dr James Lucas and Dr Amie O’Shea will develop and implement a safe spaces model of primary healthcare for sexuality diverse young people in rural Western Victoria.

Improving care for LGBTIQA+  people living with dementia

Dr Louisa Smith’s funding of almost $755,000 will refine and implement an existing model of care concept called SAGE-Dem that has arisen from long term and ongoing consultation with community peers supporting people with sexuality and gender experiences (SAGE) living with dementia.

‘People living with dementia who have minority sexuality and gender experiences are a diverse and under-served group. After lifetimes of discrimination, people living with SAGE and dementia may avoid or resist aged and health care services which assume heterosexual and cisgendered consumers,’ Dr Smith says.

‘LGBTIQ+ community-controlled organisations don’t have expertise about dementia and mainstream aged and health care providers don’t have the cultural competence to support LGBTIQ+ people. SAGE-Dem is a world-first model of care designed to improve the physical and mental health of people with SAGE who experience the intersectional disadvantage of dementia.’

With a twin focus of increasing the cultural competence of the health and aged care workforce and the dementia awareness of LGBTIQ+ community-controlled organisations and communities, implementing the co-designed model of care will be supported by the development and evaluation of an intersectional cultural competence framework and a training and engagement toolkit.

‘Improving the cultural competence, or knowledge, skills and attitudes about a group of people you don’t belong to, and the dementia awareness of those supporting people with SAGE living with dementia are key to improving their physical and mental health outcomes,’ Dr Smith says.

Dr Smith’s research team includes Alfred Deakin Professor Alison Hutchinson, Co-director of IHT’s Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research (QPS) and IHT’s Dr Joanne Watson, Dr Renee Fiolet and Dr Amie O’Shea.

Dr Louisa Smith’s project seeks to improve care for people with sexuality and gender experiences (SAGE) living with dementia.

Deakin’s Q-UEERS Network

Dr Lucas, Dr O’Shea and Dr Smith are founding members of Q-UEERS (Queering-Up Equity and Equality Research Spaces) – a group of Queer academic researchers at Deakin whose work promotes the ABCs of Living Queer (Authenticity, Belonging and Connection).

For more information, contact q-ueers@deakin.edu.au.

Episode 23: “Check Up and Thrive: Unveiling the Power of a Farmer Health Check”

Discover the importance of farmer health checks! Join Simon Green, a farmer at Elmhurst, as he shares his firsthand experience with health checks and the benefits he discovered.

Also hear from agrihealth professional Rosi Bear how she empowers farmers with knowledge to enhance their health, wellbeing, and safety outcomes. 

Now streaming on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and here.

This podcast was created as part of the NCFH’s #BuildingFarmSpirit campaign with funding from the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions as part of the Victorian Government’s 2022 flood response.

LEARN MORE ABOUT #BUILDINGFARMSPIRIT #BuildingFarmSpirit | National Centre for Farmer Health