We are excited to launch our new Centre of Research Excellence on the Social Determinants of Health Equity (CRE) website flinders.edu.au/crehealthequity.

On Monday February 8 we will host a day-long Twitter-fest including interviews with leading health equity researchers and facilitated by Croakey’s Melissa Sweet – follow the day using the hashtag #healthequity16.

Please visit our site for regular updates, news of our research and events being held through the CRE. Also sign-up to our mailing list and follow us on Twitter at @crehealthequity.

About our CRE

The NHMRC-funded CRE was launched by former Prime Minister the Hon Julia Gillard in April 2015. The Centre brings together world-leading academics, policy-makers and civil society groups from across Australia and internationally, and is devoted to the interdisciplinary study of how government policies shape how healthy we are, how long we live and how this differs depending on our social and economic circumstances.

Combining insights from intervention evaluation, public health, political science and systems science research, the CRE is conducting research on what factors influence how policies are devised and implemented in ways that do or not incorporate health equity. We are also developing new methods of assessing the effectiveness of implementation and impact of policies on health equity. Understanding and acting on these challenges will be a key step forward to achieving more equitable health outcomes for all Australian’s.

The website describes our four work programs and focus policy areas which include trade and investment; health systems; land use planning and infrastructure.  We have also been developing our particular focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and working to integrate Indigenous knowledges into our work.

The CRE is co-Directed by Professor Fran Baum (Southgate Institute) and Professor Sharon Friel (RegNet, ANU). Flinders chief investigators are Professor Dennis McDermott and Dr Tamara McKean. Other CIs are Professor Adrian Kay (ANU) and Associate Professor Lyndall Strazdins (ANU), Professor Ronald Labonte (University of Ottawa, Canada) and Dr Patrick Harris (University of Sydney).

Canberra policy day

A central part of our work is engagement with policy and practice. On May 12 we will host our first policy day in Canberra. The aim of this day is to:

• Disseminate evidence, including lessons from Australian and international experiences, on how political and policy processes can function more effectively to improve the health of all Australians and the most disadvantaged peoples.
• Facilitate dialogue between government, civil society and academia and generate new understandings on these topics, including intensive engagement with policy sectors that powerfully influence the social determinants of health.
• Engage the Australian media and public.

Dame Professor Margaret Whitehead (University of Liverpool) will speak at the policy day about her experiences in working on policies for health equity through a European Union project. Professor Ron Labonte will speak about trade agreements and health.

Visit our website

The new website for the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence on the Social Determinants of Health Equity is flinders.edu.au/crehealthequity.