Health strategy for 2013-15
January 25, 2013
THE National Health and Research
Council (NHMRC) has released its
Strategic Plan 2013-15, which
includes new plans in the National
Health Priority Areas- arthritis and
musculoskeletal disease, asthma,
cancer, cardiovascular health and
stroke, diabetes mellitus, injury
prevention and control, mental
health, obesity and dementia.
“Our aim is to enhance health
policy and practice in these areas
through working to bridge the gap
between evidence from research
and its implementation in health
practice and policy.
“We will identify the evidence–
practice gaps that require priority
attention, through consultation
with the new NHMRC Research
Translation Faculty, our community
consultative processes, and in
partnership with other organisations
supporting research and translation
in these National Health Priorities.
“We will propose means of
bridging these gaps, working with the
key authorities and decision makers.
“Where necessary, we will fund
targeted research to identify what
needs to be done,” the NHMRC said.
The NHMRC went further to say
that for many of the national
priority diseases there are common
risk factors, and as such, that there
may be common features to the
gaps between knowledge and
implementation, “such that a
comprehensive rather than issue by
issue silo approach to prevention and
treatment will yield best benefits”.
The NHMRC also stated that
because the burden of the National
Health Priority Areas does not fall
equally across Australians it will pay
special attention to socioeconomic
factors that need to be addressed for
the gaps to be bridged successfully.
“There is a particular issue for
Australia to address access to
evidence-based care in regional and
rural Australia,” the NHMRC said.
“Solutions based on evidence to
bridge the gaps in these settings
will receive special attention.
“Indigenous Australians bear a
disproportionate burden of many
of these Health Priority Areas.
“Our commitment to improving
Indigenous Health through research
and evidence-based advice has been
identified as a major priority again
this triennium,” the NHMRC added.
Meanwhile the agency also said
that it will support a new rigorous
analysis of the burden of disease in
Australia.
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