New projects
The Gaawaadhi Gadudha Study: Understanding how cultural resilience impacts Aboriginal health and quality of life
The project aims to develop a model of cultural health that demonstrates how existing walaays (cultural gatherings on sacred sites) impact community and individual wellbeing; and how they can be better linked with regional health systems to improve health outcomes for Aboriginal peoples in the Western and South Coast regions of NSW. Read more
Refugees in Greater Western Sydney: A systemic analysis of the impact of COVID-19 and service system response
Refugees resettled in Greater Western Sydney are more likely to experience poverty, be employed in less protected, service-sector jobs, experience language and health care access barriers, and have higher rates of co-morbidities. These factors may put them at increased risk of exposure to people with COVID-19, or hospitalisation and fatality as a result of COVID-19. Read more
New report
Work, income and health inequity: A snapshot of the evidence
de Leeuw, E., Fatema, K., Sitas, F., Naidoo, Y., Treloar, C., Phillips, J., Dorsch, P., Goldie, C. (2021) Work, income and health inequity: A snapshot of the evidence, ACOSS/UNSW Sydney Poverty and Inequality Partnership Report No. 8, Sydney
BEE Report
Research for health equity policy – being strategic about reality
Issue 2021-no.7 | Jinhee Kim, Evelyne de Leeuw, Patrick Harris
It is research-informed “ideas”, not factual evidence, that travel between research and policy. Research actors and policy participants emphasise those aspects of the evidence that complement prevailing or perceived realities. Read full report
Blog post
COPping it
18 November 2021 by Evelyne de Leeuw and Patrick Harris
What you can do, individually and as communities, to create a better Australia we deserve
18 November 2021 by Evelyne de Leeuw and Patrick Harris
New journal articles
de Leeuw E, Harris P, Kim J, Yashadhana A. (2021). A health political science for health promotion. Global Health Promotion. Online first. doi:10.1177/17579759211034418
Abstract If health promotion as a field of change for human and ecological health is to maintain its urgency, it needs to continue building its policy credentials. This paper charts the development of policy as a concern for IUHE/IUHPE (International Union for Health Education/International Union for Health Promotion and Education) from the mid-1970s when ‘health education policies’ were prominent issues, to the launch of Healthy Public Policy (in the 1980s) and Health in All Policy (in the 2000s). We argue that solid conceptual and theoretical foundations exist to frame and develop the relevance and connectedness of health promotion more prominently. We start off with a brief introduction into (health) political science, and then illustrate the urgency of the argument with three case studies… Read more
Harris P, Fisher M, Friel S, Sainsbury P, Harris E, de Leeuw & Baum F. (2022). City deals and health equity in Sydney, Australia. Health & Place. 73, 102711. https://doi-org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2021.102711
Abstract ‘City Deals’ are new governance instruments for urban development. Vast evidence exists on the relationship between urban factors and health equity, but little research applies a health equity lens to urban policy-making. This paper does precisely that for the Western Sydney City Deal (WSCD) in Australia. We conducted a critical discourse analysis of publicly available documents and interviews with the WSCD’s main architects, applying insights from relevant theories…. Read more
Kim J, Haigh F (2021) HIA and EIA are different, but maybe not in the way we thought they were: a bibliometric analysis. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(17), 9101, doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18179101
Abstract The fields of Health Impact Assessment (HIA) and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) have grown with increasing numbers of disciplines and sectors contributing to their advancements, but with it, perceived conflict over methodological and disciplinary approaches to integrate health in impact assessments. This study maps the current field of HIA and health in EIA to examine the scientific landscape of the field… Read more
Ulm, K. (2021). Urban Food Gardens. In The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Urban and Regional Futures (pp. 1–14). Springer International Publishing. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51812-7_282-1
Abstract The fields of Health Impact Assessment (HIA) and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) have grown with increasing numbers of disciplines and sectors contributing to their advancements, but with it, perceived conflict over methodological and disciplinary approaches to integrate health in impact assessments. This study maps the current field of HIA and health in EIA to examine the scientific landscape of the field… Read more
Jock BW, Clavier C, de Leeuw E, Frohlich KL. (2021). Dismantling the status quo: promoting policies for health, well-being and equity: an IUHPE2022 prelude. Global Health Promotion. (Online first) doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/17579759211019214
Abstract The next international gathering of the global health promotion family will be in Montreal, in May 2022. The 24th IUHPE conference is themed ‘Promoting policies for health, well-being and equity’. Conference organizers have decided to transcend the ‘usual suspects’ rhetoric and frame a conference program that truly challenges these key notions for health promotion. In this contribution, members of the Canadian National and Global Scientific Committees reflect on the state of play and the opportunities ahead. We propose three themes as follows… Read more
MacAulay M, Macintyre AK, Yashadhana A, Cassola A, Harris P, Woodward C, Smith K, de Leeuw E, Palkovits M, Hoffman S, Fafard P. (2021) Under the spotlight: understanding the role of the Chief Medical Officer in a pandemic. J Epidemiol Community Health Published Online First: 18 August 2021. doi: http://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2021-216850
AbstractAs the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in 2020, Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) entered the public spotlight like never before. Amidst this increased visibility, the role is deeply contested. Much of the disagreement concerns whether CMOs should act independently of the government: while some argue CMOs should act as independent voices who work to shape government policy to protect public health, others stress that CMOs are civil servants whose job is to support the government. The scope and diversity of debates about the CMO role can be explained by its inherently contradictory nature, which requires incumbents to balance their commitments as physicians with their mandates as civil servants who advise and speak on the government’s behalf. The long-haul COVID-19 pandemic has further tested the CMO role and has shone light on its varying remits and expectations across different jurisdictions, institutions and contexts. … Read more
Hamm LM, Yashadhana A, Burn H, et al. (2021) Interventions to promote access to eyecare for non-dominant ethnic groups in high-income countries: a scoping review. BMJ Global Health 2021;6:e006188. doi: http://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2021-006188
Abstract People who are distinct from the dominant ethnic group within a country can experience a variety of barriers to accessing eyecare services. We conducted a scoping review to map published interventions aimed at improving access to eyecare for non-Indigenous, non-dominant ethnic groups residing in high-income countries. We searched MEDLINE, Embase and Global Health for studies that described an intervention to promote access to eyecare for the target population. Two authors independently screened titles and abstracts followed by review of the full text of potentially relevant sources. For included studies, data extraction was carried out independently by two authors. Findings were summarised using a combination of descriptive statistics and thematic analysis.. … Read more
