Our Work

CHETRE was established in 1998 to meet research and development needs in health equity within South Western Sydney as a joint unit between Population Health in the South Western Sydney Local Health District (SWSLHD) and the Faculty of Medicine and Health at UNSW Sydney. We form part of the management structure of both organisations, aligning our work with both organisations’ policy priorities and strategies.

Our partnerships

Partnerships are central to all our research and service development activities.

We develop, support and evaluate projects, programs and policies to reduce inequities in health through collaborations with our SWSLHD and Ingham partners. Our core partnerships include state government agencies, local governments, community organisations and NGOs, and service providers within and outside the South Western Sydney Local Health District.

CHETRE supports and manages several key partnerships with colleagues from the public and social housing sector, urban planning, primary health care, justice, education and social development. These partnerships range in scale from regional, to statewide, national and international.

Our core concepts

  • People are the full range of individuals and organisations who influence health and social equity. We work with those at risk of experiencing systemically created disadvantage and who are in positions of influence and power for positive influence. We work in partnership with these people to build skills, knowledge and capacity. People are the mechanisms for change.

  • Places are spaces or environments that people have attached meaning to in some way. Places concern the conditions for living and working as well as the decisions and choices that allow for better health equity. Places can be physical or virtuallocations, andhave strong mental and spiritual connections. Places connect people with others and with the wider world.

  • Processes are the ways in which people, within places, go about their daily life or work, and generate and disseminate knowledge and ideas. Processes provide opportunities for connection with other people, places and the wider world. Processes are also the mechanisms by which decisions are made about everyday life, work practices, or policies. Processes are the mechanisms by which social systems influence places and people.

  • Progress concerns moving towards improved health equity. Our work is based on identifying and influencing points of change for better societies. Progresscan be achieved and measuredacross people, places, processes and within organisations, institutions and systems. Progress means we develop partnerships, knowledge and skills to build capacityto co-create conditions forhealth equity.