Addressing the gap

Rural communities are diverse, but they tend to be older, have a higher proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and children and young people have restricted support and opportunities for optimum healthy development.

There is a significant and sustained equity gap in the research funding allocated for rural health and to regional universities and services to undertake health research. The RHRI represents a small but important investment to work to address this gap and build rural health research capacity in the regions.

Current projects

• Assessing rural health disparities in the lowest socioeconomic neighbourhoods of representative towns (LGAs) of regional NSW (Professor Allen Ross).
• Chronic infections in the lowest socioeconomic neighbourhoods of representative LGAs (Professor Anna Walduck).
• Epigenetics of Type 2 Diabetes: a genome wide methylation study (Associate Professor Bernd Kalinna).
• Evidence-informed practice development in rural Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services: An action research approach (Dr Hazel Dalton).
• Effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability of an innovative family-focused intervention for people with mental health conditions and substance dependence (Professor Julaine Allan).
• Central obesity among Indigenous Australians: building evidence for policy interventions (Dr Kedir Ahmed).
• Ageing well in rural communities: drawing insights from the 45 and Up study using measures of mental, physical, and social wellbeing (Dr Hazel Dalton).