As the New Year unfolds, we hope that Croakey readers enjoy the short clip above, Agitate.
Mitchell Ward, Croakey’s creative whizz, made the video and music, with climate change in mind.
You could, however, find many meanings.
To me, it speaks of the work of public health in agitating, unsettling the status quo, and in being responsive to moments of opportunity.
Change agent Mary Freer has a tradition of starting her year by choosing a word that captures a value or characteristic that she wants to grow in the following 12 months – in previous years, she has chosen “gratitude” and “connection”.
This year she is inviting others to join her tradition and choose a word for 2016.
You might find some leads in the post below, in which some Croakey contributors share their hopes and aspirations for 2016.
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Associate Professor Julie Leask
Follow on Twitter: @JulieLeask
Sydney School of Public Health
University of Sydney
Q: What is the title of the briefing paper you would like to see in Minister Sussan Ley’s in-tray early in 2016?
A no fault compensation system for rare serious adverse events following immunisation.
Q: What do you wish for 2016?
Recognition of the crisis in funding for Australia’s talented, brilliant and hard-working researchers in public health, medicine and science. I would also like to see the concept of ‘innovation’ imagined beyond the industry-research dyad to innovative research for health policy and practice.
Q: Who would you like to see writing at Croakey in 2016? And about what?
A day in the life of an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Health Worker.
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Jaelea Skehan
Follow on Twitter: @jaeleaskehan
Director, Hunter Institute of Mental Health
Q: What is the title of the briefing paper you would like to see in Minister Sussan Ley’s in-tray early in 2016?
I actually have one written if the Minister would like it. It is titled “Putting Prevention First in Mental Health: The Opportunity is Now”.
Q: What is the title of the briefing paper you would like to see in Minister Fiona Nash’s in-tray early in 2016?
I would like us to put the needs of rural Australians front and centre in our thinking about mental health reform, so the title would be something like “If it doesn’t work for rural Australia, it doesn’t work for Australia”.
Q: What do you wish for 2016?
I want every person in this country (or trying to come to this country) to have somewhere safe to live, something meaningful to do every day, something to look forward to and someone to connect with. If we could achieve that, the mental health of this country would be vastly different.
Q: Who would you like to see writing at Croakey in 2016? And about what?
I would like to see the Prime Minister write a monthly blog for Croakey on mental health reform – what we have achieved and what is next.
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Professor Tarun Weeramanthri
Follow on Twitter: @tarunw
Chief Health Officer
Assistant Director General, Public Health
Department of Health, WA
Q: What is the title of the briefing paper you would like to see in the Health Minister’s in-tray early in 2016?
How to gauge the limits of industry self-regulation.
Q: What do you wish for 2016?
Both a more diverse and a less divided society, where we can express our identities but in a way that promotes connection to others.
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Margaret Faux
Follow on Twitter: @MargaretFaux
Lawyer, the founder and managing director of one of the largest medical billing companies in Australia and a registered nurse. A research scholar at the University of Technology Sydney
Q: What is the title of the briefing paper you would like to see in Minister Sussan Ley’s entry early in 2016?
The value of improving internal efficiencies in Medicare: A roadmap for the preservation of stakeholder relationships and lasting, affordable universal healthcare in Australia.
Q: What is the title of the briefing paper you would like to see in Minister Fiona Nash’s in-tray early in 2016?
Telehealth for rural patients – pull your finger out!
Q: What do you wish for 2016?
Political vision, the release of all asylum seeker detainees in Australia and world peace
Q: Who would you like to see writing at Croakey in 2016? And about what?
My husband (Steven Faux) and what he has to do to make his little part of the public health world work efficiently – a user’s guide to making the ministry look good!
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Dr Jonathan Kingsley
Follow on Twitter: @YottiKingsley
Research Fellow, Indigenous Health Equity Unit
Centre for Health Equity, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health
The University of Melbourne
Q: What is the title of the briefing paper you would like to see in Minister Sussan Ley’s entry early in 2016?
The importance of applying EcoHealth approaches in research and practice across Australia.
Q: What is the title of the briefing paper you would like to see in Minister Fiona Nash’s in-tray early in 2016?
Effectively incorporate a diversity of local voices into regional health approaches across Australia.
Q: What do you wish for 2016?
For a society that prioritises and respects our ecosystems, diversity and the health for all.
Q: Who would you like to see writing at Croakey in 2016? And about what?
David Suzuki would be awesome to show the link between health and environment – it’s worth a shot!!!!
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Professor Glenn Salkeld
Follow on Twitter: @gsalkeld
Executive Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences
University of Wollongong
(Formerly of Sydney School of Public Health)
Q: What is the title of the briefing paper you would like to see in Minister Sussan Ley’s entry early in 2016?
Funding for community-based palliative care nurse practitioners.
Q: What is the title of the briefing paper you would like to see in Minister Fiona Nash’s in-tray early in 2016?
Rural Australia leading community-driven preventive health for the nation.
Q: What do you wish for 2016?
I wish that those in power – and those who have power – are more generous in spirit and action.
Q: Who would you like to see writing at Croakey in 2016? And about what?
Alan Fels – on the national benefits (economic and social) of better mental health care.
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AHHA
Follow on Twitter: @AusHealthcare
Q: What is the title of the briefing paper you would like to see in Minister Sussan Ley’s entry early in 2016?
“A whole-of-system response to the Commonwealth Government’s health sector review processes: Effective, Efficient, Sustainable and Focused on Patient Outcomes.”
Q: What do you wish for 2016?
An effective, contemporary healthcare system supporting a healthy Australia.
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Carol Bennett
Alzheimers Australia
Follow on Twitter @CarolJBennett
Q: What is the title of the briefing paper you would like to see in Minister Sussan Ley’s entry early in 2016?
How to implement and measure a quality framework for aged care, from a consumer perspective.
Q: What is the title of the briefing paper you would like to see in Minister Fiona Nash’s in-tray early in 2016?
How to better use technology to enable equitable access to health, disability and aged care in regional and remote areas of Australia.
Q: What do you wish for 2016?
We wish to see quality measured, from a consumer perspective in aged care in a similar way that health has achieved this through the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care.
Q: Who would you like to see writing at Croakey in 2016? And about what?
A consumer with dementia, talking about their interaction with the service system, highlighting its weaknesses and where it may be working well.
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Professor Rebecca Ivers
Follow on Twitter: @rebeccaivers
Director, Injury Division
Professor of Public Health, The University of Sydney
The George Institute for Global Health
Q: What is the title of the briefing paper you would like to see in Minister Sussan Ley’s entry early in 2016?
Funding public health and prevention programs in Australia.
Q: What do you wish for 2016?
To have sustainable funding sources for public health research.
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Professor Ric Day
Professor of Clinical Pharmacology
UNSW
Q: What is the title of the briefing paper you would like to see in the health ministers’ in tray this year?
Repairing Medicare by eliminating unnecessary care and waste
Q: What do you wish for 2016?
Medicare is directed back to universal coverage paid for by eliminating unnecessary testing/procedures/treatments and rejigging Medicare item number costs (the Robinson initiative) to reflect value, equity etc
Q: Who would you like to see writing at Croakey in 2016? And about what?
Steve Leeder about Medicare and its gradual demolition into a two tier, unfair system; also Norman Swan and Peter Brooks on same topic. Jeffrey Braithwaite on the health system and Enrico Coiera on use of data in the digital world to do better for our patients.
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Dr Mukesh Haikerwal
Follow on Twitter: @DrMukeshH
A General Medical Practitioner in Melbourne
Q: What is the title of the briefing paper you would like to see in Minister Sussan Ley’s entry early in 2016?
Action plan to consolidate and grow the health of the Nation: How to enable active, meaningful, respectful engagement with stakeholders in health: Citizens, Providers, Infrastructure partners and Decision makers.
Q: What is the title of the briefing paper you would like to see in Minister Fiona Nash’s in-tray early in 2016?
Rural Health Matters: enlisted support for rural health from partners less rural.
To Min Wyatt I’d write: How to inspire others to better health outcomes by your example.
Q: What do you wish for 2016?
The Sprit of Australia being lifted by inspirational acts of thoughtfulness and kindness to our own colleagues and other humans and being seen as a good and the right thing.
Q: Who would you like to see writing at Croakey in 2016? And about what?
I would like to see Sir Michael Marmot write to inspire us on the need to address the Social Determinants of Heath, the Sustainability Development Goals and How to!
• For these contributors’ assessments of 2015, have a read of this previous post.
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In case you need a refresher course on 2015 (what was that all about?):
• Who was the global health leader for 2015?
By Richard Marlink, a physician trained in oncology, virology and public health. He is a Professor of Public Health Practice at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Executive Director of the Harvard AIDS Initiative
• Wrapping the 2015 news in health and medicine
By Fron Jackson-Webb, the health and medical section editor at The Conversation.
Meanwhile, getting back to the windmill, this is an interesting read on the top trends expected in renewables in 2016.
