[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Weeks of 10 and 17 December
Croakey’s managing editor, Melissa Sweet, looked back at the events of 2018 through the eyes of @WePublicHealth guest tweeters. A warm thanks to all who contributed.
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]3 December
Croakey contributing editor Summer May Finlay – @SummerMayFinlay – tweeted for Croakey Professional Services, on behalf of the Centre of Best Practice in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention. She shared discussions from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Conference and the World Indigenous Suicide Prevention Conference, held in Perth the previous week, as well as findings from a Senate inquiry, Accessibility and quality of mental health services in rural and remote Australia.
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]26 November
Corie Gray and Carl Heslop – @coriegray_ and @CarlosDenWA from @AHPA_AU – shared discussions about World AIDS Day (Dec 1), and all things HIV, sexual health and public health. 
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]19 November
This week, the @CroakeyNews team is RT-ing from conferences: #ACEM18; #ATSISPC18; #WISPC18; and #FoodFutures2018.
#WISPC18
#ATSISPC18
#FoodFutures2018
#ACEM18
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]12 November
Kylie Taylor – @Kylie07 – is a proud Gomeroi Murri Woman. She belongs to the Gomeroi people from the Walhallow area northwest New South Wales. Kylie is an Aboriginal Health Worker with Hunter New England Population Health. She has worked in Population Health for over 21 years and her background is in Communicable Diseases and Environmental Health. Kylie previously worked as a CEO for her Local Aboriginal Land Council and also has experience in community development, society and culture. In her current role Kylie works with community, AMS’s and health services to provide expert input into the development of acceptable ways of working with families and community affected by communicable diseases. She also respectfully consults and engages with AMS’s and Hunter New England Aboriginal Health and local communities in the development of operational research projects for communicable diseases research projects. Kylie is also actively involved in ensuring workplaces more culturally responsive and respectful through the implementation of strong cultural governance and employment processes. Through her career, qualifications, education and lived experience Kylie has developed a great wealth of knowledge and understanding of the health issues that impact on Aboriginal people and communities.
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]5 November
Sara Deroy – @sara_deroy – is a young non-Indigenous woman passionate about Indigenous health and the health disparities faced in Australia. Sara currently works as a data analyst and health promotion assistant at an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation on the south coast of New South Wales. In 2016 Sara completed her Bachelor of Public Health with distinction, with a Health Promotion major and Indigenous Health Studies minor. In 2018, she completed her Bachelor of Public Health Honours degree at the University of Wollongong. This involved an independent research project, where Sara examined the factors contributing to health and wellbeing worker retention rates in Aboriginal health services. While her thesis was underway, she also presented preliminary findings at various conferences around Australia and internationally. Sara looks forward to continue sharing her work through future conference presentations and publications. At @WePublicHealth, Sara plans to share articles, news, resources, personal experiences and interesting evidence from her journey of completing a Public Health Honours thesis. Her focus will be on recruitment and retention of Aboriginal staff in Aboriginal health services, particularly Aboriginal Health Workers. To understand why this is important, she will also share information regarding staff stress, turnover and what it means to become burnt out. Her research focused around identifying positive, successful strategies for minimising staff burnout. She plans on sharing strengths-based evidence that may promote and raise awareness of ways that have been seen to improve workplace culture, job satisfaction, and therefore retain staff. 
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]29 October
This week, the Croakey News team re-tweeted from the #NDISMentalHealth conference. See also our stories from it.
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]22 October
The Healing Foundation – @HealingOurWay – covered the national apology to the victims of institutional child abuse, and the release of a related report, Looking Where the Light Is: creating and restoring safety and healing.
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]15 October
Bill Bellew – @billbellew – covered the 7th International Society for Physical Activity and Health Congress in London – #ISPAH2018. An adjunct professor at the Sydney School of Public Health at the University of Sydney, Bill grew up in Ireland, then England, and now is growing up in Australia (work in progress). He has been a public health person for 25+ years – NCD prevention at population level, and has worked in many countries including India, Philippines, Pacific Island nations. Government, Non-gov, Freelance at various points. Read more here and here about the Twitter analytics from the conference, with Bill and @WePublicHealth making their mark.
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]8 October
A tag-team from the Australian Healthcare & Hospitals Association or @AusHealthcare reported the news from the #IHFBrisbane2018 World Hospital Congress, where there were over 150 speakers from more than 30 countries. See the program. 
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1 October
Aimee Brownbill – @AimeeBrownbill – reflected on the recent PHAA conference, with a focus on emerging leaders. She is a PhD candidate with the University of Adelaide School of Public Health, where her current research is on the topic of sugary beverages. Her research explores the marketing techniques used by beverage companies to drive sales of these products. In particular, Aimee’s research explores how the portrayal of sugary drinks as healthy, or as better-for-you, influences consumer perceptions and consumption of these products. Through her research, Aimee hopes to inform public health interventions and policies that aim to reduce population consumption of sugary beverages. Aimee is an active member of the Australian public health community. She is currently on the Board of the Public Health Association of Australia and the South Australian Branch’s Executive Committee. Follow Public Health Association of Australia, Students and Young Professionals in Public Health – @PHAA_SYPPH.
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]24 September
Brenna Bernardino – @brennabernardin – covered the 2018 Australian Public Health Conference in Cairns, whose theme was “Leadership in public health: Challenges for local and planetary communities” – #AustPH2018. Brenna’s cultural background is Timorese, Portuguese and Torres Strait Islander. She has a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology/Spanish) and Master of Public Health. Her research interests include Indigenous and sexual health, and she hopes to pursue a PhD on the topic of reproductive justice in Australia. Brenna is currently working as a research assistant for the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health, QLD. In October, she will commence an internship with the First People’s Health Unit at Griffith University, Gold Coast. She has also set up the UQ Stories for Reconciliation group to encourage others to read, watch and listen to Indigenous stories. Brenna also tweets for @PHAA_QLDbranch.
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]17 September
Croakey editor and journalist Amy Coopes – @coopesdetat – tweeted from the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ Annual Scientific Meeting, for the Croakey Conference News Service. The conference brings together eminent global and Trans-Tasman thinkers to discuss the latest advances and opportunities in women’s sexual and reproductive health. Themed ‘Shifting Sands’, #ranzcog18 aimed to showcase the diversity and breadth of the specialty. Bookmark this link to follow Croakey’s coverage.
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]10 September
Dr Paul Lawton – @pauldlawton – is a kidney specialist who has been working as a clinician across the Northern Territory since 1999, including four years as Director of Northern Territory Renal Services. In his research, he addresses questions about kidney disease care disparities and outcomes among Indigenous Australians, using larger already existing datasets, including some data linkage. How can we do better for disadvantaged populations, and why aren’t we?
Dr Lawton also works clinically as a kidney specialist in Darwin, including at Aboriginal Medical Services. His main clinical interests are chronic kidney disease (particularly in Indigenous Australians) and the management of complex conditions in remote and disadvantaged environments.
From Monday 10th to Wednesday 12th September, he tweeted from Sydney at the annual meeting of the Australian & New Zealand Society of Nephrology (#anzsn2018). Yes, Indigenous health (his main interest), but all things kidney too!
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]3 September
The Australian College of Nurse Practitioners (ACNP) @acnp_national profiled their national campaign ‘Transforming Health Care’ @transformingHC, which aims to connect both the community and the health sector with the valuable offering Nurse Practitioners (NPs) are providing to improve healthcare across Australia. For more information, see here.
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]27 August
Krister Partel (@KristerPartel), director of advocacy at the Australian Healthcare & Hospitals Association or @AusHealthcare, previewed the news from the forthcoming #IHFBrisbane2018 World Hospital Congress, where there will be over 150 speakers from more than 30 countries, who will share their views and experiences on healthcare. For more details – http://ow.ly/G1NJ30lpuYt
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]20 August
The Australian Health Promotion Association – @AHPA_AU – shared the news from its Symposium in Canberra, with the theme: Better Practice – Better Placed: #AHPA2018.
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]13 August
The @CroakeyNews team re-tweeted news from the #EcoHealth2018 conference in Colombia. The conference organisers state: “Ecohealth is about understanding the connections between environment, society and health. This approach goes beyond the usual analysis of relationships between biological and physical components of ecosystems and human populations, by including systems thinking and the analysis of the political dimensions of these complex problems with transdisciplinary teams. In particular, the overall theme of the next Ecohealth 2018 Congress is Environmental and Health Equity: Connecting local alternatives in a global World. This theme emphasizes the need to connect local initiatives in a world with global drivers that threaten healthy ecosystems and populations, and makes a call to tackle these forces and pursue justice.” Ecohealth 2018 is co-hosted by the Universidad del Valle in Cali Colombia. Professor Kerry Arabena gave a presentation during the conference on the #JustClimate project.
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]6 August
Run by the GroundSwell Project (@GroundSwellAus), Dying To Know Day brings to life conversations and community actions around death, dying and bereavement. Held August 8th every year, it is a national day for talking about death and dying. D2KDay helps to develop death literacy – the practical know how needed for end of life planning. Hundreds of events are held by communities across Australia each year including more than 130 in 2018. The Groundswell Project’s vision is that when someone is dying, caring or grieving, we all know what to do. In Australia only 36 percent of people are discussing death and dying with their family, and 51 percent of us will die without a will. GroundSwell Project believe it’s time to get end of life conversations started. Across the week, the GroundSwell Project will share, the latest info and research about death literacy, loads of great resources and tools, info for health care professionals and community members and ideas to get people talking about death and dying. Plus on Tuesday the the 7th, we will host a Twitter Chat with #D2KDay co-founder Kerrie Noonan (@KezNoo), a clinical psychologist in palliative care who has worked in health and community settings as a community development social researcher. She’ll be discussing death, dying, death literacy, palliative care and much more!
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]30 July
Cancer Council NSW – @CCNewSouthWales – has launched its pre-election advocacy campaign, Saving Life 2019, which calls on the next NSW government to protect the community from tobacco, tackle childhood obesity, and support people with lymphoedema. This week, the team at Cancer Council NSW will be focusing on why tobacco control should be a priority of the next NSW Government and what needs to be done to reduce the cancer risk in our community.
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]23 July
Melbourne City Mission – @MelbCityMission – is a progressive, for purpose organisation with a diverse service platform encompassing early years, education and employment, homelessness and justice services, early childhood intervention and disability services, and palliative care services. We have been at the forefront of social innovation for more than 160 years, developing new solutions to complex issues at an individual level and at a societal and structural level. Our vision is to create a fair and just community where people have equal access to opportunities and resources.
Each day, we focused on a different issue eg. youth homelessness, education, gender equality. On Wednesday next week, our youth action group (young people passionate about social issues affecting young people in Melbourne) will be co-creating content with us. We will be focusing on the drivers, enablers and solutions to complex social and public health issues. 