INTERVIEWS

Guest: Dr. Delaney Skerrett
Presenter: Wayne Bucklar
Guest Bio: Dr Delaney Skerrett is a Research Fellow and Clinical Interviewer at the Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention (AISRAP). His background is in psychology and language policy and he is a provisionally registered psychologist. Delaney’s research at AISRAP has focused on predictive factors for suicide mortality in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) populations in Australia, the first research of its kind in the country. He is a member of the mindOUT! National LGBTI Mental Health Promotion Framework task group. Delaney has also been the coordinator of an evaluation of the Expanded Horizons psychosocial program for LGBTI youth and a social-emotional wellbeing project with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth for Headspace.

Segment overview: For our Health Academy Series today, Dr. Delaney Skerrett from the Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention at Griffith University is here to share his research on the non-fatal suicidal behaviors in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex populations in Australia. He believes that studies are needed to collect data on the prevalence of suicidal behaviours in living LGBTI people, the pathways to these behaviours, and the barriers to help-seeking in these groups. Dr. Skerrett proposes a model including those factors thought to be central to the suicidal process in LGBTI people to be designed and tested.

Guest: Matt Ralph
Presenter: Wayne Buclar
Guest Bio: From studying a double major in Communications and Commerce, through to falling in love with the creative arts while working at a theatre restaurant then later attending the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Matt Ralph had quite a journey. It wasn’t until he began using his skills while working as Captain Starlight at children’s hospitals that he realised his true passion. It was in this role that he began seeing the therapeutic value of music and so decided to undertake a Masters of Music Therapy degree. Matt’s Music Therapy position is made possible thanks to funding from RedKite, ACMF and Sydney Children’s Hospital Foundation.

Segment overview: In today’s Health Supplier Segment, Music Therapist Matt Ralph from the Sydney Children’s Hospital Network joins us to share valuable information about music therapy paediatric healthcare. Music Therapy is about building resilience through music, encouraging children to courageously cope during lengthy and recurrent hospital admissions. It is used as a means of distraction during challenging treatments, as a way for children to explore skills and the unfamiliar Hospital environment, and as a tool to develop positive memories, this is particularly important when it comes to palliative patients. In addition, he also discusses music therapy beyond the hospital walls like that of Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick’s Click Sticks Program which gives patients the opportunity to take their skills home with them.

Guest: Professor Mathew Vadas AO
Presenter: Wayne Bucklar
Guest Bio: Professor Mathew Vadas is a physician and internationally renowned immunologist who leads a program of vascular research focused on the mechanisms of inflammation in endothelial cells and on the resultant impact of inflammation on endothelial function in various disease states. He is the Executive Director of the Centenary Institute, Sydney. Professor Vadas has established major research enterprises in Australia. He was founder and inaugural Director of the Hanson Centre for Cancer Research (now the Hanson Institute). Professor Vadas is one Australia’s most highly cited scientists with >25,500 citations (H index = 85). He is an Inaugural (2001) ISI Award Citation Laureate (one of 33 most cited Australian researchers in all disciplines). His work has made seminal contributions to medical science.

Segment overview: For our Health Academy Series today, Centenary Institute‘s Executive Director Professor Mathew Vadas AO joins us to discuss the development in the various researches that they have mainly focused in the key areas of cancer, inflammation and cardiovascular disease. Their research spans from investigating molecular mechanisms of disease at the single cell level to translational disease models in complex organisms and to clinical trials. Their strength is in uncovering disease mechanisms and applying this knowledge to improve diagnostics and treatments for patients and find cures for some of the most chronic diseases affecting today’s society.

Guest: Dr Steve Hambleton MBBS FAMA FRACGP (hon) GAICD
Presenter: Wayne Bucklar
Guest Bio: Dr Steve Hambleton is the Chair of the National E-Health Transition Authority. He is the former Federal President of the Australian Medical Association (AMA), a position he assumed in May 2011 after serving a two-year term as Federal Vice President. Dr Hambleton is a University of Queensland graduate (1984) and an experienced General Practitioner serving at Kedron in Brisbane since 1988. Dr Hambleton was appointed Chair of the National E-Health Transition Authority in June 2014. In April 2015, he was appointed by the Federal Government to lead a Primary Health Care Advisory Group to investigate options to provide better care for people with complex and chronic illness; innovative care and funding models; better recognition and treatment of mental health conditions; and greater connection between primary health care and hospital care.

Segment overview: In today’s Health Supplier Segment, we welcome NEHTA Chair Dr Steve Hambleton as he joins us to discuss their purpose and vision in leading the national vision fro Australia’s eHealth future. The organization is jointly funded by the Australian Government and all State and Territory Governments and they work collaboratively with consumers, healthcare providers, the healthcare industry, the information and communications technology industry, policy makers and funders towards a safe, secure and efficient health system that will deliver better health outcomes for all Australians.

Overview:

• The Australian Lung Foundation wants to help more people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) to manage it at home, and are being targeted in a campaign to prevent ending up in hospital during winter.

• The United States-based study published in American Journal of Medical Genetics found that more youths with intellectual or developmental disabilities are being reclassified as autistic, this led to an apparent tripling in cases in recent years.

• University of New South Wales professor of sociology Alex Broom says discussing death — even in a casual setting — is important for the individual, loved ones and society as a whole.

Overview:

• British doctors have given Ray Flynn, a 80-year-old man a new bionic eye in a procedure which could go on to help millions of people suffering from the most common cause of sight loss.

• University of Queensland scientists said new antibiotics that were unlikely to develop resistance were urgently needed to combat the rise of superbugs — drug-resistant bacteria, the bacteria’s own sugar. And according to Professor Matt Cooper the compound was not sucrose, but instead a unique type of sugar.

• Researchers say a new type of short-pulse Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) could treat thousands of Australians who suffer from severe and treatment-resistant depression more effectively than standard procedures.

Guest: Dr. Aziz Rahman
Presenter: Wayne Bucklar
Guest Bio: Dr. Aziz Rahman is a Public Health Specialist and a Medical Doctor. He has a strong background in cardiovascular disease research, epidemiology and prevention of communicable & non-communicable diseases, with a special interest in tobacco research. Dr Rahman completed PhD in Public Health from Australia, Master of Public Health (MPH) and Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS) from Bangladesh. He is also trained on advanced Epidemiology from Europe and Australia, specialized course on Global Tobacco Control from Johns Hopkins University, USA.

Segment overview: For our Health Academy Series today, we are joined by Dr. Aziz Rahman from the Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research at the Australian Catholic University in Melbourne, Australia. He is here to share the results of his research on how E-cigarettes can help smokers quit. Their recent study found that that among 1,242 smokers, 224 (18 per cent) reported that they gave up smoking by using e-cigarettes for a minimum period of six months. They also found that nicotine filled e-cigarettes were more effective for cessation than those without nicotine and that the use of e-cigarettes helped smokers cut back on the number of cigarettes that they smoked.

Guest: Mark K. Borsody, M.D., Ph.D.
Presenter: Wayne Bucklar
Guest Bio: Mark K. Borsody, M.D., Ph.D. is a vascular neurologist and the inventor of the VitalFlow stimulator. He began his research career at Emory University where he earned his Doctoral degree in neuroscience and subsequently attended medical school at the Ohio State University. He then studied clinical neurology at the Northwestern Memorial Hospital and subspecialized in vascular neurology at the Detroit Medical Center / Wayne State University, where he won an American Heart Association research award. In 2012, he began full-time work on the VitalFlow program, founding Nervive Inc for which he now serves as Chief Medical Officer.

Segment overview: In today’s Health Supplier Segment, Nervive Inc. Chief Medical Officer Mark Borsody joins us today to talk about a new treatment for brain ischemia. They are currently developing the VitalFlow stimulator, a novel and non-invasive medical device that treats stroke. The company is focused on research, development and commercialization of medical devices that can be used to improve patient care in the neurology critical care space.

Guest: Dr. Lise Alschuler
Presenter: Wayne Bucklar
Guest Bio: Dr. Lise Alschuler (US) is a world renowned integrative medicine expert, with a board certification in naturopathic oncology and the author of several scientific papers and books including “The Definitive Guide to Cancer.” Since her breast cancer diagnosis seven years ago, Dr. Alschuler has undergone surgery, received chemotherapy and radiation and integrated natural supplements, diet, exercise as well other lifestyle changes throughout her treatment.

Segment overview: In today’s Health Supplier Segment, we welcome Dr. Lisa Alschuler who is currently in Australia as a keynote speaker for the Australasian Integrative Medicine Association Conference as well as a series of workshops where she is presenting to medical practitioners around the country regarding the latest in cancer research and the role of integrative medicine in battling the disease. According to the latest scientific based findings in natural integrative cancer care and prevention, diet and lifestyle changes can impact our health at a cellular level and improve our risk for cancer significantly.

Guest: Professor David Greenfield, PhD
Presenter: Wayne Bucklar
Guest Bio: Associate Professor Greenfield is a senior research scientist in the Centre for Healthcare Resilience and Implementation Science, Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University. A/ Prof Greenfield is a Fellow of the Australasian Association for Quality in Health Care, a Fellow of the International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua), and recognised as an ISQua Expert. A/Professor David Greenfield research is at the intersection of improvement and implementation sciences. He is researching healthcare complex adaptive systems, health services and the organisation and delivery of clinical practice.

Segment overview: For our Health Academy Series today, we are joined by Associate Professor David Greenfield, PhD from the Centre for Healthcare Resilience and Implementation Science, Australian Institute of Health Innovation at the Macquarie University. A/Prof Greenfield investigates what impacts on quality improvement and mechanisms to integrate research findings and evidence into healthcare policy and practice. This includes, for example, the formal or informal regulation of the organisation and delivery of care, via accreditation programs or interprofessional collaboration strategies. The purpose of this research is to derive evidence to improve organisational functioning, service delivery mechanisms and patient outcomes.