Deakin students help women's health research

The students have been involved in a series of research projects with Women’s Health and Wellbeing Barwon South West (WHWBSW) as part of an industry placement program.

The impact of campaigns to stop violence against women, the effective use of social media in health promotion and developing service mapping tools for sexual health services are some of the positive outcomes to result from the research.

WHWBSW Chief Executive Officer Emily Lee-Ack said the students were adding to the organisation’s capacity. “The students have added huge value to our understanding of issues relating to women’s health and wellbeing in our patch,” she said.

So far five students have been placed with WHWBSW for 120 hours each. The latest student to join the organisation, Lily Bourke starts on 13 November and will assist in preparation for the 16 days of activism campaign in 2017.

“All the students have approached the research with rigour and enthusiasm and have since stayed connected to us,” Ms Lee-Ack added.

Developing research relationships has been embedded into the WHWBSW strategic plan. “Deakin is the first port of call for research and we see opportunities to expand on the current research to potentially include Masters and PhD studies,” Ms Lee-Ack said.

Deakin University has also been a major recruitment ground for WHWBSW which three of the five members of the health promotion team and eight of the overall team being Deakin graduates.

Deakin University Warrnambool Manager of Community Engagement, Geraldine Moloney, said the research projects were an example of the contribution Deakin students make not only to industry but also the local community.

“This reflects the strong links Deakin has with industry and business to provide work opportunities and placements that can be valuable in leading to employment for our students,” Ms Moloney said.