Deakin University health promotion students are helping the region to gain a better insight into the health and wellbeing needs of local women.
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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 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.
Ms Lee-Ack said the placements were a “win win” as WHWBSW gained fresh ideas from students who ensured the messaging was relevant and tailored to their target market. "Being understood is critical to get that message out there. There’s a few things that wouldn’t be on our radar had we not had the opportunity to be involved in this program.”
Health sciences student Lily Bourke, who is originally from Warrnambool but is studying at Burwood, began a placement with WHWBSW on Monday.
Five students have been placed with the organisation for 120 hours each, including Lily, 22, who is working on developing health fact postcards about issues including gender equality, sexual health and violence against women.
“They’re easy to read and engage young people so hopefully we can implement them in schools and at Brophy,” Lily said.
Lily said she had always had an interest in public health and it was good to see how regional issues differed to metropolitan areas.
“I’m learning more about different issues that I didn’t know anything about like reproductive health and domestic violence. It’s good to learn something new that's specific to this area and affects a lot of people in the community. It’s also really important for that younger generation coming through to talk about respectful relationships and gender equality. It’s really relevant.”