September 9, 2014
Darling Downs South West Queensland Medicare Local has joined forces with researchers from the University of Southern Queensland to evaluate mental health services in the region.
A core component of USQ’s new Institute of Resilient Regions is the “Innovative Mental Health Solutions” research program, headed by Dr Sonja March and Dr Michael Ireland.
“To develop and deliver innovative solutions to the region, we need to understand the health services currently available across the region and Medicare Local is already doing work in this space – so this is an opportunity for us to build partnerships with like-minded organisations to share expertise and resources,” Dr March said.
“We’re also working with Griffith University and the University of Queensland on an online self-help program to help young people access evidence-based anxiety treatment program for free.
“The website has been live for about three months and we’ve already had almost two million hits and several thousand registrations.”
Dr March said it was no secret that people living outside major cities suffered health disadvantages including higher illness rates and limited access to quality health and mental health care.
“In addition to this, health professionals working in these areas face tremendous challenges providing adequate services, whilst managing their own workloads and their mental and physical health,” she said.
“Our mission, through IRR, is to identify the nature of the health and mental health challenges faced by the diverse populations living outside metropolitan Queensland.
“We will build on these findings to develop assessments and interventions for individuals and communities.”
