The Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute (APHCRI) at the Australian National University has been awarded $5 million in Commonwealth funding for the establishment of two new Centres of Research Excellence (CRE) in primary health care.

 

Director of the Institute Robert Wells said the CRE for Urban Aboriginal Child Health and the CRE for Prevention of Chronic Conditions in remote and rural communities would be awarded $2.5 million each in primary health care research funding from the Department of Health and Ageing to conduct world-leading research into essential health care.

 

“Overall, 53 per cent of the Aboriginal population of Australia lives in cities or large regional centres and it is estimated that 60 per cent of the health gap between Aboriginal and non‐Aboriginal Australians is attributable to the health of people living in non‐remote areas,” Mr Wells said.

 

“In spite of this, little is known about the factors influencing the health of urban Aboriginal children and the paucity of research to test the impact of strategies to improve Aboriginal health is widely acknowledged.”

 

APHCRI is funded through a grant from the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.