Murdoch
has cemented its commitment to health care in the Southern Coastal Corridor
with plans to undertake a substantial long-term study of children’s
health and development in the Peel region.
The comprehensive research study will examine issues affecting children’s health - from pregnancy through to adolescence – and it is the first time a study of such breadth will be conducted in the region. Chair of Nursing Professor Anne McMurray will head the community study, which will be done in collaboration with Fiona Stanley’s Institute of Children’s Health, and Murdoch University. The study has the enthusiastic support of the Mayor, City of Mandurah, and members of the Peel Development Commission as well as the Peel Health Campus. Professor McMurray said Peel was a diverse region with a fast growing population and many young families.
“It is a challenging place to provide health care, however the key to success is the amazing cohesiveness of the community,” Professor McMurray said.
An example of this unity is the close linkage between the School of Nursing at Murdoch University’s Peel Campus and the Peel Health Campus. The partnership forged between the local private hospital and Murdoch is a key element in the plan to create a ‘hospital without walls’ – a network of linkages between hospital care, pharmacies, home carers, nurses and general practitioners within the Peel region. While Murdoch’s new Peel Campus opened in February 2005, the Nursing course started in 2004 with the use of facilities at Peel Health Campus, Challenger TAFE and Mandurah Senior College. Within three years, Murdoch’s Peel Campus will have more than 250 nursing students completing undergraduate and postgraduate programs.
“The Nursing course is helping to educate people to meet the high and growing demand for nurses in the region, and the hospital supports these local candidates,” Professor McMurray said.
“Murdoch’s nursing students have already benefited from the close collaboration with Peel Health Campus through the use of its facilities, particularly a demonstration ward where students gain a strong sense of hospital life and work flow.”
Professor McMurray said Peel Health Campus had eagerly aligned itself to the new research as it linked to the hospital's plans to build a children's ward with support from the Peel Health Campus Foundation.
The longitudinal study will be conducted by teams of researchers from a variety of groups including researchers from other WA universities, who will meet with members of the community in the New Year to plan the study.
“We will be examining the environment of the Peel region and the ways it contributes to child health and development, focusing on social and family environments,” Professor McMurray said.
“It will provide clear data on health and social factors in the region which will further galvanise the community."
