Meet Dr Catherine Chamberlain, a recognised contributor to Aboriginal women’s health research and a recipient of an Australian Government Endeavour Research Fellowship for Indigenous Australians.
Trawlwoolway woman Dr Catherine Chamberlain will travel to London in May to participate in a research conference.
A descendant of the Trawlwoolway people in North East Tasmania, Dr Chamberlain works at La Trobe University as a Medical Research Council Early Career Fellow.
Dr Chamberlain originally trained as a nurse and midwife and has over 25 years’ experience in maternal health, and expertise in Public Health including a Masters of Public Health (2002), and the Victorian Public Health Training Scheme (MScPHP 2005). Her research interests stem from working in a broad range of remote, rural and urban settings across health service, government and university sectors.
“I’m very committed to Closing the Gap for Aboriginal women by developing effective family health programs,” Dr Chamberlain said.
“Smoking during pregnancy is a concern for Aboriginal women and I have focused a great deal of my research around designing interventions to support female smokers.”
“It is the most significant modifiable risk factor in pregnancy and is recognised as the principal cause of health inequality.”
A key focus of her visit will be exposure to the Cochrane Reviews of ‘Interventions to support women to stop smoking in pregnancy.’
“These reviews have been instrumental in identifying the risks of smoking in pregnancy and informing high quality national and international guidelines,” Dr Chamberlain said.
“The reviews are the benchmark, having contributed to significant reductions in smoking among pregnant women in high income countries.”
Dr Chamberlain’s new skills will be very relevant to her role in Aboriginal health research.
“I will use the experience and evolving research expertise to work with communities to facilitate solutions to complex issues around maternal health,” Dr Chamberlain said.
“This includes supporting the development of strategies to reduce cardio-metabolic risk (e.g. smoking and diabetes) among Aboriginal mothers.”
This provides motivation to contribute in a positive way to the wellbeing of other Aboriginal Australians.
“The knowledge and networks I will develop through my Endeavour fellowship will help me support the development of effective family health programs and contribute to ‘Closing the Gap’ in Aboriginal women’s health,” Dr Chamberlain said.
The Australian Government is encouraging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to apply for an Endeavour Scholarship and Fellowship.
Applications for the 2018 round close 30 June 2017.
Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Soar in NSW: A Growing Crisis of Injustice and Indifference
In 2024, twelve Aboriginal people have died in custody across New South Wales, Lindsay McCabe writes, this underscores a troubling rise in deaths and the ongoing failure to prevent them, despite decades of calls for change.
Sovereignty is a coloniser concept. We need Law in Country
Uncle Jim Everett - puralia meenamatta Elder and philosopher has been defending native forests in Tasmania from logging. In the face of colonial law, Uncle Jim writes, First Nations people need to honour our commitment to Country, and fight for the future of our lands, before colony-imposed climate change becomes a death sentence for our world.
Survivance: How can mob protect cultural narratives in our arts and practices?
Earlier this year, Wiradjuri Blak Queer artist Clinton Hayden was confronted with cultural and professional harm at the hands of an arts organisation he was commissioned to exhibit with. His experience, Clinton writes, is not an isolated incident, and shows a need for not just acknowledgement of cultural significance, but guaranteed survivance for First Nations artists and cultural practitioners in so-called Australia.
Subscribe
I would like to receive the IndigenousX monthly newsletter
