Learn more about current research from JCU Murtupuni staff and students.
If you are interested in attending one of our research seminars, please register here.
Friday 5th April, 12.30-1.30pm
- Presenters: A/Prof Santosh Jatrana & Susan Gasson
- Topic: Confident supervisors: supervising international students from non-English speaking backgrounds
- Abstract: Dr Santosh Jatrana is a committed supervisor with a record of successfully supervising international HDRs. In collaboration with Susan Gasson, she has written a chapter titled ‘Supervising International Higher Degree Researchers from Non-English Speaking Countries’ for a free online book ‘Confident Supervisors: Creating Confident Researchers’. In this session, Santosh and Susan share strategies and tips for enabling candidature experiences that support research outcomes.
Friday 7th June, 12.30-1.30pm
- Presenters: A/Prof Santosh Jatrana & Catherine Seaton
- Title: Urban-Rural Mortality in Australia: A systematic review
- Abstract:
Rurality is a determinant of health, and it is well established in the literature that people who live in rural and remote areas of Australia experience poorer health outcomes compared to their urban counterparts. This is due to a combination of factors, including reduced access to health services, longer waits for treatment and diagnosis of diseases, higher rates of risky behaviour, unhealthy lifestyles, occupational hazards, and socioeconomic disadvantages. However, while we can be certain these rural/remote-urban inequalities exist, there is, as yet, no published evidence that focuses on the literature making those comparisons and reviewing their findings. This project aims to systematically review the literature on urban-rural differences in health including all-case and specific-cause mortality. A systematic review of health databases has been undertaken, in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. 64 papers that compare urban and rural mortality rates in Australia have been identified, although individual definitions of ‘urban’ and ‘rural’ vary between publications. Specific causes of mortality were categorised into cancer, injury or trauma, non-communicable diseases, cerebrovascular, cardiovascular, and lung and respiratory. The majority of papers show significant differences in rural and remote mortality rates, with some indication that the urban/rural gap has been widening over time for some specific causes, particularly suicide. This review will facilitate an improved understanding about differences in health between urban and rural areas in Australia to enable development of evidence-based policies. It will also provide a rigorous and reliable research base for future work in this area.
