WHEN Warracknabeal’s John Aitken set out on a project to improve community health knowledge four years ago, he never imagined just how much of an impact his work would have.
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The semi-retired pharmacist was looking for a challenge, and decided to complete a university course.
This month, Dr Aitken graduated with a PhD from the La Trobe University Rural Health School in Bendigo.
“There was always something in the back of my mind to perhaps do some sort of uni course,” he said.
“One was offered in Warracknabeal, which was quite different. It was funded by Rural Northwest Health and the rural health school, so I didn't have to move to do it.
“It was a challenge I thought I needed.
“I didn’t probably realise how big a challenge it was going to be.”
Throughout the past four years, more than 300 Yarriambiack Shire residents have been part of Dr Aitken’s work through participating in research groups and interviews.
Dr Aitken’s research focused on building individual capacity to respond to health issues, as well as increasing community knowledge in the field.
He said the process started with a community action research group, where residents discussed the shire’s health needs for the next 20 years.
This led to aged care expos in Warracknabeal and Hopetoun, which more than 200 people attended.
A collaboration between Dr Aitken, Yarriambiack Shire Council and Warracknabeal Neighbourhood House called Seasons of Wellness followed.
This aimed to give residents the skills to deal with health problems.
Dr Aitken said a well-being co-ordinator for Rural Northwest Health also evolved from his work.
“That was a great outcome. Things sort of aligned – they were looking at new models of care, and we proposed one,” he said.
Students also participated in Dr Aitken’s work.
The Photovoice method allowed satellite VCAL students from Warracknabeal Secondary College to take photos of places that affected their health and well-being, and then discuss them.
The project also extended to outdoor projects: three community gardens were built at Warracknabeal, Beulah and Hopetoun to improve the community’s therapeutic landscape.
Dr Aitken said the gardens aimed to promote fresh food, exercise, inter-generational participation in health activities, and socialisation, to help address health issues linked to loneliness and marginalisation.
Another garden is in the works at Rural Northwest Health’s Warracknabeal campus.
Health should be a bottom-up process rather than a top-down one. You have to engage people in developing their own healthcare solutions.
- John Aitken
Dr Aitken said this would be a shared space that would be used by both town residents and Rural Northwest Health’s allied health staff for community health programs.
Dr Aitken said even after working in the health industry for so long, his work had taught him many new things.
“Rural people face living and health challenges and they need a lot of support to address those,” he said.
“I’d worked as a pharmacist, but you don't really look beyond the people who are in front of you for things like social determinants. So I probably hadn't understood why people in rural areas had certain health problems.
“My work was looking at how we build capacity in people to help them address their health problems, and what problems are unique to rural areas.”
Dr Aitken said his studies had highlighted the importance of listening to the community’s voice.
“Health should be a bottom-up process rather than a top-down one,” he said.
“You have to engage people in developing their own healthcare solutions.”
Dr Aitken thanked former Rural Northwest Health chief executive Catherine Morley for helping initiate the project, and the community for taking part.
“It is really important the community supports health research. Governments are always looking for evidence-based solutions, and we need the research to show that,” he said.
“If other people are thinking of doing something like this, I would really recommend it – it’s a great opportunity.”
Dr Aitken has published the results of his research in his thesis titled ‘Sharing knowledge: community participation strategies for improving rural health’.
He has presented his findings at conferences and forums around the world, including at a workshop during a leading age conference in the United States of America.
He has also presented his work at health research conferences in Melbourne, Hobart, and Glasgow.
Dr Aitken will travel to Manchester next month to showcase his results and proposals for future health strategies and interventions at the First International Social Prescribing Conference.