HOHA is pleased to announce that Professor Jon Adams has joined the team as Chair of Research, Education and Training. Distinguished Professor of Public Health, Aust Research Centre in Complementary & Integrative Medicine, Professor Adams is the world-leading public health and health services researcher focused on self-care, informal health care and traditional, complementary, integrative and indigenous medicine use and practice. Jon is also the National Convenor of the Special Interest Group in Complementary Medicine at the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA).
In March this year, Professor Adams was presented his Fulbright Award at Parliament House in Canberra. The Fulbright research project will examine the challenges and opportunities around integrative health care provision for vulnerable and underserved communities. The use of complementary and integrative medicine (CIM) for treating illness and maintaining health is not uncommon in Australia and the United States but the widespread popularity of these practices does not remove their potential to contribute to social disadvantage and inequality around care access and health outcomes.
“We already know that substantial inequality exists in the use of conventional care. The same applies to CIM, as the poor and most vulnerable, often with chronic illness, may have limited access to practitioner-led CIM or cannot afford the cost,” says Professor Adams.
The Fulbright program is the flagship foreign exchange scholarship program of the United States that aims to increase binational research collaboration, cultural understanding, and the exchange of ideas. With a well-established environment for CIM clinical practice, Professor Adams’ fieldwork and insights gained in the US has exceptional potential to lead to practice and policy development with regards to care and support for those in vulnerable communities living with chronic illness in Australia.
The burden of chronic illness is expanding rapidly, accounting for nearly two thirds of deaths worldwide. People are taking their health and response to illness into their own hands and CIM use is a core aspect of this.
Jon’s research program has attracted over $15M in competitive external funding including 16 NHMRC and ARC grants. Jon’s extensive research program, conducted with many industry partners (>$3.5M in partnership funding), includes focus upon practice-based research networks (PBRNs), implementation science and translation research and mixed methods design. Jon currently leads 40 national and international research projects and his work provides practice and policy insights in areas such as chronic illness care, healthy ageing, indigenous health, the health of vulnerable communities, CALD communities, rural health and a number of global health challenges.
Jon has authored over 370 peer-reviewed academic publications and is editor of 8 international research books with leading publishing houses.
Franca Smarrelli, HoHA, CEO along with the Chair and Board welcome Jon coming on board. We are thrilled to be working with Jon and his team; we are at a pivotal time at HoHA’s history where the focus is on what we do and how we do it in order to continually refine and improve our services, research and education and training.
We also welcome to the team, Don Nardella, Dr Navine Haworth and April Clarke; three executives who have incredible experience across, research and education, compliance, policy, people and culture and strategic projects. Their contribution will be innovative and critical in addressing the needs in the communities we serve who experience isolation, disadvantage and marginalisation.
