Aboriginal Health
The Onemda VicHealth Koori Health Unit, with the Centre for Health and Society, are looking for bright, motivated and forthright students who want to undertake their AMS research in Aboriginal Health.
Course Structure
Students complete 50 points of coursework (4 subjects worth 12.5 points each) and 50 points of research. The research component consists of a supervised 8,000 - 10,000 word written research report, or equivalent. the research is also presented via an oral presentation at the AMS Medical Humanities Conference.
Students must undertake 4 coursework subjects.
Compulsory subjects:
- Aboriginal Primary Health Care and Policy
- Qualitative Health Research
Elective subjects:
- Any other 2 subjects that relate to, and underpin, the proposed area of study.
For example: - Place and posession
- Indigenous Politics and Histories
Check out this link for further options of elective subjects: www.indigenous.unimelb.edu.au
Projects you could consider doing include:
Community-based placements for research project and fieldwork in an urban, rural or remote context. Past AMS fieldwork-based projects have investigated:
- Practitioner adherence to diabetes protocols in Central Australia and Urban Melbourne
- Perspectives on important issues involved in young Koori people succeeding in employment
- The debates surrounding the return to traditional lands of the Murray Black Collection of Aboriginal skeletal remains from the University of Melbourne.
Library-based research focusing on historical or contemporary issues. Past AMS projects have researched:
- Environment, living conditions and health on Victorian Aboriginal Settlements from 1867-1882
- Implementation of the National Indigenous Australians' Sexual Health Strategy 1996-97 to 1998-99
For projects where the focus is rural or remote, opportunities exist for collaboration with other organisations, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, and students may be able to undertake fieldwork in far-flung parts of Australia.
For all projects there is the possibility of working with Aboriginal controlled organisations, such as health services, legal services or Aboriginal co-operatives.
To undertake an Aboriginal Health project you need to enrol in Medical Humanities, choose a topic in Aboriginal Health that interests you, and negotiate with us to find a suitable supervisor.
Go to the Education page of the Onemda VicHealth Koori Health unit website at: www.onemda.unimelb.edu.au/teaching/courses.html for further information.
General AMS enquiries for Medical Humanities:
Ms Ali Brookes, Academic Coordinator, Centre for Health & Society, School of Population Health, Level 4, 207 Bouverie Street, University of Melbourne, phone 8344 0826; fax 8344 0824; email: abroo@unimelb.edu.au
Mr Shaun Ewen, Aboriginal Health AMS , Centre for Health & Society, School of Population Health, Level 4, 207 Bouverie Street, University of Melbourne, phone 8344 9230; fax 8344 0824; email: sewen@ unimelb.edu.au
Ms Anita Lucas, AMS Coordinator, School of Population Health, Level 4, 207 Bouverie Street, University of Melbourne, Tel: +61 3 8344 9337, Email: ams-sph@unimelb.edu.au