WUACD participated in a Research Day coordinated by Federation University, specifically the Institute of Health and Wellbeing (IHW), that took place from 25th November 2024. IHW is an institute that teaches, researches, collaborates, and engages with the health sector to ensure that it delivers industry-relevant courses that meet the community’s needs. On this occasion, IHW conducts meaningful research that contributes to evidence-based practice that translates locally, nationally, and internationally while acknowledging and reflecting rural/regional locations.

The research day started with a welcoming session by Professor Muhammad Aziz Rahman, a lecturer at the Institute of Health and Wellbeing at the Federation University Berwick Campus. Presentations from the IHW senior staff went on regarding multiple themes such as speech pathology, exercise & sports science, public health, and many more. These topics provide a broad perspective for the audience about an interdisciplinary approach to improve health, equity, and wellbeing. These come hand-in-hand with the advancements in scientific research as well as understanding the role of technology in today’s challenges in healthcare.

After the opening presentations, short presentations took place where delegates presented their research for 5 minutes with 1 minute for QnA. The delegates presenting consisted of professors, masters students, as well as HDR students. The research themes vary, those including midwifery, nursing, physiotherapy, and public health. The first session focused on healthcare education, research, and general patient care. Topics such as mental health awareness, artificial intelligence on cognitive health, the new era of chronic disease management, and many more were discussed here. These topics covers a wide range of areas in healthcare, specifically highlighting in advancement in education for the students who are in those fields, as well as advancements in research and technology and how it can improve health outcomes through diverse backgrounds.

Following the first session, the second session delves deeper into specific health conditions and their impact on individuals, emphasizing understanding patient experiences and perspectives. Topics such as transition of care among elderly patients, vaping among adolescents, sexual wellness among heterosexual women, and many more were discussed here. Different from the first session, this session covers more factors of health, focusing on the physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing of patients from different backgrounds. It explores more on healthcare strategies and how mental health can support various aspects of patient-centered care.

The rest of the day consisted of research training sessions about publishing, where they gave tips, writing advice, and promoting other opportunities. Those opportunities were in the National Centre for Reconciliation, Truth, and Justice (NCRTI), Collaborative Evaluation and Research Centre (CERC), and Health Innovation and Transformation Centre (HITC). These centers all focus on different aspects of healthcare and ensure that healthcare interventions are effective and accessible to all. This session enriches the participants’ knowledge about the programs that are initiated by Federation University to open up potential collaborationss among universities.

The presentation about the mentioned topics enriches the discussion on SDG number 3: good health and wellbeing and 4: quality education, representing the commitment of Federation University to achieving Sustainable Development Goals. Research Day helps students and researchers share and promote their work. Not only that, they can also share their knowledge on specific research findings for engaging students, these being students and researchers in the health sector.

Besides providing the experts and students a platform to share about their research, the researchers were able to collaborate with other universities and be able to reach international audiences through the involvement of the university members of WUACD. This creates a broad network of potential collaborations who may be interested in the researchers presenting in Research Day. As for the audiences, they were able to indulge new information and new findings through Research Day and be able to know more about of the healthcare system.

WUACD illustrates its commitment to provide continuous support to sustain a prolonged partnership with its members by participating in the Research Day held by Federation University. This ensures the improvement of the quality of community services and actively contributes to community development through collaboration and cooperation as a joint effort to address global challenges, in this case relating to health, through programs based on Sustainable Development Goals.