Rural Health Research Institute

02/04/2024

What role can ketamine play in the treatment of depression?

X (formally known as Twitter) owner Elon Musk recently described using small amounts of ketamine “once every other week” to manage the “chemical tides” that cause his depression. He says it’s helpful to get out of a “negative frame of mind”.

Professor of Mental Health and Addiction from our Rural Health Research Institute Julaine Allan explores the core function of Ketamine and how the research on treating depressions is encouraging but there is still much to uncover.

Elon Musk’s ketamine confession has caused mixed reactions but a Charles Sturt academic said it opens up more conversations about how we can treat mental health conditions.

07/03/2024

🙌 Rural Health Research Institute (RHRI) has received $4.3 million to delve into a specific therapy pathway that could revolutionise the lives of individuals grappling with schizophrenia.

RHRI's Associate Professor Julaine Allan is leading the research team and explains the project was not about curing schizophrenia, but rather helping people manage it as part of their day-to-day lives.

“Although CRT is currently recommended in Australian treatment guidelines, access to the therapy is limited.”

“This project will rapidly translate an evidence-based therapy into different clinical mental health settings with a team of clinician researchers, people with lived experience of mental illness and researchers.”

Funded by the Australian Government’s Medical Research Future Fund, this grant signifies not only a financial boost but a resounding endorsement of the pivotal work our RHRI researchers are embarking upon. 👏

Read more: go.csu.edu.au/3wvHCIb

13/11/2023

🏆 Congratulations! Professor Juliane Allan has been named Research Academic Leader of the Year at the recent 2023 Western NSW Health Researcher of the Year Awards.

Professor Allan’s research programs have developed new ways of reducing health issues associated with mental health barriers and addictions, and have been deployed across Western NSW for more than 20 years.

“It’s an honour to have that work recognised by the Western NSW Health Research Network and my colleagues in the region as the WHRN is THE Network for health research in western NSW. It’s fantastic to be part of a collegiate and forward-thinking group.”

Please join us in congratulating Julaine below. 👏

All the details: go.csu.edu.au/3QEoE8G

10/08/2023

📰 Opinion | Herbal formulation Kamini, AKA Indian Vi**ra, has led to serious dependency issues across the country. In this opinion piece, RHRI’s Associate Professor of Mental Health and Addiction, Dr Julaine Allan, explains Kamini contains o***m and many users don’t understand the risks of regular use.

Charles Sturt University is an Australian University, TEQSA Provider Identification: PRV12018. CRICOS Provider: 00005F.

By Associate Professor, Mental Health and Addiction, Rural Health Research Institute, Charles Sturt University Dr Julaine Allan (pictured).

08/08/2023

After partnering with Aboriginal Medical Services and holding our first workshop late last year, we were able to present alarming statistics on health inequalities across five NSW Central West communities. Find out how visiting these isolated communities is forming a critical part of our research. 👇

Charles Sturt University is an Australian University, TEQSA Provider Identification: PRV12018. CRICOS Provider: 00005F.

The Charles Sturt University Rural Health and Medical Research Institute (the Institute) has presented alarming statistics on health inequalities across five NSW Central West communities.

07/08/2023

Charles Sturt University researchers have published ground-breaking research that will assist with the elimination of schistosomiasis – the third most devastating tropical disease globally.

Charles Sturt University researchers have published ground-breaking research that will assist with the elimination of schistosomiasis.

03/08/2023

The first phase of our research work is to undertake detailed health disparities research within five focus communities - Orange, Dubbo, Gilgandra, Coonamble and Nyngan.

This research draws on a rich cross-section of data at a community, district and state level, describing the burden of disease, health service utilisation, social determinants of health, and population demographics.

A detailed health disparity survey will be conducted among the lowest socio-economic neighbourhood comprising approximately 6,000 individuals.

Our researchers will work with Aboriginal Medical Services staff to review and guide practice improvements and build workforce skills for better patient outcomes. The research will be a vehicle to highlight the innovative service models that the practices develop and deliver to suit the needs of the communities they serve.

Charles Sturt University is an Australian University, TEQSA Provider Identification: PRV12018. CRICOS Provider: 00005F.

02/08/2023

👨🏾‍⚕️ At the Rural Health Research Institute, we’re demonstrating Charles Sturt University’s commitment to First Nations people by ensuring that all the research conducted in First Nations communities has been designed with and for these communities.

We’ve embedded a First Nations Table into our governance structure. The First Nations Table consists of pre-eminent leaders in First Nations health at regional and national levels and works to ensure that the principles of inclusion in decision-making are upheld.

First Nations health is one of our four main research focus areas. Our objectives are to:

👨🏾‍⚕️ Work with Indigenous-controlled health services to improve care and access to care in their communities
👨🏾‍⚕️ Explore the First Nations health gap through a data-driven public health approach.

Charles Sturt University is an Australian University, TEQSA Provider Identification: PRV12018. CRICOS Provider: 00005F.

31/07/2023

Rural health is one of our four research project areas. Our current projects in this area include:

🩺 Professor Allen Ross is assessing rural health disparities in the lowest socioeconomic neighbourhoods of representative towns of regional NSW
🩺 Professor Anna Walduck is investigating chronic infections in the lowest socioeconomic neighbourhoods of representative LGAs
🩺 Associate Professor Bernd Kalinna is undertaking a genome wide methylation study of the epigenetics of Type 2 Diabetes
🩺 Dr Hazel Dalton is researching evidence-informed practice development in rural Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services
🩺 Associate Professor Juliane Allan is investigating the effectiveness, feasibility and acceptability of an innovative family-focused intervention for people with mental health conditions and substance dependence
🩺 Dr Kedir Ahmed is looking at the central obesity among Indigenous Australians, aiming towards building evidence for policy interventions
🩺 Drawing insights from the 45 and Up study using measures of mental, physical, and social wellbeing, Dr Hazel Dalton is researching how we age well in rural communities

Charles Sturt University is an Australian University, TEQSA Provider Identification: PRV12018. CRICOS Provider: 00005F.

27/07/2023

Rural communities are known to have gaps in healthcare access. They also have poorer outcomes than their city counterparts. We know changes in policy are needed, and a stronger base of rural health evidence is required to inform these changes.

Rural communities are diverse. They tend to be older and have a higher proportion of Indigenous people. There is a significant and sustained equity gap in the research funding allocated for rural health and to regional universities and services to undertake health research.

We represent a small but important investment to address this gap and build rural health research capacity in the regions.

Rural health is one of our four research focus areas. Our research objectives are:

🩺 Address the equity gap in rural health outcomes through improving health services and identifying models of care that work for rural communities
🩺 Trial and adapt new interventions for physical and emotional well-being
🩺 Explore the social determinants of health and opportunities for ageing well in rural communities
🩺 Understanding child development needs and treatment opportunities in rural areas

Charles Sturt University is an Australian University, TEQSA Provider Identification: PRV12018. CRICOS Provider: 00005F.

26/07/2023

Welcome to Charles Sturt University’s Rural Health Research Institute (RHRI). Based in Orange, we conduct leading-edge research on rural, remote, Indigenous and global health.

Our research addresses the health gap in communities across regional and remote Australia.

Our team of researchers and scientists are experts from across with globe with backgrounds in medicinal chemistry, infectious diseases, immunology, epidemiology, mental health and addictions, health service delivery and health disparity.

We look forward to sharing more of our research, news and events. In the meantime, you can visit our new website: go.csu.edu.au/3q7Cl72

Charles Sturt University is an Australian University, TEQSA Provider Identification: PRV12018. CRICOS Provider: 00005F.