The Tasmanian Collaboration for Health improvement (TCHI) is helping to develop and implement a shared translational research agenda to inform the development and delivery of better health care and health outcomes for Tasmanians.

The Collaboration is response to some important health challenges facing Tasmania. The State’s population of 525,000 is one of the oldest and most rapidly-ageing in Australia and has poorer health outcomes due to a higher prevalence of chronic diseases than the national average.

People who identify are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander represent 4.6 per cent of the population and socio-economic disadvantage is greater in Tasmania than elsewhere in Australia.

As a result, the overall health status of the State is more typical of Australia’s regional areas than its major capital cities. Tasmanians suffer from poorer self-rated health, poorer oral health, and more avoidable deaths.

TCHI was established in 2018 to improve health and wellbeing outcomes for all Tasmanians through locally relevant research that informs the development and delivery of a well-integrated, people centred and effective health system.

The Collaboration brings together the collective knowledge, expertise, capability and resources of University of Tasmania, Tasmanian Government Department of Health, Primary Health Tasmania, and Health Consumers Tasmania - as well as health consumers and communities.

With one university, one primary health network, one state health system, and countless community-connected healthcare providers and organisations, Tasmania is in a unique position to collectively focus its efforts towards delivering a healthier future for the state.

Together the partners focused on delivering impact through translational research and building the capacity for research within the Tasmanian health sector. This involves identifying the research needs that are important to Tasmanians, and ensuring the outcomes are translated into policy and/or practice change to deliver tangible improvements population-wide.

TCHI’s capacity-building activities include mapping translational research and research impact capability and supporting translational research in education and professional development. It also supports skills sharing and encourages collaboration between and within its partner organisations.

Western Alliance is the first Australian academic health science centre to focus on regional health outcomes. In 2023 the Alliance was recognised by the National Health and Medical Research Council as emerging Research Translation Centre.

The 12 organisations comprising the Western Alliance include six public health services, three private hospitals, a primary health network and two universities located across the Barwon/South West and Grampians regions of western Victoria. Combined, the two regions have over 660,000 residents, or about 44% of rural and regional Victoria’s population.

People living in Barwon/Southwest and the Grampians experience significantly poorer health outcomes compared to their metropolitan-living counterparts. The challenges that affect the health of people living in western Victoria include distance and major variations in access to healthcare, socio-economic status, and infrastructure.

The work of the Western Alliance supports the development of healthier rural and regional communities. Through a program of training, education, funding, and advocacy, it assists members to improve the health of their communities through research-based and evidence-informed health care.

The Western Alliance prioritises rural and regional health problems, fosters relationships between organisations and individuals who can influence rural and regional health outcomes and research, and funds teams to investigate, generate evidence and implement solutions.

A priority of the Alliance is building of capability amongst rural and regional health practitioners, researchers, and consumers, enabling them to contribute to and benefit from health research.

Western Alliance supports the development of nationally relevant models of rural and regional health research and works to achieve equitable funding for that research.

The West Australian Rural Research and Innovation Alliance (WARRIA) is a new partnership focused on health systems in regional, rural and remote Western Australia (WA).

Designated an emerging Research Translation Centre (Regional, Rural and Remote) by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) in 2023, WARRIA brings together partners delivering healthcare to over 500,000 people across 2.5 million square kilometres.

The size, uniqueness and complexity of country WA demands an innovative and targeted approach to advance the health system through research and innovation. Rather than the traditional model of curiosity-led research, at WARRIA research priorities are determined by the health system first, and then supported by researchers.

The founding partners of WARRIA - the WA Country Health Service (WACHS); Curtin University (Curtin); WA Primary Health Alliance (WAPHA); Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), Rural Health West (RHW) and St John WA  - share a vision, values and passion, for improving the health of WA regional, rural and remote communities.

WACHS is one of the largest national and international rural and remote health service providers and is striving for global leadership in country health research and innovation. It recognises the importance of collaborations in research and innovation to support this vision.

WAPHA provides integration for WARRIA into primary healthcare, RFDS provides input on the logistics and challenges of delivering healthcare across vast distances, and Rural Health West has 25 years of investing in rural health practitioners.

WARRIA’s academic partner, Curtin University, has a long history of working in country settings. Its research and education activities demonstrates a dedication, understanding and commitment to supporting capacity building across country WA. Curtin also has well-established schools across allied health services and population health, and a relatively new medical school with a regional focus.

Whilst Curtin is the lead academic partner, WARRIA is keen to work with all the WA Universities and other national and international education and research organisations.

Under the umbrella of the WARRIA, research teams have secured more than $33 million in funding for rural and remote research since 2019. Grants support has been received from NHMRC, the Medical Research Future Fund, WA Future Health Research and Innovation Fund, as well as industry-driven research funding from government health services, Non-Government Organisations and the Digital Health CRC.