MeasureUp and the Menzies School of Health Research are taking crucial steps towards understanding the links between kidney disease and body composition, and to improving health care services in remote communities.

The MeasureUp initiative, boasts Australia’s ONLY commercial mobile Bone Mineral Density Scanner, which will aid in the important research Menzies’ is doing in the assessment of kidney function and progression of chronic kidney disease in Indigenous Australians.

Indigenous people in very remote settings, like Thursday Island, are up to 17 times more likely to suffer ‘end stage’ kidney disease, than the general Australian population. MeasureUp are working with researchers from Menzies to address those high rates of disease.

The Clinician behind MeasureUp, Doctor Jarrod Meerkin, is on a mission to provide access to healthcare for all Indigenous Australians.

Doctor Jarrod Meerkin says, “The Thursday Island project is an exciting opportunity for MeasureUp to showcase our much needed service to rural and remote Australia and shows its benefits on improving the health of the general population. We provide services associated with diagnosis of Osteoporosis and Body composition assessment to area’s without easy access to such tools, but in this case we have had the fortune to work on a much needed research project involving Indigenous Australians. This valuable contribution to indigenous health research would not have been able to proceed without MeasureUp.”

MeasureUp will assist the Menzies Research Group led by Dr Louise Maple-Brown to improve the health and well-being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The project aims to improve the accuracy of reporting of kidney function and detect earlier stages of kidney damage. 

Louise Maple-Brown says, “This paves the way for earlier health interventions. If we can improve the accuracy of tests of early signs of kidney problems, we can treat patients sooner. This project can significantly contribute to stalling chronic kidney disease, preventing kidney failure, and premature death amongst all communities.”

MeasureUp offers a unique opportunity for the Indigenous Australian population on Thursday Island as they have limited access to services we take for granted, services such as bone mineral density testing and body composition measurement.

Why MeasureUp can help improve the healthcare for remote Indigenous Australians:

• MeasureUp can provide a clinical opportunity to assist with optimal and evidence based care to remote Indigenous Australians.

• By simultaneously measuring body composition in individuals, MeasureUp can accurately measure lean mass will be more meaningful in the interpretation of kidney function.

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For further information on MeasureUp, including interview opportunities with Doctor Jarrod Meerkin please contact:

Dr Jarrod Meerkin PhD
M) +61 421 221 100
E) jarrod@measureup.com.au