Case studies

Read about Menzies' research impact and research translation in the areas of Indigenous health and global and tropical health.

Case studies

Read about Menzies' research impact and research translation in the areas of Indigenous health and global and tropical health.

Indigenous health
Global and tropical health

New asthma app to increase health literacy

Thanks to a new interactive app, learning about asthma has just become a lot easier for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and health practitioners.
Improving cervical cancer screening rates

Despite Australia being a global leader in cervical cancer prevention, offering routine Cervical Screening Tests to women aged 25-74 years and vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) to adolescents, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women experience a higher burden of...
Enhancing clinical care for kidney disease

In the NT, escalating rates of severe or end-stage kidney disease are devastating Aboriginal communities. Almost 1000 Aboriginal Territorians now require life-preserving dialysis three times per week.
Vitamin D supplementation in pregnancy trial

A study led by senior research fellow, Dr Michael Binks, and his team will determine whether weekly vitamin D supplementation given to pregnant Indigenous mothers and their infants reduces the incidence of acute respiratory infections (ARI) in the infants’ first 12 months of life.
Research impact | Helping farming communities to weather the drought

During 2019, the Menzies Stay Strong app was identified as an ideal template to address the mental health and wellbeing of Australian farming communities experiencing adversity from drought and other climatic events. It was adapted to create the Weathering Well app, an innovative...
The B. strong story

In response to the significant differences in health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders living in Queensland (QLD) and the rest of the population, the QLD Government engaged Menzies to develop and deliver a brief health intervention training program to Aboriginal and...
Kidney research on the national agenda

Dr Jaquelyne Hughes, a Torres Strait Islander woman and the country’s first Indigenous kidney specialist, continued to shine the spotlight on the experiences of Indigenous Australians with chronic kidney disease. In September, Dr Hughes, who is also an NHMRC Early Career...
Staying strong through brief interventions

Indigenous Australians experience poorer health than non- Indigenous Australians. Achieving change through stopping smoking, improving nutrition and increasing physical activity would significantly improve health outcomes. In 2017, the QLD Government engaged Menzies to develop and...
Identifying Indigenous cancer patients' needs

Indigenous Australians with cancer face poorer treatment and survival outcomes compared to non-Indigenous Australians due to a complex array of factors. To identify the needs of Indigenous Australians with cancer, we developed the Supportive Care Needs Assessment Tool for Indigenous...
Using Facebook to quit smoking

A Territory-wide partnership is aiming to identify how social media can be used to reduce smoking rates among Indigenous people. Through the partnership, a team of community-based researchers is working to understand the type of information people share online as well as how to...
Better child lung health

Indigenous children living in remote communities with chest and lung conditions are a key priority for our child health respiratory team. To identify what can be done to improve their lung health and how their respiratory conditions can be better managed, the team extended previous...
Vaccination improves education outcomes

High rates of perforated eardrums and hearing loss in Indigenous children living in remote communities has been linked to poor school attendance, social and behavioural problems, as well as exclusion from employment later in life. Otitis media is caused by multiple strains of two...
Inspiring Indigenous researcher

Inspiring Indigenous researcher Sian Graham is an Indigenous woman from the Balladong area near Perth and One Arm Point community out of Broome. Born and raised in Darwin, Sian has strong links throughout the NT and Western Australia (WA) where she has lived and worked in remote...
Evidence informs chronic cough guidelines

High-quality evidence informs chronic cough guidelines Results from the first multicentre randomised controlled trial on chronic cough in children led by our child health respiratory team were incorporated into the updated American College of Chest Physicians guideline (2016-17). The...
Improving wellbeing through brief interventions

Improving wellbeing through brief interventions Health and wellbeing self management has become more accessible through the availability of apps. The Stay Strong app developed by Menzies is a unique electronic resource for clinicians or case workers to use with clients. It was...
Building care relationships in Alice Springs

Story-sharing builds care relationships in Alice Springs Kidney disease affects many Indigenous families in Central Australia. People are forced to leave their home communities to access life-maintaining dialysis treatment in major towns like Alice Springs. The social, cultural,...
NT communities' anaemia management evaluated

Evaluation of anaemia management in three remote Indigenous communities in the Katherine East region, NT Health practitioners in the remote Katherine East region are not sure why anaemia in young children is so common in Indigenous communities. What they do know is low haemoglobin...
I HEAR BETA study improves hearing outcomes

Improving hearing outcomes through I HEAR BETA study Indigenous children living in remote areas of the NT are prone to a severe middle ear disease known as chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM), or runny ears. Although disease rates have decreased over the years, it is estimated...
Talking About the Smokes

A collaboration between Menzies, the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) and a number of other research institutions and Aboriginal community controlled health services (ACCHSs).
Improving diabetes outcomes for mothers and babies

Improving clinical care for women with diabetes in pregnancy, and improving the future health outcomes of mothers and babies, are key aims of the Northern Territory Diabetes in Pregnancy Partnership Project (PANDORA).
Roundtable to improve cancer outcomes

Some of the country’s leading authorities on cancer and cancer survivors themselves were a key part of a National Indigenous Breast Cancer Research Roundtable held in August 2014.
Report reveals decline in petrol sniffing

The report has shown that in 15 Aboriginal communities where available data enables comparisons to be made, there was more than an 80 per cent decline in the number petrol sniffers from 2005-07 to 2011-12.
Mother's Day

At age five, Ronno Morgan was a young Aboriginal boy from the Kimberly suffering from kidney failure and requiring emergency surgery
Rain, hail or shine - Landmark study rolls on

The largest, longest-running and most significant study of the lives of Indigenous babies born in Australia continued its fourth wave of data collection throughout 2014.
Reducing exposure of babies to second-hand smoke

Exposure to second-hand smoke remains the most preventable risk factor for respiratory infections in babies and children.
'Let's Start' nurtures parent-child relationships

A therapeutically oriented parenting program that seeks to build the confidence of Indigenous parents and help them develop strong relationships with their children as they begin the transition to school.
Tackling ear disease in remote communities

Maximising the protection of infants and young children from the many bacteria that cause ear disease.
Capacity building in remote communities

As well as fostering skills internally, Menzies forges relationships with local communities to deliver courses, qualifications and training – determined according to the needs and wishes of local residents and elders.
Schools plant gardens and grow nutrition knowledge

At Nganmarriyanga School in remote Northern Territory (NT), teenage boys walk among rows of thriving fruit.
Easing diabetes stress for pregnant mothers

Natasha Paul has diabetes. While pregnant with her son Samuel, she wanted to ensure she made the best choices to avoid harm to her baby.
Bolstering brain health in remote communities

A grassroots project is enabling researchers to talk directly to parents in remote Indigenous communities about the importance of early brain development.
Boosting quality of life for kids with lung disease

Bronchiectasis is a relatively rare condition in developed countries; however many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the Northern Territory have bronchiectasis.

Eliminating chronic hepatitis B in the NT

Senior clinical research fellow, Dr Jane Davies, has dedicated the past eight years to eliminating the burden of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in the NT. CHB, a virus that causes inflammation of the liver, is endemic in communities....
Ten years of malaria studies in Sabah

For 10 years, Menzies has teamed with Sabah’s Infectious Diseases team to improve the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of malaria.
Tackling antimicrobial resistance in the north

Through a suite of projects, HOT NORTH is involved in tackling the challenge of AMR in northern Australia and neighbouring countries.
30 years of melioidosis study

Run by Menzies in collaboration with the Royal Darwin Hospital, the Darwin Prospective Melioidosis Study (DPMS), aims to understand the clinical and microbiological aspects of melioidosis in order to optimise the diagnosis and therapy of the disease in the NT.
Ground-breaking trial a step towards the elimination of vivax malaria

Outside of sub-Saharan Africa, the predominant cause of malaria in many areas is Plasmodium vivax, a parasite that forms dormant liver stages (hypnozoites) that can reactivate weeks or months following an acute infection and can lead to severe or life-threatening disease. Primaquine...
Genomic sequencing transforming infectious disease surveillance

The Top End of Australia has unique environmental bacteria that can cause severe human disease. Acinetobacter, is a good example: although it is best known globally as a multidrug-resistant hospital pathogen, it presents differently in the Top End as a nasty form of pneumonia...
Tackling Malaysian monkey malaria

Malaysia’s national malaria eradication program has successfully reduced infections associated with Plasmodium falciparum and vivax malaria. to the point where these species may realistically be eradicated by 2020. Plasmodium knowlesi malaria is now the most common cause of...
Building genomics expertise in the NT

Menzies is investing and developing expertise in the emerging research area of genome sequencing. In the past year, we took the lead in a number of national and international collaborative programs investigating the genomics of tropical pathogens, and host immune responses. This has...
Melioidosis study improves patient outcomes

Melioidosis study improves patient outcomes Our research continued to put Menzies at the centre of better melioidosis patient outcomes through improved diagnosis and treatment. In August 2016, the Menzies melioidosis team contributed to 17 abstracts at the World Melioidosis Congress,...
Healthy skin workshops for health professionals

Menzies hosts healthy skin workshop for public health professionals It is estimated that more than 16 000 children suffer from impetigo (skin sores) across northern Australia at any one time, a far higher incidence than is reported elsewhere globally. Childhood infections can be...
Novel treatment to fight TB

Menzies researchers working in Indonesia have uncovered a link between low levels of the gas nitric oxide in the lungs of tuberculosis (TB) patients
Sharing malaria elimination knowledge with Asia

Menzies has been able to assist people like Youn-Kyoung Goo through training, grants, and capacity building workshops funded by APMEN.
Improving nutrition across borders

A group of Indigenous Australian health workers and East Timorese nutritionists travelled to Central Australia in 2012 to join a series of Menzies’ short courses designed to build confidence and knowledge about nutrition for women, children and babies in remote areas