In a move to further strengthen Military and Emergency Services Health Australia’s (MESHA) support of service personnel and families, we’re thrilled to announce an exciting new partnership with Flinders University.
This partnership will provide opportunities for quality research collaboration and outcomes for service personnel and their families between MESHA and Flinders University’s multi-disciplinary hub, the Open Door Initiative.
A shared commitment to wellbeing
Open Door, like MESHA, is dedicated to improving the wellbeing of veterans, emergency service personnel and their families.
Working together will expand research opportunities, ensuring the advancement of quality research that supports our service personnel and their families.
Head of THRF Group – MESHA Dr Karen May praised this collaboration being perfectly aligned, with both organisations focused on the wellbeing of our service personnel and their families.
“Flinders University’s values align with MESHA – the wellbeing of our service personnel and their families is at the heart of what we do,” Dr May said.
“This partnership will create opportunities for us to work together to improve and deliver research-backed outcomes for our service communities.”
An Australian-first project underway
Despite its infancy, the team have hit the ground running and are already working on a new project together.
For this project the team will be researching the rollout of the ‘Defence Tick’ in South Australian schools, thanks to funding from Veterans SA.
SA is the first state to introduce a Defence family indicator on school enrollment forms. This research will examine the experience of Defence families in the education system to identify gaps or areas needing improvement.
Professors Ben Wadham and Sharon Lawn
The project will be conducted in two stages. The first stage is led by Flinders University’s Open Door researchers, Professors Ben Wadham and Sharon Lawn.
They are completing an international literature review on the educational needs of service children. The team will also complete a policy and program review of educational services addressing the needs of school children.
The second stage will be led by MESHA’s Dr Karen May and Dr Henry Bowen. The team will be focusing on the experiences of children from Defence families in the education system.
They will be doing this by conducting a national survey with educators, Defence school mentors and parents.
Strengthening insights for translational impact
Together, the Open Door and MESHA researchers will integrate findings to create translational outcomes for SA services, families and schools.
“This collaboration and partnership with the Flinders research team at Open Door is a great step forward. We want to understand and address some of the lifestyle challenges that impact our service communities and also ADF retention,” Dr May explained.
“We hope this project can inform policy and practice to support these children and parents, while they protect us.”
Looking ahead
Prof Ben Wadham, Director of Open Door at Flinders University said the opportunity to work with the not-for-profit sector ensures Flinders and Open Door remain sensitive to the lived experience needs of veterans and their family’s needs in South Australia.
“We share a common goal to improve the wellbeing of veterans and public safety personnel and their families. This project will give us valuable capacity and knowledge into how we can best support and nurture school children who are part of a Defence family,” Prof Wadham said.
This partnership will open the door to other research opportunities, and we look forward to keeping you updated on our progress!
