ACITH Profile
AIMS
- To promote excellence in public health education and research with focus on tropical health;
- To provide high quality and culturally appropriate public health education
and training programs for health workers involved in Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander communities so as to ensure:
- continuous skill development in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health services and ;
- support for the expressed needs of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and the National Aboriginal Health Strategy;
- To enhance Australia's ability to meets its international obligations in
relation to public health by means of:
- developing links with Australian and overseas academic, professional research and development assistance communities and non-government organisations;
- collaborating with international agencies such as WHO and UNICEF and regional programs such as SEAMEO-TROPMED;
- supporting Australian and international development assistance programs;
- providing high quality education courses and research training; and
- supporting measures to improve the health of groups with special needs including Australian South Sea Islanders and migrant and refugee communities.
- To generate an environment conducive to the production of intellectually rigorous ideas which can challenge, evaluate and renew public policy and action.
STRUCTURE
ACITH is a virtual centre that includes staff at QIMR, the School of Population Health (SPH) at the University of Queensland (UQ) and informally, staff at the Australian Army Malaria Institute. It is one of several collaborative programs that QIMR has with UQ and other public and private entities. These programs maintain the autonomy of the partners while promoting shared goals.ACITH is one of two designated national centres within a network of Public Health and Research Program (PHERP) (website) centres. It is linked to 15 other centres via the Australian Network of Academic Public Health Institutes (ANAPHI) (website)
At QIMR, research related to ACITH's goals is carried out by individuals within the Infectious Diseases and Immunology and Population and Human Genetics Divisions and in the Indigenous Health Research Programme.
At SPH, research and teaching related to ACITH's goals is carried out in the Tropical Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Health Programs and some in association with the Faculty of Biological and Chemical Sciences. Some staff at QIMR also lecture at SPH. For more information about ACITH at the School of Population Health and for enrolement and course information, please visit the SPH ACITH website.
Governance is provided by the ACITH Consultative Council, comprising both ACITH and external members. Their terms of reference are to provide policy advice and support and direction to the Director and the Board of Management. Indigenous Health is represented on the Council but in order to provide fuller consultation, a separate Indigenous subcommittee reports to Council. These bodies meet twice per year (or more if necessary).
The Board of Management comprises senior members of ACITH, QIMR and UQ (SPH) and meets regularly to manage day to day affairs.