Research into Practice and Practice into Research was the last in a series of external webinars on different research methodologies and approaches, conducted by the NAPWHA Research Initiative.
In this webinar Dr Kirsty Machon and Dr Dean Murphy drew on over 20 years of work in the HIV sector to reflect on their experiences of collaboration and knowledge exchange between the HIV community sector and the HIV research sector. These collaborations and knowledge exchanges have shaped research, policy, health promotion and service delivery in Australia.
During the webinar Kirsty and Dean talked about
- the value of using research to inform policy, health promotion and service delivery.
- the challenges and barriers for the community sector in using and engaging with research (access and how research is curated and shared).
- the role of communities and community organisations in shaping the research agenda (community knowledge, emerging issues and ‘intelligence from the field’).
“It has made me think about the motivations for participating in research, for example the reward might not be payment for participating but knowing that your participation is making a difference. And the importance of community being included in research design as well as outcomes.”
“This webinar on research into practice made me think more about what can be researched and what issues we should focus on. It is clear to me after the discussion that there is a lack of attention being given to the increasing proportion of infections coming from heterosexual men and women. The small scale of the number is obviously an influence but not a reason for not conducting research into the needs of these groups.”
Presenter: Dr Kirsty Machon (Positive Women Victoria)
Kirsty Machon is the Executive Officer of Positive Women Victoria and has been involved with HIV-related journalism, advocacy and policy development for over 20 years. Kirsty was the first female Chair of VAC (now Thorne Harbour Health) and has worked for AFAO and NAPWHA. She has also worked as a policy manager and CEO of an association representing health care professionals. As a consultant in the HIV sector, she has worked in strategic planning. She is committed to challenging HIV-related stigma in the community. Kirsty completed her doctoral studies in the History and Philosophy of Science.
Presenter: Dr Dean Murphy (Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health, and Society (ARCSHS), La Trobe University)
Dean Murphy is a Senior Research Fellow at ARCSHS, his work focuses on experiences of HIV diagnosis, stigma, biomedical HIV prevention technologies, sexual health and well-being, and the meanings of drug consumption. Dean has held research roles at the Centre for Social Research in Health at UNSW, the Kirby Institute at UNSW, and the University of Sydney and the National Drug Research Institute at Curtin University. Dean has a long background in the HIV sector, having worked at AFAO for many years.
Facilitator: Dr John Rule, NAPWHA Discussant: Dr Jeanne Ellard
“The webinar today demonstrated the importance of community consultation and collaboration at the very beginning. Otherwise, as we heard in the example from Cambodia, things can go very wrong.”
