Grants to promote wellbeing of young Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander males in NT

Congratulations to researchers based at the Freemasons Centre for Male Health and Wellbeing – Northern Territory, led by Professor James Smith, on recently being awarded two grants:

• A Menzies School of Health Internal Small Research Grant to commence work relating to the adaptation of an online mental health education and support intervention for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males. This is a collaborative project with the University of Michigan, the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, and other Australian universities. This research has been catalysed by the collaborations James formed with Professor Derek Griffith at Vanderbilt University and Professor Daphne Watkins at the University of Michigan during his Fulbright Senior Scholarship program (see overview here). Other investigators involved in this project are Himanshu Gupta (Inaugural FCMHW NT Research Fellow), Anthony Merlino (Research Assistant), and Jahdai Vigona (Indigenous Trainee), all of whom are based at the Menzies School of Health Research.

• An Australian Government Department of Health grant of $103,940 for the Confident and Health Aboriginal Males Program (CHAMP): The development and piloting of a strengths-based health promotion program for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Males in the Northern Territory”. The Investigators are Prof James Smith, Mr Anthony Merlino, Dr Himanshu Gupta, and Dr Daile Rung and the project will be undertaken in collaboration with the Darwin Indigenous Men's Service, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation, Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet, and Edith Cowan University.

Overview of Fulbright Senior Scholar program: Professor James Smith

Professor James Smith is the inaugural Director of the Freemasons Centre for Male Health and Wellbeing – Northern Territory (FCMHW-NT) based at Menzies School of Health Research.

In 2019, Professor Smith was awarded a prestigious Fulbright Senior Scholarship from the Fulbright Commission to undertake a program of learning and to develop future collaborations in the United States around health promotion strategies aimed at reducing health inequities among young men of colour. 

A focus of the FCMHW-NT Division program is Indigenous health and wellbeing, migrant health and wellbeing, and equity and health. Given the alignment of research interests, the Fulbright program was an important opportunity for Professor Smith to develop collaborative health promotion and health policy program opportunities. 

Professor Smith was based in the US for the program in early-mid 2020. This included 2 ½ weeks with Professor Derek Griffith (pictured left above) at the Centre for Research on Men’s Health at Vanderbilt University and 3 ½ months with Professor Daphne Watkins (pictured centre) at the Curtis Center for Health Equity Research and Training within the School of Social Work at the University of Michigan.  

During this time, Professor Smith interviewed 40 men’s health scholars, practitioners and policy-makers from across the US with an explicit interest in the health of boys and young men. He also delivered a range of guest lectures and presentations, and while there co-authored papers with Professors Griffith and Watkins relating to equity and men’s health, including

Reducing health inequities facing boys and young men of colour in the United States

and

Strengthening Policy Commitments to Equity and Men’s Health

International Men's Day 2020 - Darwin: Panel focus on young men

On 19th of November, we celebrate International Men’s Day.

International Men’s Day is an annual global event that celebrates the diversity of men and the contributions they bring to their families, their communities and the world. A core focus of International Men’s Day is to highlight positive male role models and raise awareness of male health and wellbeing. The overarching theme of International Men’s Day this year is“Better health for men and boys”.

Jahdai Virona, Indigenous Trainee at the FCMHW NT Division at the Menzies School of Health Research, presented on “Understanding the needs of young men” as an invited panellist of the Youth Panel at the International Men’s Day Forum held in Darwin (19 Nov, 2020). The day long forum and networking event discussed the state of men's health and other issues relating to men in the Northern Territory.

Other speakers at the Forum included Professor Mick Dodson (Aboriginal Treaty Commissioner), Travis Garone (Movember) and Matthew Hull (MATES in Construction).

New centre ready for the future of men’s health research

The Freemasons Centre for Male Health and Wellbeing (FCMHW) is set to launch in the Northern Territory (NT), setting up the next generation of male health research in Australia, with centres based in Darwin and Adelaide.

The research alliance involves Masonic Charities, Menzies School of Health Research (Menzies), the University of Adelaide, Flinders University and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, with the potential for other groups to join in future.

The partnership is dedicated to advancing the health and wellbeing of all Australian males and by extension their families and communities in which they live and work.

Masonic Charities, the charitable arm of Freemasons SA/NT is donating a minimum of $1.8 million over three years to the new centre, funds that will be matched collectively by the research alliance partners to support researchers and student scholarships and provide essential funding for projects.

Professor James Smith, Head of Menzies Alcohol, Other Drugs and Gambling Team and Father Frank Flynn Fellow (Harm Minimisation) has been appointed to direct the NT Division of the Centre at Menzies in Darwin.

Prof Smith said the funding from Masonic Charities will enable the FCMHW NT Division to work through its extensive research program over the next three years.

“We’re particularly keen to focus on Indigenous male health, boys and young men’s health, fathering and fatherhood, social and emotional wellbeing, as well as equity and action on the social determinants of health,” Prof Smith said.

“The development of community partnerships, involving both women and men, will be fundamental for achieving health gains for the families and communities of the NT. 

“The centre will empower Menzies to grow its influence and play a major part in helping to shape health policy and practice locally.

“The centre will considerably build research capacity across the NT, allowing our researchers to make significant contributions in these areas of need that will steer us towards becoming a healthier society.”

Director of the FCMHW SA Division, Professor Gary Wittert said there’s an ongoing need for a sex-specific approach to advance health globally and the centre will contribute significantly towards answering the call.

“More males die at every stage through the course of life, males have more accidents, take their own lives at a far greater rate and suffer from more lifestyle-related health conditions. We also see more men than women leave the work-force early due to chronic disease.

“We now know that this is not simply a case of men avoiding health care and behaving badly,” Prof Wittert said.

The FCMHW is the evolution of the Freemasons Foundation Centre for Men’s Health, established in 2007 through a partnership between the Freemasons Foundation and the University of Adelaide and maintained until 2019 by a $7.2 million dollar co-investment.

FCMHW researchers are recognised globally for their contributions to men’s health, particularly in the areas of prostate cancer, chronic disease, sexual and reproductive health, preventative health and health services.

The Grand Master of the Freemasons SA/NT, Dr Neil Jensen, said the new centre will take forward the foundation laid by its predecessor with an increased capacity to improve boys and men’s health due to a stronger, broader network.

“We started at a time when men’s health was not really spoken about. Men’s health is now in a far better place, and we’re very proud of what the centre has achieved over this time, but there’s still much work to be done,” Dr Jensen said.

The centre’s NT Division will be officially opened at Menzies Auditorium | John Mathews Building (Bldg 58), Royal Darwin Hospital Campus on Tuesday 10 November at 4:30pm, view map (Limited seating available).

For further information please contact:

Paul Dale Communications Manager Menzies School of Health Research M: 0439 108 754 E: communications@menzies.edu.au

Margaret McGee Freemasons Centre for Male Health and Wellbeing M: 0420 958 403 E: margaret.mcgee@adelaide.edu.au

Callum MacPherson Media Officer SAHMRI and Masonic Charities M: 0419 607 905 E: callum.macpherson@sahmri.com