Palliative Care researcher takes home the trophy

The work of Senior Aboriginal Health Worker and Project Officer, Julianne ‘Julie’ Rose, was recently honoured at the National Palliative Care Awards in Sydney, taking home the award for Outstanding Achievement in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Palliative Care.

Julie, who has over 30 years’ experience working in the health sector with Awabakal and Hunter New England Local Health District, joined the Mater to co-design a model of care for Aboriginal people in the Greater Newcastle area.

The project, entitled Miromullia which means ‘continue to take care of’ in Awabakal language, involved hours of yarning and research to find out what Aboriginal communities want from palliative care services.

“I started from scratch, going out to grassroots community and homes, chatting to bereaved families and others that have used our services about their experiences and stories,” Julie said.

“I also yarned with health professionals that work with Aboriginal people in the health space – from GPs, nurses, allied health workers and Aboriginal Health Workers, to our own Mater palliative care staff. We’re now in the process of putting it all together to identify how we can achieve what our community would like to see.”

In regards to the project, Julie explains that the Aboriginal-led research framework is something that can be adopted across other areas of health.

“What we have done here at the Mater could work for other services. It’s a very authentic way of engaging with Aboriginal people and it’s meaningful,” she said.

“I also have a big responsibility to champion this work for my community, and I feel a sense of pride about that,” she said.

As she approaches the final stages of the project, Julie is looking forward to going back out to community to present the findings.

“The community gave all their time and were open in sharing with me, so it will be great to show them what we’ve found.”

Congratulations Julie on this fantastic achievement!