Government Social Research
Phil Davies
Dr Phil Davies of the Government Social Research Unit is to be guest editor of a special edition of 'Public Health Bulletin', a major Australian journal committed to promoting evidence-based public health policy.
The special edition - which features papers covering HIV/AIDS, smoking, breastfeeding, skin cancer, falls and obesity - will be published in early 2006. Phil recently chaired a workshop with the authors of the papers that he and joint-editor Shelley Bowen selected as part of a visit to Melbourne and Sydney organised by the Victoria Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth) and the Sax Institute.
Phil commented:
'The challenges faced by public health services in Victoria and New South Wales are remarkably similar to those in the UK. There is strong interest in getting evidence into policy and practice in both Victoria and New South Wales, and both VicHealth and the Sax Institute are at the forefront of this work. As in the UK, this is not just an 'academic' interest - there are many examples of public health initiatives in Victoria and New South Wales that are based upon sound evidence of effectiveness, and 'Public Health Bulletin' will present some of these.'
'One contrasting feature between New South Wales and the UK is the lack of a corporate government social research service in New South Wales . Colleagues there were intrigued that the UK has a well established GSR, and with the extent to which it is engaged with policy making and implementation.'