Overview

The Global Women’s and Newborn’s Health Group is co-led by Professor Caroline Homer and Dr Joshua Vogel. The Group aims to be a leading entity in the Asia-Pacific region for conducting research on women’s and newborn’s health in low-resource settings.

The Group’s objectives are to:

Develop and build meaningful research collaborations:

• With individuals, institutions and agencies in low-resource settings across the Asia-Pacific region, with a focus in the Pacific Island Countries (PICT).
• Cross-disciplinary collaborations within the Burnet Institute on priority women’s and newborn’s health topics
• With collaborating institutions in Australia, working on women’s and newborn’s health research activities and topics relevant to the broader Asia-Pacific region

Prioritise novel maternal and newborn research activities:

• That address priority knowledge gaps affecting women’s and newborn’s health in low-resource settings;
• That are likely to generate a significant public health impact;
• That affect women, newborn and families and the related health workforces in the Asia-Pacific region; and
• Where we have a competitive advantage over other groups and organizations to successfully execute the required work

Plan, execute and publish primary research and knowledge synthesis activities:

• That develop, test and evaluate the effectiveness of tools, interventions and strategies to improve access to, and quality of, pregnancy, labour and birth and postpartum care in low-resource settings; and
• That provide the necessary evidence to inform global and national guidelines, practice and policy;

Provide technical guidance to support effective translation of evidence into women’s and newborn health programmes, that will improve availability and uptake of lifesaving care in low-resource settings and strengthen midwifery education and practice across the Asia-Pacific region.

Develop research capacity of students and early-career researchers in women’s and newborn’s health, in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region

The Group’s areas of focus are:

• Major causes of maternal morbidity and mortality, particularly: prevention and treatment of postpartum haemorrhage, hypertensive disorders, peripartum infections, abortion, indirect causes and nutritional issues
• Reducing preventable stillbirth
• Addressing the major causes of perinatal and neonatal morbidity and mortality, particularly: preterm birth, low birth weight and neonatal sepsis
• Improving the coverage and quality of antenatal, intrapartum and postpartum care, with an emphasis on timely, respectful, people-centred care
• Capacity building, development and strengthening of the relevant health workforces and health systems especially midwives

Projects

• HMHB: Quality of Pregnancy, Childbirth and Newborn Health Services Study
  The ‘Gutpela Sevis’ study uses a participatory, partnership defined approach to improve care in East New Britain.