Fulbright scholars pursue better health care for mothers and children

Two Queenslanders working to ensure better healthcare for mothers and children have won prestigious Fulbright scholarships to United States universities.

Justin Hartley, a commerce and economics first-class honours graduate from The University of Queensland, and Dr Vinay Rane, a forensic physician, lawyer, obstetric doctor and Associate Lecturer at the UQ School of Medicine, received Fulbright Postgraduate Scholarships at the Queensland awards event in Brisbane on March 6. 

Mr Hartley has a strong focus on improving chronic pain care for children, while Dr Rane wants to reduce illness and death in mothers and babies.

Both will study at Harvard University, while Dr Rane will also attend the New York Department of Health, New York State University at Albany and the School of Public Health at Harvard University.

Justin Hartley

Mr Hartley said the scholarship would help him take a significant step towards helping “reshape Australia’s healthcare policies”, particularly for treatment and prevention of Alzheimers disease, and through the organisation he co-founded called Support Kids in Pain (SKIP) Limited.

SKIP provides free education and support to children living with chronic pain, and their families.

“Pediatric chronic pain affects one in five Queensland children, which means there are over 100,000 children suffering from debilitating chronic pain in Queensland alone, and a million across Australia,” Mr Hartley said.

Chronic pain is defined as pain that lasts longer than three months continuously, such as post-cancer pain, post-surgical pain, musculoskeletal pain, abdominal pain and headaches.

“Paediatric chronic pain is one of the most underestimated healthcare problems in the world, and yet the majority of Australian children are not treated and left to suffer in silence,” Mr Hartley said.

“Of those who are treated, less than 20 per cent of families are satisfied with the overall outcome.”

“There is clearly a gaping chasm between the health problem that is paediatric chronic pain and the existing policy framework to address it.”

From July, Mr Hartley will study a Mid-Career Masters in Public Administration at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, gaining the skills he needs to transition from a successful private sector career in accounting, management consulting and banking, to a leadership role in the government or not-for-profit sector.

“Harvard is a world leader in public administration and public policy, and both have a profound impact on healthcare for Queenslanders and all Australians,” Mr Hartley said.

“This scholarship will give me the opportunity to expand the service throughout Australia and more broadly, improve outcomes for children living with chronic pain, and their families, through advocacy, collaboration and education.”

“Among the outcomes we seek are; for an additional 50,000 sick Australian children to receive treatment, for all children to receive the world’s leading outpatient model of care, and to reduce the economic burden of chronic pain on the Australian economy by an estimated $2 billion over the first 10 years.”

While examining healthcare issues in Australia, Mr Hartley’s research will also seek to promote better brain health and memory improvement, particularly in its application to the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

Mr Hartley is not only an advocate for Alzheimers awareness and cares for his mother, who has Alzheimers, but he has amassed a varied list of additional achievements, including:

• Completed 1,200 hours service with UK charity Samaritans, supporting people struggling with suicidal impulses
• Represented Australia at the World Memory Championships, Mental Calculation World Championships and broke a Guinness World Record for memory
• Climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro (Tanzania) and Mt Elbrus (Russia)
• Was Olympic Torch Bearer for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games
• Ran marathons in Paris, Stockholm, Budapest and London
• Was a finalist for International Poet of the Year
• Was a Queensland Red Cross Young Ambassador Awards volunteer
• Was inaugural Australian Student President of Golden Key International Honour Society
• Was President of The Economics Student Society in Queensland
• Was President of the Chartered Accountants’ Student Society
• And more.

Dr Vinay Rane

Dr Rane said the scholarship would help him reduce illness and death in mothers and babies in Australia and the United States by allowing him to collaborate and share existing knowledge.

“Around 1500 women die during childbirth each day around the globe and almost all of these deaths are preventable with the provision of comprehensive obstetric care,” Dr Rane said.

“Although Australia enjoys a very low overall perinatal mortality rate, there are pockets of the population that are drastically over-represented in this statistic and this is especially true of new migrants and asylum seekers.

“The United States has had considerable success in increasing access to healthcare for disadvantaged populations through the provision of culturally sensitive health delivery models.

“By integrating interventions learned from the US the death rate of mothers and babies may be reduced in Australia,” he said.

Dr Rane will use his scholarship to spend six months at the New York Department of Health, New York State University at Albany and the School of Public Health at Harvard University.

“Medicine, and especially obstetrics, has shown me just how similar all of us who occupy this small planet actually are,” Dr Rane said.

“We all have far more in common, than that which divides us.

“We all have the same needs and wants and this is no more obvious than when it comes to the future of our children.

“Many of the current challenges facing healthcare delivery in Australia have already been felt by our American colleagues.

“Through examination of successful, as well as unsuccessful, interventions that American centres have attempted, we will be able to improve health outcomes in Australia,” he said.

About the Fulbright Scholarships

The 2014 Fulbright scholars join a community of 5000 alumni who have completed their scholarship since the Australian-American organisation was established 65 years ago in 1949.

About 50 scholars travel between Australia and the US each year to experience each other's lifestyles, act as cultural ambassadors and further their academic careers through the Fulbright Program.

Scholars complete research across a range of fields, including science, technology, the arts, education and public policy.

The Fulbright Postgraduate Scholarships provide $40,000 towards their course, travel, living and other related costs.

The Fulbright Commission media release is available here.

Further information on SKIP is available here.

Media: UQ Communications, communications@uq.edu.au or 07 3346 0561.