Ipswich residents will have an opportunity to help shape healthy cities for the future, not only in Ipswich, but internationally, with a study launching tomorrow night (April 22).
The study will be coordinated though the Healthy Communities Research Centre, based at The University of Queensland�s Ipswich Campus.
Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale will launch the Ipswich Study tomorrow evening at the Ipswich Art Gallery.
The fundraising campaign has commenced with a $45,000 donation from the Ipswich Hospital Foundation at an exclusive preview dinner hosted by the Ipswich Chamber of Commerce last week.
The Ipswich Study is a long-term health research program that will unravel the complexities between neighbourhoods, residents and health by collecting information from volunteer families at regular intervals over 10 years and potentially beyond.
For the first time, health research will provide a practical understanding of how people, places and their health are adapting to the economic, social, environmental and technological changes of this century.
Healthy Communities Research Centre Director Professor Robert Bush said that Ipswich was the perfect place to conduct research such as this, with a strong community spirit on which research outcomes can be built.
�The Centre has spent the last two years developing the technical work that lies behind the study," he said.
"To tell the story, 10,000 Ipswich households are being asked to volunteer to provide information about their health and wellbeing. It�s been two years in the making but in 2010, The Ipswich Study will commence and we need vital support and funding to make this happen.�
The Ipswich Study will look at a city that is undergoing rapid change and enormous growth as the population doubles over the next 20 years. It provides researchers with a unique place at a unique time to see how old and new parts of the city change and develop to support our health.
Former UQ Chancellor Sir Llew Edwards, born and educated in Ipswich, has been appointed as the first �Friend of The Ipswich Study� and knows only too well of how research can play an integral part in providing evidence and solutions that will benefit communities. Sir Llew Edwards & Mayor Paul Pisasale, along with Professor Robert Bush, will speak at the launch, hosted by The University of Queensland and Ipswich City Council.
Media: Contact Professor Robert Bush, Healthy Communities Research Centre, 338 11083 or r.bush@uq.edu.au or Stacey Menear, Healthy Communities Research Centre, 338 11083, 0411 245 998 or s.menear@uq.edu.au
