Professor Elizabeth Waters of the McCaughey Centre was appointed the Jack Brockhoff Chair of Child Public Health at an event held on Monday 23 March at the University.
Members of the Brockhoff Foundation, the University of Melbourne and community partners gathered to celebrate the appointment of Professor Waters, who joined the McCaughey Centre in 2007 as a Professorial Fellow, and is also the Coordinating Editor of the Cochrane Public Health Review Group. Professor Waters’ recent research has focused on a range of issues within child public health and wellbeing and strategies for knowledge translation and exchange. She leads a talented team dedicated to delivering long term improvements in health and wellbeing for children and making an impact on relevant and appropriate evidence for public health decision making, in particular addressing health inequalities.
The Jack Brockhoff Centenary Gift was awarded to the University of Melbourne to enable the development of the Jack Brockhoff Child Health and Wellbeing Program, which is based at the McCaughey Centre, in the Melbourne School of Population Health. This program encompasses a wide range of projects across all areas of children’s health and wellbeing, all of which involve working closely with rural and urban communities in assessing and analysing key issues such as obesity, oral health, social participation and inclusion and indigenous health. It is this program that Professor Waters will lead in her new position.
The appointment was announced by the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, Professor James Angus, who spoke in detail about Professor Waters’ achievements throughout her career. Vice Chancellor Professor Glyn Davis also spoke about the importance of the Jack Brockhoff Centenary Gift to the research program. Senior members of staff at the Melbourne School of Population Health also attended the event, including Professor Terry Nolan, Head of the School.
Professor Waters described the process taken by the team of about thirty researchers as focusing on hearing ‘the voices of children, families, teachers, community workers and those in the education, transport, planning and other sectors’. Working closely with those involved in the field child health and wellbeing allows the team to ‘examine the evidence of what is contributing to the issues and to together identify possible solutions’. Professor Waters also expressed her gratitude for the valuable support of other organisational partners and supporters including VicHealth, the University of Melbourne, the Department of Human Services, Deakin University, the Royal Children’s Hospital, Dental Health Service Victoria, Moreland Community Health Service, Windermere Child and Family Services and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.
The launch was also attended by members of the communities involved in projects such as Fun n’ Healthy in Moreland!, a program aimed at encouraging healthy eating and physical activity in primary school aged children. Nancy Scuderi, grade four teacher and student wellbeing coordinator at St Matthew’s Primary School, attended along with other members of St Matthew’s, all of whom are an integral part of the project team. For 
Nancy and other staff at St Matthew’s, Fun n’ Healthy in Moreland! is ‘providing us with assistance and professional learning to promote and enhance the wellbeing of our students’. Student wellbeing is a strong focus for Ms Scuderi, who has recently completed a Masters in Education (Student Wellbeing) at the University of Melbourne, and is already putting her skills to good use. Community partners are central to the success of the McCaughey Centre’s research projects, and community involvement is a major focus for Professor Waters and the research team she leads under the Jack Brockhoff Child Health and Wellbeing Program.
For more information on the Jack Brockhoff Child Health and Wellbeing Program please visit the McCaughey Centre’s website.