Australian Rotary Health Fund
Australian Rotary Health Fund is one of there largest funders of mental health research in Australia and provides funding towards research grants, fellowships and PhD scholarships focused on finding preventative and curative solutions for mental illness in young Australians. From 2023, their funding focus narrowed to the mental health of children aged 0-12.
They also provide funding into a broad range of general health areas, provide scholarships for rural medical and nursing students, as well as Indigenous health students. Australian Rotary Health provides funding into areas of health that do not readily attract funding, and promotes findings to the community.
The Rotary Club of Essendon is a proud supporter of ARHF and currently are co-sponsoring an indigenous medical student through his studies. Myles McKenzie at James Cook University in Townsville is very community orientated and plans to graduate in Psychiatry to bring mental health services to remote indigenous communities. Her already completed a four year psychology degree before embarking on his medical course.
The club has regular on-line meetings with Myles and where he outlines his progress, difficulties and aspirations.
Myles describes himself as a proud first nations man who completed his initial aboriginal initiation at the age of thirteen. He has watched indigenous men go through and recover for severe mental illness and to this end has done mentoring and indigenous counselling whilst encouraging indigenous men to pursue medicine. Aboriginal people have the highest rate of suicide in the world. Tragically in the five to seventeen year old cohort, suicide is the leading cause of death a finding that ARHF is targeting.
He is grateful for the scholarship as it has allowed him to travel to remote communities to speak to their elders about their problems and has been encouraging children at school visits to aspire for higher opportunities.
When he completes his Psychiatric training wants to change how we approach the treatment of indigenous patients, by recognising specific cultural elements of mentally unwell. Myles’ ultimate goal is to provide mental health programs in Townsville, Cairns and the north thereof. In particular to provide outreach services to indigenous patients in remote regions. He will do all that he can to make sure that people and teams are well trained in rendering first aid and being able to identify heath problems.
Ultimately he will join only 7 out of some 4,000 Psychiatrists registered in Australia with indigenous cultural experience, which is the main determinant in successful treatment.
In the beginning ARHF was instrumental in initiating research into Sudden Infant Mortality (Cot Death) and has expanded to support research into Mental and General Health. It also provides scholarships for Indigenous Health and Rural & Nursing studies of which Myles is a recipient.
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