Medical Director, Family Planning Victoria

1. How are you working to improve sexual and reproductive health?

One of Family Planning Victoria’s strategic goals is to provide primary care and community health providers with expert advice and support regarding reproductive and sexual health. Our focus is on long acting reversible contraception, medication abortion and general sexual and reproductive health and wellbeing. My main role is to work on our clinic processes to support our doctors and nurses and ensure we are giving the best possible service to our patients and our trainees. I provide education for health professionals through medical writing, presentations and hands on IUD training. Supporting other practitioners to deliver services is the most effective way FPV can improve sexual and reproductive health.

2. What do you love most about your work?

I love the fact that there are always new things to consider and incorporate into clinical practice. I love reading new research and being involved in research collaborations and writing clinical guidelines that support my role in service provision and education. I also love seeing patients, particularly providing medication abortion and IUD insertions.

3. Why is your work so important

Sexual and reproductive health has a profound effect on wellbeing. Provision of good information and services to support people’s decisions can improve quality of life. Providing training, education and support to primary care practitioners across the state increases access to high quality, accessible sexual and reproductive health services.

4. What do you think are the biggest sexual and reproductive health issues facing women in Victoria?

Access to timely and affordable choice in contraception and abortion services.

More information:

Services available at Family Planning Victoria

International Safe Abortion Day

 

Workforce Development Officer, Sexual and Reproductive Health, Women with Disabilities Victoria

1. How are you working to improve sexual and reproductive health?

I’m working on a project to improve access to reproductive and sexual health services for women with disabilities. We are providing workforce development in the form of training and resources to community and health workers in the Northern and Metro region. We are working in partnership with Women’s Health in The North and Royal Women’s Hospital.  We will be working with partner organisations to build their capacity to provide more responsive and effective sexual and reproductive health services to women with disabilities, and to breakdown negative attitudes around women with disabilities and their sexual and reproductive needs.

2. What do you love most about your work?

I love presenting and delivering training. I also appreciate being able to connect with so many talented people in the wider sexual and reproductive health sector across Victoria. I know that my work is a small piece in a wider body of work to make change.

3. Why is your work so important?

1 in 5 women in Victoria has a disability. The continuing lack of awareness and negative attitudes around disability and sex is so pervasive that women have significantly poorer sexual and reproductive health as a result. This is unacceptable. It is largely due to the community attitudes and ableism that women with disabilities needs continues to be ignored. Attitudes take a long time to shift, but I’m proud to be a part of this work to address this barrier in the community and hospitals, to ensure women with disabilities are treated with respect and receive the healthcare they have a right to and they need.

4. What do you think are the biggest sexual and reproductive health issues facing women living with a disability in Victoria?

The attitudinal barriers. We have to ask ourselves as professionals and feminists, why we are leaving women with disabilities behind? Intersectionality is more than a buzzword. Women who live at the intersections need to centred at every level in our work, rather than being an afterthought. What are you doing to centre women with disabilities in your work and make it accessible so they benefit?

Learn more about Women with Disabilities Victoria

Community Health Nurses, EACH

1. How are you working to improve sexual and reproductive health?

The Women’s Clinic at EACH provides affordable, safe and confidential services to all women by women. It uses accredited interpreters whenever required, has free nurse led clinics and bulk billing GPs specialising in women’s health.

We provide clinical services and education relating to all forms of sexual and reproductive health, including; affordable contraception and family planning, screening (cervical, breast, STIs), referral pathways, immunisations, pregnancy, fertility advice, treatment and support.

EACH has recently received funding by the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services to expand its sexual and reproductive health services, working as a women’s reproductive hub for the Outer East of Melbourne- This also means we will soon be providing information, clinical services and support to women who opt for medical termination of pregnancy (MTOP).

2. What do you love most about your work?

Being part of a supportive and experienced team that can provide women with the information and support they need relating to sexual and productive health.

It has been great to hear many women expressing their appreciation for providing an affordable and accessible service that specialises in women’s health in this area of Melbourne.

Working with key stakeholders and organisations in the community to provide outreach community education on sexual and reproductive health- tailored to their specific needs.

Working with key stakeholders and women who are often experiencing the greatest inequities in health and are often under screened.

Being able to provide women with longer appointment times which can be difficult to find.

3. Why is your work so important?

We are often working with women experiencing the greatest inequities in health. Our service is able to provide them with the support, information and treatment that can empower them to make decisions to improve their sexual and reproductive health.

There are often barriers for many women being able to access services in this area of health and wellbeing. By providing female only practitioners, interpreters, community outreach education, long appointment times, bulk billing, free nurse led clinics and working with other organisations- we can try assist women to overcome some of these barriers.

4. What do you think are the biggest sexual and reproductive health issues facing the women that you work with?

Awareness and knowledge of safe and affordable contraception.

Women who are under screened, this can include women who are overdue for their cervical screening test, breast screen or untreated STIs.

More information:

Women’s Clinic at EACH Ringwood

World Contraception Day

Executive Director Monash Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre
Director Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation
NHMRC Practitioner Fellow, Public Health, Monash University
Endocrinologist Monash Health

1. How are you working to improve sexual and reproductive health?

Together with my team I work to establish the most pressing problems and questions for women with reproductive health challenges. We seek to address unmet needs in ways of most use to women, though guidelines, resources, and information for women and their health professionals.

2. What do you love most about your work?

Working with women to address their needs and making an impact here and around the world. Our latest work has reached 174 countries in multiple languages.

3. Why is your work so important?

We address areas of unmet need and attain reach and impact with our work that is clearly measurable and has impact.

4. What do you think are the biggest sexual and reproductive health issues facing women in your region?

Unhealthy lifestyle, rising weight and the reproductive health implications for women and the next generation.

 

Learn more about the Centre for Research Excellence in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome