Community and Primary Health Care Network
About us
The Community and Primary Health Care Network (CPHCN) is building strong partnerships between the University, Primary Health Care organisations and people in the community. Our aim is to promote and embed a Primary Health Care approach centred on meeting people’s health needs throughout their whole life.
Our Faculty of Medicine and Health delivers education and research programs that encompass widest array of healthcare disciplines of any University in Australia. Primary Health Care principles and newly emerging models of care are integral to supporting a high quality, high performing Australian healthcare system.
News and events
Optimising Cervical Screening for People with Disability – supporting equity in your practice’
- Register: 6:00pm Tuesday April 9
- Register: 6:00pm Wednesday May 9 (repeat)
The Daffodil Centre and the Centre for Disability Studies co-presents this free webinar with women’s health expert and Nurse Practitioner Jo Perks, cervical screening expert Professor Deborah Bateson and Tricia Malowney, a disability advocate who has post-polio syndrome. It will provide a disability-focused case-based overview of the renewed National Cervical Screening Program (NCSP) including the choice of universal self-collection. The presenters will consider cervical screening barriers and facilitators, and discuss strategies and techniques to support screening for people with disability, including those with intellectual or cognitive disability. Participants will be equipped with a range of tools and resources that can be built into practice to engage with this community and improve their participation in the NCSP.
Focus on patient safety and person-centred care
The CPHCN and the Sydney Policy Lab recently celebrated World Patient Safety Day with the Patient Safety and Person-Centred Care Symposium exploring innovative models of care, safety practices and policies that keep the person at the centre of decision-making. Speakers:
- Dr Bernadette Eather – Chief Nurse and Clinical Services Director, Ramsay Health Care Australia
- Prof Hanna Mayer – Professor for Nursing Science and Head of the Nursing Science Division, Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Austria
- Prof Brendan McCormack – Head of School and Dean, Susan Wakil School of Nursing and Midwifery
Co-presented by the CPHCN together with the Digital Health Informatics Network with guest speaker Prof Paul Bowie from Glasgow University and emerging CPHC Sydney researchers.
Co-presented by the CPHCN, Cancer Research Network and the Daffodil Centre with presentations by Prof Karen Canfell, Prof Deborah Bateson, A/Prof Megan Smith with cervical cancer survivor and advocate Kirsty Brown and Prof Alison Brand.
Community and Primary Health Care Strategic Plan 2022-2027
We are excited to share our Community and Primary Health Care (CPHC) Portfolio and Network Strategic Plan 2022-2027 officially launched in December.
In this plan, we describe the initiatives that we will deliver to meet our community and primary health care strategic goals over the next five years. It has been created with input from consumers, community and advocacy organisations, healthcare providers and colleagues from Primary Health Networks and Local Health Districts who share our vision of healthcare that delivers equity and access for all.
Thank you to all of our CPHC champions across the University and within our external partner organisations who have provided invaluable contributions to developing our plan. Our ability to translate our goals into tangible benefits for our community will be enhanced by working together. View the Strategic Plan >
Topics of interest
Community-University collaborations: addressing health service needs and workforce development
Broadcasting live from Broken Hill with panellists online in Lismore and Dubbo on Zoom, this CPHCN webinar focused on our rural and regional Schools and their connections in their local communities.
- Find out more about the Far West Extended Nursing Placement Program
- Destination Medicine - a podcast library created to assist anyone who has thought about a career as a rural doctor to make informed decisions and navigate with greater confidence a rural medical pathway.
- Western NSW Health Research Network
- Article: Learning relationships in community-based service-learning: a social network analysis
Primary Health Networks 101– making communities happier and healthier
An expert panel of Primary Health Networks (PHN) leaders presented an engaging webinar in May focused on the the valuable role PHNs play in supporting the health and wellbeing of our communities. The panel described the national PHN agenda and highlighted some key programs of work, including collaborative commissioning and climate change and mental health. We heard about the vital role of PHNs in dealing with the impacts of COVID and extreme weather, including the recent floods in Northern NSW. Speakers also provided a researcher’s 101 guide on how to engage with PHNs and the Primary Health Care clinicians and communities they serve.
Consumer Involvement in Research
In 2022 CPHCN hosted a well-attended webinar exploring the importance of involving consumers in health research. Chaired by Prof Sarah Lewis, FMH A/Dean Research Performance, the lunchtime webinar featured an expert panel of speakers including consumers with first-hand experience, and panelists from The University of Sydney, Health Consumers NSW and Sydney Health Partners. Speakers shared recent research examples, consumer perspectives and plenty of helpful resources available to support researchers partnering with consumers in health research. From the webinar, further reading:
- Involving Health Consumers in Health and Medical Research (pdf): Enablers and Challenges from a Consumer Perspective (2017) HCNSW, Research4Me
- A Consumer and Community Engagement Framework for the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (2020) (pdf)
- Sydney Health Partners Consumer and Community Involvement resources
- Co-designing a Lifestyle-Focused Text Message Intervention for Women After Breast Cancer Treatment: Mixed Methods Study
- Monash Partners Remuneration and Reimbursement Guidelines Consumer and Community Involvement Activity (pdf)
Do you have a Community and Primary Health Care news item to share? Email the CPHCN.
Our focus areas
- Cancer care
- Chronic disease
- Community health
- Consumer engagement
- Digital health
- Disability
- End of life care
- First Nations health
- Genomics / biomedical data
- Health system reform
- Medicines safety
- Mental health
- New models of care
- Population health
- Primary care
- Rural health
- Self care
- Telehealth/ virtual care
- Women’s health
- Behavioural and Social Sciences in Health
- Dentistry and Oral Health
- Diagnostic Radiography/ Medical Imaging Science
- Dietetics and Nutrition
- Exercise and Sport Science
- General Practice
- Health Services Management
- Laboratory Science
- Occupational Therapy
- Pharmacy
- Physiotherapy
- Psychology
- Rehabilitation Counselling
- Speech Pathology
- Medicine
- Nursing and Midwifery
- Nutrition and Dietetics
- Public Health
- Social Work
Join the network
Membership is free and open to postgraduate research students and employees of the University of Sydney and affiliated institutes working within fields related to Primary Health Care.
We also welcome and include consumers, primary health care professionals and our partners in government and industry. Complete our membership form to join.
A Primary Health Care approach
Primary Health Care is defined by the World Health Organisation as essential health care that is universally accessible and meets people’s health needs throughout their lives. We are dedicated to achieving this by embedding a Primary Health Care approach to research, education and engagement.
A Primary Health Care approach is a whole of society approach. It includes methods of health promotion, disease prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and palliative care. It addresses the broader determinants of health through multisectoral policy and action, an importantly, empowers individuals, families and communities to take charge of their own health and care.
The CPHC Network Leadership Group represents the CPHC disciplines within the University and key external and affiliated partners in fields relating to CPHC:
- Faculty of Medicine and Health
- CESPHN (Central and Eastern Sydney PHN)
- Health Consumers NSW
- Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use
- Menzies Centre for Health Policy
- Regal Health
- Rural Clinical School Dubbo/Orange
- Rural Clinical School Northern Rivers
- South Western Sydney Local Health District
- Susan Wakil School of Nursing and Midwifery
- Sydney Dental School
- Sydney Local Health District
- Sydney Northern Health Network
- Sydney School of Health Sciences
- Sydney School of Medical Sciences
- Sydney School of Pharmacy
- Sydney School of Public Health
- The Daffodil Centre
- The Kolling Institute, Northern Clinical School
- University Centre for Rural Health
- WentWest PHN
- Western New South Wales Primary Health Network
- Westmead Clinical School