| The DIALOG team is committed
to the process of sustaining an Advisory Group throughout the project.
The group enables the project team to benefit from the advice of
a broad range of people, including consumers, health care providers
and researchers. They add different skills, perspectives and priorities
to those of the DIALOG project team.
The NHMRC has recommended that health care consumers should be
involved in an advisory capacity in all research projects from the
beginning (NHMRC Statement on Consumer and Community Participation
in Health and Medical Research, Canberra, 2002). This includes involvement
in deciding research priorities and disseminating findings.
A priority role for the Advisory Group is to ensure that the research
findings are presented in ways that are accessible and meaningful
to same sex attracted women and to GPs.
Group Members
The advisory group includes the following individuals:
- Amelia Basset - Lesbian health care consumer
- Meg Gulbin - Manager absolutely women’s health program,
Royal Women’s Hospital, Melbourne
- Jo Harrison - Lesbian health researcher and educator, University
of South Australia
- Patty Robertson - Lesbian health researcher and clinician in
Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of California, San Francisco,
USA
- Darren Russell - General Practitioner, Director of Sexual Health,
Cairns Sexual Health Service, Queensland
- Deb Wilson - General Practitioner, Broadmeadows, Melbourne
Jo and Patty have been approved as associate investigators by the
University of Melbourne Human Research Ethics Committee.
Patty Robertson
Patricia Robertson MD is Professor of Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology
at the University of California at San Francisco and Co-Director
of the Center for Lesbian Health Research there.
She was a co-founder of Lyon-Martin Clinic in 1980, which provides
primary health for lesbians. She also started the Women in Medicine
Conference in 1983 with her partner, which is an annual retreat
for lesbian physicians and their families. She is on the Advisory
Board of the Lesbian Health Fund, which provides pilot funds for
lesbian health research. She is a Peri-neonatologist, providing
high risk obstetric care to women, Director of Medical Student Education
in her department, and active in leadership positions in the Academic
Senate.
She lives with her partner and children in San Francisco.
Jo Harrison
Dr Jo Harrison recently completed Doctoral research investigating
gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex ageing and discrimination
in gerontology and aged care in Australia and the USA. She is an
educator and researcher at the University of South Australia. She
also provides consultant gerontology support to government and non-government
bodies. She is a member of the South Australian Ministerial Advisory
Council on Gay and Lesbian Health. She has coordinated ageing research
as consultant to government, indigenous community organisations
and non-government peak bodies. She has published on GLBTI and Indigenous
ageing in both Australian and international refereed publications
and texts.
Amelia Bassett
 Meg
Gulbin and Amelia Bassett
Meg Gulbin
Meg Gulbin has been working in women's business for the past 18
years. She has a background in education, training, consumer consultation
and health promotion. She has worked as a community lesbian health
worker and she currently works at the Royal Women's Hospital and
manages the absolutely women's health program. This program is a
unique, holistic, feminist health promotion program for all women.
Since 1999, absolutely women's health has taken an active role in
responding to lesbian's health needs and advocating for cultural
change, particularly in the area of lesbian parenting.
Darren Russell
Dr Darren Russell is the Director of Sexual Health at Cairns Base
Hospital, Queensland. Until June 2005 he was an academic in the
Department of Public Health at the University of Melbourne, and
a member of the Victorian Government’s Ministerial Advisory
Committee on Gay and Lesbian Health. He has an interest in queer
health and the queer community, having extensive involvement in
community-based organisations.
Debra Wilson
Dr Debra Wilson is a part-time general practitioner in Broadmeadows,
in Melbourne's North. She is currently Chairperson at the North
West Melbourne Division of General Practice having been a member
of the Board since 2000. Her previous appointments include GP Liaison
Officer at the Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne with a particular
interest in low risk shared antenatal care.
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Terms Of Reference
The members of the advisory group have agreed to participate in
the DIALOG project in the following areas:
- Review the salience and relevance of the research questions
- Comment on the appropriateness of the research methods
- Check the plain language statements and interview schedules
before and after pilot interviews, particularly for the sensitivity
of trigger questions and adequacy of pre-existing thematic inclusion
- Comment on the validity of emerging themes and conclusions
- Assist with advising where and how to disseminate the project
findings
Meetings are held approximately twice per year. The responsibility
for the conduct of the research, analysis of the data and publication
of the findings remains with the research team rather than the advisory
group.
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