Pacific Partnership in our own words

Academics tell why they want Pacific islanders studying lifestyle medicine at Avondale

Giving to Avondale’s Annual Appeal this year will help reduce the “crippling” burden of chronic disease in the South Pacific islands.

The 2016 appeal will support the Lifestyle Research Centre at Avondale College of Higher Education. The centre will offer seed money to Pacific islanders so they can begin postgraduate study in lifestyle medicine. This Pacific Partnership should empower those with influence to share their knowledge with those in their communities.

The idea for the Pacific Partnership came from President Professor Ray Roennfeldt and Lifestyle Research Centre Lead Researcher Dr Darren Morton. Public Relations Officer Brenton Stacey asked the two about the partnership, its potential impact and the role of lifestyle medicine in improving the quality of our health and wellbeing.

What’s the most important lifestyle message we need to understand?
Morton: There’s no one thing that contributes to chronic disease and there’s no one remedy. Effective lifestyle medicine interventions need to address seven important domains: nutrition; physical activity; social connectedness; temperance from substance use; positive psychology; rest; and the promotion of supportive environments.

You’ve trained and worked as a nurse, Ray. From your experience, what difference would a better understanding of the implications of their lifestyle choices have had on the patients for which you cared?
Roennfeldt: It’s a long time since I worked as a nurse, but it was obvious back then—and backed up even more strongly now by scientific evidence—that lifestyle choices have a massive impact on personal and community health.

Darren, you’ve called lifestyle medicine a new frontier. Could it also be the last frontier, in terms of the impact of lifestyle diseases on health and wellbeing? How serious is the impact?
Morton: The rise of chronic disease is perilous—about 70 per cent of GP visits are related to chronic conditions. It’s not enough to put bandaids on chronic disease; we need to treat the cause. And that’s what lifestyle medicine is about, encouraging changes in behaviour and attitude.”

Say the Pacific Partnership sees half a dozen more students enrol in the postgraduate courses in lifestyle medicine at Avondale. What’s the likely impact this increase will have on the viability of the courses and, more importantly, on the health of those in the Pacific islands.
Morton: The South Pacific is crippled by chronic disease. It’s the type 2 diabetes hot spot of the world. Providing those who live in the islands with training in the management and treatment of chronic conditions using lifestyle medicine—which is cheap, simple and effective—could radically transform lives, relationships and communities.
Roennfeldt: Our postgraduate courses in lifestyle medicine are already viable, but another half dozen or more students will make them even more so. Viable courses will also help us continue leading in the study of lifestyle medicine.

Avondale is not the only institution offering postgraduate courses in lifestyle medicine. What’s the major point of difference between the courses at Avondale and the courses offered elsewhere?
Morton: There’s only a few courses in lifestyle medicine worldwide, and they tend to be more general health degrees that include some units in lifestyle medicine. Our courses are specialty degrees we’ve built from the ground up with lifestyle medicine as the base. They’re rigorous but also accessible to those with a bachelor’s degree from non-health disciplines.

The Lifestyle Research Centre is one of four research centres at Avondale. Besides the contribution the centre is making to our understanding of health and wellbeing, what is its contribution to Avondale’s application for university college status?
Roennfeldt: All the research centres are essential to the application for university college status because they increase our capacity for quality teaching and research. And they’re two of the distinguishing characteristics of an Australian university. The centres also help us to focus research in our strongest areas: Christian education; health and lifestyle; learning and teaching; and spirituality and worship. But you asked specifically about the Lifestyle Research Centre. Let me say this: [Director Associate Professor] Brett Mitchell, Darren and the other scholars connected to the centre are already publishing world-class research.