2016 Baume Travel Scholarship
Katie Thurber is in the final year of her PhD at the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health. Her current work uses a mixed methods approach to understand barriers to a healthy diet for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in Australia. She will present these findings at the international conference Pathways to Health Equity – Levelling the Playing Field in Winnipeg, Canada in June. Indigenous populations in both Canada and Australia face inter-related issues of food insecurity and obesity; both populations experience barriers to accessing healthy food, and are exposed to an overabundance of energy-dense nutrient-poor foods. Canada has demonstrated a sustained commitment to implementing policies to improve nutrition for their Indigenous populations, through a multi-sectoral approach and community engagement; the Canadian experience can likely provide valuable lessons for Australia.