Editorial Issue 4 2015

We have already introduced ourselves as the new co-Editors-in-Chief, but we’d like to take this opportunity to introduce the journal’s Associate Editors, and acknowledge all the work they do.

Associate Professor John Furler, University of Melbourne, Victoria. John is a GP and academic. His research focus is on diabetes and chronic-illness care in primary care, the impact of socioeconomic disadvantage on general practice and patients, and improving equity of health outcomes. John is a National Medical Health and Research Council (NMHRC) Career Development Fellow and has links with researchers in the UK, USA and Canada. John works as a GP at North Richmond Community Health Centre. John has been an editor with the AJPH since 2011.

Professor Sarah Larkins, James Cook University, Queensland. Sarah is an academic, general practitioner and Associate Dean, Research in the College of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University. Sarah has particular skills and experience in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research and health services and workforce research and is an intternationally recognised expert in social accountability in health professional education. Sarah’s particular focus is on collaborating to improve equity in healthcare services for underserved populations, particularly rural, remote, Indigenous and tropical populations, and on training a health workforce with appropriate knowledge, attitudes and skills for this purpose. Sarah became an associate editor in early 2014.

Professor Jacqueline Cumming, School of Government, Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand. Jackie has been Director of the Health Services Research Centre at Victoria University since 2001. She has qualifications in both economics and public policy, and previously worked for several government departments and agencies, including the Department/Ministry of Health and the Public Health Commission. Her research interests include health economics and health policy issues, particularly priority setting, core services, economic evaluation, health system performance, and primary healthcare policy and reform. Jackie joined the editorial team in 2015.

Dr Lauren Ball, Griffith University, Queensland. Lauren is an NHMRC Early Career Research Fellow, Accredited Practising Dietitian and lecturer in nutrition and dietetics. Lauren is a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge (UK), and Lead of the Australian and New Zealand Network within the Need for Nutrition Education/Innovation Program (NNEdPro). Lauren conducts research in primary healthcare that contributes to a better understanding of how people with or at risk of chronic conditions can be supported to have healthy dietary behaviours. The research is person-centred, interdisciplinary, and utilises a knowledge-translation approach to support high quality healthcare. Lauren joined the editorial team in 2015.

We’re very pleased to have a full team in place now, and grateful for the hard work that this great group of researchers contributes to the journal. It’s been an interesting first year for us as co-Editors-in-Chief. We look forward to working with the Associate Editors, Executive Officer Jenny Macmillan, and the team at CSIRO to continue to strengthen and extend the journal in 2016.

This issue of the AJPH presents thought-provoking articles on a wide range of topics, reflecting once again, the breadth and depth in the interests of our authors and readers. We hope that you enjoy it and find much to stimulate, whatever your role in primary healthcare.