Consumers and community at the heart of our research

At Menzies, we understand that involving members of the community at every stage of our research not only improves how we do things, but results in better health outcomes.

Last year, we appointed Dimitra Papavassiliou to the role of Consumer and Community Involvement (CCI) Coordinator to build on the strong relationships and partnerships we have created with consumers, such as the MS Consumer Committee and Cardiovascular Consumer Reference Group.

We are dedicated to creating an environment where consumers’ lived experience is valued and treated as an equal partnership. We will achieve this by working with the community at every stage of research with some examples of this being:

Research priority setting: Tell us what the most important questions are needing answering in health research.

Design research: Help us design studies that work for people with health conditions researched.

Get involved: Join us as a member of the research team, including helping to write grant applications and information sheets.

Lead research: Be a consumer advisory committee member on projects to give consumers a voice on important local and global health research.

Dimitra, who goes by Dimi, says she is honoured to have joined Menzies.

“As a Community Development practitioner for more than 10 years, I have worked with a lot of different communities, however the thing I am most passionate about is empowering people to be actively involved in decisions that impact their life,” she says.

“As CCI Coordinator my aspirations are to meaningfully embed consumers voices in

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In Memoriam

One sentence in your Will can fund life-saving medical research. For more information, please contact the Advancement Office on 03 6226 1920.

Bequests save lives by funding research. Thank you.

Dedicated: Our Consumer and Community Involvement Coordinator Dimitra Papavassiliou.

We gratefully acknowledge gifts made from the following estates:

Estate of the late

Dianne Mary Forrester

Estate of the late

Alexander David Mitchell

Estate of the late Rita Mary Sproule everything we do. Since 2021 we involved consumers and health representatives in creating Menzies new Consumer and Community Involvement policy, implementation plan and remuneration and reimbursement guidelines.

“We have been working with staff to build the Institute’s capacity and capabilities to partner with consumers, including training and building relationships with key stakeholders.”

The next exciting step will be to set up a program for those who have health related experiences, either personally or in caring for others, to register their interests in getting involved.

To start this off we will be hosting a Consumer Day in late 2023 to celebrate the contributions of our current community members who have been involved in our projects. The event will bring people together and support us to establish the vision to shape our new Consumer Registry.

We gratefully acknowledge gifts made in honour of:

Mark Kenneth Campbell

Stella Grimditch

Jeanette Marlene Harper

Tina (Christine) Anne Harrison

Janice (Jan) Elaine Nichols

Betty Myra Parker

Mary June Peters

Colin Ransley

Stanley Bessell Robertts

Nancy Olive Salter

John Schoenmaker

Ron Tanner

Steve Tully