James Cook University researchers will be part of a program designed to bring better care to North Queenslanders suffering from a high incidence of deadly ailments ranging from diabetes to congenital heart disease in children.
The Dean of JCU's College of Medicine & Dentistry, Prof. Sarah Larkins will lead the study with Associate Prof. Rae Thomas, funded by a grant of nearly a million dollars from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).
Professor Larkins said people in northern Queensland (NQ) have worse health outcomes, poor access to health care, high socioeconomic disadvantage and more challenges in service delivery compared to people who live in cities.
"Rising rates of obesity, sedentary lifestyles and limited access to fresh foods are contributing to very high rates of type 2 diabetes, mellitus and hypertension. These risk factors cascade into high rates of cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, dementia, diabetic foot ulcers, and premature mortality," said Professor Larkins.
She said the Tropical Australian Academic Health Centre (TAAHC) – a collaboration between the five hospital and health services in northern Queensland, the NQ Primary Health Network, Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council and JCU - will undertake five projects in priority areas for rural, regional and remote NQ.
"This grant brings together health service partners and consumers across northern Queensland to progress better care closer to home in diabetes, kidney care, rheumatic heart disease, dementia and babies with heart disease," said Professor Larkins.
She said there were clear disadvantages in healthcare for people living outside cities in northern Queensland.
"For instance, despite the higher rates of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and kidney failure in rural and remote areas, CKD patients outside of urban areas are less likely to receive screening and education around CKD or receive a kidney transplant.
"We know that Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders are twice as likely to progress to kidney failure than their non-Indigenous counterparts," said Professor Larkins.
She said within the five priority areas the group would:
- Evaluate new models of care for vascular complications in diabetes.
- Improve continuity of care via better data linkages for people with rheumatic heart disease.
- Connect communities to create a networked model of care for people with dementia in rural and remote regions of NQ.
- Implement a new model of care for renal patients in NQ.
- Create a support tool with parents of children with congenital heart disease.
"We will strengthen the ability to apply best practice in NQ contexts and improve the ability of health service researchers and consumers to work together for better health care," said Professor Larkins.
TAAHC has also received $1 million in funding from the NHMRC's 2025-26 Supporting Research Translation Centres grant opportunity. TAAHC was one of 12 nationally accredited Research Translation Centres to receive the funding.
"This funding will help TAAHC expand our program of research training to create greater access for early career researchers to conduct industry-led health research, to prioritise research translation projects, and to upscale successful research translation projects to different TAAHC regions," said Executive Director, Dr. Scott Davis.
"With this investment, TAAHC will continue to strengthen collaboration between researchers, health services, and communities, build capacity in research translation, and drive innovations that deliver equitable, high-quality and evidence-based healthcare," said Dr. Davis.
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