What is the Partnership? 

The DIABETES across the LIFECOURSE: Northern Australia Partnership is led by a team at Menzies School of Health Research (Menzies) with support and involvement from a range of health services and organisations. It includes researchers, policy makers and health service providers.

The aim of the Partnership is to improve the health and wellbeing of people in our region by working together to grow and share knowledge about diabetes, strengthen systems of care and services for people with diabetes, and develop prevention strategies. Recognising the intergenerational cycle of diabetes and the high burden of diabetes among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, our current efforts particularly focus on women with diabetes in pregnancy and their babies, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people with type 2 diabetes, and diabetes prevention in children.

Working in partnership is essential to translating research outcomes into practice and achieving sustainable health outcomes.

How has the Partnership changed over time?

The Partnership commenced in 2011 as the Northern Territory (NT) Diabetes in Pregnancy Partnership. In 2015, further funding enabled the Partnership to expand to include Far North Queensland (FNQ) and formed the NT & FNQ Diabetes in Pregnancy Partnership (also known in FNQ as DiPPiNQ). Our key focus was on improving systems of care and services for women with diabetes, and improving health outcomes by reducing risk associated with diabetes in pregnancy as early as possible in the life course.

As the work of the Partnership evolved, additional priorities were identified by clinicians and communities represented in the Partnership. This included the intergenerational impact of diabetes, the increasing number of young people experiencing type 2 diabetes, the importance of prevention and the benefits of a coordinated approach across northern Australia.

To reflect this broader scope, in early 2019 the Partnership was renamed the Diabetes across the Lifecourse: Northern Australia Partnership, which includes Northern Territory (Top End and Central), Far North Queensland and the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

*Annual Face to Face Partnership Investigator Meeting Sep 2019, Menzies Darwin

*DIABETES across the LIFECOURSE team, February 2019