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The PHA - an informed, collaborative and strong advocate for public health.

Public Health Champion 2004  -  Pauline Barnett

Originally from the United Kingdom, Pauline Barnett has been committed to New Zealand public health for more than 25 years, and has been described as a true leader in the field.

She has an undergraduate degree from the University of Cambridge, further qualifications from the University of Iowa and Massey University and a PhD from the University of Otago.

An Associate Professor at the Christchurch School of Medicine and Health Sciences, she teaches public health, health policy and health management and has had, she says, the privilege of teaching hundreds of students over the years. She sees public health as the fundamental health discipline - it provides a context for integrating the work of the health sciences and clinical professions, and society as a whole.

Pauline is involved with a number of community organisations. She is on the Volunteer and Support Services Committee of the Cancer Society of New Zealand and the Boards of the St John of God Health, Disability and Community Services as well as the Comcare trust, a community mental health service in Christchurch. She is also a member of the Research Committee for the Nurse Maude Association and believes strongly in supporting organisations to undertake their own research and evaluation.

And as if that wasn't enough to fill her day, Pauline is also a volunteer literacy tutor working mainly with young men and migrants. Literacy needs are not as far removed from public health as one might think. Pauline believes the ability to read is an important personal skill which allows people to participate fully in society and is an important input to health.

Pauline was Chair of the Public Health Association during the difficult years of the early 90s when the market reform model was applied to the health sector. She says there was very little understanding of the relevance of public health during that time. There was an emphasis on treatment services, competition between providers and little recognition of the core public health values of a population approach, collaboration and intersectoral action.

Although she says the current climate is different she remains passionate about the importance of acknowledging the public health aspects of a broad range of issues. Pauline says if we can get an understanding of what population health means and its importance, then we are going in the right direction. She believes the most pressing issue is the need for a number of organisations to incorporate a population health perspective at governance level. Even if their core activity is treatment, this needs to be set in a wider public health context.

As a positive example, Pauline cites the Comcare Charitable Trust in Canterbury which takes a proactive approach to health promotion and prevention by providing an integrated approach to providing support services, such as housing, employment, recreation and leisure, for adults who experience serious, long-term mental illness.

Pauline believes her most important contribution is the opportunity she has had to work with students of public health and to expose them to the way in which public health needs can be addressed in a broad range of health service and other settings.

When Pauline is away from her academic life she enjoys the company of family and friends, getting out into the bush, and spending time in the garden.