As a Project Officer for SEARCH, the Study of Environment on Aboriginal Resilience and Child Health, Simone Sherriff works across different areas of the Study, and it’s this breadth that makes her job rewarding.
“One of my roles involves community engagement through working with the Aboriginal medical services and I also work on the data,” she says. “It is nice to see both sides; you can see the data and the numbers, but when you go out to the medical services you see it all coming together with real people and get feedback about real things that have come out of the Study.”
This is about collecting the data to provide the services the communities need
Simone was born and raised in Wagga Wagga (Wiradjuri country) and is a Wotjobaluk woman. Before joining the Institute she worked at the Riverina Medical and Dental Aboriginal Corporation as an Aboriginal Research Officer conducting field work for SEARCH, and as an Aboriginal Drug and Alcohol Worker.
She says her understanding of SEARCH from the perspective of an Aboriginal Medical Service has informed her work at the Institute, and the fact that the Study is a true partnership makes it gratifying to work on.
“This is not about collecting numbers that Aboriginal communities can’t use; it is about collecting the data to provide the services the communities need – it is their research,” she says.
Simone has just completed a Graduate Diploma in Indigenous Health Promotion, is completing her Masters of Public Health and has long‑term plans for a PhD.
PUBLICATION DATE
14 June 2015
