Session Title
Closing the Gap
Session Outline
This session explores the history of Closing the Gap and health policies from an academic point of view, relating them back to the Aboriginal concepts of culture and country. The concepts in this session will provide a foundation for practitioners seeking to build cultural awareness.
Biography
Dr Joan Van Rotterdam’s working life in Chiropractic began in 1986 after completing an undergraduate degree in science and a subsequent graduate diploma in Chiropractic qualified her to take on a position as a chiropractor in private practice.
After some time Joan commenced a Postgraduate Diploma in Epidemiology that Joan later translated to a Masters in Medical Science (Clinical Epidemiology), which was completed in 2003. During this time Joan has also collaborated on other research projects within a multidisciplinary setting, with the not for profit organisation called Hands-on-Health Australia (HoHA).
Her passions of musculoskeletal medicine, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Rural health have resulted in her appointment as the chair of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Rural and Remote Practitioner Network (ARRPN).