HealthInfoNet acknowledged with the Eberhard Wenzel Online Media Award

The Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet was announced at the Public Health Association of Australia’s 34th Annual Conference in Adelaide on 1 October 2002 as the inaugural winner of the Association’s Eberhard Wenzel Online Media Award.

In making the announcement, the Honourable Lea Stevens, South Australian Health Minister, said the mass media, of all forms, has a significant role to play in protecting and promoting the health of Australians. She commended the HealthInfoNet’s role in contributing to improving the health of Australia’s Indigenous people by facilitating the sharing and exchange of relevant, high-quality knowledge.

Ms Stevens noted that in the five years since HealthInfoNet was established in September 1997, it has emerged as the major source of knowledge and information about the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for policy makers, health service providers, academics, researchers, students and the general community. The HealthInfoNet’s knowledge translation research, which focuses on the utilisation by potential users of the results of pure and applied research, was of particular value. She commented that the HealthInfoNet also facilitates knowledge sharing and exchange by publishing an electronic peer-reviewed journal, operating a list serve, providing an information service and including on its Internet site an electronic notice-board for details of courses and other pertinent information.

The award was accepted on behalf of Professor Thomson and the HealthInfoNet team by Associate Professor Sherry Saggers, a HealthInfoNet Consultant in the areas of Indigenous health policy and substance abuse.

View the HeathInfoNet application (PDF – 46KB)

View the Public Health Association of Australia Media Release (PDF – 21KB)

Editor’s note: The HealthInfoNet is particularly honoured to be the winner of the inaugural Eberhard Wenzel Online Media Award, which is named in recognition of Eberhard’s passion for information technology and Indigenous health improvement. He was an frequent user of the HealthInfoNet, and a very strong voice in support of our aims. We are very proud recipients of the award.