Australia has a significant number of immigrants from the Pacific Islands. According to the 2016 census, 75,755 people are of Samoan heritage and more than 40% of them live in New South Wales. Samoans have an inherited predisposition to diabetes, but prior to the Western study, there was little research on the effectiveness of public health interventions to reduce the health risks of diabetes in this immigrant group.

MacMillan and Simmons’ team developed a program called Le Taeao Afua (the new dawn) derived from evidence-based research on community interventions and tailored by participants themselves to fit the Australian-Samoan lifestyle. The University trained a Samoan community activator, who in turn trained 20 volunteers to become peer support facilitators. After 3-8 months, the participants had statistically significant reductions in HbA1c levels, average blood sugar for the past two to three months, a significant health improvement outcome.

Professors Simmons and MacMillan will also share their latest research on gestational diabetes, particularly around testing dates and risk factors how this translates in community health practice. 

David Simmons is a Distinguished Professor of Medicine at the Western Sydney University Macarthur Clinical School, Head of the Campbelltown Hospital Endocrinology Department, Chair of the Campbelltown Hospital Clinical Council, Director of the Diabetes Obesity and Metabolism Translation Unit (DOMTRU) and Co-Director of the Diabetes Obesity and Metabolism Clinical Academic Group of the Sydney Partnership for Health, Education, Research and Enterprise.

Freya MacMillan has a background in physical activity for health. Her research career has focused on understanding lifestyle behaviours and developing, implementing, evaluating and translating lifestyle behaviour interventions into practice. Freya is also deputy director of the Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism Translational Research Unit, an executive member and lead of the prevention working group in the Maridulu Budyari Gumal Sydney Partnership for Health, Enterprise Research & Education (SPHERE) Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism Clinical Academic Group, a member of the Translational Health Research Institute and an International Union for Health Promotion and Education Registered Health Promotion Practitioner.

Location: Macarthur Clinical School, Parkside Cres, Campbelltown or online via Zoom