Valerie Swift
Aboriginal Co-Director, Djaalinj Waakinj Centre for Ear and Hearing Health; Aboriginal Cultural Guidance Advisor
valerie.swift@telethonkids.org.au
A/Prof Swift is the Co-Director for the of the Djaalinj Waakinj Centre for Ear and Hearing Health and is the Aboriginal Cultural Governance Advisor for The Kids Research Institute Australia’s Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases in Perth, Western Australia. She is a qualified Aboriginal Health Worker, Adjunct Associate Professor at Curtin University, Aboriginal researcher with over 20 years of experience and Board Member of Moorditj Koort Aboriginal Wellbeing Centre and of Babbingur Mia Aboriginal Family Support Program and Yarramoup Aboriginal Corporation. Previously the Manager, Aboriginal Health for the South Metropolitan Health Services in Western Australia CI Swift has had a distinguished career in health services management driving new initiatives and striving for change to improve effectiveness of Aboriginal health programs.
Val has been working in the Ear Health team for 7 years, initially as part of the Djaalinj Waakinj birth cohort study. Currently, Val is the Co-Director of the Djaalinj Waakinj Centre for Ear and Hearing Care, which provides fast-tracked ear and hearing care for urban Aboriginal children. Val has received over 10 competitive research grants as an Associate or Chief Investigator totalling >$2M in funding, including: NHMRC CRE extension project (CIB), NHMRC Targeted Call (CIB, $1.1M), Perron Foundation, WA DOH Research Translation Project Funding. Val has been first and co-author on 7 peer-reviewed journal articles.
Projects
Healthy Ears Clinical Trial: A telehealth-facilitated randomised-controlled trial utilising a health promotion intervention to resolve otitis media with effusion for children won specialist Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) waiting lists
A telehealth-facilitated randomised-controlled trial utilising a health promotion intervention to resolve otitis media with effusion for children won specialist Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) waiting lists
Djaalinj Waakinj Ear Portal: An ENT and Audiology referral pathway for improving access to ear and hearing services for Aboriginal children in the metropolitan area using telehealth
The Djaalinj Waakinj (Listening, Talking) Ear Portal project commenced in 2020 to evaluate an equitable ear and hearing care pathway for Aboriginal children residing in the metropolitan area of Perth.
Moort Vax Waangkiny: Understanding reasons for routine vaccine uptake among Aboriginal children aged <5 years in Perth (Boorloo) metro
Aboriginal children aged younger than 5 years in Perth (Boorloo) have lower vaccine uptake compared to non-Aboriginal children.
Djaalinj Waakinj: A cohort study of otitis media in young urban Aboriginal children – prevalence, risk factors and consequences
Published research
Antibiotics or watchful waiting for acute otitis media in urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children?
Ear and hearing outcomes in Aboriginal infants living in an urban Australian area: the Djaalinj Waakinj birth cohort study
Describe the ear and hearing outcomes in Aboriginal infants in an Australian urban area. Aboriginal infants enrolled in the Djaalinj Waakinj prospective cohort study had ear health screenings at ages 2-4, 6-8 and 12-18 months and audiological assessment at ∼12 months of age. Sociodemographic, environmental characteristics, otoscopy, otoacoustic emissions, tympanometry and visual reinforcement audiometry data were collected.
Early onset of otitis media is a strong predictor of subsequent disease in urban Aboriginal infants: Djaalinj Waakinj cohort study
Australian Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children in rural/remote areas suffer high rates of persistent otitis media (OM) from early infancy. We aimed to determine the proportion of Aboriginal infants living in an urban area who have OM and investigate associated risk factors.
Education and Qualifications
- Associate degree in Aboriginal Community Management and Development
- Aboriginal Health Practitioner
Active Collaborations
- Moorditj Koort Aboriginal Corporation, Independent Director
- Cockburn Integrated Health Centre —Urban Aboriginal Ear, Nose, and Throat Clinic