Dr Wendy Holmes talks about her work in Sri Lanka

Dr Wendy Holmes met with a group of Sri Lankan trainee doctors today at the Alfred Centre, to collaborate on ideas for improving the South Asian nation’s community health and health promotion.

Wendy, an expert in community health in developing countries, is currently technical director of the Burnet Institute Better Vision Healthy Ageing program which aims to improve the quality of life and eye health of people over 60 years in Sri Lanka. The program is funded by the Fred Hollows Foundation. The program includes a randomised trial of the impact of Elder's Clubs on health-related and vision-related quality of life.

Wendy offered the doctors an opportunity to assist with the analysis of this data in relation to their own specialist fields, including oral health and women’s health. They also discussed the challenge of ensuring that research findings influence policy in Sri Lanka, and the importance of community health physicians being involved in the country’s health systems.

The trainee doctors are currently completing a year of placement in Australia, having already finished their Masters degrees in Sri Lanka.