Chaojie Liu, Demos Krouskos, Michael Geary

1. La Trobe University, Melbourne,Australia

2. North Richmond Community Health, Melbourne, Australia

3. Banyule Community Health,Melbourne, Australia

Editorial

Chaojie Liu1, Demos Krouskos2, Michael Geary3

1. La Trobe University, Melbourne,Australia

2. North Richmond Community Health, Melbourne, Australia

3. Banyule Community Health,Melbourne, Australia

Tel.: +(613)94791715

E-mail: C.Liu@latrobe.edu.au

Accepted 22 September 2015

The editorial group is pleased to release this special issue of Family Medicine and Community Health – a Sino-Australian forum.We are grateful to the contributing authors from China and Australia. The contents of this issue cover a wide range of topics ranging from infant care to aged care, from disease management to socio-behavioural interventions.

In a broad sense, Australia and China face similar health policy challenges despite the differences between the two countries.Both countries are working to reduce gaps in health services accessibility and in health outcomes between rich and poor, urban and rural,and indigenous and non-indigenous people.Universal coverage of medical care services,coordination between primary care and hospital care, cost containment, and safety and quality of care are priorities on the health reform agenda in both countries.

China can learn from Australia's experiences in the past decades, in particular,the development of a universally accessible Medicare system and its cornerstone primary care. Meanwhile, Australians can also benefit from the reframing which happens when we seek to make sense of a familiar policy questions in very different settings; for example,China's recent development of general practice and community health services.

The forum provides an opportunity for Australian researchers and health practitioners to demonstrate to their professional peers in China the potential benefits from closer professional and institutional engagement.Recently, the Victorian Government of Australia developed an "International Health Victoria" initiative (see letter below), with an aim to strengthening collaborations and joint development in health industry between the state of Victoria and other countries. For Australians to engage more effectively with China, this requires first, a good understanding of current health policy issues and developments, including problems and challenges that China is confronting; and second, an ability to present Australian experiences in ways that are relevant to China and are accessible to Chinese audiences.

This issue includes eight articles: four about China and four about Australian and international experiences.

In "Family Structure and Support for the Oldest Old: A Cross-sectional Study in Dujiangyan, China", the authors discussed the great challenge China is facing: the rapid increase of elderly populations and shrinkage of family size due to decades long family planning policy. It is unlikely that the traditional function of family support to elderly populations will diminish soon; however,family as a major source of aged care will definitely be challenged when one young couple have to support four parents. Consequently,China is calling for both public and private investments into aged care. Community health services, as a cost-effective approach,has naturally become an option in China.

This special issue also presents a case study from Shanghai,where community residents were encouraged to enter into a contract with their local doctors (so called general practitioner responsibility system). Financial and managerial mechanisms were put into place in the community health services where those local doctors were employed to ensure that not only clinical services but also preventive care were delivered in an efficient and effective way. The results are quite promising - management of chronic conditions has been improved significantly.

Although prevalence of chronic health conditions has been rising, prevention and control of infectious diseases still imposes a great challenge in China. In "Current situation of AIDS prevention and control with traditional Chinese medicine and relevant policies in China", the authors made an overview of AIDS epidemic in China and the potential of using traditional Chinese medicine to develop culturally appropriate AIDS treatment regimen that is accessible and affordable.

Similar to Australia and other countries, many health problems in China have their deep roots in social problems. Social and behavioural interventions are therefore regarded critical in prevention and control of those health problems.

In "Systematic reviews for General Practice: Applicability of the review "Mass Media interventions for preventing smoking in young people" in the People's Republic of China",the author reviewed evidence on the efficacy of mass media interventions for tobacco control and the role that community health organisations can play.

"The Role of a Community Health Service in the Prevention of Violence against Women" discussed an innovative model in preventing family violence. Such an important problem has until now been largely neglected in China although is no reason to believe that family violence against women does not exist there. We hope that the Australian experience can stimulate some research interests in China.

Person-centred care has attracted increasing attention from the international community in recent decades. People have realised that consumers play an important role in their own care. In "Striking a balance: the critical importance of sensemaking and values-congruent partnerships between GPs and patients following stroke", the authors described a new strategy for building provider-consumer partnerships.

Primary health care and community health services can be innovative and drive a paradigm shift in health care. In "A paradigm shift in models of oral healthcare: an example and a call to action", the authors introduced new ways of providing oral healthcare in community health service settings. The author of"A new paradigm for assessment of infant feeding deviation"used her own experience (as a mother, a nurse and a consumer advocate) to illustrate the importance of "infant feeding deviation" in the decline of breast-feeding all over the world.

The publication of this special issue coincides with a conference recently held in China – "National General Practice Conference 2015 & 13thAcademic Annual Meeting of the General Practice Branch of Chinese Medical Association". Dr. Margaret Chan (Director-General of the World Health Organization) and Dr. Zhu Chen (Deputy Chair of National People's Congress)attended the conference. Both made inspiring speeches, calling for strengthening of primary health care in health reforms. Of course, this would not be a simple and straightforward task. As was said by Dr. Zhu Chen, alignments between prevention and medical care, between primary care and hospital sectors, and between medical education and service delivery are essential in achieving the goal. We are pleased to publish in this special issue a letter from 13 prominent academicians supporting the further development of general practice in China.

We believe that readers will benefit from this special issue,not only those who do research but also those who are engaged in policy development and delivery of services. We thank the journal to give us the space for publishing such an interesting issue. Our special thanks go to Ms. Maryann Barsoum for providing administrative support to the editorial team.

Letter

International Health Victoria

Why International Health Victoria (formally named, Global Health Melbourne)?

Victoria's capabilities and strengths in health care are a strong match for China's growing needs and demands. International Health Victoria seeks to leverage the strength of the Victorian health system to form productive and sustainable relationships with interested parties in China. Through these relationships,mutually beneficial partnerships and initiatives can then be developed.

What are the key strengths of the Victorian Health System?

Australia's healthcare system is ranked third in the world by the OECD. Victoria leads health-related reform in Australia.The Commonwealth Government adopted Victoria's healthcare governance structure and is rolling out Victoria's hospital funding model. Victoria has a strong international reputation for health services expertise and particular strengths in the planning and design of health services, health systems management, health workforce training and delivery of flexible senior living solutions as well as in conducting medical research. Let's look at these in a bit more details:

? VICTORIA'S HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE:Victoria's designers, planners, architects, engineers and business leaders all contribute to Melbourne being the world's most liveable city. Companies collaborate with government and industry partners to deliver state-of-theart, future-ready health and aged care infrastructure that works for patients and care-givers.

? HEALTH POLICY AND MANAGEMENT: The Victorian healthcare system is built on collaborative relationships, strong governance, community focus and a highly skilled workforce. Victoria has strong infrastructure development and management models, combined with a robust policy framework guided by international trends and changing community needs. This presents strong opportunities for collaborating with overseas partners to develop new service delivery models and solutions to our common health challenges.

? AGED CARE AND SENIOR LIVING: The Victorian senior living industry works with a range of stakeholders to provide older people with access to good quality services to help them live independently at home for longer.Our service providers can tailor Victoria's senior living solutions to the requirements of any international senior communities. The Victorian Government's aged care policies and programs also address the special needs of older Victorians, and reflect the diversity of their lives.

? WORKFORCE, SKILLS AND TRAINING: In Victoria, 11.5% of the workforce is employed in the health and social services sector representing 330,000 people. Demographic trends such as population ageing,lower fertility rates and increased migration have led to the development of a highly skilled, productive and flexible health workforce. Victorian Government workforce development strategies will advance the potential of our workforce and provide opportunities for international collaborations in health reform and for new investments.

? RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT: Melbourne is a global research and development hub for clinical trials,biotechnology, medical research and Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Many prominent Australian public and private sector research establishments are based in Melbourne. Victoria's research and development capabilities underpin and drive the State's innovative models of health and aged care provision.They also provide Victoria's research and development community with the knowledge and capacity to partner with international organisations to advance a common vision for healthier communities.

Why now?

Victorian healthcare organisations are open for business. We are willing and ready to share our learning and experience in health and aged care with potential Chinese partners. There is no better time to engage with us than the present while China is undergoing a generational healthcare reform.

Who we are and how to contact us?

The International Health Unit is a part of the Department of Health and Human Services family and we represent the interest of all Victorian public and private health, medical and aged care providers, educators, researchers and suppliers. For further information or just getting in touch, please contact:

Daniel Donnelly

Manager, International Health

Tel.: +61 3 9096 7115

E-mail: daniel.donnelly@dhhs.vic.gov.au

Jason Sun(Chinese speaking)

Manager, Strategy – International Health Initiative

Tel.: +61 3 9096 7582

E-mail: jason.sun@dhhs.vic.gov.au

Chaojie Liu, MB, MPH, PhD School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University,1 Kingsbury Dr, Melbourne,VIC 3086, Australia

22 September 2015;