SDG 3 – Good health and well-being

We deliver world-class research that improves health outcomes across all life stages. Centres such as the Centre for Health Services Research, the Health and Wellbeing Centre for Research Innovation and the Centre for Community Health and Wellbeing address:

• community health
• digital health
• rehabilitation
• physical activity
• nutrition.

This same interprofessional, world-class research is what leads our teaching and training, preparing the next generation of health professionals to address complex challenges across medicine, nursing, allied and public health.

Our commitment to strong and mutually beneficial partnerships with government, industry and communities, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, are key to our progress in strengthening health and healthcare systems across Australia, the Pacific and internationally.

We also support the wellbeing of our own community through a wide range of health and mental health services for staff and students, including counselling, wellbeing programs and the Mental Health Champions Network.

Read our SDG 3 2024 report (PDF, 239.48 KB)

See how we make a difference across key areas:

• Current collaborations with health institutions
• Health outreach
• Staff and student support

Current collaborations with health institutions

We are dedicated to improving local and global health and wellbeing through innovative collaborations with local, national and global partners.

Together with these partners, UQ is committed to:

• improving health and wellbeing outcomes
• promoting wellbeing for all ages
• ensuring access to sexual and reproductive healthcare
• supporting the research and development of vaccines and medicines for communicable and non-communicable diseases
•  increasing health financing
• strengthening capacity for risk reduction of global health risks.

How we are achieving this

Local collaborations

As evidenced by our co-authored publications in 2024 (source: InCites), we maintain ongoing collaborations, focused on research and/or teaching, with local health institutions in Brisbane and greater south-east Queensland, including:

• Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital
• Menzies Health Institute Queensland
• The Prince Charles Hospital
• Queensland Children’s Hospital
• Mater Hospital Brisbane, and Mater Health Services
• Gold Coast University Hospital
• Sunshine Coast University Hospital
• The Wesley Hospital
• Redcliffe Hospital
• Logan Hospital
• Greenslopes Private Hospital
• Toowoomba Hospital.

Queensland Health

In 2024 we continued our partnership with the state public health system, which provides healthcare services to all Queenslanders. This collaboration supports the Queensland Health Clinical Research Fellowships (QHCRF), providing funding and resources for clinical researchers to address pressing healthcare challenges. The fellowship program enhances the translation of research into real-world applications, contributing to better health outcomes across the state.

The Mater Research Institute (MRI-UQ)

MRI-UQ is a long standing alliance between Mater Research and UQ. It provides strategic benefits to both institutions and to advancing health research. Mater Research brings to the alliance considerable clinical collaboration opportunities and UQ brings its expertise as a research, education and teaching institution. Mater Research employees, through an affiliation to MRI-UQ, have access to world-class research infrastructure and systems.

PA-Southside Clinical Unit

PA-Southside Clinical Unit is located at The Princess Alexandra Hospital. UQ’s partnership with the PA-Southside Clinical Unit continues to enhance opportunities for hands-on clinical education by integrating students into hospital settings, where they receive coaching from experienced medical professionals essential for developing practical skills and improving patient care.

National collaborations

We have extensive national collaborations, evidenced by co-authored publications in 2024 with health institutions, including:

• Peter McCallum Cancer Centre
• St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney
• Fiona Stanley Freemantle Hospitals Group
• the Alfred
• the Royal Adelaide Hospital
• the Menzies Health Institute.

UQ Poche Centre for Indigenous Health

Collaborations, especially with Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) are at the core of the Centre’s success and have been a key feature of activities during 2024.

The Centre continued to strengthen its work with:

• the Institute for Urban Indigenous Health (IUIH) on the 'Closing the final gaps in maternal and infant health: the Deadly Fit Mums program'
• the Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Service (KAMS), Danila Dilba Health Service and the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council of New South Wales (AH&MRC) on the project 'Third Australian cross-sectional survey of social and behavioural factors related to BBVs and STIs among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples aged 16-29 years: GOANNA Survey 3'.

For more information, read the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health 2024 annual report.

Australian Cancer Research Foundation’s Australian Centre of Excellence in Melanoma Imaging and Diagnosis

UQ leads the Australian Cancer Research Foundation’s Australian Centre of Excellence in Melanoma Imaging and Diagnosis (ACRF ACEMID). The Centre operated in 14 sites across Australia in 2024, collaborating widely with health institutions throughout the country including:

• Westmead Hospital (New South Wales)
• Pinnacle Dermatology (Orange, New South Wales)
• Melanoma Institute Australia (New South Wales)
• the Port Macquarie Community Health Centre (New South Wales)
• The Alfred Hospital (Victoria)
• the Skin Health Institute (Victoria)
• Wonthaggi Hospital (Victoria)
• Bendigo Hospital (Victoria)
• the Peter McCallum Cancer Centre (Victoria).

For more information, read the ACEMID 2024 annual report.

International collaborations

We have extensive international collaborations, evidenced by co-authored publications in 2024 with international health institutions, including but not limited to:

• Harvard Medical School
• Mayo Clinic
• Massachusetts General Hospital
• Assistance Publique Hopitaux Paris
• University Health Network Toronto
• Copenhagen University Hospital
• The Johns Hopkins Hospital
• Singapore General Hospital
• World Health Organization.

UQ-Ochsner MD

The UQ-Ochsner MD program provides a world-class medical education across 2 continents, producing graduates equipped to address global health challenges. This collaboration with Ochsner Health, a leading healthcare provider in Louisiana, USA, was established in 2009 and will continue through until at least 2030. The partnership facilitates a transnational medical education, allowing students to study across 2 continents and benefit from the resources of both institutions. In 2024, the UQ-Ochsner medical program graduated its 1000th student.

Queensland Brain Institute

UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) maintained several ongoing partnerships during 2024, including with overseas universities. The UQ Neuroscience Strategic Partnership with Zurich Neuroscience Centre (ZNZ) at University of Zurich was established in 2021 to foster strong, long-term collaborations that drive innovative research outcomes and the submission of competitive joint applications for international funding. This investment has created an effective platform for our teams to harness state-of-the-art, multidisciplinary technologies to address challenging neurological problems.

Health outreach

Health outreach programmes and services for community

We have a strong commitment to improving health and wellbeing within the local community, including delivering outreach programs, projects and services to diverse groups such as disadvantaged people, and refugee and immigrant communities.

How we are achieving this

UQ Health Care

UQ Health Care is a primary care, clinical innovation and research organisation that services the public via a number of clinics across South-East Queensland. In addition to general practice services, UQ Health Care also offers other services.

• UQ Healthcare provides outreach services for those experiencing homelessness or hardship, providing medical care and a safe daytime sanctuary via Emmanuel City Mission and in collaboration with St Vincent’s Care Service.
• In 2024, the UQ Health Care Refugee Health Service provided health assessments, vaccinations and general medical services for newly arrived refugees and asylum seekers in collaboration with Refugee Health Qld, the School of Medicine and the Mater Centre for Primary Healthcare Innovation.
• UQ Healthy Living is an interprofessional clinic promoting healthy aging and wellbeing in older adults over the age of 50. The clinic offers services such as physiotherapy, exercise physiology, occupational therapy and dietetics, focusing on preventive care and healthy aging strategies.
• Logan Healthy Living is a free community-focused initiative in Logan, Queensland, aimed at improving health outcomes, particularly for individuals at risk of or living with chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes.

Centre for Community Health and Wellbeing

The Centre for Community Health and Wellbeing at Springfield in Brisbane continued its mission in 2024 to enhance community health through collaborative, community-driven initiatives. These included:

• supporting cancer survivors in their transition back to community life
• exploring the concept of 'third spaces' for promoting wellbeing
• offering cooking skills workshops aimed at fostering healthy eating habits
• potential microbusiness opportunities.

The Chair of Community Health and Wellbeing continued to play a role in aligning research with local residents' priorities in 2024, for example, addressing health challenges prevalent in Springfield’s young and multicultural population, such as mental health, physical activity and nutrition.

Queensland Brain Injury Collaborative

The Queensland Brain Injury Collaborative (QBIC) delivered a series of regional roadshows across Queensland in 2024. In addition to researchers and healthcare professionals, these roadshows also aimed to build networks with and among community members and individuals with lived experience to improve brain injury care. With sessions in Townsville, Cairns and Toowoomba, the series included opportunities for individuals with traumatic brain injuries to share their journeys, providing a platform for community engagement and multidisciplinary collaboration.

Read more about the roadshow sessions:

• Townsville QBIC roadshow session
• Cairns QBIC roadshow session
• Toowoomba QBIC roadshow session

Health services provided by students

UQ students also provide client-focused health services to community members under supervision as part of their training. Students benefit from these high-quality learning opportunities. In 2024, these providers included:

• the School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences – provided community services, such as exercise clinics for people with type 2 diabetes, nutrition and dietetics clinics, personal training programs, musculoskeletal exercise clinics and the UQ Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing
• UQ Health and Rehabilitation Clinics – which included audiology, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech pathology and telerehabilitation
• UQ’s Oral Health Alliance – with Metro North Hospital and Health Service
• UQ Psychology Clinic – which was staffed by provisional psychologists and counselling students undertaking advanced postgraduate studies in psychology and counselling
• UQ With You – a high quality, no-cost counselling service which was provided by final year postgraduate counselling students and provisional psychologists
• UQ Healthy Living – where services were provided by students under the supervision of leading practitioners in dietetics, exercise and sports science, clinical exercise physiology, nursing, pharmacy, physiotherapy and psychology, in addition to a range of individual and small group activities designed to promote healthy outcomes.

Sport and recreation

We are committed to nurturing the physical health of our community and supporting healthy living and wellbeing through our campus grounds and sports facilities.

How we are achieving this

• The UQ Sport and Recreation Precinct spans more than 35 hectares in the north-east quadrant of the St Lucia campus. Offering a comprehensive range of sports facilities accessible to the local community, including local schools and the general public, it features free and accessible outdoor exercise equipment, playgrounds for all abilities, barbeque areas and a community garden.
• A free weekly 5km parkrun event took place throughout 2024 every Saturday at 7am at UQ’s St Lucia campus.
• The John Oxley Walk is a free walking, jogging and cycling track that loops the St Lucia campus grounds and runs alongside the Brisbane River.
• A Kids Holiday Camp has been run by UQ Sport during the summer holidays for several years, and amenities such as the playing fields and Sports Athletics Centre are frequently hired out to schools for carnivals and competitions.

Other facilities that include group fitness and swim classes, accessible via a weekly, yearly or 4-monthly fee, include:

• an athletics centre with track and field facilities
• an aquatic centre with 3 heated pools (which also includes group fitness and swim classes)
• all-weather natural and synthetic playing fields
• indoor and outdoor courts for basketball, volleyball and netball
• a gymnasium.

Staff and student support

Health and wellbeing at UQ

Health and safety is integral to our mission, and we aim to ensure that all people in our community are confident that their health, safety and wellbeing is given the highest priority at UQ.

How we are achieving this

UQ Wellbeing

UQ Wellbeing offered a comprehensive range of services throughout 2024 to support the health and wellbeing of students. These included physical health resources, mental health initiatives, and programs promoting a balanced lifestyle, such as the Toolkit for Better Sleep, launched in 2024. Read more in the UQ Wellbeing Annual Report (PDF, 18MB).

Mental health support

Mental health support for students and staff in 2024 included:

• free counselling services through UQ With You – available via telehealth and in-person to all members of the community
• the UQ Counsellors service – provides free and confidential counselling to all UQ students currently enrolled and located in Australia
• UQ Counsellor Connect – a free service offering counselling by students in the final year of the Master of Counselling program
• wellbeing programs – involving preventative activities for students. 2024 offerings included Mindfulness Inside and Out, Sharper Minds, Art for Wellbeing, Bye Social Anxiety, and Freedom From Your Cage
• UQ Psychology Clinic – appointments available to the whole community at discounted rates
• the Mental Health Champion’s network – trained UQ staff members that contribute towards building a culture that promotes and encourages a respectful, destigmatising and supportive approach to the proactive management of mental health and wellbeing
• the Employee Assistance Program – free counselling, coaching and welfare calls run by PeopleSense for UQ staff
• UQ Wellness behaviour change programs – these staff programs focus on a significant component of mental wellbeing. For example, the Mood Food program enhances gut, brain and mental health; the Mind Set program focuses on increasing mental fitness; and the Stress Busters program focuses on mental fitness
• the Wheel of Wellbeing – the UQ Wellness framework to support staff wellbeing, which demonstrates that there are many different influences on our sense of wellbeing
• Health, Safety and Wellness mailing lists, which are available to all staff and students to receive general health, safety and wellness updates.

Sexual and reproductive health services

For students, UQ runs a variety of sexual and reproductive health services, including information and education resources, such as:

• UQ Health Care medical clinics – which offer sexual health checks and contraception, pap smears, and pregnancy testing and advice. Domestic students' fees are fully covered by Medicare. International student fees are fully covered by compulsory international student health insurance, so students do not incur out-of-pocket expenses for those services.
• RAPID – run by UQ Union, providing a confidential, same-day-results HIV and STI testing service for students.

We also provide resources on sexual and reproductive health, including dedicated webpages with information on:

• understanding consent, respectful relationships, and external support
• how to keep yourself and your partners protected from sexually transmitted infections
• understanding your sexuality, and how this intersects with identity, community and mental health
• what reproductive health is and support services available.

Smoke-free policy

Our smoke-free policy has ensured that all UQ campuses, research sites, leased premises, carparks and ovals, and UQ vehicles have been smoke-free since 1 July 2018.