Dr Keeth Mayakaduwage Honoured with PHAA Emerging Leader Award for Advocacy in Pregnancy Loss Care and Stillbirth Prevention
Dr Keeth Mayakaduwage with the PHAA Emerging Leader Award, presented at the Australian Public Health Conference
Congratulations to Dr Keeth Mayakaduwage on receiving the 2024 Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) Emerging Leader Award. Dr Mayakaduwage, a resident medical officer at Monash Health and adjunct lecturer in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Monash University, works closely with the PHAA on developing the Pregnancy Loss Policy and Position Statement as part of their efforts to enhance care for families experiencing miscarriage or stillbirth.
As a member of the PHAA Women’s Health Special Interest Group Executive Committee, Dr Mayakaduwage played an active role in shaping this policy, which urges the Australian government to prioritise pregnancy loss in public health funding, support bereaved families, and improve access to mental health services. It advocates for increased research investment and the establishment of national standards to ensure equitable care for all families, addressing gaps in bereavement support and stillbirth prevention.
In addition to this, Dr Mayakaduwage's work on the Safer Baby Bundle focuses on reducing preventable stillbirths in Australia. Through collaboration with Safer Care Victoria and the Centre of Research Excellence in Stillbirth, he has contributed to evaluating and implementing this quality improvement initiative, which promotes evidence-based antenatal practices. This project has led to meaningful changes in antenatal care across Australia, with the goal of reducing stillbirth rates by addressing known risk factors like fetal growth restriction and decreased fetal movement.
When asked about what this award means to him, Dr Mayakaduwage said, "I am deeply honoured to receive the PHAA Emerging Leader Award and I am incredibly grateful to those who nominated me. This award provides an important opportunity to shine a light on the critical need for improving women's health and stillbirth prevention.”
Through his volunteer work with The Water Well Project, Dr Mayakaduwage also engages in public health advocacy by delivering health education sessions tailored to migrant, refugee, and asylum-seeker communities. These sessions aim to improve health literacy and empower these vulnerable populations with knowledge about accessing healthcare services. By addressing social determinants of health, his work with The Water Well Project ensures that communities who face systemic barriers to healthcare can better navigate and utilise available services, ultimately contributing to improved public health outcomes.
“October is globally recognised as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. Every year, approximately 1.9 million babies are stillborn at 28 weeks of pregnancy or later around the world. We urgently need to strengthen our collaboration with governments and health organisations worldwide to address this tragedy and make stillbirth prevention a priority in global public health efforts."
Dr Mayakaduwage's research and public health efforts advocate for significant changes in how pregnancy loss, stillbirth prevention, and health literacy are addressed in marginalised populations. Through these initiatives, he aims to drive clinical outcomes that improve care, reduce disparities, and support women's health across Australia.
About Monash University
Monash University is Australia’s largest university with more than 80,000 students. In the 60 years since its foundation, it has developed a reputation for world-leading high-impact research, quality teaching, and inspiring innovation.
With four campuses in Australia and a presence in Malaysia, China, India, Indonesia and Italy, it is one of the most internationalised Australian universities.
As a leading international medical research university with the largest medical faculty in Australia and integration with leading Australian teaching hospitals, we consistently rank in the top 50 universities worldwide for clinical, pre-clinical and health sciences.
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