Christine Jeffries-Stokes became an outback doctor almost by accident, having longed to work as an artist by the sea. or signup to continue reading "I wanted to go to art school and do ceramics and sculpture, but there was a mix up with my Year 12 results and I ended up in medicine," Dr Jeffries-Stokes said. "I thought I'd probably fail after the first year, but my dad would be glad I tried.
" Dr Jeffries-Stokes, a pediatrician in the Goldfields of Western Australia, has been appointed a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia for exemplary work in her unexpected career. After attending too many funerals for people who died early from diabetes and kidney failure, Dr Jeffries-Stokes launched groundbreaking research to investigate the high burden of disease in the community. A team of health workers, including her sister-in-law Wongutha and Mulba-Ngadu woman Annette Stokes, spent years assessing adults and children in 11 small towns and remote Indigenous communities.
Their research found the higher-than-expected rate of renal disease was likely due to the poor quality of the region's drinking water. "The water in many remote areas is pretty terrible and it's probably a very significant contributing factor not only to kidney disease and diabetes, but all the other diseases we talk about in closing the gap," Dr Jeffries-Stokes told AAP. Earning the trust of Indigenous families was crucial, so the Western Desert Kidney Health Project team used art, music and dance to create deep conn.
