Research

The health, safety and well being of staff and students is a priority for the Department of Education, Training and the Arts. The department takes all staff health concerns seriously and where issues or concerns are raised, works with staff and specialists across a range of fields to address these concerns.

Investigating health concerns

Over the last two years a number of schools have raised concerns regarding the incidence of cancer within their school communities. Cancer is unfortunately a common disease within the general population with current Australian data indicating that one in three males and one in four females can expect to be diagnosed with cancer in the first 75 years of life.

Queensland Health provides the following fact sheets about the common types of cancer and the incidence (or rate) at which it occurs in the community.

Cancer: A brief summary of cancer types and their causes (new window)
Cancer clusters: Information for the community (new window)

Specific information about cancer types and risk factors is available by accessing websites referenced on the cancer information page.

Concerns raised by school communities have been investigated extensively in the past and a series of protocols have been developed to address and investigate cancer concerns by staff. The approach will depend on the situation and may include a combination of the following:

Regular information and support to the school staff and community about cancer incidence, counselling support and the department 's strategy
Liaison with the Environmental Protection Agency and/or Brisbane City Council regarding former uses of the site
Consultation with health professionals from Queensland Health, Workplace Health and Safety Queensland and the Cancer Council of Queensland for specialist advice and support
Information briefings for school staff conducted by health specialists
Assessment of the site through environmental testing and sampling
Communication with employee and employer associations to ensure accurate information is conveyed to stakeholders.

Information on the following recent projects is detailed below:

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