Two University of Newcastle students were named Endeavour Scholars when they received prestigious research grants from the Australian Government.

Alix Hall, a PhD student, was awarded up to $63,500 and Kazuma Honda, an honours student, was awarded up to $53,500 in the 2012 Prime Minister's Endeavour Awards.

Ms Hall, who is completing a PhD in behavioural sciences, plans to compare the experiences of cancer patients in Australia and Vietnam to examine the role of culture in patient’s perceptions and experiences of care.

She will research the psychological and behavioural experiences and patient needs across the two cultures.

“Australia’s treatment tends to be quite patient-focused, while Vietnam’s treatment is thought to be very family-focused,” Hall said.

“I aim to use my research to determine if patients in different cultures have different needs and experiences.”

Bachelor of nursing honours student Kazuma Honda will research the Japanese nursing system to discover ways of potentially increasing the retention rates of nurses in Australia.

“In my professional experience I have observed a link between nurses not feeling a sense of belonging to clinical settings and low retention rates. I will examine whether a sense of ‘belonging’ could keep nurses in the profession longer.”

Mr Honda, who is from Japan, will compare the experience of nurses in clinical placements in Australia and Japan.

The Endeavour Awards are part of the Australian Government’s Australia Awards initiative, which aims to develop internationally aware and skilled future leaders through the establishment of professional links across Asia.

Further information is available at www.australiaawards.gov.au