What is your role and what does your work focus on? 

I’m a non-Indigenous Senior Research Fellow in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Public Health Research Team. My research is focusing on co-designing culturally safe solutions to identified healthcare priorities with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and taking a decolonising approach to implementation within healthcare systems. A big part of my role is to provide support to our senior and early career Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers who are leading much of this important work.

Where did you work and / or study before joining CMPH / Flinders? 

Before joining my new team in CMPH I was working in ARIIA (Aged Care Research and Industry Innovation Australia) at Tonsley campus, and in Disability and Community Inclusion, both in CNHS. Before joining Flinders in 2020 I was a researcher in the Adelaide Nursing School at the University of Adelaide. My background is in Sociology and health systems research, with a focus on the paradigm shift from disease and diagnosis-centred care to holistic person-centred care, particularly for marginalised and under-represented groups. My recent research includes co-designing solutions to fragmented care with older people, implementing change within the aged care and healthcare sectors, and understanding system and healthcare responses to children and young people with disability and women with disability who experience violence.

What inspired you to pursue a career in your current field, and how has your passion evolved over time?

I kind of accidentally fell into health research when I picked up a short-term research assistant role while I was doing my Master of Arts in Sociology. I enjoyed applying a sociological lens to the structures and systems of healthcare and found that despite my lack of clinical background I was able to contribute meaningfully. My background in feminist and critical theory means that I look for power differentials in systems and this has grown into a passion for working with diverse and marginalised groups to redress this power imbalance within healthcare. I believe community priorities and lived experience should drive change, rather than the structural and cultural norms and values of services and systems.

 

Can you share a memorable experience or project from your career that had a significant impact on you or the community?

In a recent project mapping the healthcare journeys of women with disability who have experienced violence, several women shared their stories of terrible treatment by both their perpetrators and the healthcare system, but also of incredible resilience and strength. Their stories have left an indelible mark on me about the power that healthcare services and systems have, and though that power is more often used in ways that end up perpetuating trauma and disadvantage, it can also have profoundly empowering and supportive effects when done right. Changing the way the healthcare system uses that power continues to drive me.

How do you like to relax or spend your spare time?

I’m a keen exerciser including riding to work most days, and love to camp and bushwalk with my family to unplug and unwind. The odd day trip to my favourite wineries with a picnic also doesn’t go astray, or an afternoon baking with my daughter! That and a good dip in the ocean, because saltwater is always a healing experience (sweat, tears, or the sea!).