About
43
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Introduction
Culture and health
Social determinants of health
Qualitative research methods
Mental health promotion
Skills and Expertise
Additional affiliations
January 2011 - June 2016
March 2007 - present
Publications
Publications (43)
Background
The importance of physical activity in improving physical and mental health has been emphasized in many studies. Researchers in Saudi Arabia have reported an increase in physical inactivity among Saudis, especially among University female population. Current efforts in the field in Saudi Arabia have yet to explore barriers and facilitato...
Background and purpose:
With an aging population, falls have become an increasing public health concern. While face-to-face exercise programs have demonstrated efficacy in reducing falls, their effectiveness is hampered by low participation and adherence. Digital technologies are a novel and potentially effective method for delivering tailored fal...
Background
Indonesia's 65 million young people aged 10-24 comprise 28% of its total population. Studies revealed that adolescents who engage in early sexual activity are prone to sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancy, and unsafe abortion. This study examined the prevalence and associated factors of risky sexual behaviors among Indonesia...
During the ceasefire agreement in Sri Lanka between 2002 and 2006, a number of countries provided overseas development aid under the aegis of human security – most notably, Japan and Norway. Evaluations of such projects are essential in identifying good practice and providing an evidence base for future funding. However, for the insights of such ev...
High-quality teaching is central to the higher education sector. Its pursuit has become heightened with increasing competition across institutions and opportunities to study globally through various modes. This systematic meta-review provides a synthesis of evidence relating to the methods used to assess and enhance the quality of teaching practice...
Background:
The postpartum period can be challenging for many women. For migrant women, the arrival of a new baby brings unique issues. This study aimed to explore the experiences of motherhood and postpartum support of Indian migrant mothers.
Methods:
A qualitative descriptive naturalist inquiry was adopted, with data collected through face-to-...
This qualitative study explores how adolescents’ emotional experiences drive their sexual practices and health-seeking behaviours in Fiji. Fourteen focus group discussions with 15–19-year-olds and 40 key informants’ interviews with health workers, educators, government and NGO workers, and religious leaders were conducted. Our findings show that em...
Adolescent-friendly health programs have been in place in Nepal since 2008, yet uptake of the services for sexual and reproductive health remains suboptimal. For uptake of these services to improve, a rich understanding is needed of the factors impacting their acceptance and utilization from the perspectives of adolescents, health care staff, and k...
Background: Cancer is often called a “we-disease” as the effects of the diagnosis can go beyond the patient to others, including the caregiver. In Australia, it is estimated that approximately 138,000 new cancer diagnoses will be made in 2018, with the 5 year survival rate currently at 68%. This has shifted the way that cancer care is delivered, wi...
BACKGROUND
Falls are a major contributor to the burden of disease in older people. Home-based exercise programs are effective in reducing the rate and risk of falls in older people. However, exercise adherence to home-based exercise programs is low, limiting the efficacy of interventions. The implementation of technology-based exercise programs for...
Background:
Falls are a major contributor to the burden of disease in older adults. Home-based exercise programs are effective in reducing the rate and risk of falls in older adults. However, adherence to home-based exercise programs is low, limiting the efficacy of interventions. The implementation of technology-based exercise programs for older...
Background:
Results from a previous study showed that 40 to 60% of the price of off-patent medicines in Vietnam was typically spent to induce prescribers to use the medicines, and to persuade procurement officers within hospitals to buy them. In this article we examine how and why inducements were paid by the pharmaceutical industry to health care...
This study investigated psychological distress in Iranian international students at UNSW Australia, and explored the psychosocial factors associated with high levels of distress. A total of 180 Iranian international students pursuing undergraduate and postgraduate degrees during 2012/2013 completed an email questionnaire containing socio-demographi...
Well-being is a term commonly used in discussions of sexuality, reproduction and sexual health, yet the meaning of the term is elusive and often disregarded. As an example, the ‘well-being’ component of sexual and reproductive health and well-being is often not explicitly addressed in research, policy and programme development. The goal of this pap...
Aim:
Assisting women with a history of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) to adopt healthy lifestyles is a priority for diabetes prevention. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate measures that can be used to assess the efficacy of behavior change interventions in this group.
Method:
Measures of psychosocial influences on physical ac...
One third of the world’s population lacks regular access to essential medicines partly because of the high cost of medicines. In Vietnam, the cost to patients of medicines was 47 times the international reference price for originator brands and 11 times the price for generic equivalents in the public sector. In this article, we report the results o...
A pre and post intervention study was conducted to evaluate the impact of a new hand hygiene (HH) teaching module on the knowledge and attitudes amongst medical students towards HH. The teaching module significantly improved knowledge related to HH indications and duration (T1=7.9, T2=9.2, T3=9.1; P=0.001), about the use of HH materials (T1=1.3, T2...
Background
It is important to understand the experiences surrounding smoking cessation among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to improve the likely success of future smoking cessation programs.
Objective
To explore the personal experiences surrounding smoking cessation among general practice patients with COPD.
Methods
A...
Background:
The perinatal period, i.e. pregnancy, childbirth and early infancy, is a significant transition period where the biological and the social strongly intersect. In low and middle-income countries the disease burden arising from the perinatal period, is still substantial. The perinatal period is also a crucial window of opportunity for re...
Background:
Poor hand hygiene (HH) practices among medical students have previously been attributed to students not being exposed to sufficient teaching materials during their training.
Aim:
To develop and evaluate a teaching module directed at improving the knowledge and attitudes of undergraduate medical students towards HH.
Methods:
The HH...
The limited autonomy and agency of women in developing countries is recognized as a key barrier to improving their reproductive health. Using an existing perinatal cohort in urban South India, we interviewed 36 women who had recently been through childbirth, and we carried out observations of family life and clinic encounters. Critical domains invo...
Background:
Recent audit data has revealed that the hand hygiene (HH) rates of Australian medical students is suboptimal. It has been suggested that new approaches are needed to teach students about infection control. As a first step, we undertook a study to determine the current educational approaches used to teach Australian medical students abo...
Background
Globally, India contributes the largest share in sheer numbers to the burden of maternal and infant under-nutrition, morbidity and mortality. A major gap in our knowledge is how socio-cultural practices and beliefs influence the perinatal period and thus perinatal outcomes, particularly in the rapidly growing urban setting.
Methods and...
Rationale and aims: Contextual factors are increasingly recognized as having a significant influence on clinical-decision-making. Contextual influences however, are considered ‘less scientific’ or ‘non-clinical’ in the eyes of practicing clinicians, making these matters sensitive issues for discussion. Exploring these contextual influences, therefo...
Background
Currently, there is limited literature examining the impact and appropriateness of the educational approaches used to teach medical students concepts around hand hygiene (HH).
Aim
To explore: (i) the perspectives of key academics and medical students towards HH and factors influencing compliance; (ii) the current teaching practices arou...
The postpartum period has been well established as a time of increased risk for the development of serious mood disorders. Despite the negative consequences for the mother and the infant, postpartum distress (PPD) has received little attention in some countries. Furthermore, Saudi people with a mental illness tend not to utilise mental health servi...
The internationalisation of academia has significantly altered the higher education environment. Interactions between academic staff and students from a range of social, political and cultural backgrounds are now commonplace. Within this context, it is important to explore the professional and personal impact of internationalisation on academics an...
Currently, hand hygiene (HH) compliance rates amongst Australian medical students are below 70% nationally. Previous attempts to improve medical students’ knowledge of HH have had only short-term successes with follow-up studies reporting poor long-term retention of knowledge worldwide. It has been previously suggested that the importance of HH mus...
Research conducted to date, has documented hand hygiene (HH) compliance rates for medical students ranging between 8% and 52%. While compliance rates have increased in recent years for medical students, they are still well below the ideal levels. The audit data by hand hygiene Australia indicate that currently hand hygiene of medical studnets in Au...
This article examines factors influencing English language education, participation and achievement among Karen refugee women in Australia. Data were drawn from ethnographic observations and interviews with 67 participants between 2009 and 2011, collected as part of a larger qualitative study exploring the well-being of Karen refugee women in Sydne...
Despite rural health services being situated and integrated within communities in which people work and live, the complex interaction of the social environment on health worker motivation and performance in Low Middle Income Countries has been neglected in research. In this article we investigate how social factors impact on health worker motivatio...
Prior to the availability of the specific pandemic vaccine, strategies to mitigate the impact of the disease typically involved antiviral treatment and "non-pharmaceutical" community interventions. However, compliance with these strategies is linked to risk perceptions, perceived severity and perceived effectiveness of the strategies. In 2010, we u...
Women with previous gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes; this risk is higher in non-Caucasian women. This study explored the beliefs, attitudes, social support, environmental influences and other factors related to diabetes risk behaviours among Arabic, Cantonese/Mandarin, and English speaking wom...
Projects
Projects (2)
Contextual factors are increasingly recognized as having a significant influence on clinical decision-making. Understanding how clinical decision-making is influenced by contextual factors is important because those influences are believed to result in non-adherence to evidence-based clinical guidelines. I've just completed a study that explored contextual influences on management decisions made on self-poisoning patients admitted to rural primary care settings of a Sri Lankan province and described how these contextual factors influenced management decisions
