About
73
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Introduction
I am a public health-focused social scientist with research interests in health services and health professions education.I have three interlinked research areas: 1) Access to health services for under-served communities (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, refugees; rural and remote peoples; 2) Socially Accountable Health Professional Education; and 3) Health Promotion in the tropics. The development of these research areas are also linked to my teaching; service and engagement.
Current institution
Additional affiliations
January 2019 - present
Central Queensland University Townsville Australia
Position
- Senior Lecturer
Publications
Publications (73)
Background:
Early identification and intervention for hearing loss is important for supporting language development. Despite this, parents are required to overcome barriers to access hearing assessments for their children.
Aims:
To identify the enablers and barriers to accessing hearing assessments for Australian children identified by their par...
Objectives:
This research study aimed to discover how dementia affecting older people was perceived, experienced, and managed by stakeholders in the Pacific Island country of Fiji.
Method:
A transformational grounded theory approach was used. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups with key stakeholders in the major towns of Suva, Lautoka, a...
Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is a core component of speech pathology practice. However, international literature has highlighted that speech language pathologists (SLPs) may not feel confident or competent in this area. Confidence and competence are critical factors in therapy as they can impact the quality-of-service provision....
![PRISMA [28] flowchart detailing the articles included in the...](publication/377410346/figure/fig1/AS:11431281226964492@1709372903696/PRISMA-28-flowchart-detailing-the-articles-included-in-the-integrative-review-at_Q320.jpg)
Purpose of Review
Climate change poses a serious threat to human health and well-being. Australia is not immune to the public health impacts and continues to be underprepared, putting the population health at risk. However, there is a dearth in knowledge about how the Australian public health system will address the impacts of climate change.
Rece...
Issue Addressed
This study examines Australia's Hepatitis B public health policies with a focus on the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme seasonal workers as a priority population. The aim is to evaluate if Australia's Hepatitis B public health policies adequately address health disparities and equitable access to health care for seasonal wor...
This AMEE guide focuses on instilling social accountability (SA) concept and values into health professions education (HPE) curricula with the goal of producing competent, compassionate healthcare professionals who can act as change agents within the healthcare system. By incorporating SA, HPE schools will instil in their students a strong sense of...
Objective
To explore potential enablers and barriers to accessing paediatric hearing assessment from the perspective of Australian service leads, extending previous studies on this topic from the perspectives of two other stakeholder groups – parents and speech pathologists.
Design
This qualitative study, expanding upon previous mixed‐methods stud...
Aim
Climate change adaptation is critical for reducing and preventing many community health risks. The Environmental Health Profession has decades of experience of effective interventions for reducing and preventing many community health risks. However, in Australia adaptation is not included in the profession’s scope of practice leaving the commun...
Introduction: Our ageing population requires a highly skilled labour force to ensure the increasing needs of older adults within the health sector are responded to appropriately. Working with older adults can be very rewarding. However, for many university students, it is an unpopular career choice. This study aimed at assessing nursing and allied...
Objective:
Knowledge is growing about cancer care and financial costs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. However, much remains unknown about the true costs of cancer care, encompassing financial, emotional, and spiritual aspects. We aimed to explore and explain how non-financial costs affect the health-seeking behaviours of these cl...
Access to treatment and care in safe clinical settings improves people’s lives with HIV. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted vital HIV programs and services, increasing the risk of adverse health outcomes for people with HIV and HIV transmission rates in the community. This systematic literature review provides a meta-analysis of HIV testing disruption...
Purpose: Access to hearing assessment is important for children, as poor auditory information can lead to poor speech and oral language development. This study aims to identify enablers and barriers to accessing hearing assessments for Australian children from the perspective of speech-language pathologists (SLPs), comparing access in metropolitan,...
Background
In an arts integrated interdisciplinary study set to investigate ways to improve social accountability (SA) in medical education, our research team has established a renewed understanding of compassion in the current SA movement.
Aim
This paper explores the co-evolution of compassion and SA.
Methods
The study used an arts integrated ap...
Community-based social models of care for seniors promote better outcomes in terms of quality of life, managing chronic illness and life expectancy than institutional care. However, small rural areas in high income countries face an ongoing crisis in coordinating care related to service mix, workforce and access. A scoping review was conducted to e...
Objectives: We examine the role of “local actors” and “local action” (LALA) in health service innovation in high-resource small rural settings and aim to inform debates about the extent to which communities can be empowered to drive change in service design and delivery.
Methods: Using an adapted roles and activities framework we analyzed 32 studie...
Purpose
: To systematically review the current literature to describe the speech, language, and literacy skills of children with mild to moderate hearing loss (MMHL).
Method
: Systematic searching of seven online databases identified 13 eligible studies examining speech, language, and literacy outcomes for children with MMHL. Studies were rated fo...
Background
The primary health care management of chronic disease affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples requires healthcare quality and equity demands to be met, and systems that foster better team-based care. Non-dispensing pharmacists (NDPs) integrated within primary healthcare settings can enhance the quality of patient care, al...
Background This systematic review was undertaken
to assist the implementation of the WOmen’s action
for Mums and Bubs (WOMB) project which explores
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community women’s
group (WG) action to improve maternal and child health
(MCH) outcomes. There is now considerable international
evidence that WGs improve MCH outco...
Co-location of services for refugees may be beneficial in addressing barriers to care. This model of care involves support for a specialist refugee nurse service with general practice, as well as developing partnerships with settlement support agencies and Primary Health Networks. We consider published literature on refugee perceptions of co-locati...
Background
Many indigenous people have died or been harmed because of inadequately monitored research. Strong regulations in Human Research Ethics (HRE) are required to address these injustices and to ensure that peoples’ participation in health research is safe. Indigenous peoples advocate that research that respects indigenous principles can cont...
Preparing for the Unimaginable: Guidelines for organisational response and staff support before, during and after disaster
Current Australian Government policy aims to resettle refugees in regional Australia, but little is known about their primary and hospital healthcare experiences in these settings. By taking an interpretive approach to a narrative inquiry methodology, a qualitative study was performed to examine refugee perceptions of health care in a regional cent...
Background
Telehealth and teleradiology are increasingly used around the world to facilitate health care provision when the health care provider and clients are separated by distance. The BreastScreen Australia Remote Radiology Assessment Model (RRAM) is an initiative developed to address the challenges of inadequate access to a local radiological...
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australian women. Providing timely diagnostic assessment services for screen-detected abnormalities is a core quality indicator of the population-based screening program provided by BreastScreen Australia. However, a shortage of local and locum radiologists with availability and appropriate exp...
Introduction:
Patient experiences and preferences of image-guidance procedures in prostate cancer radiotherapy are largely unknown. This study explored experiences and preferences of patients undergoing both fiducial marker (FM) insertion and Clarity ultrasound (US) procedures.
Methods:
A sequential explanatory mixed method approach was used. A...
Chronic diseases are a major contributor to the burden of disease in Australia. Alcohol consumption is similar in people with chronic disease and the general public, and may contribute to management challenges. In regional Australia, there are limited options for the management of excess alcohol consumption, so most of this burden falls to general...
Introduction: In Australia, there have been improvements in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander maternal health, however inequities remain. There is increasing international evidence illustrating the effectiveness of Participatory Women's Groups (PWGs) in improving Maternal and Child Health (MCH) outcomes. Using a non-randomized, cluster stepped-...
When addressing disparities in health status of Indigenous Australians, it is necessary to consult with Indigenous people to explore their health needs. The process of improving health outcomes is complex; it requires acknowledgement of underlying cultural and social determinants of health and active engagement of Indigenous people to define the is...
Background:
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples experience a higher burden of chronic disease yet have poorer access to needed medicines than other Australians. Adverse health outcomes from these illnesses can be minimised with improved prescribing quality. This project aims to improve quality of care outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres S...
Introduction
Community-based Participatory Women’s Groups (PWGs) have proven to be an effective intervention to improve maternal and child health (MCH) outcomes in low/middle-income countries (LMICs). Less is known about how PWGs exert their effects in LMICs and virtually nothing is known about the contextual issues, processes and power relationshi...
Background: Healthcare encounters are important in ensuring safe access to medical or surgical care for transgender people. Previous literature suggests many transgender people have had negative encounters with healthcare professionals. In Australia, there is limited research about this population and their healthcare, and less from regional locati...
Background: Healthcare encounters are important in ensuring safe access to medical or surgical care for transgender people. Previous literature suggests many transgender people have had negative encounters with healthcare professionals. In Australia, there is limited research about this population and their healthcare, and less from regional locati...
Background
Refugees have significant unmet health needs. Delivering services to refugees continues to be problematic in the Australian healthcare system. A systematic review and thematic synthesis of the literature exploring refugee perceptions of the Australian healthcare system was performed.
Methods
Titles and abstracts of 1610 articles publi...
Aim:
To quantify the direct out-of-pocket patient co-payments and time opportunity costs (length of hospital stay) incurred by Indigenous and non-Indigenous persons diagnosed with cancer during the first year postdiagnosis.
Methods:
CancerCostMod was used, which is a model of cancer costs based upon a whole-of-population data linkage. The base p...
What and how students learn depend largely on how they think they will be assessed. This study aimed to explore medical students’ perception of the value of assessment and feedback on their learning, and how this relates to their examination performance. A mixed methods research design was adopted in which a questionnaire was developed and administ...
Objectives: Dementia is a growing health priority, particularly in less resourced countries and amongst indigenous populations. Understanding cultural meanings ascribed to dementia is an important aspect of policy development and the provision of culturally congruent care and support for people with dementia, their families and the caring professio...
Introduction
Outcomes-based education requires active student learning with assessment strategies that foster deep approaches to learning, which are often influenced by students' perceptions of assessment. We aimed to investigate the perceptions of pharmacy students at an Australian university about their experiences of assessment and its impact on...
Background: Healthcare plays a vital role in the health and quality of life of transgender people, particularly those who wish to medically and/or surgically transition. In these cases, healthcare experiences can have a significant impact on the transgender person’s perception of healthcare and future interactions with the healthcare system.
Aim: T...
Context:
There is a growing focus on the social missions of medical schools as a way of expressing an institutional commitment to service, responsibility and accountability. However, there has been little exploration of how a social mission translates to student experiences.
Methods:
This multicentre study explored how the social missions of eig...
The Global Strategy for Health Workforce 2030 (WHO, 2016) outlines a set of milestones and strategies to expand and strengthen the health workforce that could better position countries to achieve universal health coverage and relevant sustainable development goals (SDGs). The Strategy underscores a need to counter the global shortage of health work...
The Global Strategy for Health Workforce 2030 (WHO, 2016) outlines a set of milestones and strategies to expand and strengthen the health workforce that could better position countries to achieve universal health coverage and relevant sustainable development goals (SDGs). The Strategy underscores a need to counter the global shortage of health work...
Background: Flinders University (FU) and James Cook University (JCU) are founding members of the Training for Health Equity Network (THEnet), an international community of practice involving twelve socially accountable health professional schools that align their training, research and service with the needs of underserved populations. Aims: This s...
![Table 1 Individual Participants [3]](publication/307091081/figure/tbl1/AS:667878332329986@1536246011061/ndividual-Participants-3_Q320.jpg)
Background
This paper presents a conceptual framework developed from empirical evidence, to guide medical schools aspiring towards greater social accountability. Methods
Using a multiple case study approach, seventy-five staff, students, health sector representatives and community members, associated with four medical schools, participated in semi-...
[Extract] In the context of the crisis in the health workforce globally, during the late 2000s to the early 2010s, there was a reinvigoration of academic and professional interest in both the theory and practical applicability of socially accountable health professional education and schools. While recognizing the importance of other health profess...
Aim: This paper addresses the question of how social accountability is conceptualised by staff, students and community members associated with four medical schools aspiring to be socially accountable in two countries.
Methods: Using a multiple case study approach this research explored how contextual issues have influenced social accountability at...
![Table 3].](profile/Robyn-Preston-2/publication/259694254/figure/tbl2/AS:392577770639372@1470609242915/93-46_Q320.jpg)
The Training for Health Equity Network (THEnet), a group of diverse health professional schools aspiring toward social accountability, developed and pilot tested a comprehensive evaluation framework to assess progress toward socially accountable health professions education. The evaluation framework provides criteria for schools to assess their lev...
Socially accountable medical schools deem themselves responsible for the health needs of the communities that they serve. They orientate their education, research and service to the health needs of the population. As a theoretical concept, socially accountable medical schools developed out of attempts for the transformation of medical education. Du...
[Extract] The aims of this research study are to: • Investigate the progress towards socially accountable medical education in four medical schools in two countries • To analyse and compare key contextual factors that influence the planning, implementation and outcomes of socially accountable medical education within these sitesThe specificquestion...
In regional Australia “communities of place,” defined as bounded geographic locations with a local society, undertake community-wide primary prevention programs. In helping to prevent chronic illness, communities provide valuable resources to the health system. To understand the role of community–health sector partnerships for primary prevention an...
Background:
Health professional schools are responsible for producing graduates with competencies and attitudes to address health inequities and respond to priority health needs. Health professional schools striving towards social accountability founded the Training for Health Equity Network (THEnet).
Aim:
This article describes the development...
The Australian health system requires novel strategies to implement widespread primary prevention to reduce the burden of chronic illness. One approach is for health sectors to draw on resources available in communities of place and to form partnerships which maximize the relevance and uptake of initiatives designed to promote healthy lifestyles. T...
Attention to the inequitable distribution and limited access to primary health care resources is key to addressing the priority health needs of underserved populations in rural, remote and outer metropolitan areas. There is little high-quality evidence about improving access to quality primary health care services for underserved groups, particular...
To determine the amount, types, and proportion that is read of unsolicited mail received by a general practice registrar. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANT: A mixed-methods, prospective, descriptive study of unsolicited mail sent directly to a general practice registrar in a private general practice located in rural north Queensland, collected betwee...
Community participation is considered important in primary health care development and there is some evidence to suggest it results in positive health outcomes. Through a process of synthesising existing evidence for the effectiveness of community participation in terms of health outcomes we identified several conceptual areas of confusion. This pa...
The term ‘community participation’ is commonly understood as the collective involvement of local people in assessing their needs and organising strategies to meet those needs. The importance of community participation in rural health service development is uncontested. The rural health policy framework Healthy Horizons Outlook includes the principl...
The authors sought to describe the process of conducting a successful randomised controlled trial in a primary care setting and identify enabling factors and barriers.
Descriptive report of methods used to conduct a randomised controlled trial investigating the effect of allowing sutures to be wet and uncovered in the first 48 hours following minor...
Limited time and opportunity exists for primary health care (PHC) workers to undertake research. We wished to conduct a needs analysis of PHCRED research fellows in Queensland to discover whether PHCRED fellowships provide appropriate introductory opportunities for PHC researchers to acquire research skills. A secondary aim was to examine the effec...
Introduction:
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers (hereafter called health workers) can play a major role in facilitating culturally appropriate health care delivery and program development through the acquisition of improved skills in the planning, monitoring and evaluation of these programs (RCB). However, many Aboriginal and To...
The human, social and economic costs of road crashes are disproportionately higher in rural and remote areas compared to metropolitan areas. This study aims to describe the road crash injury profile in such areas of north Queensland, in terms of specific outcomes and possible contributory factors.
