Research areas

Health education studies investigate the effect of current and novel approaches to preparing medical students for medical practice, including assessment strategies and program outcomes.

• Preparation for internship focusing on the non-clinical skills that interns require
• Interprofessional education/training

Health services studies investigate social, logistical and financial factors affecting accessibility and cost of health care services, and outcomes for service users. Projects include:

• Therapeutic Venesection in Rural Areas
• Health service provider perceptions of service coordination
• Retrospective audit of rural hospital transfers to Toowoomba Hospital
• Cattle related trauma in Central Queensland
• A multi-disciplinary investigation of innovative health service redesign instigated by a local Hospital and Health Service Board, and its impact on rural and remote communities

Health workforce studies investigate educational, organisational, individual and policy factors influencing uptake, distribution and retention in the health workforce. Projects include:

• Characterising the medical workforce in regional, rural and remote areas
• Factors that influence rural medical practice uptake and retention, particularly for UQ medical students
• Longitudinal observations of doctors in rural areas (MABEL study)
• Evaluating rural health workforce policy
• Mobility and migration behaviour of doctors
• Understanding the role of social networks and connectedness in regional training
• Strengthening rural pathway / pipeline training outcomes
• Understanding determinants of workforce distribution
• Evaluating rural training program components

Indigenous health studies investigate health related issues identified as important/relevant by and for local Indigenous communities. Projects include: 

• Development of an Indigenous suicide prevention training program
• Use of social network analysis as an evaluation tool, including determining the effectiveness of an App to support suicide interventions
• Validation of a structured clinical tool (SCID-I) to determine the prevalence of Indigenous mental disorders
• Development of immunisation scheduling programs for Indigenous children (<5)
• Development of otitis media vaccinations for Indigenous populations
• Developing a quality of life tool to measure wellbeing of Indigenous parents/caregivers and youth
• Determining the incidence of acute respiratory infections in Indigenous children and evaluating early intervention for chronic cough in Indigenous children
• Global Alliance Development Chronic Disease (GACD): Indigenous mental health model of care using transdiagnostic cognitive behavoural therapy and traditional healing practices
• Development of guidelines for the use of genome studies in Indigenous health research

Population studies investigate the determinants of health and disease within a defined population. Projects include:

• Rural-urban differences in health literacy
• Responsibility for health literacy; agency and capacity
• Healthcare delivery setting effects on health literacy
• Emergency medicine including management of upper respiratory tract infections in small rural hospitals and health literacy in emergency departments
• General practitioners knowledge about Q fever at a time when the epidemiology for the disease may be changing
• Developing and validating measures of patient reported outcomes

Technology and health studies investigate the development and implementation of new technologies in the delivery of health services. Projects include: 

• Web based prediction calculators in clinical medicine