My research is focused on consumer and community participation, and improving the health of communities. I first became interested in research on community participation when I was working within community mental health and alcohol and other drug services. In doing this work, I found that there was a lot of interest and need to work with communities, however health services professionals and managers lacked understanding of how to do this in an effective, meaningful, and sustainable way.
I completed a Masters in Health Sciences in 2010. I completed my PhD in 2016, and I have worked with La Trobe University for almost ten years.
My current research includes developing a Community-Centred Practice Framework. This is an innovative framework that will improve occupational therapists abilities to conceptualise and apply an evidence-based approach in their practice with communities. I am involved in a range of research projects that aim to improve health and wellbeing in different community contexts (including school and education communities). My teaching scholarship is interlinked, and is focused on how to prepare allied health graduates for working in globalised, socially and culturally diverse community contexts. I have expertise in qualitative research methods, including case study research, and methods that involve consumer and community participation using co-design and co-production.