Leigh is an outstanding nurse academic specialising in reducing the unacceptable gap in health outcomes between rural and metropolitan Australians. Leigh leads teams from academic, industry and consumer backgrounds to conduct priority research that is translated into real change for rural health services and communities. Professor Kinsman’s Google Scholar H-index of 35 (Scopus H-index 25), $9.9 million in competitive research funding and supervising 20 research students to completion sees him ranked in the top echelon for nurse researchers.
Leigh’s work is industry-informed and consumer-driven and includes partnerships with the Royal Flying Doctor Society, Tasmanian Health Services, Victorian Government, Saskatchewan Health Quality Council and the NSW Mental Health Commission. Leigh has secured NHMRC, MRFF and international funding to test innovations to improve access to care for rural communities for diverse conditions such as brain haemorrhage and chronic lung disease, and for end-of-life care. Professor Kinsman has worked with health services and policy-makers to better understand drivers of emergency department demand with this work leading to engagement with under-serviced, disadvantaged communities to codesign practical strategies for health and well-being. More recently, Leigh’s work recognises that income-driven models of primary care are disadvantaging poorer rural communities and that multidisciplinary healthcare models incorporating social determinants are necessary to overcome the rural metropolitan disparity.