Sharla Cartner is a Research Officer at La Trobe University’s Global Health and Equity Development (GHED) Hub in the Violet Vines Marshman Centre for Rural Health Research at La Trobe University. Sharla contributes to research projects aimed at improving health literacy, equity, and access to care in rural health. Sharla's work supports the design, implementation, and evaluation of health-literacy informed research using the Ophelia (Optimising Health Literacy and Access) process.

Her role involves conducting systematic reviews, psychometric analyses, and survey and scale development, with a particular interest in the development and evaluation of needs assessment tools informed by contemporary validity theory. This includes examining multiple sources of validity evidence and the psychometric properties of measures to support appropriate interpretation and use scores, particularly when assessing the needs, strengths, and barriers experienced by priority populations. Her work considers how robust measurement can inform the identification of unmet needs and support the development of responsive, equitable health services and interventions.

Sharla also brings four years of teaching experience in psychometrics and scale development, including contemporary approaches to validity and the development, evaluation, and interpretation of psychological and health-related measures. Her broader methodological interests include the design and evaluation of needs assessment measures and the application of rigorous, theoretically informed measurement approaches in health and community settings.

Alongside her work at La Trobe, Sharla is completing her PhD in Psychology at Swinburne University of Technology, where she investigates the relationship between activity engagement and repetitive negative thinking in psychosis using both quantitative and qualitative methods.

With her background in psychology and mental health research, Sharla brings a strong commitment to equity-focused, evidence-based methodologies. Her broader interests lie in applied public health research that supports equitable access to services and improved health outcomes for priority populations.