Fields of Research

Health psychology
Aged health care
Health and community services
Clinical psychology
Health services and systems
Medicine, nursing and health curriculum and pedagogy
Residential client care
Industrial and organisational psychology (incl. human factors)
Health promotion
Aged care nursing
Oncology and carcinogenesis
Health care administration
Family care
Health policy
Community and primary care
Implementation science and evaluation
Clinical and health psychology
Mental health services
Communications engineering
Acute care
Human information interaction and retrieval

Research Objectives

Health related to ageing
Clinical health
Evaluation of health and support services
Provision of health and support services
Occupational health
Health education and promotion
Behaviour and health
Learner and learning
Health policy evaluation
Nursing
Other health
Evaluation of health outcomes
Mental health services
Expanding knowledge in the health sciences
Expanding knowledge in psychology
Palliative care
Public sector productivity
Health system performance (incl. effectiveness of programs)
Public health (excl. specific population health)
Other education and training
Information systems, technologies and services
Neonatal and child health

Career Best Publications

Research Publications

'Bringing the outside world in': Enriching social connection through health student placements in a teaching aged care facility; Health Expectations
A Measure of Occupational Communion to Inform the Design and Evaluation of Dementia Care Workforce Development Interventions; 2015 IPA International Congress – Berlin
A new standard in dementia knowledge measurement: comparative validation of the Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale and the Alzheimer’s Disease Knowledge Scale; Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
Aged care nurses’ job control influence satisfaction and mental health; Journal of Nursing Management
Aged care workers’ experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic: “People are feeling so overwhelmed and under-valued”; Australian Dementia Forum 2021
Alignment between informal carers and formal dementia care workers: Perspectives on community service delivery; Alzheimer's Australia 15th National Conference - The Tiles of Life
An integrated approach to workplace mental health: Illustrative examples of promoting positive mental health and wellbeing across diverse occupational settings; Fifth International Conference on Wellbeing at Work
Are passionate clinical leaders enough for excellence in Teaching Aged Care Facilities?; Australian Association of Gerontology 47th National Conference
Assessing occupational communion and the implications for building resilience in the aged and dementia care workforce; Fifth International Conference on Wellbeing at Work
Assessment and management of chronic respiratory conditions in frail older adults
Australian Association of Gerontology (AAG), Position Paper: aged care workforce, funding and governance
Beyond the numbers: On the road to achieving public value in community support organisations; Society for Health Administration Programs in Education (SHAPE) Symposium
Beyond the Numbers: on the road to achieving public value in community support organisations; Asia Pacific Journal of Health Management
Beyond the Numbers: on the road to achieving public value in community support organisations; Asia Pacific Journal of Health Management
Building capacity and resilience for the community based dementia care workforce; Aged Care Conference
Building capacity and resilience in the dementia care workforce: a systematic review of interventions targeting worker and organizational outcomes; International Psychogeriatrics
Can mature –age non-traditional students succeed in an online Bachelor of Dementia Care program?; International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG) World Congress, San Francisco
Capacity Building and Resilience for the Community-Based Dementia Care Workforce
Carers' Care: A resource for carers of people with dementia [DVD - 90 minutes]; Epix Productions and UniPrint
Caring for the carer: a systematic review of pure technology-based cognitive behavioral therapy (TB-CBT) interventions for dementia carers; Aging and Mental Health
Community-based dementia carers want future workforce and organisational changes; Australian Association of Gerontology. Grey Expectations, Ageing in the 21st Century
Coproduction for sustainability: Seeking the perspectives of informal dementia carers’ on capacity building for community services; Journal of Community Psychology
Dementia care workforce project led by researchers at the Wicking Centre
Dementia knowledge assessment scale (DKAS): confirmatory factor analysis and comparative subscale scores among an international cohort; BMC Geriatrics
Dementia knowledge assessment scale: development and preliminary psychometric properties; American Geriatrics Society Journal
Dementia tsunami in aged care: can students improve residents' quality of life?; The 46th Australian Association of Gerontology National Conference
Dementia Tsunami in aged-care: can students improve residents' quality-of-life?; Australian Association of Gerontology. Grey Expectations, Ageing in the 21st Century
Developing Resilience in the Aged and Dementia Care Workforce; Resilience in Aging: Concepts, Research, and Outcomes
Developing the Occupational Communion Scale: Belonging-based social connections are vital for work engagement, self-efficacy, and positive affect in aged care workforces; The Gerontologist
Distressed, detached, devalued and determined: aged care workers' experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic; Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing
Do psychosocial work characteristics predict turnover intentions of aged and dementia care workers in Australia?; The fourth annual NHMRC National Institute for Dementia Research Australian Dementia Forum
Dyadic profiles of adjustment and implications for interventions for couples coping with advanced prostate cancer; Psycho-Oncology and Nursing Meeting
Graduate Research Funding, University of Tasmania for attendance at 5th International Carers Conference, Leeds, UK
Health student clinical placements in aged care facilities improve quality of life for residents; Aged Care Services Tasmania State Conference
Helping people cope with advanced prostate cancer: Identifying and meeting their coping needs; 43rd Annual Conference of the Australian Psychological Society
Helping People Cope with Advanced Prostate Cancer: Identifying and Meeting their Unmet Coping Needs
Interdisciplinary innovation in aged care: the Wicking Teaching Aged Care Facility program; IAGG 2017
Jim Bacon Foundation Award for Treatment in Cancer [Awarded $10,000]
Leisure time activities and mental health in informal dementia caregivers; Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being
Lessons from a multi-strategic program to promote appropriate sedative use in residential aged care facilities; 14th National Conference of Emerging Researchers in Ageing
Lessons from a multi-strategic program to promote appropriate sedative use in residential aged care facilities; 14th National Conference of Emerging Researchers in Ageing
Online Learning and Aspirations in the Bachelor of Dementia Care degree; Aspirations Matter 2014
Perspectives of the community-based dementia care workforce: 'occupational communion' a key finding from the Work 4 Dementia Project; International Psychogeriatrics
Prioritising the development of paramedic students’ interpersonal skills; Journal of Paramedic Practice
Profiles of dyadic adjustment for advanced prostate cancer to inform couple-based intervention; Psychology and Health
Psychology of Ageing
Re-thinking psychological services in residential aged care settings; The 49th Australian Association of Gerontology's National Conference: Re-imagining our future: Capitalising on the ageing dividend
Residents with mild cognitive decline and family members report health students 'enhance capacity of care' and bring 'a new breath of life' in two aged care facilities in Tasmania; Health Expectations
Stress and coping of Australian community-based aged and dementia care employees; 4th International Wellbeing at Work Conference
Teaching Aged Care Facilities: Creating strong WIL opportunities and benefits; WIL 2020: Pushing the boundaries – 2016 ACEN National Conference
Teaching and Research Aged Care Services in Australia: Wicking Teaching Aged Care Facilities Program; IPA International Psychogeriatric Association International Congress
The precarious resilience of aged care employees enrolled in an Australian online dementia course: a cross-sectional study of occupational health and well-being; Australasian Journal on Ageing
The role of the carer workforce in delivering quality care; 2nd Annual Dementia Strategy Summit
The Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre – Paving the way forward in online dementia education; Teaching Matters 2014 – Places and Spaces
Two UTAS researchers secure share of Commonwealth funding for dementia projects
We are not all coping: a cross-sectional investigation of resilience in the dementia care workforce; Health Expectations
What palliative care means for students in the Bachelor of Dementia Care; 49th APS Annual Conference: Psychology meeting society's challenges
What should we know about dementia in the 21st Century? A Delphi consensus study; BMC Geriatrics
Who Knows, Who Cares? Dementia knowledge among nurses, care workers, and family members of people living with dementia; Journal of Palliative Care
Work4Dementia: Development of an evidence-based intervention to build capacity and resilience for the Australian dementia care workforce. Rapid Fire Presentation; NNIDR Australian Dementia Forum

Research Projects

Australian aged and dementia care employees' adjustment in the face of high job demands: extending the Work4Demenita Project; University of Tasmania (UTAS)
Carers CARE (Mobile App) to assist dementia carers coping resilience; Tasmanian Community Fund (TasCF)
Clinical Redesign of respiratory pathways in residential aged care; University of Tasmania (UTAS)
Dementia-related presentations at the Royal Hobart Hospital - A pilot program for redesigning state-wide clinical care pathways involving Tasmanian residential aged care facilities (RACFs) and their c; Royal Hobart Hospital Research Foundation (RHHRF)
Enhancing Psychology Placements in Aged Care Project; Faculty of Health UTAS (FHUTAS)
Optimising Respiratory Care in Dementia (ORCID): an educational program for carers; Dementia Collaborative Research Centre (DCRC)
Work4Dementia: Development of an evidence-based intervention to build capacity and resilience for the Australian dementia care workforce; National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC)

Research Candidate Supervision