Violet Vines Marshman Centre for Rural Health Research researchers
Our researchers are co-partnering with communities to translate healthcare findings into practice.
Our Research Team
Professor Leigh Kinsman, Director
Professor Leigh Kinsman has joined the School as the Violet Vines Marshman Chair of Rural Health Research. This is a homecoming for Leigh who previously studied at the Bendigo campus and was a Lecturer in Nursing from 1998 to 2006. Leigh brings an outstanding record of community engagement and industry partnerships in rural health to translate research into practice and build the capacity of rural researchers to conduct and implement meaningful research. Joining the Violet Vines Marshman Centre of Rural Health Research from his most recent position as Joint Chair with the University of Newcastle and Mid North Local Health District, Professor Kinsman’s impressive career has reflected a whole-of-community approach to addressing health disparities, particularly for our most disadvantaged and vulnerable. Most recently, Leigh partnered with the NSW Mental Health Commission to improve the responsiveness of health and community organisations for people with lived experience of mental ill-health and their carers.
Associate Professor Virginia Dickson-Swift, Stream Lead: Improving Oral Health For Rural Communities
Associate Professor Virginia Dickson-Swift is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Violet Vines Marshman Centre for Rural Health Research. She is a public health researcher with over 20 years’ experience working in rural communities. Dr Dickson-Swift specialises in public health approaches to health and wellbeing challenges, oral health, qualitative research methodologies, sensitive research, ethics and working with vulnerable rural communities to solve local health issues.
Dr Fiona Dangerfield, Senior Research Fellow
Dr Fiona Dangerfield is a Researcher in the Violet Vines Marshman Centre for Rural Health Research (VVMCRHR), La Trobe Rural Health School. She received her PhD in 2022 exploring the role of food environments in influencing food purchasing behaviours in regional Australia. She has nearly 30 years of experience working in rural and regional Victoria and New South Wales in the areas of academia; nutrition and dietetics; indigenous health project management and workforce development; and health promotion. She has a keen interest in rural public health, with a specific focus on consumer involvement and the social and environmental determinants of health in rural populations.
Dr Joanne Adams, Research Fellow
Dr Joanne Adams is an Early Career Researcher in the Violet Vines Marshman Centre for Rural Health Research (VVMCRHR) based at the La Trobe Rural Health School. Jo received her PhD in 2020 exploring the health and wellbeing benefits of gardening particularly for older people, including aspects of mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. This followed a master's study that looked at the impact of climate change on gardening practices. Jo has a strong interest in how humans interact with the natural environment with a particular focus on rural and regional environments. She also has a keen interest in the health and wellbeing of older people. Jo has a background in public and environmental health and has previously worked in local government and corporate sector roles.
Associate Professor Yangama Jokwiro, Research Stream Lead: First Nations and African Health
A/Prof Yangama Jokwiro is a registered general nurse with over 19 years of nursing experience. He has worked in a variety of clinical settings progressing to leadership roles in community nursing and acute care nursing. He has spent most of his clinical nursing in an emergency department. In the last 8 years, he has concentrated on teaching undergraduate nursing students and developing his academic career. His teaching philosophy is based on his interests in collaborative cross-functional teaching teams which foster thematic learning. Instead of the 'frontal teaching' method of large lectures or autocratic seminars, he prefers student-centered teaching that encourages learning for both students and teachers. To maintain clinical currency in the nursing profession, Yangama still holds a casual position with a major provider of health services in Victoria. As a Registered Nurse, Yangama has used the medical model (Save one life at a time) in professional practice over the years and he teaches nursing students this model. However, working in the community has broadened his skills to include the public health model (Save a million at a time) culminating in formal training in public health. He worked for a major community care provider managing community care programs that include the Veterans Nursing Program, Extended Aged Care at Home (EACH), Community Aged Care Package (CACP), and Home and Community Care (HACC). Deficiencies and challenges in this area have shaped his interest in researching the care of older people across the continuum of health service from acute to community care.
Dr Mishel McMahon, Research Stream Lead: First Nations and African Health
Dr Mishel McMahon is a proud Yorta Yorta woman, she grew up in a large rural family. Completed her undergraduate degree of Bachelor of Human Services and Honours in Social Work in 2012 at La Trobe. Mishel has worked at Mildura Aboriginal Co-operative, Bendigo & District Aboriginal Co-operative BDAC, Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation, Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation and as Indigenous Academic Enrichment Advisor at La Trobe. Mishel began PhD, undertaking research that revealed principles of First Nations childrearing, completing Masterclass in Indigenous Methodologies through QUT. Mishel won Premier's Research Awards for Aboriginal Research 2019, Fellowship for Indigenous Leadership 2019 and recently worked as Social Work lecturer at Shepparton La Trobe, campus.
Professor Carol McKinstry, Research Stream Lead: Workforce
Professor Carol McKinstry is an academic in the La Trobe Rural Health School at La Trobe University, with a background in occupational therapy. Her research focuses on the rural workforce including the preparation of graduates to work in rural practice, transition to practice for students and graduates, and recruitment and retention of rural health professionals. Rural workforce service delivery and emerging areas of practice are other research areas.
Professor Evelien Spelten, Research Stream Lead: Preventative and Primary Healthcare
Professor Evelien Spelten is a Professor with La Trobe University Rural Health School and affiliated with the Violet Vines Marshman Research Centre As a researcher into rural health issues, she has a strong interested in connecting research and practice. She is involved in various regional research projects on a wide array of subjects, e.g.: community paramedicine, the Rural Health Consumer Panel, palliative and end-of-life care, supportive cancer care for people with a rare cancer (SPARC projects) and rural workforce innovations, such as the introduction of community paramedicine. She is supervisor of 9 PhD/Prof Doc Students. She received her PhD in Occupational Psychology in 2000. She has since worked in health care research and consultancy. The main focus of her work is on innovation in health care delivery and quality of care.
Professor Leesa Hooker, Research Stream Lead: ReGeN (Reducing Gender-based Violence Network)
Professor Leesa Hooker is a Professor of Maternal and Child Health nursing and is currently Associate Dean Research and Industry Engagement at the La Trobe Rural Health School, La Trobe University, Australia. She is a Principal Research Fellow, leading two streams of research -1. on Reducing Sexual and Gender-Based Violence and 2. Child, Family and Community Health. She has established expertise in the epidemiology of family violence, women’s mental health, sexual and reproductive health and parenting. Her research includes intervention trials, observation studies and systematic reviews with a focus on improving maternal and child health outcomes.
Dr Laura Hemming, Post Doctoral Research Fellow
Dr Laura Hemming is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the School of Rural Health. She works part time on the Rural SPARC project (Supporting Patients with a Rare Cancer living in rural and remote communities). Laura also works as a project co-ordinator for The Mental Elf where she strives to take mental health research events #BeyondTheRoom by live tweeting, blogging and pocasting events. Laura is passionate about placing lived experience at the heart of the research cycle and knowledge translation.
Members
Professor Emerita Amanda Kenny
Associate Professor Stephen Begg
Associate Professor Carina Chan
Associate Professor Santosh Tadakamadla
Associate Professor Joseph Tucci
Dr Ron Knevel
Dr Nerida Hyett
Higher Degree Candidates
Dalya Alzard is a Master of Applied Science candidate exploring "Knowledge, attitude and the practice of Victorian general medical practitioners toward common adult and paediatric dental problems."
Sudheer Babu Balla is a PhD candidate exploring "Culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) oral needs of migrant children in the City of Bendigo ."
Mehak Batra is a PhD candidate working on the "role of aeroallergen exposure on childhood asthma at the time of a thunderstorm event."
Rebecca Blake is a Doctor of Clinical Science candidate, and an occupational therapist at Assumption College in Kilmore. Her research focuses on evaluating the School-based Occupational Therapy AWARE program. This research closely relates to her work as an occupational therapist in supporting students and building teacher capacity to identify, and appropriately respond to student needs across all domains of students’ social, emotional, academic, physical and spiritual educational occupations within the secondary school environment.
Siann Bowman is a PhD candidate and experienced youth mental health clinician. She has worked with adults who have ongoing mental illness. She has extensive experience in case management, crisis intervention, group therapy, young people with complex presentations, post-traumatic stress disorder in young people and family interventions. Her PhD examines the impact of mental illness on secondary school participation and completion in rural and regional Victoria, Australia.
Yvonne Burns is a PhD candidate working developing a data platform that collects and stores accurate, consistent and reliable data, essential for supporting staff, tailoring services and enhancing client outcomes long-term.
Dr Rahila Ummer-Christian is a PhD candidate. She holds a Master of Public Health and has undertaken dental public health training at the World Health Organization/Pan American Health Organization, USA. Her PhD focuses on researching access to dental services for children with intellectual and developmental and disabilities in Loddon Mallee region.
Cassandra Cianciarulo is a PhD candidate working on "repurposing drugs to modulate immune response."
Michele Conlin is a PhD candidate who is working on "new approaches to health promotion in the Wimmera."
Sandra Connor is a PhD candidate at the Mildura campus and her project is titled “Adolescent Rural Males' Health: In the context of Emergent Masculinities”.
Emma Cordon is a PhD candidate whose thesis title is "Investigation into Rural Healthcare Workforce Pandemic and Crisis Preparedness Through a Salutogenic Response."
Anushka Date is a PhD candidate working on "modulating the innate immune response."
Maureen Dillon is a registered nurse and PhD candidate. Her project is titled “The impact of notification on the personal and professional lives of nurses and midwives”.
Karly Edgar is a PhD candidate in the Palliative Care Unit within the Dept. of Public health. Her research is a joint project between La Trobe and Eastern Palliative Care Inc. (EPC) researching EPC’s award-winning Biography Program. Her research is focused on the experience of the Biography Program from the perspective of the four key groups involved (patients who write their biography, their carers, the volunteer biographers, and EPC staff). As a narrative researcher her focus is on exploring their experience and telling their stories, and is working to develop integrative, creative research that includes poetry and script writing.
Tracey Farrell is professional Doctorate candidate "exploring the impact of an attachment focused trauma informed critical setting reflection model in a rural setting."
Jarrah Fitzgerald is a PhD candidate at the Australian Institute of Primary Care and Ageing, in the School of Nursing and Midwifery. He has a particular interest in qualitative research methods as a way of understanding the unique experiences of individuals and translating these into policy and practice. Research relating to older age and the experience(s) of ageing is a primary focus.
Gigi Guan is a Master of Applied Science candidate looking at the "comparison of early warning system scores for detection of clinical deterioration for patients in hospital emergency departments."
Setho Hadisuyatmana is a PhD candidate and his thesis title is " Reinventing health care delivery for Indonesian men living with diabetes mellitus and sexual dysfunction: Mixed method study."
Christopher Harvey is a Professional Doctorate candidate who is looking into the effect of assertive holistic aftercare on suicidality rates in a regional location.
Kimberley Hitchens is a PhD candidate who is looking at "diversity in undergraduate nursing curriculum: impacts on students' perception and ability to provide inclusive healthcare."
Michelle Hood is a PhD candidate wanting to find out "who cares for the carer and the caregiver's perspective, supporting regional Victorian caregivers during end of life care and post loss."
Aurlene Jayadhas is a PhD candidate looking at "Developing a behaviour change intervention to improve oral health among older people residing in residential aged care facilities in rural Victoria" and she is using a framework called the Behaviour Change Wheel to develop a health promotion intervention for improving oral health among older people in RACFs in rural Victoria.
Yangama Jokwiro is a PhD candidate and a registered general nurse with over 19 years nursing experience. He has worked in a variety of clinical settings progressing to leadership roles in community nursing and acute care nursing. He has spent most of his clinical nursing in an emergency department. In the last 8 years, he has concentrated on teaching undergraduate nursing students and developing his academic career. He worked for a major community care provider managing community care programs that include the Veterans Nursing Program, Extended Aged Care at Home (EACH), Community Aged Care Package (CACP) and Home and Community Care (HACC).
Alexandra Kitching is a Professional Doctorate candidate investigating the "impact of providing advice on modifiable lifestyle factors to people with multiple sclerosis and how this information can affect their long-term health outcomes."
Soorya Kumar is a Professional Doctorate candidate who is looking into "post operative pain management and surgical nurses' knowledge and attitude towards pain management."
Richard Larsen is a Professional Doctorate candidate investigating "climate change , air quality and human health."
Nicola Lloyd is a part-time PhD candidate and a physiotherapist at Barwon Health. She has worked clinically in rural and metropolitan settings in Australia and in the United Kingdom, as well as working in a number of project and service redesign roles. Her PhD research is about evaluating the impacts of public involvement in health service design.
Philip Lyristakis is a PhD candidate whose thesis title is, "Manipulating the resistance training prescription to optimally restore function."
Jill Maglio is a PhD candidate and occupational therapist who uses circus in her daily practice. She works as a private occupational therapist in New York, working in a number of schools with students who may be disengaged and/or have learning difficulties. Her doctoral research explores how occupational therapists are using circus in their practice. She is also the force behind the charity CircusAid, which promotes positive social and emotional health for political and environmental refugees in Europe and Asia.
Rachael McAleer is a PhD candidate and physiotherapist and has been a part-time lecturer at the La Trobe Rural Health School, La Trobe University, for 10 years, whilst working clinically as a cystic fibrosis specialist at Monash Medical Centre and in her own private practice. Rachael now lectures one day per week whilst completing her PhD full time with the support of a VVM scholarship. Her research interests are in cardiothoracic physiotherapy, rural health and rural education.
Gayle McKenzie is a Professional Doctorate candidate and is looking into the impact of the pandemic on the nursing workforce. The question is, are school leavers still choosing nursing as a profession?
Lorraine Michael is a PhD candidate and her thesis is titled. "Becoming human :A transdisciplinary consideration of a practitioner's narratives."
Rebecca Millar is a PhD candidate and her work explores the clinical practice competencies required in forensic mental health nursing. The results of her study will be used to develop a Forensic Mental Health Nurse Competency Assessment Tool (FHMN-CAT) that can be used to evaluate these competencies.
Sowmya Nagappa Malamardi is a PhD candidate and her work revolves around the role of air pollution in Mysore India.
Cheryl Neilson is a PhD candidate and a lecturer based in the Latrobe Rural Health School in Bendigo. Teaching within core subjects of the Occupational Therapy MOT Prac program with clinical expertise focusing on neurological rehabilitation and paediatrics. I am interested in knowledge translation in the stroke rehabilitation area of practice. I have recently enrolled in a PHD where I am exploring "Sustainable translation of knowledge to practice in regional Australia" as part of the multi-site SENSe Implement study. In addition I am involved in in research in teaching and learning with current project involving a co-design approach with students as partners in curriculum design.
Salatiel Ngezi is a Professional Doctorate candidate researching experiences and practices among sub-Saharan African refugee and migrant communities living in the Goulburn valley region accessing end of life care services.
Susan O’Neill is a PhD candidate with an educational background in Master of Science in International Health and Bachelor of Science in Health Promotion. Her research is focused on the high incidence of Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) hospitalisations in the Murray Primary Health Network (PHN) region of Victoria. She has previously worked in remote communities throughout Western Australia delivering community health promotion programs, and prior to her PhD research managed a women’s and children’s refuge.
Nicole Preston is a Clinical Doctorate candidate in the field of occupational therapy. Her areas of interest are social inclusion, human rights, community development and policy. Her research project aims to explore the concept of social inclusion across policy and practice.
Cathryn Street is a registered nurse and PhD candidate. Her project is titled “The impact of notification on the personal and professional lives of nurses and midwives”.
Tara Williams is a registered nurse and PhD candidate located at the Mildura campus. Her doctoral work focuses on the health impacts of loneliness and social isolation in rural populations.