Past opportunities
- The impact of waste on psychological and physical health: Empirical evidence from the Northern Territory (NT), Australia
- Development and evaluation of a bespoke trauma-informed care training package for audiologists in the Northern Territory
- Exploring the impact of peer-led, lived experience approaches to suicide prevention in Australia
- Antenatal detection of vulnerable mother-infant relationship quality
- To Be Born Upon a Pandanus Mat – Yothuw gayatha dhäwal’ guyaŋa’ nhara
- Evaluation of the clinical effects and cost-effectiveness of an evidence-based Taichi intervention for the fatigue-sleep disturbance-depression symptom cluster management in breast cancer survivors: A phase III Randomized Controlled Trial
The impact of waste on psychological and physical health: Empirical evidence from the Northern Territory (NT), Australia
(Currently unavailable)
Wessel Islands waste
Dr Matthew Abunyewah is a research-focused lecturer at the Australasian Centre for Resilience Implementation for Sustainable Communities within the College of Health and Human Sciences.
Before joining Charles Darwin University, Dr Abunyewah worked as a community and industry development practitioner researching workforce and training development, public policy development and disaster resilience across Africa and Australia for over eight years. Notable industry research outputs/reports produced by Dr Abunyewah in collaboration with industry partners and government agencies include; the Northern Territory Central Five Mines Report and Northern Territory Circular Economy Strategy.
Dr Abunyewah’s current project is looking at how external thinking tools, which have become popular for consultancy, has negatively affected partnerships with indigenous groups.
Scholarship details
- Scholarship: $40,000 a year, for three years ($120,000). See the eligibility criteria and how to apply.
- Generous relocation allowances (flights, temporary accommodation on arrival)
- Location: Any Charles Darwin University campus,
- Start time: Between January 5 and March 31 in 2024
Project details
Although significant progress has been made in complying with waste regulations, concerns remain about the psychological and physical health impacts of waste circulation, management, and disposal, particularly in connection with informal practices and obsolete technology.
Waste that has been improperly disposed of or untreated can pose serious risks to human wellbeing, including physical, psychological and social health risks. This includes residents proximal to waste disposal sites and the waste workers themselves.
This project will provide information that can promote safe and environmentally sound management of waste, which can prevent adverse psychological and physical health impacts.
The Waste Management Strategy of the Northern Territory (undergoing review) acknowledges waste as an environmental issue with significant health implications. The Strategy, including other NT policies, provide extensive evidence on littering and illegal waste dumping through large-scale waste facilities operating without appropriate environmental controls and monitoring programs.
Antenatal detection of vulnerable mother-infant relationship quality
(No longer available – student recruited)
Dr Karen Hazell Raine, PhD (2019), M. Mental Health, M. Counselling, Registered Nurse. She is an early career researcher with more than 30 years of real-world mental health experience which equips her with a high level of research translation capability.
Her experience spans clinical and strategic leadership, service development, interdisciplinary education, quality improvement, Policy, advanced practice in specialist perinatal-infant mental health, and application of attachment theory.
Karen’s Doctoral research was centred on antenatal prediction of postnatal mother-infant relationship quality. The hypothesis tested was that the personality characteristic, interpersonal sensitivity, might be a better indicator of subsequent mother-infant relationship quality perinatal psychosocial assessment and depression screening.
Dr Hazell Raine is on the supervisory panel for three CDU Higher Degree Research students. She is an associate PhD supervisor for a University of Queensland Doctoral research program in early childhood carer-child interactions.
Scholarship details
- Scholarship: $40,000 a year, for three years ($120,000). See the eligibility criteria and how to apply.
- Generous relocation allowances (flights, temporary accommodation on arrival)
- Location: Multiple locations including Darwin/Brisbane/Alice Springs/Sydney
- Start time: Between January 5 and March 31 in 2024
Program details
More than 300,000 babies are born each year in Australia and given that perinatal mental health (depression) screening occurs both during pregnancy and the postpartum period, there are potentially 600,000+ occasions of screening in Australia each year. If screening can become more accurate in distinguishing transient low mood or distress from more serious maternal mental health problems, and identifying mother-infant relationships at risk, the opportunity for positive child development, optimal attachment pattern and family functioning can be targeted.
The prospective cohort study will explore antenatal detection of vulnerable mother-infant relationship quality in the context of maternal personality characteristics (interpersonal sensitivity) and mental health indices. Mother-infant relationship quality will be assessed through a standard observation protocol of videotaped mother-infant play.
The scholarship recipient will help to make an important contribution toward improved outcomes for vulnerable families, more appropriately targeted interventions for pregnant women, mothers and infants, and greater efficiency and cost savings for the health system.
To Be Born Upon a Pandanus Mat – Yothuw gayatha dhäwal’ guyaŋa’ nharaw
(No longer available – student recruited)
Dr Sarah Ireland is a post-doctoral researcher at the Molly Wardaguga Research Centre, Charles Darwin University. Her research focuses on women’s reproductive health, health literacy, two-way learning and knowledge translation, First Nations research methodologies, and the influence of culture. Sarah enjoys innovating non-traditional outputs to communicate research findings and is one of the filmmakers behind the international award winning documentary DJÄKAMIRR.
Sarah is a medical anthropologist, nurse and midwife; and is trained in community development. She has a clinical background in nursing and midwifery with extensive experience delivering healthcare in collaboration with First Nations health practitioners and communities in remote areas.
Scholarship details
- Scholarship: $40,000 a year, for three years ($120,000). See the eligibility criteria and how to apply.
- Generous relocation allowances (flights, temporary accommodation on arrival)
- Location: Multiple locations including Darwin/Brisbane/Alice Springs/Sydney
- Start time: Between January 5 and March 31 in 2024
Program details
Our project is setting up and studying Australia’s first ‘Birthing on Country’ very remote, demonstration site in Galiwin’ku, Elcho Island, Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia. We are working with the Yolŋu community and health service providers, to redesign maternity health services to better meet the needs of Yolŋu women and families. Service redesign will focus on improving midwifery care and making it easier for services to connect and work well together. It includes Yolŋu djäkamirr (Indigenous doula) to support women during pregnancy, childbirth and until the baby turns 2 years old. We are increasing Yolŋu engagement, governance, and control, and developing community reproductive health reports to strengthen awareness of reproductive health. We will evaluate the redesign process, clinical outcomes, woman and family experiences, cost effectiveness, and cost-benefit of the very remote ‘Birthing on Country’ service.
We are currently offering a generous PhD scholarship to a passionate student who is willing to undertake intellectual adventures and work on complex intercultural reproductive health topics.
Our students become skilled in using decolonising, quantitative and qualitative methodologies, and gain firsthand experience working in genuine relationship with the community. We offer students a super supportive learning environment with expert Yolŋu mentorship and the chance to contribute towards making a more equitable World!
Evaluation of the clinical effects and cost-effectiveness of an evidence-based Taichi intervention for the fatigue-sleep disturbance-depression symptom cluster management in breast cancer survivors: A phase III Randomized Controlled Trial
(No longer available – student recruited)
Dr Alison Wang’s research interests include palliative care, symptom management, and integrative medicine for patients with cancer and chronic diseases.
Dr Wang, is an Early Career Researcher who has expertise in health interventional research and cancer clinical trials and success in adopting a similar research process to develop and test evidence-based interventions for symptom distress management in cancer survivors.
Dr Wang’s current projects include;
- A primary care clinician-led symptom management program for breast cancer survivor,
- Telehealth-based self-management intervention for improving cardiovascular health in breast cancer survivors.
- Improving success and retention of undergraduate nursing students from regional and remote areas in Australia.
Scholarship details
- Scholarship: $40,000 a year, for three years ($120,000). See the eligibility criteria and how to apply.
- Generous relocation allowances (flights, temporary accommodation on arrival)
- Location: Multiple locations including Darwin/Brisbane/Alice Springs/Sydney
- Start time: Between January 5 and March 31 in 2024
Project details
The fatigue-sleep disturbance-depression symptom cluster (FSDSC) is one of the most common and distressing symptom clusters affecting breast cancer survivors.
Due to the lack of tailored medications for FSDSC management, non-pharmacological interventions have drawn researchers’ attention.
However, the current cancer supportive care models in Australia including the NT do not adequately incorporate evidence-based non-pharmacological symptom management strategies that are designed to cope with breast cancer survivors’ multiple symptoms such as FSDSC.
The proposed project addresses a major issue of cancer supportive care in Australia particularly in the NT, as the development of cancer supportive care in the NT is still suboptimal.
This study will introduce a safe, feasible, acceptable, and effective non-pharmacological approach-Taichi, which can be integrated into existing care models and contribute to the development of cancer-supportive care models/programs to reduce the additional burden on the health system and breast cancer survivors.
Development and evaluation of a bespoke trauma-informed care training package for audiologists in the Northern Territory
(No longer available – student recruited)
Dr Andrea Simpson is an audiologist and speech pathologist. Her PhD developed a novel signal-processing scheme for people with hearing loss. She has an interest in hearing rehabilitation, occupational conditions for audiologists, increasing and supporting diversity and inclusion in the allied health profressions.
Dr SImpson is working on a project of using the candidacy framework to improve access to psychosocial services for people with hearing loss.
She has 35 peer-reviewed publications in press and has a history of supporting HDR students to completion. Across her academic career, Dr Simpson has secured more than AU$900,000 in research funding, $880,000 of which was from external funding sources, and $420,000 as the lead researcher.
Scholarship details
- Scholarship: $40,000 a year, for three years ($120,000). See the eligibility criteria and how to apply.
- Generous relocation allowances (flights, temporary accommodation on arrival)
- Location: Multiple locations including Darwin/Brisbane/Alice Springs/Sydney
- Start time: Between January 5 and March 31 in 2023
Project details
Awareness of Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) is essential for audiologists in providing a high standard of patient care and to provide a more positive experience of hearing care for those with an increased risk of trauma. This project aims to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a bespoke training program in TIC designed for audiologists.
This project proposes to:
- Assess adult client perceptions of whether audiologists have an awareness of delivering trauma-informed care.
- Develop a bespoke trauma-informed care training package for audiologists.
- Trial the training package in a small group of audiologists in the Northern Territory.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of the training package in participants and adult clients in the Northern Territory.
The project acknowledges that intergenerational trauma is part of why First Nations health outcomes are poor and by doing so honors First Nations knowledges and cultures.
This project will have policy impacts, by providing decision-makers with the sociological and legal data they need when filling regulatory gaps. It will also explore the burdens and benefits of more robust eScooter regulation.
CDU research is strongly aligned with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and makes a real, positive difference in people’s lives. This project contributes to the implementation of SG3 (Good Health and Wellbeing) and SG11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities).
Exploring the impact of peer-led, lived experience approaches to suicide prevention in Australia
(No longer available – student recruited)
Scholarship details
- Scholarship: $40,000 a year, for three years ($120,000). See the eligibility criteria and how to apply.
- Generous relocation allowances (flights, temporary accommodation on arrival)
- Location: Multiple locations including Darwin/Brisbane/Alice Springs/Sydney
- Start time: Between January 5 and March 31 in 2023
Project details
Peer-led, lived experience-based programs are a growing response to acute mental health issues across Australian communities. These community-based approaches utilise social media engagement and fundraising to meet their objectives around prevention and harm reduction.
This proposed study will partner with ‘Speak & Share,’ a not-for-profit mental health organisation situated in Victoria that encourages ‘tough conversations and challenges mental health stigma via a preventative approach that connects with the community both through social media and by facilitating local events.’
This project aims to identify and evaluate peer-lead, lived experience approaches to reducing mental illness nationally, and internationally. Key to this study will be investigating adaptation and scalability considerations for the NT, which has the highest rate of mental health burden in Australia at 16.3%, and a suicide rate almost double that of the national average.
