Health, Wellbeing & Disability Research

The Centre for Health, Wellbeing and Disability Research actively contributes evidence needed to guide health, wellbeing and disability improvement with the explicit intent of optimising health outcomes for all Australians. Our researchers partner with health research networks, industry and government to support progress in these areas

 

> 20 Publications

> 30 Current Projects

> 5 Collaborations

Key Research Priorities

Explores effectiveness, access and coverage of health services

Develops links with healthcare and disability service users, service providers & stakeholders 

Contributes to Australia’s Disability Strategy 

Collaborates using new methodologies to improve disability and health research

Members

Jon Mason

Steve Trawley

Joanne Brooker

Catherine Connaughton

RoseAnne Misajon

Selam Ahmed

Freddie Wright

Jason Eid 

PhD | David Whittingham, Aysegul Sertel

DPsych | Erin Kubilay, Alex Matotek, Clare Wilson

Masters | Anita Zeltsman, Mollie King, Hai Dang Gian Trang, Ellen Richardson, Ashley Randall, Nimasha Weerakoon, Chelsea Di Martino, Paige Turner

Honours | Sebastian Bentley, Judy O'Byrne

Collaborations

Jacquie Mills

Deakin University

Andrew Allen

University Sunshine Coast

Janine Cody

University of Texas

Aislinn Lalor

Monash University

Sybil McAuley

University of Melbourne

Current Projects

Health
  • Condom Use Resistance tactics (Mason / Connaughton / Davies / Allen)
  • Predictors of demoralisation in adults diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (Brooker / Burney)
  • Biopsychosocial predictors of depressive symptoms among adults residing in Australia with polycystic ovarian syndrome (Firriolo / Brooker /Fitt / Kilby)
  • The lived experiences of people diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome: A qualitative evidence synthesis (Brooker / Lalor / Fraser)
  • The psychosocial impact of lipoedema in people living in Australia (Molinari / Brooker / Burney)
  • Healthcare workers’ attitudes towards and knowledge of the clinical application of classic psychedelics for people with serious illness: A systematic review (Barta / Brooker / O’Callaghan)
  • Endometriosis within LGBTQ+ communities: Understanding support within healthcare and relationship contexts (Misajon / Mills / Rhodes)
  • The relationship between fertility stress and psychological distress in people with endometriosis (Misajon / Morgan)
  • Screening of emotional health in Type 1 Diabetes Care (Trawley / Zeltsman)
  • Treatment Insights from Middle-aged and Older Adults with Diabetes (Trawley / Kubilay)Supporting adults with type 1 diabetes who drive (Trawley / McAuley).
  • Endometriosis and experiences of unsupportive social interactions (Misajon / Mills / Joffe / Argitis)
Wellbeing
  • Effect of telehealth on psychologist wellbeing (Mason /Woodward)
  • Predicting and managing workplace bullying and harassment (Mason / Whittingham)
  • Measures of sexual wellbeing (Mason /Allen)
  • Anxiety in Muslim women living in Australia: Associations with perceived religious discrimination, religiosity and self-compassion (Brooker / Misajon / Ahmed / Wilson)
  • Transgender and/or gender diverse individuals’ experiences of accessing and maintaining employment in Australia (Brooker / Wright / Krupka)
  • Online dating experiences of trans and gender diverse people: A qualitative evidence synthesis (Webster, Brooker, Misajon, Wilson)
  • The motivations for and psychosocial implications of polyamory within the transgender and gender non-conforming communities (Turner / Brooker / Wilson)
  • Australian people of colour and microaggressions in dating (Misajon / Matotek / Brooker / Weerakoon)
  • Migration experiences and perspectives of self-compassion and self-coldness among Hazaras in Australia (Misajon / Wilson / Brooker)
  • COVID-19 impact and experiences of exclusion in Hazara communities in Australia (Misajon / Wilson / Brooker / Miller / Nguyen)
  • MExperience of microaggressions in LGBTQIA+ communities (Misajon / Smith / Richardson / Brooker)
  • The wellbeing and mental health of Karen refugees in Australia (Misajon / Brooker / Wilson / Randall / Eid / Kameoka / le Roux)
  • Racial microaggressions in culturally and linguistically diverse people in the Australian context (Misajon / Trinh / Kabir / Sanmugan / Brooker)
  • Racial microaggressions at work: Lived experiences of South Asian people living in Australia (Abeysinghe, Brooker, Misajon)
  • Experiences of racial microaggressions among racial and ethnic minority mental health workers in Australia: A qualitative study (Wrigley, Brooker, Misajon, Matotek)
Disability
  • Sexual support services for people with spinal cord injury (Mason / Allen)
  • Disability microaggressions in the workplace (Richardson / Misajon)

Key Outputs (Past two years)

Bag, S. D., Kilby, C. J., Kent, J. N., Brooker, J., & Sherman, K. A. (2022). Resilience, self-compassion, and indices of psychological wellbeing: a not so simple set of relationships, Australian Psychologist, 57(4), 249-257. https://doi.org/10.1080/00050067.2022.2089543  

Bell, C., Roberts, G. L. R., Millear, P. M., Allen, A., Wood, A. P., Kannis-Dymand, L., Jona, C. M., & Mason, J. (2024). The emotionally exhausted treating the mentally unwell? A systematic review of burnout and stress interventions for psychologists. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 31(1), e2909. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2909

Chang, E. X., Brooker, J., Hiscock, R., & O'Callaghan, C. (2023). Music-based intervention impacts for people with eating disorders: A narrative synthesis systematic review. Journal of Music Therapy, 60(2), 202-231. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmt/thac018

Cousins, T. S. P., Allen, A., & Mason, J. (2023). Investigating the relationship between non-consensual condom removal and the dark triad of personality. Psychology & Sexuality, 15(3), 353–368. https://doi-org.cmi.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/19419899.2023.2282440

Hinde, K, Mason, J., Kannis-Dymand, L., Millear, P. & Sultana, R. (2022). Bangladeshi Health Practitioner Knowledge, Confidence in Diagnosis, and Treatment of Mental Health Disorders in People with Intellectual Disabilities, Journal of Mental Health Research in Intellectual Disabilities, DOI: 10.1080/19315864.2022.2098432

Kubilay, E., Trawley, S., Ward, G. M., Fourlanos, S., Colman, P. G., & McAuley, S. A. (2024). Real‐world lived experience of older adults with type 1 diabetes after an automated insulin delivery trial. Diabetic Medicine, 41(4), e15264. https://doi.org/10.1111/dme.15264

Kubilay, E., Trawley, S., Ward, G. M., Fourlanos, S., Grills, C. A., Lee, M. H., ... & McAuley, S. A. (2023). Lived experience of older adults with type 1 diabetes using closed‐loop automated insulin delivery in a randomised trial. Diabetic Medicine, 40(4), e15020. https://doi.org/10.1111/dme.15020

Lalor, A. F., Brooker, J. E., Rozbroj, T., Whittle, S. L., Hill, C. L., Rowett, D., Buchbinder, R., & O'Connor, D. A. (2022). Factors influencing clinician prescribing of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs for inflammatory arthritis: A systematic review and thematic synthesis of qualitative studies. Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism55, 151988. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.semarthrit.2022.151988 

Montali, L., Brooker, J., Camussi, E., Davenport, P., Ronco, E., Shand, L., Zulato, E., & Knight, T. (2023). The interplay between ovarian cancer and social relationships: an analysis of patients’ metaphors. Psychology & Health. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2023.2180149

Mills, J., Shu, C., Misajon, R., & Rush-Privitera, G. (2023). ‘My body is out to wreck everything I have’: A qualitative study of how women with endometriosis feel about their bodies. Psychology & Health, DOI: 10.1080/08870446.2023.2218404

Privitera, G., O’Brien, K., Misajon, R., & Lin, C. (2023). Endometriosis symptomatology, dyspareunia, and sexual distress are related to avoidance of sex and negative impacts on the sex lives of women with Endometriosis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(4), 3362.

Raith, L., Bignill, J., Stavropoulos, V., Millear, P., Allen, A., Stallman, H. M., Mason, J., De Regt, T., Wood, A., & Kannis-Dymand, L. (2021). Massively Multiplayer Online Games and Well-Being: A Systematic Literature Review. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.698799

Stocco, A., Trawley, S., Kong, Y. W., Yuan, C. Y., Kiburg, K., Pham, C., ... & O'Neal, D. N. (2024). “You can hide it if you want to, you can let it be seen if you want to”: A qualitative study of the lived experiences of Australian adults with type 1 diabetes using the Omnipod DASH® system. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, 208, 111123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diabres.2024.111123

Trawley, S., Kubilay, E., Colman, P. G., Lee, M. H., O'Neal, D. N., Sundararajan, V., ... & McAuley, S. A. (2024). What difference does sleep make? Continuous glucose monitoring metrics during fixed‐overnight time versus sleep periods among older adults with type 1 diabetes. Journal of Sleep Research, 33(4), e14106. https://doi.org/10.1111/jsr.14106

Wilson, C., Misajon, R., & Brooker, J. (2024).  Self-compassion and self-coldness and their relationship with psychological distress and subjective wellbeing among community-based Hazaras in Australia. Transcultural Psychiatry, 61(2), 22—245.  https://doi.org/10.1177/13634615241227683

Wilson, C., Misajon, R., & Brooker, J. (2023).  Understandings and applications of self-compassion and self-coldness among Hazaras in Australia: A qualitative study.  Australian Journal of Psychology, 75(1), 2257362. https://doi.org/10.1080/00049530.2023.2257362

Kubilay, E., Trawley, S., Fourlanos, S., Grills, C. A., Ward, G. M., Colman, P.G., & McAuley, S. A. (2022, August 9th).  Benefits and Burdens of Real-World Automated Insulin Delivery among Older Adults Post-Trial [Poster presentation]. Australasian Diabetes Congress, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. https://diabetescongress.com.au/ 

Lalor, A. F., Brooker, J. E., Rozbroj, T., Whittle, S., Hill, C., Rowett, D., O’Connor, D., & Buchbinder, R. (2020).  Factors influencing prescribing and use of disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs in inflammatory rheumatic disorders from the perspectives of clinicians:  A qualitative evidence synthesis.  ARA Abstracts. Internal Medicine Journal, 50 Suppl 2, 37. https://doi.org/10.1111/imj.14932 

 

Beasley, E., White, V., Ugalde, A., Brooker, J., Skvarc, D., & Mikocka-Walus, A. Effect of third-wave cognitive behavioural interventions on biopsychosocial outcomes in people diagnosed with advanced cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.  Poster presented at the 25th Annual World Congress of the International Psycho-Oncology Society. 24-27 September 2024. Maastricht, The Netherlands. 

Wilson, C., Misajon, R., Brooker, J. E.  Migration Experiences of Self-Compassion and Self-Coldness among Hazaras in Australia. International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies (ISQOLS); 2021 August 24; Australia 

Misajon, R. & Kabir, R. (2020). Migrant experiences of cultural microaggressions in the Australian workplace: A qualitative study. Advancing Community Cohesion Conference; 2020;  Paramatta, Australia.

Randall, A., Misajon, R., Wilson, C., & Brooker, J. (July 2024). Service provider perspectives on the wellbeing and mental health of Karen refugees in Victoria (Australia): A qualitative exploratory study. Paper presented at the International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies (ISQOLS). Borneo. 

Trawley, S., Stephens, A. N., McAuley, S. A., Speight, J., Hendrieckx, C., Vogrin, S., ... & Australian JDRF Closed-Loop Research Group. Driving with Type 1 Diabetes: Real- World Evidence to Support Starting Glucose Level and Frequency of Monitoring During Journeys. 2022 Australian Road Safety Conference, Christchurch, New Zealand. Sept 27 2022. https://tinyurl.com/3xu7u5hk

Honours student Freya Wrigley won the 2023 Psychologists for Peace – Peace Research Award for her thesis “Racial Microaggressions Among Racial and Ethnic Minority Mental Health Workers in Australia"