College of Medicine & Dentistry
Vicki Dunk
- Lecturer, Biomedicine
- vicki.dunk@my.jcu.edu.au
Joyce Cooper
- Associate Professor, Pharmacy
- joyce.cooper@jcu.edu.au
Michael Robinson
- JCU Lecturer
- michael.robinson@jcu.edu.au
Shaun Solomon
- Senior Lecturer, Indigenous Health
- shaun.solomon1@jcu.edu.au
Manjunath Rajashekhar
- Senior Lecturer in Clinical Dentistry and Dental Public Health
- manjunath.rajashekhar@jcu.edu.au
Stephanie King
- Senior Research Officer, Indigenous Health
- stephanie.king1@my.jcu.edu.au
Aileen Traves
- Head of Clinical School, Cairns
- aileen.traves@jcu.edu.au
Nalita Turner
- Research Officer
- nalita.turner@jcu.edu.au
Bunmi Malau-Aduli
- JCU Professor
- bunmi.malauaduli@jcu.edu.au
Amanda Mackay
- Rural Pharmacy Liaison Officer
- amanda.mackay@jcu.edu.au
A pilot trial of combined hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) and a Lifestyle Medicine (LM) program for multimorbid conditions
Lifestyle Medicine is a rapidly emerging modality of treatment to optimise chronic disease management and prevention. Its application is underutilised in primary and tertiary healthcare with research showing low risk and great benefit with this non-conventional approach. Lifestyle medicine incorporates 6 pillars of health and wellbeing, including nutrition, physical activity, minimising stress, enhancing sleep, addressing addictive behaviours and maintaining community connectedness. Patients at the Department of Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine (DDHM) have treatment plans that are daily Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) sessions undertaken in a compression chamber. The daily treatments can extended upwards of 4-8 weeks. The majority of patients have 2 or more chronic conditions (multimorbidity) and take 5 or more medications (polypharmacy). Multimorbidity and polypharmacy are known to increase non-adherence to medical advice, risk of side effects, cost to the patient and health system, and shorten quality and quantity of life. Lifestyle Medicine reduces severity of chronic disease and supports health and wellbeing, thereby reducing the overall burden of illness and its impact on the person and healthcare services. The DDHM provides the perfect opportunity for a patient-centred LM approach that can be attached to standard care with minimal interruption to services, staff, patients, or budget, with provision of a template that can be adapted to meet acceptability and feasibility feedback from participants and staff. The LM program supports the overaching goals of HBOT integration by supplementing a siloed approach to health provision with a LM group based program during standard patient care in the DDHM. This program will ideally enhance patient health, wellbeing and service satisfaction, plus support staff satisfaction through their involvement with provision of holistic health care.
A pilot trial of combined hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) and a Lifestyle Medicine (LM) program for multimorbid conditions
Lifestyle Medicine is a rapidly emerging modality of treatment to optimise chronic disease management and prevention. Its application is underutilised in primary and tertiary healthcare with research showing low risk and great benefit with this non-conventional approach. Lifestyle medicine incorporates 6 pillars of health and wellbeing, including nutrition, physical activity, minimising stress, enhancing sleep, addressing addictive behaviours and maintaining community connectedness. Patients at the Department of Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine (DDHM) have treatment plans that are daily Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) sessions undertaken in a compression chamber. The daily treatments can extended upwards of 4-8 weeks. The majority of patients have 2 or more chronic conditions (multimorbidity) and take 5 or more medications (polypharmacy). Multimorbidity and polypharmacy are known to increase non-adherence to medical advice, risk of side effects, cost to the patient and health system, and shorten quality and quantity of life. Lifestyle Medicine reduces severity of chronic disease and supports health and wellbeing, thereby reducing the overall burden of illness and its impact on the person and healthcare services. The DDHM provides the perfect opportunity for a patient-centred LM approach that can be attached to standard care with minimal interruption to services, staff, patients, or budget, with provision of a template that can be adapted to meet acceptability and feasibility feedback from participants and staff. The LM program supports the overaching goals of HBOT integration by supplementing a siloed approach to health provision with a LM group based program during standard patient care in the DDHM. This program will ideally enhance patient health, wellbeing and service satisfaction, plus support staff satisfaction through their involvement with provision of holistic health care.
National Multidisciplinary Primary Care Research, Policy and Advocacy Consortium
Led by Professor Michael Kidd (UNSW/Oxford and CMO of the Federal Government) members of the National Multidisciplinary Primary Care Research, Policy and Advocacy Consortium (“The Consortium”) will work collaboratively to support future-focused ways of thinking about primary care delivered through multidisciplinary team (MDT)-based care. The Consortium will generate, coordinate, and disseminate knowledge on innovative models of MDT-based primary care that improve health outcomes for people living in all parts of Australia. The Consortium brings together consumers and expert partners from across the country to identify where, when, and how MDT-based primary care can meaningfully address challenges facing our health care system. The Consortium will be a major national resource that supports ongoing federal, state and territory programs of primary care reform, strengthens the evidence base on primary care service delivery and outcomes, and accelerates the translation of knowledge into improvements in clinical care, while also increasing nationwide primary care clinician researcher capacity.
The Living-well Club (TLC) at Southport Low Acuity Service Hotel (SPLASH)
The Living-well Club (TLC) at Southport Low Acuity Service Hotel (SPLASH) is a volunteer led social prescribing pilot to improve the biopsychosocial health of inpatients and staff. The pilot is being evaluated to address loneliness, health outcomes and satisfaction by providers and inpatients. The broader goal is to design an implementation framework that can be scaled to other low acuity facilities, such as aged care, community, and inpatient healthcare services.
Evaluation of student-led community rehabilitation and lifestyle service and Implementation of Nasal High Flow (Old ID 27090)
This research grant is to support two studies conducted in Weipa, Cape York. The first project is the “Evaluation and Implementation of a Student-led Community Rehabilitation and Lifestyle Service”, the second project is the “Implementation of Nasal High Flow (NHF): A remote context”. Both projects explore the effectiveness of service delivery to remote and Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people. Both projects explore the effectiveness of the delivery of novel health care interventions. The community rehabilitation project evaluates an innovative health workforce model that is providing a service for people experiencing the impact of non-communicable diseases (chronic disease) that previously didn’t have access to community rehabilitation.
Impact of sleep on educational outcome of Indigenous Australian children: A systematic review
- 2024
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Researchers:Sharon Varela
Title:
Men are shaving off their eyelashes on TikTok, here's why that might be a bad idea, The Conversation
Start Date:
14 May 2025
Start Date:
15 May 2025
Start Date:
03 Jun 2025
Start Date:
01 Jan 2012
Title:
Grants Review
Start Date:
01 Jan 2024
End Date:
01 Jan 2024
Title:
Public Health Advocacy
Start Date:
01 Jan 2024
End Date:
01 Jan 2024
Start Date:
16 Jun 2025