College of Healthcare Sciences

Lisa Shaw

Lisa Shaw

Stephen Yu

Stephen Yu

Karen Smith

Karen Smith

Chae Rose

Chae Rose

Helen Petsky

Helen Petsky

Lucy Bird

Lucy Bird

Matthew Yau

Matthew Yau

Alyssia Merrick

Alyssia Merrick

Louise Myles

Louise Myles

Sandra Dash

Sandra Dash

The Bamboo Parenting Program: Promotion of a Randomised Pilot Trial.
Brian Law
01 Jun 2024
The Bamboo Parenting Program is an online social support program for first-time mothers in the perinatal period. The program has been designed to prevent mental illness during this vulnerable period, and by leveraging social support, Bamboo targets one of the most significant predictors of mental health for perinatal women. The program pairs first-time mothers with volunteer mothers or with mother-nominated individuals (with support training provided in program). Pairs work together to navigate the critical and difficult perinatal period. Funding from this seed fund will be used to promote a pilot randomised trial in North Queensland.
Strengthening the resilience of ICU nurses: Co-designing an online education intervention.
Brian Law
01 Jun 2024
ICU nurses are at increased risk of burnout, compassion fatigue, depression, and PTSD. Numerous studies have suggested that strengthening resilience in ICU nurses can decrease these negative psychological impacts. Research indicates that education and interventions to build resilience can positively influence resilience and well-being in ICU nurses. However, there is a paucity of research that explores the potential of accessible online education interventions to influence nurse resilience. Accordingly, this project will use focus groups of ICU nurses with varied experience to inform the co-design of online education to build resilience in ICU nurses.
Am I Talking to a Real Person? Experimental Investigations into Human Perceptions of Therapeutic Chatbots.
Brian Law
01 Jun 2024
Therapeutic chatbots could enhance the accessibility of psychological treatments, reducing wait times and costs; yet questions remain about user acceptance. Millet et al. (2023) highlight biases against AI-generated art, suggesting a similar bias may exist for perceptions of therapeutic chatbots. This program of experimental research will investigate whether therapeutic communications are perceived as less empathetic when attributed to therapeutic chatbots, as opposed to humans, across three populations: the general community; therapists/counsellors; and mental health app users. This research will inform future integration of chatbots into digital interventions, including their suitability across different contexts, and highlight targets for improved user experience.
Experiences of men who have sex with men (MSM) on dating apps.
Brian Law
01 Jun 2024
Dating app preferences among men who have sex with men (MSM) privileges partner profiles that depict norms of masculinity and particular ethnicities. Concerningly, preoccupation to appear masculine and internalisation of race-based sexual stereotypes are linked with health disparities. This study will attempt to elucidate the role of bias in partner preferences among MSM within the Australian context. Specifically, the study will explore the impact of masculinity and ethnicity in partner preferences on dating apps. It will also explore how self-esteem, body image and social identity influence MSM’s dating preferences.
A community-driven approach to health care partnerships and sustainable health outcomes with Indigenous communities in North Queensland.
Brian Law
01 Jan 2021
Western approaches to healthcare are often deficit-focused, top-down structures characterised by professionals’ identification of health problems and development and implementation of policies/promotions. Such approaches overlook an important prerequisite for improved health outcomes, which is to build genuine culturally safe partnerships between healthcare systems and Indigenous communities. These processes must be informed by Indigenous voices. This project is unique, targeting a community driven approach to (a) gain Indigenous perspectives on health and research, identify priorities among Indigenous communities in North Queensland, and (b) active relationship-building with healthcare providers/researchers, and building of health care options with Indigenous communities in North Queensland.
SMART MARK - A pilot trial exploring the marking of assessments using Artificial Intelligence
Brian Law
01 Jun 2024
This project will explore the use of artificial intelligence (AI) system as a marking aid for the Graduate Diploma in Psychology (Bridging) Program. Marking assessments and providing feedback to students are essential steps in pedagogy that keep track of student progress and contribute to learning outcomes. Leveraging customised and user-controlled AI models to assess large numbers of student assessments in a systematic, consistent, and efficient way can bring cost savings, help educators to manage tight turnaround times, improve quality of teaching and keep students engaged in their course of study.
GatherTown: Transforming the 4th Year Mini-Conference Experience in Psychology
Brian Law
01 Aug 2023 - 31 Dec 2024
Annually, 4th year psychology students meet with staff to discuss potential research projects and present their completed research at a mini-conference. Driven by growth in external enrollments, these events have typically been conducted via Zoom. However, Zoom provides limited opportunity for staff-student interaction. To enhance the student experience, a more interactive virtual platform,GatherTown, was trialled.
Concurrent Validity & Client Acceptability of a Portable Mat for Clinical Assessment of Balance in Older Adults.
Carol Flavell
01 Sep 2024 - 01 Aug 2026
This is an observational study in a sample of 100 community dwelling older adults with varying falls risk. We will report convergent validity of a portable, low-cost Balance assessment tool in reference to a force plate and two clinical balance assessment methods, and will include a study of client acceptability of the Balance assessment tool assessed using a mixed methods questionnaire.
Reliability and validity of salivary cortisol levels of healthy adults measured using a point of collection analysis method (POCSS)
Carol Flavell
01 Apr 2024 - 01 Aug 2025
This research will test out the reliability and validity of IPRO©, a collection and analysis method for human saliva. This method calculates how much of the hormone known as cortisol is present in saliva, and this is one of several indicators of how much stress a person is experiencing. IPRO© is a ‘point of collection’ method, meaning that collection and analysis can be conducted in places where this sort of testing has not traditionally been possible. By comparing the IPRO© method to a traditional laboratory-based saliva analysis method we hope to find out if this ‘point of collection’ method is valuable for future research and clinical use.
The presence and severity of episodic disability, and frailty, in people living with HIV in regional Australia: a cross-sectional study with a nested reliability and validity study of the HIV Disability Questionnaire.
Carol Flavell
01 Apr 2020 - 01 Jan 2025
This is a cross sectional study of people living with HIV. The study will report how much difficulty people living with HIV in a regional area such as Townsville have doing everyday tasks, hobbies, sports, their jobs, memory, emotion, or participating in social events. Together, these difficulties are known as disability and frailty. This research project will also test if the way these difficulties are measured in other parts of the world, such as north America and Africa, are suitable for regional northern Australia. Finding out the difficulties that people living with HIV have, will tell us if changes are needed in health and community services to improve the lives of people living with HIV in the Townsville area or other regional areas of Australia.
Title: Challenges accepted - Ex army driver to tackle three sports at Invictus Games, Townsville Bulletin
Reseracher: Brian Heilbronn (Senior Lecturer / Clinical Educator / Clinical Placement Coordinator)
Start Date: 28 Apr 2023
Title: JCU Bring out your dead! Green Open Access Project 2024 – College of Healthcare Sciences Winner
Reseracher: Amanda Krause (Senior Lecturer, Psychology)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2024
Title: JCU Veterans program aids Townsville veteran to prepare for Invictus Games , Triple M
Reseracher: Brian Heilbronn (Senior Lecturer / Clinical Educator / Clinical Placement Coordinator)
Start Date: 28 Apr 2023
Title: Lecturer, Clinical Psychology, James Cook University
Reseracher: Carolyn Heward (Doctor of Philosophy (Health))
Start Date: 01 Jan 2021
End Date: 01 Jan 2025
Title: Hooker the allrounder, Townsville Bulletin
Reseracher: Brian Heilbronn (Senior Lecturer / Clinical Educator / Clinical Placement Coordinator)
Start Date: 17 May 2024
Title: Supervising Clinical Psychologist, Department of Defence/Serco
Reseracher: Carolyn Heward (Doctor of Philosophy (Health))
Start Date: 01 Jan 2016
End Date: 01 Jan 2021
Title: Casual Lecturer/Tutor, James Cook University
Reseracher: Carolyn Heward (Doctor of Philosophy (Health))
Start Date: 01 Jan 2013
End Date: 01 Jan 2020
Title: Senior Mental Health Professional, Department of Defence
Reseracher: Carolyn Heward (Doctor of Philosophy (Health))
Start Date: 01 Jan 2012
End Date: 01 Jan 2014
Title: Alcohol, Tobacco & Other Drugs (ATOD) Coordinator, Department of Defence
Reseracher: Carolyn Heward (Doctor of Philosophy (Health))
Start Date: 01 Jan 2011
End Date: 01 Jan 2012
Title: NQ veteran amputee athlete to take on the world at Warrior Games in US, The Courier Mail
Reseracher: Brian Heilbronn (Senior Lecturer / Clinical Educator / Clinical Placement Coordinator)
Start Date: 18 May 2024