Karen Johnston

I am an early career researcher dedicated to advancing health equity through my work in health systems, health services and medical education. Since 2012, I have been an active researcher in these fields, serving as a key investigator in multiple projects focused on medical education and health services to improve access and care for underserved populations.

I have a strong interest in participatory research approaches. My current work focuses on participatory place-based planning for health in the northern Queensland region. In this project, I collaborated with community members in remote communities to co-design, plan and evaluate improvements in delivery of care and other community-driven initiatives. I am also collaborating on research with public health service partners to explore strategies to improve consumer involvement in health research. In my doctoral research, I worked  together with stakeholders in Fiji using participatory and decolonising methods to identify areas for positive change for the health and wellbeing of older people living with dementia.

I am particularly interested and experienced in the evaluation of health services for rural and remote populations. Drawing on my expertise in implementation research and evaluation, I am leading the qualitative component of an evaluation of the national Australian Teletrial Program. Other past evaluation research includes an evaluation of the BreastScreen Remote Radiology Assessment Model. This model was developed by health professionals in response to the need to improve access to breast cancer assessment services for rural and remote women.