Aboriginal Studies Program: Research Supervisor Profiles

Name of Project Supervisor:

Professor Kathleen Clapham

Short Supervisor Bio:

Kathleen is the Director of the Woolyungah Indigenous Centre and the Coordinator of the Aboriginal Studies Honours Program. Kathleen is a descendent of the Murrawarri people of New South Wales. She has a PhD in Anthropology and has worked in higher education and research since 1985, specialising in Indigenous health research and education for the past 12 years.

Supervisor Research Keywords:

    • Indigenous Health

    • Social Determinants of Health

    • Indigenous Injury prevention and safety promotion

    • Community based interventions

    • Indigenous health workforce development.

Research Interests:

The focus of Kathleen’s present research is the development of resiliency based interventions to improve Aboriginal child and family health and well being in NSW. She has a strong interest in multi-disciplinary research to address complex health and social issues in socio-economically disadvantaged Indigenous communities. In particularly she is interested in working on practical solutions to problems through public health interventions, education programs, community based solutions and the translation of research into policy and practice.

Suggested Student Research Topics:

    • Exploring factors leading to high rates of road injury amongst Aboriginal people

    • Addressing social determinants of health through community based initiatives

    • Models of intervention for the prevention of violence

    • Aboriginal Child and youth health

    • Resiliency and Indigenous well being

    • Aboriginal health and community development

    • Aboriginal health policy

    • Partnerships and collaborations in Aboriginal health

    • Evaluating Community Based Programs

Brief Track Record:

Kathleen is currently involved in a number of large National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) funded research projects. She is first named investigator on Safe Koori Kids: Community Based Approaches to Injury Prevention, a 3 year study (2006-8) which involves the development of a school and community based intervention to prevent injury to Aboriginal children and youth in South West Sydney. She is one of a team of Chief Investigators on large NSW cohort study of Aboriginal child health, Study of Environment on Aboriginal Resilience and Child Health (SEARCH). Other current projects include, the Evaluation of the Blacktown Aboriginal Safety Promotion Program funded by NSW Health and the Roads and Traffic Authority of NSW; and a capacity building project Safety Promotion and Injury Prevention Program for Rural and Remote Aboriginal Health and Community Workers which is being carried out in collaboration with The George Institute for International Health, Yooroang Garang; School of Indigenous Health Studies and the Bourke Aboriginal Medical service.

For Further Details See:

http://www.uow.edu.au/wic/staffprofiles/UOW033666.html

Last reviewed: 25 October, 2007