Alumni

The Alumni of the Department of General Practice have gone on to have a significant influence in their fields of interest and drive standards and insights across a spectrum of general practice areas. Their skills and research pursuits will see them advance public policy discussions in the future, putting the department at the forefront of primary care policy discourse.

Our students are engaged in a range of research subjects. The Department’s goal is to shape both policy and practice with evidence-based insights gained through finely honed research projects. Here are some examples of research projects that have been completed by our Alumni.

Honours

Seema Deb (BMedSc Hons)

Supervisors: Professor Danielle Mazza , Dr Asvini Subasinghe

Project Title: Improving and increasing the delivery of medical abortion in Australian general practice: models of care

Although the current method of Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MToP) has been approved by the Australian government since 2012, very few general practitioners provide this service. The qualitative data generated from this project will describe the current models of care used by providers and seek to explain how they have established and maintained effective access to such a service. Its aim is to potentially assist other primary care providers to set up similar services in areas of need. This project sits in the medical abortion stream of SPHERE-The Centre of Research Excellence in Sexual and Reproductive Health for Women: Achieving Better Outcomes through Primary Care.

Ridmi Dolamulla (BMS Hons)

Supervisors: Professor Danielle Mazza , Dr Asvini Subasinghe

Project Title: Statistical analysis of Australian Contraceptive ChOice pRoject's (ACCORd) contraception specific data and construction of comprehensive contraceptive advice for general practitioners

Drawing upon data collected during baseline interviews from the Australian Contraceptive ChOice pRoject (ACCORd) this project will explore women’s contraceptive journeys. Reported previous use of contraception to current contraception used will be documented. Contraceptive experience, side-effects, bleeding patterns, reasons for discontinuation and levels of satisfaction will be explored in order to gain a holistic idea of women’s experience of, and attitudes towards different types of contraceptives. This research will enable health care professionals to better understand women’s contraceptive journey and provide more comprehensive contraceptive advice.

Sumudu Setunge (BMedSc Hons)

Supervisors: Dr Jo Enticott and Prof Grant Russell

Project Title: The economic integration of resettled refugees in Australia as a predictor of mental illness: A five year longitudinal study

In 2013 the Australian Institute of Family services commissioned the Building a New Life in Australia longitudinal study into how humanitarian migrants settle into Australia. This research project aims to review the data from the fourth wave of the study to analyse the potential association between the economic integration of refugees and the prevalence of poor mental health. This project will investigate the demographics associated with financial stresses, employment, and income and aim to identify targets of policy to help decrease the well-recognised burden of mental illness experienced by refugees.

PhD

	Annette Peart MHlthSc(OccTher), BAppSc(OccTher), GradCertMgmt Email: Annette.Peart@monash.edu PhD title: Person-centred care in a Hospital Admission Risk Program for people with multiple chronic conditions. Annette’s research involves an exploration of person-centred care in a program that aims to reduce hospital demand through comprehensive assessment, care coordination, and timely responsive specialist care in the community for people with complex needs who present frequently to hospital or the emergency department, or are at imminent risk of presenting to hospital. This program is a Victorian-government funded initiative called Hospital Admission Risk Program (HARP) in south-eastern Melbourne. With the overall aim of exploring person-centred care in the HARP, Annette’s specific research questions are: What are the experiences of HARP clients with multiple chronic conditions in planning and enacting their care? What are the experiences of these clients in using information provided by HARP providers to make decisions about their care? How does the HARP identify and respond to their clients’ needs? What characteristics of person-centred care matter most to these HARP clients with multiple chronic conditions? What are the barriers and enablers of person-centred care in the HARP? These questions will be answered by collecting qualitative data via semi-structured interviews with HARP staff and clients, observation of outpatient clinics accessed by the clients, and analysis of the electronic medical records of interviewed clients. The results of this project will contribute to the emerging evidence surrounding person-centred care for people with multiple chronic conditions. Annette is a registered occupational therapist the current recipient of The Leon Piterman AM PhD Scholarship and commenced her candidature in January 2016. Annette also works as a Lecturer within the Department of Occupational Therapy, coordinating two fourth-year undergraduate units. Prior to joining Monash University, Annette was an occupational therapist working in various rehabilitation settings and a service delivery manager with CRS Australia for ten years.
Dr Alison Dowling (2020)	Thesis title: An investigation into the association of pre- and post-migration experiences on self-rated health among new humanitarian refugees to Australia: a mixed methods longitudinal study
Dr Alison Flehr (2019)	Thesis Title: #MindinBody. An investigation of persistent pain from a psychobiological perspective
Dr Ala Ahmad (2019)	Thesis Title: Clinical Ethics from an Islamic Perspective: Issues Relating to Health Service Management in Jordan
Dr Maithri Peiris-Goonetilleke (2019)	Thesis Title: An exploration of structural factors involved in the HIV epidemic in Swaziland
Dr Ruby Biezan (2019)	Thesis title: Knowledge, attitude and practice of parents and primary care providers in the prevention and management of respiratory tract infections in young children
Dr Maria Alexandris (2018)	Thesis Title: A Study of the Role of Connectedness in Supporting Young People's Housing Security
Dr Diana Murray (2018)	Thesis title: "Balancing 'me': Managing the self through bipolar disorder"
Dr Karyn Alexander (2018)	Thesis title: "Preventive healthcare for young children in general practice"

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Alumni

Honours

Seema Deb (BMedSc Hons)

Ridmi Dolamulla (BMS Hons)

Sumudu Setunge (BMedSc Hons)

PhD

Annette Peart

International scholars

Liesbeth Hunik
Visiting Scholar from Radboud University, The Netherlands