Mental Health, Impairment and Injury

Led by Associate Professor Michael Fitzharris, the MUARC Mental Health, Impairment and Injury team use their research and clinical expertise to examine key questions in road safety and the workplace.

Working in partnership with stakeholders in Government, industry, key University collaborators and the private sector in Australia and globally, our mission is to deliver insights that lead to impactful and practical change that serve to prevent injury and mitigate its impact when it occurs.

Expertise

The team are experts at combining data-driven analysis with clinician-researcher insights.  Their work bridges research and practice to improve safety outcomes, influence regulatory policy, and support better mental health and wellbeing in transport, workplace and the community in Australia and in Low-and-Middle Income Countries.

TEAM LEAD

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RESEARCH TEAM

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Research Capabilities

The team has capabilities in three broad areas:

Mental health

  • Design and evaluation of mental-health focussed interventions and programs, including psychological safety and behaviour change programs.
  • Safety and well-being of persons with a disability, including people who are blind and have low vision.
  • Impacts of trauma and injury on Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities and persons from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Impairment, driving and workplace injury

  • Medical cannabis, prescription medication and driving.
  • Impacts of alcohol, non-prescribed use of medications, and illicit drugs on road and workplace safety.
  • Role of drowsiness and links to distraction in driving and injury.

Post-crash and workplace injury outcomes and management

  • Impacts of trauma and injury on mental health outcomes, including PTSD.
  • Compensation system design and evaluation.

Approaches and Methods

  • The team adopts a mixed-methods approach in their work, using administrative (hospital, police, compensation systems) datasets, in-depth crash investigation data, qualitative approaches, and purpose-built simulator car, truck, and motorcycle experiments.
  • Regulatory analysis, including the determination of the economic cost of injury for use in Regulatory Impact Assessments (including BCRs) of vehicle technology, health-based programs, and road safety policy.

PROJECTS

PUBLICATIONS