Department Staff

Research Interest:

Jessica's program of research is primarily concerned with health impact assessment (HIA) and health promotion. The major focus of her work thus far has been on the application of HIA to regeneration schemes and exploring its utility as a mechanism to engage communities in policy decision-making processes.

She is involved in ongoing research and training linked to the positioning of HIA at a range of levels of government and in developing, refining and applying these tools and was a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the 2009 International HIA conference held in Liverpool. Jessica's research interests include the links between health and community regeneration, issues related to HIA (e.g. gender, equity, power, engagement, intersectoral working) and the strategic role of HIA in government, business and HIA capacity building. She also has a keen research interest in health promotion, with a focus on the systems and structures that support health attainment and which address health inequities.

Supervision:

Jessica is interested in postgraduate research supervision within the areas of:

• Issues linked to health impact assessment (e.g. gender, equity, power, engagement)
• Links between health and community regeneration
• Social inclusion
• Health inequality and inequity
• Community based participatory research

Grants:

           City of Port Philip – St Kilda Inclusion Project (SIP) Evaluation (Current)

Jessica's primary teaching interests within the Department of Health Social Science are aligned with various aspects of health promotion, community and partnerships development and qualitative research methods.