Penny Buykx

Senior Research Fellow

1.   Mental Health
2.   Alcohol and Drug Use and Related Harms
3.   Models of Health Service Provision
4.   Health Service Evaluation
5.   Population Health

Penny is an experienced researcher with an emerging profile in the areas of mental health and rural health. Penny was awarded her PhD in 2008. Her thesis examined the themes of depression, suicidal ideation, and medication overdose. Penny has been employed as a health researcher since 1997 and has undertaken a variety of epidemiological, clinical, and service evaluation projects. Penny has highly developed skills in a range of research methods. She is a regular peer-reviewer for a number of national and international journals.

Buykx, P., Kinsman, L., Cooper, T., McConnell-Henry, T., Cant, R., Endacott, R. & Scholes, J. (In press). FIRST2ACT: Educating nurses to identify patient deterioration - a theory-based model for best practice simulation education. Nurse Education Today.

Tham, R., Humphreys, J., Kinsman, L., Buykx, P., Asaid, A., & Tuohey, K. (2011). Study protocol: Evaluating the impact of a rural Australian primary health care service on rural health. BMC Health Services Research, 11(1), 52.

Buykx, P., Loxley, W., Dietze, P., & Ritter, A. (2010). Medications used in overdose and how they are acquired – an investigation of cases attending an inner Melbourne Emergency Department. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 34(4), 401-404.

Buykx, P., Humphreys, J., Wakerman, J., & Pashen, D. (2010). A systematic review of effective retention incentives for health workers in rural and remote areas: Towards evidence based policy. Australian Journal of Rural Health, 18, 102-109.

Buykx, P., Dietze, P., Ritter, A. & Loxley, W. (2010). Characteristics of medication overdose presentations to the ED: how do they differ from illicit drug overdose and self-harm cases? Emergency Medicine Journal, 27, 499-503.

'Locating alcohol and drug prevention and treatment interventions within national healthcare reform: Research for change (Patient pathways)' 
An exciting new project has commenced to gather information and provide advice in the alcohol and other drug sector. The project has three priorities: (1) documenting current AOD prevention and treatment systems in Australia, (2) understanding pathways through care, and (3) describing a specialist AOD system in terms of interventions and linkages with primary / community care. Major benefits of the project are the exploration of current AOD systems in Australia, people's interface with health and other systems, and the use of this information to provide critical comment about the future of AOD service provision in the context of national health reform. The project team includes researchers from Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre, the National Drug Research Institute, the Alcohol and other Drugs Council of Australia and the Monash University School of Rural Health. The project has been funded by Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing for July 2011 - December 2013.
More information is available from http://www.turningpoint.org.au/Research/Health-Services/HS-Projects/Patient-pathways.aspx

'Making a Difference – The impact of an innovative primary health service on a rural community.' 
This project aims to undertake a comprehensive evaluation of the role and impact of the Elmore Primary Health Service on the health status of its catchment community in terms of quality of care, service sustainability, impact on health service use, health behaviours and community viability. Knowledge of these key issues provides a platform of evidence on which other small rural and remote communities can model their own health services as a means of maximising access to vital comprehensive primary health care and thereby bringing about improved health outcomes through health promotion, prevention of ill-health and early intervention.