Dr Meredith Tavener

Biography

Meredith Tavener is a qualified Exercise Physiologist, who completed further studies in health promotion (Graduate Diploma), and epidemiology (Research Masters) before completing her PhD. Her first appointment with the University of Newcastle (Australia) was as Senior Research Coordinator for the $1.65 million Department of Veterans’ Affairs “Preventive Care Trial” (1996-2001). This position involved the coordination of a four-year randomised controlled trial of health assessments for older people, undertaken in ten different towns in two Australian states. She also provided assistance to two PhD students who were working on the project, and completed her Research Masters. In 2001 Meredith was then asked to stay on as Project Manager on the $2.0 million Department of Defence “Study of Health Outcomes in Aircraft Maintenance Personnel” (2001-2004), involving a large number of participants throughout Australia.

Meredith moved to the Priority Research Centre for Gender, Health and Ageing in August 2004 as a Research Academic, and was involved in a number of different projects before beginning full time PhD studies in 2005. Her work explored the existence and construct of an Australian baby boomer stereotype, taking a constructivist, mixed methods approach, framed within social gerontology. During 2010 and 2011 Meredith took up a two-year Postdoctoral position at the University of Groningen (Netherlands) to help develop their new healthy ageing focus (the €4.2 million Healthy Ageing: Population and Society program). Her interests and areas of expertise include: social gerontology, healthy ageing, identity in older age, baby boomers and narrative analysis. She has lectured in demography, healthy ageing, qualitative methods and public health, and is currently working on a number of complementary research projects, all related to issues of ageing well, retirement and time use.

Qualifications

• PhD (Community Health & Clinical Epidemiology), University of Newcastle, 2010
• Master of Medical Science, University of Newcastle, 2004
• Graduate Diploma in Health Promotion, University of Newcastle, 1996
• Bachelor of Applied Science (Honours), University of Ballarat, 1991
• Bachelor of Applied Science (Human Movement), Ballarat University College - Vic, 1989

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Research

Research keywords

• Baby boomers
• Caregiving
• Narrative analysis
• Qualitative data and methods
• Retirement transitions
• Use of time in older age
• Women's retirement

Research expertise

Meredith's recent work has explored the existence and construct of an Australian baby boomer stereotype, taking a constructivist, mixed methods approach, framed within social gerontology. During 2010 and 2011 Meredith took up a two-year Postdoctoral position at the University of Groningen (Netherlands) to help develop their new healthy ageing focus (the €4.2 million HAPS program). Her interests and areas of expertise include: social gerontology, healthy ageing, identity in older age, baby boomers and narrative analysis. She has lectured in demography, healthy ageing, qualitative methods and public health, and is currently working on a number of complementary research projects, all related to issues of ageing well, retirement and time use.

Collaboration

Meredith maintains close ties to colleagues at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, and is working with their student exchange director, for Groningen students to attend the Research Centre for Gender, Health and Ageing and complete an Internship. The first visiting intern is due to arrive in April 2013, to analyse qualitative data from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health for those women who have had a stroke.

Meredith was invited to participate in an Indian-European Research Networking Programme in the Social Sciences (ANR-DFG-ESRC-NWO with ICSSR) grant to examine "Ageing and well-being in a globalizing world".

She also sits on the advisory panel for the "Living longer on less" project with team members exploring women's retirement finances.

Languages

• English

Fields of Research

Code	Description	Percentage
110308	Geriatrics And Gerontology	80
111706	Epidemiology	10
111700	Public Health And Health Services	10

Centres and Groups

Centre

• Hunter Medical Research Institute

Group

• Hunter Medical Research Institute - Public Health

Memberships

Other

• Editor - Australian Association of Gerontology

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Administrative

Administrative expertise

Meredith was a Senior Research Coordinator for the $1.65 million Department of Veterans’ Affairs “Preventive Care Trial” (1996-2001). This position involved the coordination of a four-year randomised controlled trial of health assessments for older people, undertaken in ten different towns in two Australian states. In 2001 Meredith was asked to stay on as Project Manager on the $2.0 million Department of Defence “Study of Health Outcomes in Aircraft Maintenance Personnel” (2001-2004), involving a large number of participants throughout Australia. Meredith also holds a position as Honorary Secretary for the Australian Association of Gerontology.

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Teaching

Teaching keywords

• Demography of ageing
• Public health
• Social gerontology

Teaching expertise

University of Groningen, Netherlands

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Write, Coordinate and Deliver – “Healthy Ageing: A Socio-Demographic Perspective”.

Taught as an optional 8-week course for Bachelor students at the University of Groningen, the course includes topics such as theoretical perspectives, demographic and epidemiologic transitions, the effect of ageing on the individual, and the influence of the individual within their society, constructs of ageing and ageism, giving meaning, and diversity in ageing, the life course, self determination and self agency. The course includes guest lecturers, a film discussion, paper reviews and grant application assessment.

PROVIDED GUEST LECTURING FOR:

Theories of Demographic Behaviour

Population and Development

Methods of Research: Qualitative Text Analysis

Population, Health and Place

Qualitative Research Methodologies: In-depth interviewing

University of Newcastle, NSW Australia

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Master of Public Health – Ageing module

Advanced Health Psychology – Gender and Health module