Dr Kate Davies
Conjoint Fellow
School of Medicine and Public Health
- Email:kate.davies@newcastle.edu.au
- Phone:(02) 4042 1623
Career Summary
Biography
Dr Kate Davies is a casual academic and researcher. Her research seeks to better understand and address inequalities that shape people’s experiences of health and wellbeing.
Kate was previously a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health, Faculty of Health and Medicine. She evaluated and examined a range of program and policy approaches to improve mental health outcomes for rural and remote communities. She led the evaluation of the Farm-Link rural suicide prevention program and contributed to evaluations and critiques of a range of integrated care models. Kate’s previous research has produced evidence-based models and strategies for enhancing the participation of people who experience mental health issues in policymaking and service delivery. She has evaluated organisational learning approaches to integrating peer workers into community-based mental health teams and examined ‘lived-experience’ as a valuable and crucial source of knowledge and expertise.
Kate works throughout the Asia-Pacific region in public health and disaster risk reduction roles and brings substantial policymaking and program management expertise to her research work.
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, University of Newcastle
Keywords
- disaster recovery
- evaluation
- international aid and development
- mental health
- service-user participation and lived experience
- sociology of health
Fields of Research
| Code | Description | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 111714 | Mental Health | 50 |
| 111708 | Health and Community Services | 25 |
| 111712 | Health Promotion | 25 |
Professional Experience
Academic appointment
| Dates | Title | Organisation / Department |
|---|---|---|
| 31/03/2016 - | Research Associate | Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health Medicine and Public Health Australia |
Professional appointment
| Dates | Title | Organisation / Department |
|---|---|---|
| 1/04/2012 - 20/12/2013 | International Advisor | Australian Red Cross Tonga |
Teaching
| Code | Course | Role | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| GEOG1030 |
Global Poverty and Development The University of Newcastle |
Lecturer and tutor | 1/03/2014 - 20/07/2016 |
Publications
For publications that are currently unpublished or in-press, details are shown in italics.
Chapter (2 outputs)
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 |
Gray MMA, Coates J, Davies K, 'Social development, the environment and the future of the planet', Future Directions in Social Development, Palgrave, London 141-164 (2017) [B1]
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| 2014 |
Gray M, Agllias K, Davies K, 'Social justice feminism', The Routledge International Handbook of Social Justice 173-187 (2014)
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Journal article (10 outputs)
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 |
Akter S, Davies K, Rich JL, Inder KJ, 'Indigenous women¿s access to maternal healthcare services in lower- and middle-income countries: a systematic integrative review', International Journal of Public Health, (2018) © 2018, Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+). Objectives: Globally, Indigenous people have lower-health status compared to non-Indigenous people due to unequal access to health c... [more] © 2018, Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+). Objectives: Globally, Indigenous people have lower-health status compared to non-Indigenous people due to unequal access to health care. Barriers or enablers to accessing maternal health services by Indigenous women are not well researched. This review aims to determine accessibility and utilisation of maternal primary healthcare services among Indigenous women in lower- and middle-income countries. Methods: We conducted a systematic integrative review of published and grey literature published between 2000 and 2017. Studies on maternal healthcare service utilisation by Indigenous women in lower- and middle-income countries were included. From 3092 articles identified, 10 met the eligibility criteria. Results: The most prominent barrier to accessing maternal primary healthcare services was the top-down nature of intervention programmes, which made programmes culturally unfriendly for Indigenous women. Distance, cost, transport, accommodation, language barriers and lack of knowledge about existing services also impacted access. Conclusions: Findings provided insights into understanding the gaps in existing policies for Indigenous women and their access to maternal health services. Results suggested that efforts be made to ensure appropriate programmes for Indigenous women¿s maternal health right.
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| 2018 |
Handley T, Rich J, Davies K, Lewin T, Kelly B, 'The Challenges of Predicting Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviours in a Sample of Rural Australians with Depression.', International journal of environmental research and public health, 15 1-9 (2018) [C1]
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| 2017 |
Davies K, Gray M, 'The place of service-user expertise in evidence-based practice', JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK, 17 3-20 (2017) [C1]
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| 2017 |
Rich JL, Handley T, Davies K, Perkins D, 'Understanding the Mental Health of Rural Young Adults: Risk and Protective Factors', International Journal of Mental Health and Psychiatry, 3 1-4 (2017) [C1]
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| 2017 |
Gray M, Davies K, Butcher L, 'Finding the right connections: Peer support within a community-based mental health service', International Journal of Social Welfare, 26 188-196 (2017) [C1] © 2016 The Author(s). International Journal of Social Welfare © 2016 International Journal of Social Welfare and John Wiley & Sons Ltd Gray M., Davies K., Butcher L. Finding... [more] © 2016 The Author(s). International Journal of Social Welfare © 2016 International Journal of Social Welfare and John Wiley & Sons Ltd Gray M., Davies K., Butcher L. Finding the right connections: Peer support within a community-based mental health service. This article reports on a qualitative study that examined the organisational enablers and barriers to implementing peer support work in an Australian, rural, community-based mental health service. Interviews with 19 peer and non-peer staff were conducted to identify attitudes towards peer support and whether there were organisational values, practices and strategies that might support the implementation of peer support. The findings revealed that peer support workers were valued for their ability to build trusting connections with clients and to accept client choice in a non-judgemental way. However, peer support workers tended to ¿fill service gaps¿ within intensive, administrative case-management environments. These findings highlight the importance of an organisational-wide approach to integrating peer support, where the responsibilities for adopting new ways of working fall to all staff, not just the peer support workers themselves. Key Practitioner Message: ¿ Practitioners placed high value on the peer support workers on their teams due to their unique personalised engagement with clients; ¿ The roles of peer support workers were poorly understood by team members; ¿ Organisational integration of peer support principles could improve the way all staff engage with clients to reflect a recovery orientation.
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| 2016 |
Ariong SB, Gray M, Davies K, 'Sociocultural context and the success of international aid on National Agricultural Advisory Services program in eastern Uganda', Journal of Social Development in Africa, 31 165-195 (2016) [C1]
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| 2015 |
Davies K, Gray M, 'Mental health service users' aspirations for recovery: Examining the gaps between what policy promises and practice delivers', British Journal of Social Work, 45 i45-i61 (2015) [C1] © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The British Association of Social Workers. This paper draws on findings from an Australian study of mental hea... [more] © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The British Association of Social Workers. This paper draws on findings from an Australian study of mental health service users' perspectives on service user participation to examine the challenges for translating recovery policy into practice. It considers the ways in which national mental health policies and developing welfare reforms reflect and/or contradict the highly personal mode of recovery important to service users; though they seemingly signal potential wins for service user empowerment, they are accompanied by losses for those who do not fit neatly into clinical categorisations. The service users (n = 11) and service providers (n = 6) interviewed for this exploratory qualitative study revealed that recovery was a lifelong process of fluctuating capacity and described a system poorly equipped and often unwilling to move beyond tokenistic modes of participation. The analysis of service user perspectives against the backdrop of policy reform reveals the ongoing tensions between personal and clinical definitions of recovery.
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| 2014 |
Davies K, Gray M, Butcher L, 'Lean on me: the potential for peer support in a non-government Australian mental health service', Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work and Development, 24 109-121 (2014) [C1]
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| 2014 |
Davies K, Gray M, Webb SA, 'Putting the parity into service-user participation: An integrated model of social justice', International Journal of Social Welfare, 23 119-127 (2014) [C1]
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| Show 7 more journal articles | |||||||||||
Review (1 outputs)
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Davies K, 'Book Review of Frontiers of Social Research: Japan and Beyond (2009) |
Conference (12 outputs)
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 |
Livingstone F, Davies K, Handley T, 'How effective are they? An evaluation of community and clinician-targeted rural suicide prevention workshops', Albury, NSW (2017)
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| 2017 | Davies K, Handley T, Livingstone F, de Jaeger A, '"Making the journey easier": An evaluation of community- and clinician-targeted rural suicide prevention workshops', "Making the journey easier": An evaluation of community- and clinician-targeted rural suicide prevention workshops, Kingscliff, NSW, Australia (2017) [E1] | ||||
| 2017 | Davies K, Blacklock N, Turner N, Livingstone F, 'We-Yarn: Starting the discussion about Aboriginal suicide prevention', Sydney, Australia (2017) | ||||
| Show 9 more conferences | |||||
Report (11 outputs)
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Davies K, 'Review of the Division of Local Government and Community Development, Ministry of Internal Affairs', Government of Tonga, 35 (2017) | ||||
| 2017 | Davies K, 'Final evaluation of the Kiribati Red Cross Society Community-based Health Program', Australian Red Cross (2017) | ||||
| 2017 |
Handley TE, Davies K, Rich J, Booth A, Considine R, 'Mental health of Port Stephens youth: Needs analysis study for Caring for Our Port Stephens Youth', Caring for our Port Stephens Youth, 62 (2017)
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| Show 8 more reports | |||||
Thesis / Dissertation (1 outputs)
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Davies K, Service-user perspectives on evidence: Shaping participatory mental health and homelessness services, University of Newcastle (2012) |
Grants and Funding
Summary
| Number of grants | 8 |
|---|---|
| Total funding | $481,298 |
Click on a grant title below to expand the full details for that specific grant.
20175 grants / $342,468
Central Coast LHD Integrated Care Formative Evaluation$133,604
Funding body: Central Coast Local Health District
| Funding body | Central Coast Local Health District |
|---|---|
| Project Team | Professor David Perkins, Doctor Hazel Dalton, Doctor Kate Davies, Doctor Tonelle Handley, Doctor Donna Read, Mrs Angela Booth |
| Scheme | Research Grant |
| Role | Investigator |
| Funding Start | 2017 |
| Funding Finish | 2017 |
| GNo | G1700888 |
| Type Of Funding | C2210 - Aust StateTerritoryLocal - Own Purpose |
| Category | 2210 |
| UON | Y |
GP’s with a Special Interest in Mental Health$100,000
Funding body: Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network
| Funding body | Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network |
|---|---|
| Project Team | Doctor Tonelle Handley, Doctor Hazel Dalton, Professor David Perkins, Louise Upton, Sarah Connor, Jane Connolly, Sean Mutchmor, Doctor Kate Davies |
| Scheme | Research Grant |
| Role | Investigator |
| Funding Start | 2017 |
| Funding Finish | 2018 |
| GNo | G1701306 |
| Type Of Funding | C2110 - Aust Commonwealth - Own Purpose |
| Category | 2110 |
| UON | Y |
Early career research PhD scholarship$78,864
Funding body: The University of Newcastle
| Funding body | The University of Newcastle |
|---|---|
| Project Team | Kate Davies |
| Scheme | Early Career Researcher PhD Support |
| Role | Lead |
| Funding Start | 2017 |
| Funding Finish | 2020 |
| GNo | |
| Type Of Funding | Internal |
| Category | INTE |
| UON | N |
IMHpact evaluation$20,000
Funding body: Mid North Coast Local Health District
| Funding body | Mid North Coast Local Health District |
|---|---|
| Project Team | Pamela Johnson, Lee Ridoutt, Victoria Hirst, Donna Read, Kate Davies, David Perkins |
| Scheme | Mid North Coast Local Health District Research Support program |
| Role | Investigator |
| Funding Start | 2017 |
| Funding Finish | 2017 |
| GNo | |
| Type Of Funding | Other Public Sector - Local |
| Category | 2OPL |
| UON | N |
Evaluation of We-Yarn Aboriginal suicide prevention workshops$10,000
Funding body: Hunter New England and Central Coast Primary Health Network (HNECC)
| Funding body | Hunter New England and Central Coast Primary Health Network (HNECC) |
|---|---|
| Project Team | Kate Davies, Nicole Turner, Donna Read, Angela Booth, Tonelle Handley |
| Scheme | Mental health |
| Role | Lead |
| Funding Start | 2017 |
| Funding Finish | 2017 |
| GNo | |
| Type Of Funding | Other Public Sector - Local |
| Category | 2OPL |
| UON | N |
20162 grants / $48,830
Needs Analysis Study - Mental Health of Port Stephens Youth$41,330
Funding body: Caring for Our Port Stephens Youth (COPSY)
| Funding body | Caring for Our Port Stephens Youth (COPSY) |
|---|---|
| Project Team | Doctor Tonelle Handley, Doctor Kate Davies, Doctor Jane Rich |
| Scheme | Research Project |
| Role | Investigator |
| Funding Start | 2016 |
| Funding Finish | 2016 |
| GNo | G1601159 |
| Type Of Funding | C3112 - Aust Not for profit |
| Category | 3112 |
| UON | Y |
Farm-Link evaluation$7,500
Funding body: Hunter New England and Central Coast Primary Health Network (HNECC)
| Funding body | Hunter New England and Central Coast Primary Health Network (HNECC) |
|---|---|
| Project Team | Kate Davies, Angela Booth, Tonelle Handley, David Perkins |
| Scheme | Mental health |
| Role | Lead |
| Funding Start | 2016 |
| Funding Finish | 2017 |
| GNo | |
| Type Of Funding | Other Public Sector - Local |
| Category | 2OPL |
| UON | N |
20141 grants / $90,000
Social Work$90,000
Funding body: University of Newcastle - Faculty of Education and Arts
| Funding body | University of Newcastle - Faculty of Education and Arts |
|---|---|
| Project Team | Emeritus Professor Mel Gray, Doctor Kylie Agllias, Doctor Amanda Howard, Doctor Tamara Blakemore, Doctor Leanne Schubert, Doctor Milena Heinsch, Doctor Kate Davies, Ms Tiani Hetherington |
| Scheme | Research Programme 2014 |
| Role | Investigator |
| Funding Start | 2014 |
| Funding Finish | 2016 |
| GNo | G1400923 |
| Type Of Funding | Internal |
| Category | INTE |
| UON | Y |
Research Supervision
Number of supervisions
Current Supervision
| Commenced | Level of Study | Research Title | Program | Supervisor Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | PhD | Rural Mental Health Help-Seeking | PhD (CommunityMed & ClinEpid), Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of Newcastle | Principal Supervisor |
| 2016 | PhD | Access to Service Delivery for Ethnic Women of Reproductive Age in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHTs) in Bangladesh | PhD (Gender & Health), Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of Newcastle | Co-Supervisor |
Research Projects
Rural mental health help seeking 2018 - 2019
This project is being implemented as part of Natalie Cheesmond's PhD candidature, supervised by Dr Kate Davies and Associate Professor Kerry Inder.
People living in rural areas of Australia are less likely to seek professional help for mental health concerns than their urban counterparts. This project explores the barriers experienced by rural NSW residents that delay or stop them seeking help for mental distress. It asks whether changes to GP and mental health services might reduce these barriers and increase help-seeking rates.
The research uses a self-administered survey to ask residents of rural New South Wales towns about their beliefs and opinions on mental health issues and asks them to consider whether specific changes to health services might make it easier for them to seek help for mental distress should they wish to.
Edit
Dr Kate Davies
Positions
Conjoint Fellow
Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health
School of Medicine and Public Health
Faculty of Health and Medicine
Casual Academic
Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health
School of Humanities and Social Science
Faculty of Education and Arts
Contact Details
| kate.davies@newcastle.edu.au | |
| Phone | (02) 4042 1623 |
Office
| Room | HMRI, Level 4 West |
|---|---|
| Building | Hunter Medical Research Institute |