Dr Kate Davies

Lecturer

School of Humanities and Social Science

Email:kate.davies@newcastle.edu.au
Phone:4055 3106

Career Summary

Biography

Dr Kate Davies is a Human Services Lecturer with the School of Humanities and Social Science.

Kate has taught across of range of sociology, health and development courses.

Kate is a sociologist whose 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 academic work.

Qualifications

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Newcastle

Keywords

disaster recovery
evaluation
human services
international aid and development
mental health
service-user participation and lived experience
sociology of health

Fields of Research

Code	Description	Percentage
160512	Social Policy	25
111714	Mental Health	50
111708	Health and Community Services	25

Professional Experience

UON Appointment

Title	Organisation / Department
Lecturer	University of Newcastle School of Humanities and Social Science Australia

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
SOCA2505	Sociology and Psychology of Mental Health for Occupational Therapy School of Humanities and Social Science - Faculty of Education and Arts - The University of Newcastle	Lecturer, Tutor, Course Coordinator (2019)	1/02/2018 - 17/07/2019

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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]

Co-authors	Mel Gray

2014

Gray M, Agllias K, Davies K, 'Social justice feminism', The Routledge International Handbook of Social Justice 173-187 (2014)

DOI	10.4324/9781315857534
Citations	Scopus - 3
Co-authors	Kylie Agllias, Mel Gray

Journal article (12 outputs)

Year

Citation

Altmetrics

Link

2019

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, 64 343-353 (2019)

© 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.

DOI	10.1007/s00038-018-1177-4
Citations	Scopus - 1Web of Science - 1
Co-authors	Shahinoor Akter Uon, Jane Rich, Kerry Inder

2019

Dalton H, Read DMY, Booth A, Perkins D, Goodwin N, Hendry A, et al., 'Formative Evaluation of the Central Coast Integrated Care Program (CCICP), NSW Australia.', Int J Integr Care, 19 15 (2019)

DOI	10.5334/ijic.4633
Co-authors	Donna Read, David Perkins, Hazel Dalton

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]

DOI	10.3390/ijerph15050928
Citations	Scopus - 4Web of Science - 3
Co-authors	Terry Lewin, Brian Kelly, Jane Rich

2017

Davies K, Gray M, 'The place of service-user expertise in evidence-based practice', JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK, 17 3-20 (2017) [C1]

DOI	10.1177/1468017316637222
Citations	Scopus - 3Web of Science - 2
Co-authors	Mel Gray

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]

DOI	10.4172/2471-4372.1000154
Co-authors	David Perkins, Jane Rich

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 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.

DOI	10.1111/ijsw.12222
Citations	Scopus - 2Web of Science - 2
Co-authors	Mel Gray

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]

Co-authors	Mel Gray

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 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.

DOI	10.1093/bjsw/bcv089
Citations	Scopus - 3Web of Science - 2
Co-authors	Mel Gray

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]

DOI	10.1080/02185385.2014.885213
Citations	Scopus - 7Web of Science - 7
Co-authors	Mel Gray

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]

DOI	10.1111/ijsw.12049
Citations	Scopus - 14Web of Science - 12
Co-authors	Mel Gray

2012

Davies K, 'Out of the evidence loop: Young people s lack of power in evidence-based practice', Parity, 25 28-29 (2012)

Cheesmond NE, Davies K, Inder KJ, 'Exploring the role of rurality and rural identity in mental health help-seeking behavior: A systematic qualitative review.', Journal of Rural Mental Health, 43 45-59

DOI	10.1037/rmh0000109
Co-authors	Kerry Inder

Show 9 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 (19 outputs)

Year

Citation

Altmetrics

Link

2019

Akter S, Inder K, Davies K, Rich J, 'Antenatal care (ANC) service utilisation among Indigenous women in Chittagong Hill Tracts Bangladesh', Cairns (2019)

Co-authors	Kerry Inder, Shahinoor Akter Uon

2019

Akter S, Davies K, Rich J, Inder K, 'Attitudes towards & experiences of accessing maternal health care services among the Indigenous women in Khagrachhari district, Bangladesh', Kuala Lampur, Malaysia (2019)

Co-authors	Shahinoor Akter Uon, Kerry Inder

2019

Akter S, Inder K, Davies K, Rich J, 'Maternal health care access among Indigenous women in Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh', Adelaide (2019)

Co-authors	Shahinoor Akter Uon, Kerry Inder

2019

Akter S, Inder K, Davies K, Rich J, 'Review of Indigenous women s access to maternal healthcare in low-middle income countries', Adelaide (2019)

Co-authors	Jane Rich, Shahinoor Akter Uon, Kerry Inder

2018

Davies K, Booth A, Livingstone F, ' It Made It Real : Applying Rural Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Training in Everyday Life', It Made It Real : Applying Rural Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Training in Everyday Life, Quebec, Canada (2018)

DOI	10.1177/1609406917748701

2018

Dalton H, Perkins D, Goodwin N, Hendry A, Davies K, Read D, Handley T, 'Use of the Project Integrate Framework for situational analysis and benchmarking of progress towards care integration in the Central Coast NSW', INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTEGRATED CARE (2018)

DOI	10.5334/ijic.s1088
Co-authors	Nicholas Goodwin, Hazel Dalton, Donna Read, Angela Booth, David Perkins

2018

Dalton HE, Perkins D, Goodwin N, Hendry A, Read D, Booth A, et al., 'Using the Project Integrate Framework for assessing progress towards care integration: Results from a formative evaluation of a complex intervention in Central Coast Local Health District, NSW, Australia', Utrecht, Netherlands (2018)

Co-authors	Donna Read, Hazel Dalton, David Perkins, Angela Booth

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)

Co-authors	David Perkins

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)

2017

Davies K, Livingstone F, Booth A, ' It made it real': Applying rural suicide prevention gatekeeper training in everyday life', International Journal of Qualitative Methods, Quebec, Canada (2017)

Co-authors	Angela Booth

2016

Rich JL, Booth A, Rowlands A, Reddy P, Crestani A, Davies K, 'The Step by Step bush fire support service: evaluation of a psycho-social recovery and resilience model', Broadbeach, Gold Coast, Australia (2016)

Co-authors	Jane Rich, Angela Booth

2016

Davies K, Turner N, Read D, Livingstone F, 'Evaluating the impact of Farm-Link s Aboriginal suicide prevention activities', Orange, NSW Australia (2016)

Co-authors	Donna Read

2016

Livingstone F, Turner N, Davies K, Read D, Booth A, Dalton H, Perkins D, 'Connecting the Dots a Strengths-Based Approach to Aboriginal Suicide Prevention', Canberra (2016)

Co-authors	David Perkins, Hazel Dalton, Angela Booth, Donna Read

2014

Davies K, Gray M, Butcher L, 'Examining the potential for peer support work to enhance recovery-oriented practice', 6th Australian Rural & Remote Mental Health Symposium, Albury, NSW (2014)

Co-authors	Mel Gray

2011

Davies K, 'Consumer perspectives on participation and evidence: tools for socially just services?', Melbourne (2011)

2011

Davies K, ' Our stories are important too : Service user expertise and Evidence-based Practice', La Trobe University, Melbourne (2011)

2009

Davies K, 'Consumer perspectives on evidence: a tool for shaping human services', Vilnius, Lithuania (2009)

2006

Davies K, 'Can swinging from trees reduce poverty?', Proceedings of : the challenges we face : National Outdoor Conference, Gold Coast, Australia (2006)

Show 16 more conferences

Report (13 outputs)

Year

Citation

Altmetrics

Link

2018

Dalton HE, Read D, Handley T, Booth A, Davies K, Goodwin N, Hendry A, 'Central Coast Integrated Care Program: Formative Evaluation Report', Central Coast Local Health District (2018)

Co-authors	Donna Read, Hazel Dalton, Angela Booth

2018

Read D, Dalton H, Booth A, Davies K, Handley T, Goodwin N, et al., 'Central Coast Integrated Care Program: Formative Evaluation, Technical Paper', Central Coast Local Health District (2018)

Co-authors	Angela Booth, Hazel Dalton, David Perkins, Donna Read

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)

Co-authors	Angela Booth

2015

Shepherd M, Davies K, Poon K, Tynnemark L, Balpe A, Garces H, 'Mid Term Review of Red Cross support to the Typhoon Haiyan Response Operation in the Philippines', International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (2015)

2015

Dawkins Z, Davies K, 'Pacific Disaster Management Partnership Evaluation Report', Australian Red Cross (2015)

2015

Davies K, 'Final evaluation of the Vanuatu Red Cross Society water, sanitation and health program in West Ambrym', Australian Red Cross (2015)

2014

Davies K, 'Evaluation of the Timor Leste Red Cross integrated approach to health, livelihoods, disaster, water and sanitation programming', Australian Red Cross (2014)

2014

Davies K, 'Annual review of the Pacific Disaster Management Program', Australian Red Cross (2014)

2014

Davies K, 'Mid-term review of the Regional Pacific Health Program', Australian Red Cross (2014)

2011

Davies K, 'Evaluation and redesign of the Vanuatu Red Cross Society Community-based First Aid program', Australian Red Cross (2011)

2008

Davies K, 'Real-time review of the public health tsunami recovery program', Australian Red Cross, 6 (2008)

Show 10 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)

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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

Scholarship to recruit and supervise a PhD candidate to examine peer work in rural mental health.

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

Collection of baseline data to inform the evaluation of the mental health integrated partnership program on the Mid North Coast

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

We-Yarn: Aboriginal suicide prevention workshops – evaluation component

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

Evaluation of the Farm-Link (now known as GoodSPACE) rural suicide prevention program.

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

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Research Supervision

Number of supervisions

Completed0

Current2

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

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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.

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Dr Kate Davies

Positions

Lecturer
School of Humanities and Social Science
School of Humanities and Social Science
Faculty of Education and Arts

Casual Academic
School of Humanities and Social Science
School of Humanities and Social Science
Faculty of Education and Arts

Casual Research Assistant
School of Humanities and Social Science
Newcastle Law School
Faculty of Business and Law

Contact Details

Email	kate.davies@newcastle.edu.au
Phone	4055 3106

Office

Room	W342
Building	Behavioural Sciences Building
Location	Callaghan University Drive Callaghan, NSW 2308 Australia

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