Higher Degree by Research Application Portal

Social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB) is an Aboriginal developed framework that depicts the holistic and relational concept of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing. The concept of recognises the role of the social, cultural, historical and political determinants of health at individual and population level.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are strong and resilient, yet the enduring impacts of colonisation, discrimination, and dispossession have resulted in significant health inequities.  At the population level adverse SEWB outcomes are evidenced through higher rates of suicide, self-harm, and psychological distress.

Aboriginal Controlled Health Services (ACCHS) are often the first point of call for Aboriginal Australians experiencing adverse SEWB. Research has found that information regarding a person’s SEWB is not routinely or consistently recorded on the electronic medical record. This impacts health care responses to these complex and priority components of care.

The project aims to enhance health equity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients of ACCHS through the development of standardised, responsive, and measurable SEWB clinical coding practices.

Specific objectives include:

1. Collaborate with ACCHS to identify and determine appropriate SEWB clinical terminology

2. Co-design a SEWB clinical terminology reference and implementation guide

3. Support SEWB clinical coding terminology implementation within ACCHS (pilot)

4. Co-produce a continuous quality improvement approach to support ACCHS ongoing use of SEWB clinical coding

Scholarship type: Stipend scholarship

Scholarship value: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander scholarship stipend is $50,000 each year. For non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants the scholarship stipend is $37,000 each year.

Availability: These scholarships are available now for commencement.

Dr Emma Carlin on 0419 390 207 or emma.carlin@rcswa.edu.au

The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is a program of independent, supervised research that is assessed solely on the basis of a thesis, sometimes including a creative work component, that is examined externally. The work presented for a PhD must be a substantial and original contribution to scholarship, demonstrating mastery of the subject of interest as well as an advance in that field of knowledge. 

Visit the course webpage for full details of this course including admission requirements, course rules and the relevant CRICOS code/s.