Contact Details
| Organization: | Population Health |
| Position: | Honorary (Senior Fellow) |
| Email: | |
| Work: | 61 3 8344 0703 |
| Fax: | 61 3 9348 1174 |
| Room: | 446b |
| Level: | 04 |
| Building: | 207 Bouverie St. |
| Campus: | Parkville |
Biography
Penny Mitchell (BSc Hons, MPH) has worked as a researcher in public health and mental health since 1987, specialising in service development research and evaluation. Her main areas of work experience are in the fields of mental health, suicide prevention, transcultural mental health, primary health and social care. She has worked in a wide variety of service, academic and government settings in NSW and Victoria.
Penny recently completed her PhD based at the Centre for Health Policy, Programs and Economics at The University of Melbourne’s School of Population Health. Her thesis examined the mental health care roles of non-medical primary health and social care services, and how organisational factors, both within services and in the wider environment, affect the uptake of new mental health care roles. Penny’s academic interests currently focus on:
?X organisation of health care – organisational and management factors affecting health care improvement initiatives including innovation, evidence-based practice and knowledge transfer / exchange
?X health care systems – how organisations work together to address complex health care problems; interagency networks; intersectoral collaboration
?X complex care needs - models of mental health care for clients and populations with complex needs i.e. experiencing difficulties in a range of social and psychosocial domains
?X practice-based research – health services research that is embedded in practice settings to facilitate continuous knowledge exchange and organisational development
?X mixed methods research - approaches to the integration of quantitative and qualitative research including the phases of data collection, analysis and interpretation
Research Expertise and International Linkages
Research Expertise
| Research Interest | Key Words | Country of Expertise |
|---|---|---|
| Organisation of mental health care | primary care, organisational systems, policy | Australia |
| health service and program evaluation | Australia | |
| mixed methods research | quantitative methods; qualitative methods | Australia |
| primary health and social care | primary health care; social care; systems integration | Australia |
| mixed methods research | quantitative methods; qualitative methods | Australia |
Qualifications, Honours, Fellowships and Other Awards
Qualifications
| Title | Institution | Date Awarded | Abbreviation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor of Science with Honours in Psychology | University of New South Wales | 10-May-1988 | |
| Masters of Public Health | University of Sydney | 01-May-1997 | |
| Doctor of Philosophy | University of Melbourne | 17-Dec-2007 |
Memberships
| Membership Type | Membership Body | Description | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Member | Health Services Research Association of Australia and New Zealand | Member | 01-Jul-2001 | |
| Member | Australian Infant, Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Health Association | Member | 01-Jul-2001 |
Government Research Classifications
Research Fields, Courses and Discipline Classifications
- Mental Health (PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES) (321204)
- Indigenous Health (PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES) (321207)
- Health and Community Services (PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES) (321214)
- Health Promotion (PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES) (321216)
- Public Health and Health Services not elsewhere classified (PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES) (321299)
- Public Administration (POLICY AND ADMINISTRATION) (360202)
- Psychological Methodology, Design and Analysis (PSYCHOLOGY) (380109)
Socio-Economic Objective Classifications
- Substance abuse (PUBLIC HEALTH) (730205)
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health (PUBLIC HEALTH) (730206)
- Mental health (PUBLIC HEALTH) (730211)
- Social structure and health (PUBLIC HEALTH) (730218)
- Public health not elsewhere classified (PUBLIC HEALTH) (730299)
- Health education and promotion (HEALTH AND SUPPORT SERVICES) (730301)
- Evaluation of health outcomes (HEALTH AND SUPPORT SERVICES) (730306)
- Health policy evaluation (HEALTH AND SUPPORT SERVICES) (730307)
- Health and support services not elsewhere classified (HEALTH AND SUPPORT SERVICES) (730399)
Publications
Publications produced at the University of Melbourne and reported in the Annual Publications Collection and 'Research Report' since 2001. The Themis Publications module, released in November 2006, allows additional publications from previous institutions and publications from past years to be entered.