Research Areas

Creating Healthy Places through Biophilic Design Research

Biophilic design uses the concept of biophilia: that humans hold a biological need for connection with nature on physical, mental, and social levels. Empirical evidence in research has shown exposure to biophilic designed elements supports psychological and physiological health and wellbeing, whereas badly designed spaces can have a direct negative impact on our mental health and wellbeing and can cause an increase in stress levels, anxiety, lack of concentration, tension, anger, fatigue, confusion and total mood disturbance.

Supported by a consumer and carer co-design model, Dr Phillip Roös, Director of the Live+Smart Research Laboratory at Deakin University is using this emerging design science to assist Barwon Health in the planning and design of new mental healthcare facilities including the new McKellar Mental Health and Wellbeing Unit. Incorporating biophilic design elements that reflect real experiences into Barwon Health’s future mental healthcare facilities, will have a positive contribution to the mental health and well-being of consumers, carers and staff, with an ongoing research program to understand and evaluate the benefits of these design elements on well-being.

Creating a regional Listening and Learning Mental Healthcare System

CHIME has received support from the Western Alliance for a flagship project to start to build our regional Listening and Learning Mental Healthcare System, using innovative systems-based approaches, to co-create solutions to improve mental healthcare services in the Barwon-Southwest region. Led by Professor Anna Peeters, Director of Deakin’s Institute for Health Transformation, the project will work together with those with lived experience, researchers, mental healthcare practitioners and local partners including the City of Greater Geelong, G21, Ballarat Health Services, South West Healthcare, Western Victoria PHN and Victorian Police. It will use Deakin’s Systems-Thinkingin-Community-Knowledge-Exchange (STICK-E) platform to design, implement and test changes to services and practices, initially focused on acute-inpatient care. It will catalyse rapid translation of research into clinical practice to improve mental health outcomes in the region.

Evaluating the transition to telehealth for mental health services during COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has promoted telehealth as a substitute to traditional delivery models in many areas of health, including in mental health. 

Dr Mary Lou Chatterton is part of a dynamic team of Deakin University researchers working with MHDAS staff to explore the rapid implementation and uptake of mental health telehealth services at Barwon Health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Senior Research Fellow and deputy head of the Mental Health Economics stream at Deakin Health Economics (DHE), Dr Chatterton is part of one of the largest teams of health economists in Australia specialising in the economics of mental health care.  On this project, she is joined by a distinguished interdisciplinary research team including world-class expertise in psychology, quality and patient safety and health transformation. 

The project will be gathering information from MHDAS consumers and providers to understand the pros and cons of the current telehealth model being used in Barwon Health mental health services. 

Through this research the team hopes to provide valuable information to improve the integration of telehealth into models of care in regional public mental health service delivery.

Investigating diet and exercise as an effective treatment for psychological distress

CALM is a group-based, telehealth program designed and developed by Deakin’s Food and Mood Centre, to support positive lifestyle changes to improve mental health for adults who are experiencing psychological distress.

An MRFF-funded clinical trial, led by A/Prof Adrienne O’Neil (Director of Deakin’s Heart and Mind Research and Deputy Director of the Food and Mood Centre), is evaluating the health impacts and the cost-effectiveness of this new program, against established psychotherapy programs. The study is making a valuable contribution to the evidence base for the use of diet and exercise in treatments for mental health conditions. Through the CHIME Partnership, exciting new evidence-based lifestyle therapies such as the CALM program will be able to be directly implemented into Barwon Health’s clinical services, and healthcare practitioners across the region will be able rapidly translate the findings into their own services. Ultimately, the study will inform the translation of lifestyle-based care into routine mental healthcare across Victoria and nationally.

Data Linkage for Youth Mental Health in the Barwon Region

Data linkage uses personal identification codes (de-identified) to link data from various administrative datasets for a specified time period and cohort. Using linked data in research addresses some of the methodological weaknesses associated with epidemiological and longitudinal studies such as recruitment bias and attrition, and can better represent outcomes over other life domains (housing, employment etc).

The Data Linkage Feasibility Study on Youth Mental Health in the Barwon Region aimed to investigate the feasibility of conducting health, justice, welfare, education and mortality data linkage on a large cohort of young people in the Barwon region to examine precursors and outcomes to suicidal behaviours and identify opportune times for intervention.

The project found the data linkage to be both feasible and cost-effective and mapped the protocols, approvals and costs associated with linking these datasets. The next step, to conduct the data linkage, has commenced.