Disability and Health Unit

Our research is about reducing the inequalities experienced by people with disability.

Research Areas

COVID-19 and Inequality

We focus on the impact of COVID-19 in the immediate, adjustment and recovery phases of the pandemic.
- COVID19
- coronavirus
- COVID-19
Gender Equality

We investigate how gender equity impacts on health and wellbeing, as well as current approaches to the measurement of gender equality in the workforce.
Violence and Discrimination

This theme includes projects on attitudes and marginalisation of people with disability in Australia. We also look at prevalence data on the nature and extent of violence towards people with disability in Australia.
Policy, Services and the NDIS

Our work in this theme is primarily concerned with linked data, the National Disability Insurance Scheme and major government policy reform.
Paid and Unpaid Work

We conduct research on carers, support workers, working conditions, employment services, unpaid work, mental health outcomes, COVID-19 impacts and young people transitioning into the workforce.
Mental health

This research program focuses on mental health in the workplace, mental health and disability, suicide prevention as well as gender and mental health.
Health behaviours

This research is about understanding behaviour change and investigates behaviour change interventions in people with MS and disability in Australia.

Research Highlights

Centres and Programs

Research Findings

Welcome to the Disability and Health Unit.

We aim to improve the health of people with disability through rigorous research and knowledge exchange. In Australia, people with disability are disadvantaged in many areas of their lives and the lack of evidence linking disability, socioeconomic contexts and health, means that there is much to be done to reduce disadvantage for people with disability.

Our unit is one of the few places worldwide where the health of people with disability is researched from a public health perspective. The team excels in data analysis and in issues related to mental health, gender studies, epidemiology, health promotion and policy analysis. Research focuses on social, behavioural, and environmental contexts of health for people with disability and their families and carers in Australia and internationally.

The unit hosts the world-first Centre of Research Excellence in Disability and Health, funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council, a collaboration with universities within Australia and internationally. We are based at the Centre for Health Equity at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health at the University of Melbourne.