Justice Health Unit
Latest JHU News & Events
About the Justice Health Unit
People who come into contact with the criminal justice system are disproportionately drawn from society’s most vulnerable and marginalised populations. They are distinguished by a high prevalence of complex, co-occurring health problems, typically set against a backdrop of entrenched disadvantage.
The Justice Health Unit seeks to generate world-class evidence regarding the health and health service experiences of justice-involved populations, and to advocate for evidence-informed policy to improve their health and wellbeing. Research on the health needs of justice-involved populations is central to addressing health inequalities at the population level.
The Justice Health Unit works closely with health and justice agencies in Australia, leading researchers internationally, and key international agencies including WHO and ICRC.
Postgraduate supervision with JHU
Members of our Justice Health Unit (JHU) team are high quality supervisors who are experienced and available to supervise students at Honours, Masters and PhD levels, and for supervision of medical students doing research projects. The students we supervise include those studying a Master of Public Health (MPH) in the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health (MSPGH).
Our research and teaching areas include the health and health service experiences of justice-involved populations, suicide prevention and self harm, mental health, ADHD, and using data linkage for research.
Our supervisors
- Prof Stuart Kinner PhD MAICD
Available for supervision at Honours, Masters and PhD levels, and for MDRP supervision - A/Prof Rohan Borschmann PhD DClinPsych PG-Dip(Psych) BBSc MAPS
Available for supervision at Honours, Masters and PhD levels, and for MDRP as co-supervisor - Dr Jesse Young PhD MPH(dist) BSc(dist)
Available for supervision for Honours, Masters (for 2 semester MPH capstone thesis projects) and PhD (as co-supervisor) - Dr Lucas Calais Ferreira PhD
Available for supervision at Honours and Masters levels - Dr Danny Sullivan MBBS MBEth MHlth&MedLaw MMgt AFRACMA FRCPsych FRANZCP
Available to supervise any medical student projects - Emilia Janca BSc(Hons) MPH
Available for supervision at Honours and Masters levels - Lindsay Pearce MPH
Available for supervision at Honours and Masters levels - Melissa Willoughby BJus&Crim(Hons)
Available for supervision at Honours level - Alex Campbell BAppSc(Psych)(Hons)
Available for supervision at Honours level
Inquiries
For inquiries about all postgraduate study and supervision with Justice Health Unit supervisors, contact JHU-Inquiries@unimelb.edu.au
Scholarships
The following scholarships may be of particular interest to students seeking to undertake further study in areas of justice health:
- Human Rights Scholarship: This scholarship may be of particular interest to MPH students
- Australia Awards Scholarship: This scholarship is provided by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and available to international students from developing countries to undertake full time undergraduate or postgraduate study at participating Australian universities, including the University of Melbourne.
- Suicide Prevention Australia PhD scholarships: The PhD Scholarship aims to support outstanding graduates who are at the early part of their research career. The Scholarship supports research relevant to all aspects of suicide prevention and to develop a capacity for original independent research within Australia.
- Research Training Program (RTP): The RTP scheme is administered by individual universities on behalf of the Department of Education, Skills and Employment. It provides block grants to higher education providers to support both domestic and overseas students undertaking Research Doctorate and Research Masters degrees.
For information on scholarships contained on the University of Melbourne website, click here. This website is a repository of scholarship information. For inquiries about scholarships on the University of Melbourne website, contact scholarships-administration@unimelb.edu.au
For MDHS scholarship inquiries (for PhD and MPhil only), contact mdhs-scholarships@unimelb.edu.au
Our teaching
Short courses
The following short courses are offered by members of the Justice Health Unit:
Introduction to Data Linkage for Research
- This course provides an introduction to administrative data and data linkage. It is designed for policy makers, researchers, managers, analysts and others working in the public sector.
- No knowledge of data linkage is required, however basic familiarity with research methods is an asset. On completion of this course, participants will have a basic understanding of the practical considerations involved in using administrative data, and an awareness of the lifecycle of linked data research.
- Specifically, this course will discuss the application of linked administrative data to real-world problems, and outline how data linkage can be used to provide valuable, policy-relevant evidence. This course will consist of lectures and group discussions.
- The course can be held online given COVID-related restrictions. This will be reviewed once restrictions ease and may be held in person in future.
For more information, please visit the course webpage.
Prison Health Information Systems
- Prison health information systems are a prerequisite for effective healthcare in prisons, and there is growing recognition that prison health is an important part of reducing health inequalities globally.
- This interactive 1 day workshop comprises the following modules: 1.) Reasons why a prison health information system (PHIS) is important. 2.) Critical elements of a functional PHIS. 3.) Maximising the benefits of a PHIS locally, nationally, and regionally. 4.) Next steps.
- This short course, first delivered at a regional ICRC meeting in Manila in 2019 (participants pictured above), is targeted at prison health administrators, policy makers, researchers, and senior clinicians.
For inquiries about this course, contact JHU-Inquiries@unimelb.edu.au
Other teaching
In addition to delivering the above short courses, members of the Justice Health Unit are frequently engaged in other teaching at the University of Melbourne such as:
- Master of Public Health Units Foundations of Public Health and Public Health in Practice at the University of Melbourne
- Teaching and learning seminars including Unpacking emerging leadership investigator grants and Academic writing: the path from first draft to first class
- Guest lectures for the Master of Public Health and Master of Clinical Psychology, and to medical students.
JHU alumni
Our Justice Health Unit student and staff alumni include many talented researchers who have studied and/or worked as part of our team. Many of our past students have gone on to exciting new roles, some of which are listed here.
Contact us
The Justice health Unit welcomes inquiries from students about honours and higher degree supervision .
We also welcome any inquiries about our teaching including our short courses and guest lectures.
All inquiries: JHU-Inquiries@unimelb.edu.au
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YSAS public health industry partnership project
In collaboration with YSAS, this project develops rigorous, translational research to improve the lives of marginalised young people.
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Health After Release from Prison (HARP) cohort study
The HARP study is the world’s largest prospective cohort study of adults released from prison.
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The national youth justice data linkage project
This will be the first ever project to rigorously and comprehensively characterise health service use and mortality outcomes for young people in contact with the youth justice system.
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Staying Quit After Release (SQuARe) Trial
The SQuARe trial is an RCT of an intervention designed to maintain abstinence from smoking after release from prison.
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Mortality after Release from Incarceration Consortium (MARIC) Study
This study is an international consortium of 28 longitudinal studies which have examined mortality in people after release from prison.
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Deaths in young people involved in the youth justice system (YJ-Mort) study
This study aims to improve the understanding of preventable death in young people who come into contact with the youth justice system.
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Evaluation of embedding a primary care nurse in a transitional support service
This evaluation will assess the effectiveness of embedding a nurse in a transitional support service for people released from prison.
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Global prison and youth detention health survey project
This project aims to generate comparable data on prison health systems and services globally.
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Mapping the scope and character of prison mental health services in Australia: a national benchmarking project
This project will generate reliable and validated information regarding the scale of mental health service delivery in prisons nationally.
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UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty: putting health on the agenda
This project involves a series of reviews on the health status of children and adolescents deprived of liberty.
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Mapping the forensic mental health ecosystem in Australia: A national audit
This project, commissioned by the National Mental Health Commission, identified and analysed government strategies, policies and plans relevant to mental health of justice-involved people, at national, State and Territory levels.
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ACT Detainee Health and Wellbeing Survey
The ACT Detainee Health and Wellbeing Survey 2016 was delivered to people detained in the Alexander Maconochie Centre.