Higher degree research students
Current students
Yuxi Li
PhD Candidate
Housing, Family and Health: Impact of poor housing on children’s health outcomes across the life course
Summary: The importance of housing as a social determinant of the health of adults has been well documented. One area that received less research attention is the housing experiences of children and the impact of housing on their subsequent health. Childhood is a critical period of human development and lays the foundation for prosperity later in life. Adverse housing experiences during childhood generate health and socioeconomic inequalities. On the other hand, interventions to promote healthy housing can reduce disease burden, increase quality of life, and protect children from climate vulnerabilities. Towards developing effective interventions- or better, prevention strategies to reduce health-harming housing, the first step is to comprehensively unpack the relationship between housing and children’s health. Yuxi’s thesis addresses this gap. First, it provides a holistic picture of the evidence around housing and child health from existing literature. Second, it identifies who is most at risk to multiple housing disadvantages. Third, it establishes causal links between housing affordability and two leading causes of diseases burden- asthma and obesity- among Australian children.
Amber Howard
PhD Candidate
Young adults’ housing inequalities in the post home-ownership era: Drivers, features and outcomes.
Summary: Young adults (18-34 years) have an increasingly hard time on the housing market. Whilst growing inter-generational inequalities have been well documented, housing disparities between young adults have received relatively less attention. Amber’s research analyses the intersection of age and socio-economic position in determining young adults housing opportunities. Where much research in this field focuses on declining access to homeownership as a primary area of concern, this thesis explores multifaceted housing inequalities outside of this tenure. It looks specifically at households in private rental housing, in situations of housing affordability stress and precarity, and in other housing situations such as those co-residing in the parental home. It unpacks the political-economic drivers of these shifts, how they present between socio-economic groups, and the disparate outcomes, and particularly mental health outcomes, they have for young adults. A comparative case study of Australia and the Netherlands, Amber’s research considers how housing opportunities and their outcomes differ across societies, shaped by broader socio-cultural, political and economic contexts, welfare regimes, and housing market dynamics.
Sheenagh McShane
PhD Candidate
Understanding the role of housing in mental health outcomes for refugees across their settlement journey
Summary: Sheenagh’s research explores associations between housing and mental health outcomes across Australian refugees’ resettlement journeys. Using a mixed methods approach, First, Sheenagh's thesis reviews research evidence on the impact of housing on mental health for refugee populations in high income settlement countries comparable to Australia. Second, it analyses longitudinal data from Australian humanitarian arrivals to quantify the role of housing in their settlement experiences. Third, it applies a participatory action research (PAR) approach using photovoice to understand the experiences and knowledge that refugees have of the Victorian housing system and assess how it has impacted their wellbeing. Additionally, interviews with service providers who work with refugee populations, provides further insights on how housing has impacted their clients mental health and wellbeing. Sheenagh’s thesis draws on a social determinants of health framework to understand and identify opportunities to promote human rights through housing amongst refugees in Australia.
Recipient of Melbourne Human Rights Scholarship, University of Melbourne (January 2023).
Adelle Mansour
PhD Candidate
Working title: Towards climate resilient and healthy housing: what is the role of citizen science?
Summary: Citizen science, characterised by the active participation of the general public in scientific inquiry, has not been widely adopted in Australian public health research. The nexus between climate, housing and health is an urgent field to which citizen science approaches can contribute valuable data, while also building community capability to successfully respond to the climate crisis. Adelle is investigating the role of citizen science approaches in collecting housing data and generating solutions to enhance the resilience of our housing infrastructure and thereby protect the health of occupants in the face of intensifying environmental hazards. In doing so, Adelle’s research aims to support the uptake of citizen science practices in the field of public health.
Maria Gatto
PhD Candidate
Understanding the mental health impacts of mould-affected housing
Summary: Mould is estimated to affect between 10% and 50% of Australian homes and contributes to a large part of the asthma and allergy burden in Australia. Exposure to mould has also been linked to fatigue, ear and eye conditions, sore throat, and headache. However, little is known about the mental health burden of living in mould-affected housing. With the increase in wet weather and extreme humidity due to the changing climate leading to an expected increase in the prevalence of mould, it is vital to examine how exposure to mould in the home affects all aspects of human health. Maria's research explores the prevalence and distribution of mould in Australian homes and the effects of living in mould-affected housing on people's physical and mental health. Maria’s thesis applies a mixed methods approach to investigate the mental health effects of mould and the experiences of residents whose lives are affected by mould.
Alumni
Erika Martino
PhD Candidate
Title: Housing as an infrastructure of safety: mapping the potential of safety-informed care practices and relations in women’s housing
Summary: Domestic and family violence is both a cause and result of women’s housing insecurity and homelessness. Through an examination of four women’s housing projects in Melbourne and Vancouver, Erika’s thesis frames women’s housing as an important but overlooked form of safety infrastructure shaped by an ethic of care. Findings suggest that women’s safety is contingent on their access to adequate housing, spatial safety, and provider access to long-term funding. Diversity of housing stock, secure occupancies, strength-based surveillance practices, opportunities to build social connections; and wrap-around supports and services are also critical factors. Delivery of this form of housing requires building the capacity of women’s housing providers – by valuing local knowledge, land ownership and leadership, and advocacy across multiple scales. Housing policy and programs can and should make a more substantive and sustained contribution to tackling domestic and family violence.
Recipient of PhD Scholarship from the Melbourne Social Equity Institute, University of Melbourne (June 2016)