Gender and Women's Health Unit

Unit Head
A/Prof Meghan Bohren
meghan.bohren@unimelb.edu.au

Research Overview

We aim to advance the health and well-being of women and people from gender diverse and culturally and racially marginalised communities in Australia and internationally, to reduce inequity and create positive change. Through research, teaching, community and public engagement, our work contributes to a robust knowledge base about the health effects of social inequity and its intersection with gender, economic and cultural factors.

We are a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre in Women’s Health and work in partnership with communities, scholars, organisations and agencies in Australia, the Asia-Pacific region and globally to strengthen regional research capacity.

We are an interdisciplinary team with expertise in public health, implementation science, health services research, social psychology, epidemiology, sociology, evaluation, applied ethics, social work, public policy, activism and advocacy.

We teach and supervise graduate research students across a range of areas related to social and gender equity, women’s health, migration, preventing and researching violence against women, and in using a range of research methods including community engagement, participatory research, and evidence synthesis. We teach undergraduate breadth subjects, Master of Public Health subjects, short courses and intensives, and supervise Masters and PhD research projects.

Our current research broadly focuses on understanding and addressing health and social inequities, particularly gender inequity, promoting social inclusion and eliminating racism, homophobia and transphobia. Our current projects address:

Gender-based and family violence
Maternal, sexual and reproductive health and rights
Migrant health and well-being
Women’s health
Child health and child protection
Global health
Discrimination in sports settings
Disability
Oral health and nutrition

We use qualitative, quantitative, participatory, mixed methods, arts-based methods, visual methods, and evidence synthesis in our work. We have strong credentials in community engagement, co-design and co-productive methods, and in contributing to the translation of research into changes in policy and practice.

We work in partnership with community organisations, all tiers of government in Australia, UNFPA, WHO, and research teams across Australia and more than 20 countries globally. We strive to create and sustain partnerships based on participatory approaches, ensuring mutual respect, open communication, and shared decision-making to address needs and foster sustainable, community-driven health and social solutions.