Professor Alan Clough is an Epidemiologist with a track record over the last two decades in designing, implementing and evaluating community-based interventions to reduce the disastrous effects of substance misuse in remote Indigenous communities, primarily in tropical northern Australia.  Research in remote community populations is widely recognised as being amongst the most difficult. Alan has a strong track record of doing research which translates into policy and regulation.

In an unusual career path, he has worked at the community level managing alcohol issues in restricted areas in remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory.  In his public health practice he has acted as a Member of the NT Licensing Commission (appointed by the Minister) and has heard and determined applications for restricted area declarations supported by alcohol management plans in several NT localities giving him a unique researcher's perspective on the regulatory environment.

Alan is principally recognised in Australia and internationally for his work in the difficult and often neglected area of substance misuse in remote community populations. As well as a rapidly-expanding research career, his CV describes a background in applied community development and advocacy including at the Local Government level. This experience underpins his long commitment to making positive changes at the population level.  Much of his research and practice is intervention research. It has led to positive change in situations where substance misuse has been highly problematic, e.g. reducing cannabis use, reducing petrol sniffing, kava abuse, managing alcohol and investigating ways to reduce the harms from alcohol abuse, smoking cannabis and tobacco in rural and remote populations. In public health generally there is a dearth of intervention research which seeks to document change in populations and which fosters change while the research is occurring.

Interests

Teaching

• Public Health Law, Research and Policy

Experience

• 2016 to present - Professorial Research Fellow, Cairns Institute (Cairns)
• 2016 to 2017 - Chair, NHMRC Career Development Award Panel (Cairns)
• 2010 to 2016 - Research Fellow, The Cairns Institute (Cairns Qld)
• 2006 to 2016 - Associate Professor, School of Public Health, Tropical Medicine and Rehabilitation Services, James Cook University (Cairns Qld)
• 2015 - Member, NHMRC Career Development Award Panel (Cairns)
• 2011 to 2014 - Associate Professor, Sansom Institute, Division of Health Sciences, University of South Australia (Honorary) (South Australia)
• 2012 to 2013 - Chair - Early Career Fellowship Review Panel, National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia
• 2011 to 2013 - Chair - Early Career Fellowship Review Panel, National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia
• 2012 - Member - Grant Review Panel 6A - Project Grants, National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia
• 2012 - Invited participant - Alcohol Data Workshop, NHMRC Prevention and Community Health Committee
• 2012 - Program Grants Review Panel - Additional Expert, National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia
• 2012 - Member, Health Research Council of New Zeland, Public Health Science Assessing Committee
• 2007 to 2010 - Principal Research Fellow, Menzies School of Health Research (Honorary)
• 2006 to 2009 - Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney (Honorary) (Sydney NSW)
• 2005 to 2008 - National Healht and Medical Research Council - Postdoctoral Fellow, James Cook University
• 2007 - Member - Grant Review Panel - NHMRC_GRP5A, National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia
• 2005 to 2007 - Senior Lecturer, School of Population, University of Queensland (Honorary) (Queensland)

Research Disciplines

• Public Health and Health Services (1117)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• Indigenous Health (9203)
• Public Health (9204)

Awards

• 2011 - Finalist, Queensland Reconciliation Awards, Queensland Police Service and James Cook University for ‘Weed-it-Out’ project.
• 2011 - Australian Crime and Violence Prevention Award, Partnered Project, Queensland Police Service ‘Weed-it-Out’ and James Cook University ‘Cape York Cannabis Project’. 2011

Fellowships

• 2010 - Research Fellow - Cairns Insitute - James Cook University
• 2013 to 2016 - Career Development Award Fellowship, National Health and Medical Research Council
• 2006 to 2008 - Early Career Fellowship, National Health and Medical Research Council

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

• Bohanna I, Fitts M, Bird K, Fleming J, Gilroy J, Clough A, Esterman A, Maruff P and Potter M (in press) The potential of a narrative and creative arts approach to enhance transition outcomes for Indigenous Australians following traumatic brain injury. Brain Impairment,
• Fitts M, Condon T, Gilroy J, Bird K, Bleakley E, Matheson L, Fleming J, Clough A, Esterman A, Maruff P and Bohanna I (2019) Indigenous traumatic brain injury research: responding to recruitment challenges in the hospital environment. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 19 (1).
• Graham V and Clough A (2019) Need everyone helping to keep off because everyone helping to keep on” – reducing harms from cannabis use in remote Indigenous Australian communities involves more than just users. Substance Use & Misuse, 54 (5). pp. 699-712
• Rouen C, Clough A and West C (in press) Non-fatal deliberate self-harm in three remote Indigenous communities in far north Queensland, Australia. Crisis: The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention,
• West C, Fitts M, Rouen C, Muller R and Clough A (in press) Cause and incidence of injuries experienced by children in remote Cape York Indigenous communities. Australian Journal of Primary Health,
• Clough A, Fitts M, Muller R, Ypinazar V and Margolis S (2018) A longitudinal observation study assessing changes in indicators of serious injury and violence with alcohol controls in four remote indigenous Australian communities in far north Queensland (2000-2015). BMC Public Health, 18.
• Esterman A, Thompson F, Fitts M, Gilroy J, Fleming J, Maruff P, Clough A and Bohanna I (2018) Incidence of emergency department presentations for traumatic brain injury in Indigenous and non-Indigenous residents aged 15–64 over the 9-year period 2007–2015 in North Queensland, Australia. Injury Epidemiology, 5.
• Gould G, Stevenson L, Cadet-James Y and Clough A (2018) Cultural challenges when developing anti-tobacco messages for Indigenous Australians. Health Promotion International, 33 (2). pp. 345-355
• Graham V and Clough A (2018) Cannabis use among remote Indigenous Australians: opportunities to support change identified in two waves of sampling. Frontiers in Public Health, 6.
• Stevens B, Watt K, Brimbecombe J, Clough A, Judd J and Lindsay D (2018) A village-matched evaluation of providing a local supplemental food during pregnancy in rural Bangladesh: a preliminary study. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 18.
• Stevens B, Watt K, Brimblecombe J, Clough A and Judd J (2018) Development of a locally produced, balanced protein–energy food-based supplement and its acceptance by undernourished pregnant women in Northern Bangladesh. Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition, 13 (1). pp. 100-115
• West C, Muller R, Clough A and Fitts M (2018) Have alcohol management plans reduced violence against women in Cape York, Australia? Violence Against Women, 24 (14). pp. 1658-1677

More

ResearchOnline@JCU stores 143+ research outputs authored by Prof Alan Clough from 1995 onwards.

Current and recent Research Funding to JCU is shown by funding source and project.

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Primary or Secondary Advisor.

These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.

Current

• Impact of a physical activity program on 'walking and moving about' for individuals with Machado Joseph Disease (MJD) living in the Top End of Australia (PhD , Secondary Advisor/AM)
• Investigation of Involuntary Treatment of Persons with Mental Health Problems in North Queensland Regional and Remote Centres (PhD , Secondary Advisor/AM)
• Patient Safety: Risk Management of Paramedic Initiated Non-Transport Cases. (Masters , Primary Advisor)
• "Unwarranted Amplification of Criminalisation": An Unintended Consequence of the Queensland Government Introducing an Alcohol Management Plan for Mornington Shire Council (Masters , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)
• Clubfoot in the Northern Territory (Masters , Secondary Advisor/AM)
• Warriors Helping Warriors: A mixed methods analysis of the 'Kapani Warrior" program in remote Indigenous Communities (PhD , Secondary Advisor/AM)
• How can we use Realist Evaluation to better inform research into Alcohol-related Assaults in Night-time Economies? A Case Study using CCTV. (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Implementing Large Scale, Community-Level Intervention Studies in Remote Indigenous Communities: A Realist Evaluation of the 'Cape York Cannabis Project'. (PhD , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)
• Evidence-to-Action to Reduce Impacts of Criminalisation in Communities with Alcohol Management Plans (AMPS): Effective Policies and Programs need Sound Evidence for Considered Decisions (PhD , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)
• Knowledge and Attitudes to Reproductive Technology among Aboriginal Families who are at risk of Machado-Joseph Disease (PhD , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)
• The Effects of Emergency Examination Authorities on Far North Queensland Hospitals (PhD , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)

Completed

• Making salient messages for Indigenous tobacco control (2015, PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Preventing intrauterine growth restriction and improving infant growth outcomes in Bangladesh (2017, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Risk and protective factors for violent behaviour and incarceration for Indigenous and non-Indigenous men in North Queensland (2019, PhD , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)
• Improving the Prevention, Diagnosis and Management of Acute Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease in Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander Populations (2015, PhD , Associate Advisor)

The map shows research collaborations by institution from the past 7 years.
Note: Map points are indicative of the countries or states that institutions are associated with.