About

Dr Karen Carlisle is a senior research fellow at the College of Medicine and Dentistry at James Cook University.  With over 18 years of research experience in the UK and Australia, Karen has worked within population health, oral health, education and psychology settings.  She has a particular interest and has published in the areas of community engagement and inter-sectoral collaboration to improve outcomes for the underserved and at risk.

Karen's primary degree is in Applied Psychology and began her career on a research council project examing skill acquisition in laparoscopic surgeons.  Karen worked in the School of Education (Queen's Universty, Belfast) from 1999-2011 and completed her PhD examining the experience of coteaching for pre-service science teachers (2003-2008). In addition Karen was part of a team of researchers exploring multi-agency working in Northern Ireland (ESCRC) which contributed to the development of the Shared Education Program aimed at promoting cross denominational school partnerships.

Karen moved to Australia in 2011 and joined Townsville Mackay Medicare Local as a research co-ordinator on the 'Townsville broadband enabled diabetes telehealth randomised controlled trial'. Karen’s has managed a number of NHMRC projects including the Rural Engaging Communities in Oral Health (Rural ECOH) project and the Scaling up Quality Improvement through learning from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary healthcare services: Lessons from the Best project.  Karen's current role is project manager for the ‘strengthening capacity for policy relevant research on surveillance and response’ stream within the Partners in Tropical Health project funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).  

 

 

 

Experience
  • 2011 to 2016 - Research Co-ordinator, Townsville Mackay Medicare Local (Townsville)
  • 1999 to 2011 - Research Fellow (Education), Queen's University, Belfast (Northern Ireland)
  • 1998 to 1999 - Research Assistant (Psychology), Queen's University, Belfast (Northern Ireland)
Research Disciplines
Socio-Economic Objectives
Honours
Awards
  • 2016 - JCU Learning and Teaching Quick Start Grant
  • 2015 - Sessional Teaching Award: Outstanding contribution to teaching and learning. James Cook University
Publications

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
Book Chapters
Other research outputs
More

ResearchOnline@JCU stores 13+ research outputs authored by Dr Karen Carlisle from 2012 onwards.

Current Funding

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

NHMRC - Partnership Projects

Implementation of quality improvement in Indigenous primary health care: Leveraging Effective Ambulatory Practices (LEAP)

Indicative Funding
$1,144,570 over 4 years, in partnership with North Queensland Primary Health Network ($315,000 over 3 yrs); Northern Territory Department of Health, Top End Health ($20,000 over 3 yrs); Northern Territory Primary Health Network (NTPHN) ($38,700 over 3 yrs) and Western Queensland Primary Health Network (WQPHN) ($210,000 over 3 yrs)
Summary
Despite increased policy attention and funding, not all primary healthcare (PHC) services for Indigenous Australians show the desired improvements in quality of care. Practices which provide PHC services are complex systems and emerging evidence indicates many things affect quality improvement. There remains a knowledge gap regarding what is required for Indigenous PHCs to succeed in improving the quality of their services and, subsequently, health outcomes for their patients. This project will capitalise on emerging research and existing strong partnerships to provide a solid evidence base for interventions to improve quality of priority health services in Indigenous PHC settings.
Investigators
Sarah Larkins, Ross Baille, Catrina Felton-Busch, Paul Burgess, Emma McBryde, Kerry Copley, Rebecca Evans, V Matthews and Karen Carlisle in collaboration with Judy Taylor, Karla Canuto, Donald Whaleboat, S Thompson, Christine Connors and Roderick Wright (College of Medicine & Dentistry, The University of Sydney, Division of Tropical Health & Medicine, Department of Health (NT), Australian Institute of Tropical Health & Medicine, Aboriginal Medical Service, Apunipima Cape York Health Council, The University of Western Australia and Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council)
Keywords
Learning community; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander; Primary Health Care; Quality Improvement

World Health Organization - TDR

Independent evaluation of the Structured Operational Research and Training Initiative on Ebola conducted in Liberia and Sierra Leone

Indicative Funding
$5,000 (administered by The Kirby Institute, UNSW)
Summary
In 2016, TDR conducted SORT iT courses in Sierra Leone and Liberia, with the aim of strengthening research capacity following the Ebola outbreak. Funding was provided by the UK Department for International Development (DFID). The purpose of this evaluation is to (1) Evaluate the process of implementation, short and intermediate-term impact of SORT-iT work in Liberia and Sierra Leone. (2) To develop and pilot a framework for independent impact evaluations of SORT-iT. The findings will inform future rounds of SORT-iT in both countries. Furthermore the pilot framework will focus on low cost and easy-to-use tools to foster wider and continued application.
Investigators
John Kaldor, Liza Doyle and Karen Carlisle (The University of New South Wales and College of Medicine & Dentistry)
Keywords
research capacity strengthening; Program Evaluation

Western Queensland Primary Care Collaborative Limited - Contract Research

Diabetes Collaborative Evaluation Project

Indicative Funding
$28,860
Summary
The diabetes collaborative is a Continuous quality Improvement (CQI) approach to change that aims to improve health outcomes for patients diagnosed with Diabetes. It involves the introduction of a team-based, sustainable approach to learning whilst providing a sound understanding and application of quality improvement methodology and skills. This project aims to evaluate the implementation and outcomes of the WQPHN diabetes collaborative. Expected outcomes of the equation will be a greater understanding of the process of implementation and any changes within participant health services as a result of the collaborative. Evaluation of the program in the rural and remote context of WQPHN will inform on feasibility and effectiveness of this approach.
Investigators
Sarah Larkins, Karen Carlisle, Sabina Knight, Rebecca Evans, Robyn Preston and Karen Johnston (College of Medicine & Dentistry, Australian Institute of Tropical Health & Medicine and Division of Tropical Health & Medicine)
Keywords
Quality Improvement Approach; Primary Health Care; Diabetes
Supervision

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a 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
  • Defining Pharmaceutical Public Health Competencies for Australian Pharmacists (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
Collaboration

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.

  • 5+ collaborations
  • 4 collaborations
  • 3 collaborations
  • 2 collaborations
  • 1 collaboration
  • Indicates the Tropics (Torrid Zone)

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