Dr Vanessa Sparke ~ Senior Lecturer/Site Coordinator

Vanessa is a Senior Lecturer in the discipline of Nursing and Midwifery, and Course Coordinator of the Graduate Certificate of Infection Control at James Cook University (JCU).

Vanessa is an experienced Infection Prevention and Control (IP&C) professional with a specific interest in rural and remote areas. Vanessa's PhD thesis studied improving infection prevention and control in a rural hospital in the Solomon Islands using a  Participatory Action Research approach.  Vanessa has worked as an IP&C clinical nurse in both large metropolitan hospitals and rural and remote areas of Australia. Vanessa’s other professional interests include critical care nursing, public health, and disaster preparedness and recovery and has travelled to Vietnam to teach disaster preparedness to communities living on the Mekong Delta (AusAID funded), and to the Solomon Islands to assess IP&C practices in a rural hospital (WHO funded). Vanessa is an active member of the Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control (ACIPC) LMI Special Interest Group and Education & Professional Development Committee, and a founding member of the Collaborative for Advancement of Infection Prevention and Control - a collaborative between Griffith University, Unisversityof the Sunshine Coast and JCU.

 

 

 

Teaching

• HS5555: Infection Prevention and Control in Health Care Settings (Level 5; TSV)
• NS2216: Rural and Remote Nursing (Level 2; TSV)

Interests

Research

• Infection prevention and control Disaster preparedness and resilience Rural and remote health

Research Disciplines

• Public health (4206)
• Health services and systems (4203)
• Nursing (4205)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• Public health (2004)

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

• Adams F, Zimmerman P, Sparke V and Mason M (2023) Towards a framework for a collaborative support model to assist infection prevention and control programmes in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review. International Journal of Infection Control, 19.
• Chen Y, Prichard R, Mason M, Tower M, Zimmerman P, Sparke V, Layh J, Mehdi A and Lin F (in press) Barriers and facilitators to COVID-19 vaccine uptake among Australian health professional students during the pandemic: a nationwide study. Journal of Public Health Policy,
• Condon K, Zimmerman P, Mason M and Sparke V (2023) Audit of essential infection prevention and control content provided within undergraduate/postgraduate public health programs across Australian and New Zealand universities. Infection, Disease & Health, 28 (2). pp. 75-80
• Sparke V, Maclaren D, Esau D and West C (2022) Exploring infection prevention and control knowledge and beliefs in the Solomon Islands using Photovoice. PLOS Global Public Health, 2 (11).
• Murray E, Mason M, Sparke V and Zimmerman P (2021) Factors influencing health care workers' willingness to respond to duty during infectious disease outbreaks and bioterrorist events: an integrative review. Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, 36 (3). pp. 321-337
• Grimes A, Sparke V, Rouen C and West C (2020) Preparedness and resilience of student nurses in Northern Queensland Australia for disasters. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 48.
• Sparke V, Diau J, MacLaren D and West C (2020) Solutions to infection prevention and control challenges in developing countries, do they exist? An integrative review. International Journal of Infection Control, 16 (1).
• Sparke V (2010) Signal infection surveillance - trial to assess suitability in a small Western Australian hospital. Healthcare Infection, 15 (3). pp. 93-96

Other research outputs

• Sparke V, MacLaren D, Mills J, Asugeni R, Moutoa K and West C (2017) Improving infection prevention and control practices in a culturally, linguistically and spiritually diverse environment. Australian Nursing and Midwifery Journal, 24 (8). p. 42
• Callope E, Felton-Busch C, Geia L, Budden L, Baldwin A and Sparke V (2014) U-Connect: a tool for engaging and supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students at university. Abstracts from tMount Isa Rural, Remote and Indigenous Health Conference: are you remotely interested?. 30 June - 1 July 2014, Mt Isa, QLD, Australia
• Geia L, Budden L, Felton-Busch C, Baldwin A, Sparke V, Callope E, Ives K, Boucher R, Johns K and Hinch J (2014) Connectedness, confidence, competence, celebration: 4C'ing the future for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nursing and midwifery students. Abstracts from "Are you remotely interested...?" Remote Health Conference. 30 July- 1st August 2014, Mt Isa, Queensland, Australia
• Carrucan J, Smyth W, Abernethy G, Mason M, Sparke V, Hayes M and Shields L (2014) Patients' perceptions of hospital-acquired infections in two facilities in North Queensland, Australia: a pilot study. Annals of the Australasian College of Tropical Medicine, 15 (3). pp. 55-56

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

• Navigating Latter Life better - Ageing and Dying 'Well' in Rural and Remote Australia (PhD , Secondary 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.