Family members of Australian military members and emergency service personnel play a fundamental role in supporting the health and wellbeing of the service member both during service and through-out transition to civilian life. The level of support that can be provided by a family member however is largely dependent on a multitude of factors including the family member’s own health and wellbeing, their attitudes towards and experiences of service life to date, and the strength of the relationship between the service member and the family member.
This is largely dependent on the life stage the families are at as well as the structure of the family. While research into the wellbeing and role of families in supporting the health of the service members is slowly accumulating, there is currently no consolidation of these research efforts among the Australian (or in fact International) academic community. This makes it very difficult to utilise this research to its full potential and to provide strong evidence based recommendations to inform policy and service delivery. The Service Families Research Consortia comprises a dynamic network of likeminded academics, practitioners and lived experience family members established to create a platform to collaborate on high quality research and service provision for families of current and former serving military and emergency service personnel across the globe.
Australian Members:
- Dr Galina Daraganova – South Eastern Melbourne PHN
- Professor Gaynor Parfitt – University of South Australia
- Dr Karen May – MESHA
- Dr Louise Roberts – Flinders University
- Dr Elaine Waddell – Flinders University
- Dr Dannielle Post – University of South Australia
- Dr Sean Cowlishaw – Monash University
- Professor Sharon Lawn – Flinders University
- Dr Madeline Romaniuk – Gallipoli
- Dr Angela Maguire – Gallipoli Medical Research Foundation
- Breeanna Till – Sydney Children’s Hospital Network
- Gwen Cherne – Commissioner for Veteran Family Advocacy, Department of Veteran Affairs
- Chris Burns CSC – Chief Executive Officer, Hutt St Centre
- Dr Annabel McGuire – Gripfast Consulting
- Dr Violette McGaw – Lifespan Phycology
- Nikki Jamieson – Department of Veteran Affairs
- Hayley Boswell – Founder, Defence Kidz
- Hannah Bourne – MESHA
- Dr Henry Bowen – MESHA
- Mark Brewer – Department of Veterans Affairs
- Brendan Cox – Chief Executive Officer, Legacy Brisbane
- Dr Anna Denejkina – The Insight Centre
- Dr Camilla Guindalini – Gallipoli
- Jody Hughes – AIFS
- Marie Iannos – MESHA
- Dr Amy Johnson, CQ University
- Marianne Lewis – Carers SA
- Rebecca Mellor – Gallipoli
- Chelsea Newfield – NT PHN
- Dr Emina Prguda – Gallipoli
- Kerry Prier – Defence Families of Australia
- Dr Marg Rogers – Manna Institute
- Tiffany Sharp – Cambrian Executive
- Kerryn Smith – Legacy South Australia and Broken Hill
- Cherylea Williams – Legacy South Australia and Broken Hill
International Partners:
- Professor Nicola Fear – King’s Centre for Military Health Research
- Tish Stropes – Fisher House Foundation
- Professor Heidi Cramm – Canadian Institute for Military and Veterans Health Research
- Professor Cherie Armour – Queen’s University, Belfast
- Heather Macarthur – Canadian Institute for Military and Veterans Health Research
Other Partners:
- South Australia Local Health Networks (SALHN)
- Jamie Larcombe Centre Clinical staff
- Close the Gaps Trauma Network
- Ramsay Health
- University of South Australia
- Flinders University
- University of Adelaide
- SAHMRI
- RSL Care SA
- PVS SA
- Australian Institute of Family Studies