Discipline : Sociology
Click here for link to UTas Web Access Research Portal (WARP) which lists Karen's funded projects, graduate research supervision and publication information.
Commencing February 2008, Karen has been appointed for one year as a Senior Research Fellow at Mother and Child Health Research at LaTrobe University. Her primary focus will be contributing to a NHMRC Capacity Building Grant aimed at ‘building public health capacity for complex questions, complex settings, complex populations and complex interventions’(COMPASS). http://www.latrobe.edu.au/mchr/COMPASS.html
Recent and current research projects:
Private Health Insurance: This project aims to examine what influences people to take out private health insurance, the expectations they have in doing so, and the policy context that facilitates notions of individual responsibility for health care financing. This is a collaborative project with Dr Kristin Natalier (Sociology, UTAS), Drs Fran Collyer and Amanda Elliot (University of Sydney), and Professor Stephanie Short (Queensland University of Technology.
Tree of Hope: A community engagement project conducted with the Launceston City Council in 2006. Analysis of the project is ongoing. http://www.treeofhope.com.au. This project won a National Community Capacity Building Award in the category Participation and Partnerships: http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/local/awards/winners_2007.aspx
Launceston Flood Research Initiative: Flood Risk in Launceston: Understanding community perceptions and policy responses. Completed in January 2008, this project is funded by the Launceston City Council and is a collaborative project with Dr Joanna Vince (School of Government), Dr Kristin Natalier (Sociology), and Ms Mhairi Vogt (Launceston City Council).
Pathways Home Project – Qualitative Research Project: This project supplemented a trial of a chronic disease self management program for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. http://www.pathways.utas.edu.au/about.html.
The qualitative research project was commissioned by the project team to identify key factors influencing participants’ perceptions of their disease, their understanding of the self management process, and effective participation in the program.
Research Areas:
UnitsSelected Publications:- Willis, K. & Elmer, S., 2007, 'Society, Culture and Health: an introduction to health sociology for nurses', Oxford University Press, South Melbourne
- Willis, K., Craft, C., Vogt, M. & West, M., 2006, 'Tree of Hope', Launceston City Council/University of Tasmania
- Willis, K., 2008, 'I come because I am called: Recruitment and participation in mammography screening in Uppsala, Sweden', Health Care for Women International, 29, pgs. 1-16
- Daly, J., Willis, K., Small, R., Green, J., Welch, N., Kealy, M. & Huges, E., 2007, 'A heirarchy of evidence for assessing qualitative health research', Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 60, pgs. 43-49
- Willis, K., Daly, J., Kealy, M., Small, R., Koutroulis, G., Green, J., Thomas, S. & Gibbs, L., 2007, 'How to use social theory to produce qualitative public health research', Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 31(5), pgs. 438-443
- Green, J., Willis, K., Hughes, E., Small, R., Welch, N., Gibbs, L. & Daly, J., 2007, 'The contribution of data analysis in the production of high quality evidence from interview-based qualitative research', Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 31(6), pgs. 545-550
- Gibbs, L., Kealy, M., Willis, K., Green, J., Welch, N., & Daly, J., 2007, 'What have sampling and data collection got to do with 'good' qualitative research', Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 31(6), pgs. 540-544
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