HDR Scholarship - Partnering with communities to improve mental health and wellbeing within families facing adversity

Deakin University is offering a unique PhD collaborative scholarship opportunity with the Victorian Department of Health focusing on community participation in mental health and wellbeing primary prevention strategies. The mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative) research will use techniques from system science to explore a range of factors impacting mental health and wellbeing outcomes of families facing adversity, including their participation in prevention initiatives.

Adopting co-design principles, this project will work alongside community members, providing a platform to explore the complex factors affecting mental health and wellbeing outcomes. The aim is to create practical, implementable guidelines to enhance family participation in whole of community mental health and wellbeing initiatives, especially for families encountering adversity, thus reinforcing primary prevention efforts at a larger scale. The project stands out in its commitment to absorbing lived experience, ensuring the developed strategies are grounded in real-world scenarios and are thus more effective.

Underpinned by the principles of co-design, this project will partner with community members to improve current understanding of the factors that impact mental health and wellbeing and develop practical implementation guidelines to improve engagement of families facing adversity.

The scholarship is seeking candidates who are driven to make a substantial, positive impact within communities where mental health resources are often out of reach due to various adversities. This project promises not only significant academic exploration but also practical, community-level impacts in the field of mental health. The research would suit students interested in mental health, systems thinking, quantitative research, qualitative research, and co-design. Some prior training in at least one of these areas would be an advantage but not essential. We welcome applications from candidates with relevant lived and living experience. The research student will be based primarily at Deakin University but will be expected to travel within Victoria to complete research (travel funding is included in the scholarship).

Applications close 5pm, Friday 13 December 2024

This scholarship is available over 3 years.

• Stipend of $35,550 per annum tax exempt (2025 rate)
• Top-up scholarship of $23,000 per annum tax exempt
• Relocation allowance of $500-1500 (for single to family) for students moving from interstate

To be eligible you must:

• be a domestic candidate. Domestic includes candidates with Australian Citizenship, Australian Permanent Residency or New Zealand Citizenship.
• meet Deakin's PhD entry requirements
• be enrolling full time and hold an honours degree (first class) or an equivalent standard master's degree with a substantial research component.

Please refer to the research degree entry pathways page for further information.