Carissa Bonner

I am a behavioural scientist who uses psychological theory and methods to address communication issues in public health. My current projects are focused on three areas of primary health care: cardiovascular disease prevention, diabetes self-management, and infectious disease control.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention: I am leading the CHAT-GP project, which aims to develop and implement new ehealth tools to support evidence-based, shared decision making about cardiovascular disease prevention. I am the Chief Investigator on several grants supported by NHMRC, Heart Foundation and federal government funding to develop and evaluate resources for GPs and practice nurses, consumers and patients, Primary Health Networks, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Diabetes self-management: I am involved in several projects to improve diabetes self-management, primarily through supervising PhD candidates Julie Ayre and Sumathy Ravi, and acting as Chief Investigator on a Diabetes Australia grant.

Infectious disease prevention: I am involved in two collaborations to improve infectious disease prevention, advising on behavioural science aspects for the VBAT Project. I am also involved in the Sydney Health Literacy Lab (SHeLL) longitudinal survey and spin off projects to track national responses to current and emerging COVID-19 restrictions and recommended prevention behaviours. This has included identifying communication issues for people with lower health literacy and culturally diverse background, identifying and addressing barriers to COVID-19 testing and vaccination, and tracking changes in knowledge, attitudes and behaviour over time.

@carissa_bon