Dr Kerena Eckert

Qualifications

PhD - University of Queensland, Queensland

MPH - University of Adelaide, South Australia 

RN - Repatriation General Hospital, South Australia

RM - Queen Victoria Hospital, South Australia

Awards & Achievements

2000 - New Investigator Award, Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand Annual Conference

2009 - Affiliate Prize, Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand Annual Conference

Teaching Interests

Psychiatric Epidemiology - RANZCP, South Australian Psychiatry Fellowship Training Program

Research Interests

My research interests lie in the area of public health and epidemiology, specifically the epidemiology of chronic disease.  I have a particular interest in psychiatric epidemiology, heart disease and comorbid depression, rural and remote health and health services research. 

Current projects:

 The 'TAKE HEART' in Primary Care study, a cluster randomised trial, designed to determine whether a pragmatic GP-focused intervention, comprising screening for depression, academic detailing of a brief depression guide and psychiatry telephone advice, will reduce depression in patients with chronic symptomatic ischaemic heart disease (Chief Investigator: NHMRC, General Practice Clinical Research Program ID:361324).   

The 'CARDIAC ARIA' project which involves the development of a geographical index, using applied geographical information system (GIS) spatial technology (based on the ARIA methodology) to measure accessibility to cardiovascular services in rural and urban Australia (Chief Investigator: ARC Linkage Grant ID LP0775217). 

In collaboration with the Safety and Quality Unit, SA Health, established the South Australian Consumer Experience Surveillance System (SACESS), an epidemiological surveillance system designed to continuously measure and monitor consumers experiences of care received from South Australian metropolitan and country hospitals. 

Publications

Recent publications

1. Coffee N, Turner D, Clark R, Eckert K, Coombe D, Bamford E, Hugo G, van Gaans D, Wilkinson D, Stewart S, Tonkin A.  Measuring National Accessibility to Cardiac Services Using Geographic Information Systems. Applied Geography. 2012: In press.

2. Atlantis E, Goldney RD Eckert KA, Taylor AW. Trends in health-related quality of life and health service use associated with body mass index and comorbid major depression in South Australia, 1998-2008.  Quality of Life Research.  2011: In press.
3. Avent ML, Teoh JL, Lees J, Eckert KA, Kirkpatrick CM.  Comparing 3 Methods of Monitoring Gentamicin Concentrations in Patients with Febrile Neutropenia. Therapeutic Drug Monitoring.  2011;33:592-601. 
4. Atlantis E, Eckert KA, Taylor AW, Goldney RD, Phillips P.  Trends in quality of life and health service use associated with comorbid diabetes and major depression in South Australia, 1998-2008. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. 2011 [E-pub ahead of print] DOI:10.1007/s00127-011-0394-4.
5. Zutshi A, Eckert KA, Hawthorne G, Taylor AW, Goldney RD. Changes in the prevalence of Bipolar Disorders between 1998 and 2008 in an Australian population. Bipolar Disorders  2011;13:182-188
6. Eckert KA, Kutek SM, Dunn KI, Air TM, Goldney RD.  Changes in mental health literacy in young men from rural and urban South Australia.  Australian Journal of Rural Health. 2010;18:153-158.
7. Goldney RD, Eckert KA, Hawthorne G, Taylor AW.  Changes in the prevalence of major depression in an Australian population between 1998 and 2008.  Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry.  2010;44:901-910.
8. Roeger L, Allison S, Korossy-Horwood R, Eckert K, Goldney R. Is a history of school bullying victimisation associated with adult suicidal ideation? A South Australian population-based observational study.  Journal of Nervous and Mental Disorders.  2010;198:728-733.

Professional Associations

Health Services Research Association of Australia and New Zealand.

Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand.

Australasian Epidemiological Association.

Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. 

Entry last updated: Tuesday, 31 Jan 2012