no Body left behind
Stephanie Walker
Stephanie Walker
Research Project Manager
Stephanie Walker
Research Project Manager
Stephanie Walker has a Master of Public Health from the University of Sydney and skills in health service design, implementation, evaluation, and public health research. At Mindgardens, Steph is the project manager of the National Health and Medical Research Committee grant aiming to improve physical health care for people living with severe mental illness. The five-year project, No Body Left Behind, will co-produce and implement an Integrated Peer-supported Physical Health Service across south eastern Sydney and Tasmania.
Steph has experience managing projects in both government, research and non-for-profit sectors to address population health needs. She has worked with diverse stakeholders including consumers, health professionals, researchers, policy makers and community groups to co-create and implement evidence-based solutions that improve health outcomes. She also supported the introduction of access to psychosocial supports for people residing in Aged Care Facilities across central and eastern Sydney in 2018. Steph has spent the last six years managing cancer screening, prevention and management projects. This has included the design and implementation of an existing cancer shared care service across Sydney, NSW roll out of self-collection for cervical screening and primary care cancer screening quality improvement activities. Most recently Steph coordinated the co-design of an innovative primary care intervention, pilot trial and process evaluation to increase National Bowel Cancer Screening participation.
A multidisciplinary team of investigators, including researchers, clinicians and people with lived experience, are collaborating on a world-first research project to improve physical health care for people living with severe mental illness.
About the Project
The no Body left behind project will co-design and embed an Integrated Peer-Supported Physical Health Service (IPPHS) for people living with severe mental illness across south eastern Sydney and the whole of Tasmania.
The five-year project will identify real-world barriers and facilitators to physical health care for people living with severe mental health conditions at individual, health service and broader societal levels. Mental health consumers will participate in all stages of the research, including project design, implementation and evaluation.
Sustained Improvement
IPPHS will provide detailed and specific insights into ways to improve physical health for Australians living with living with severe mental illness, taking account of diverse individual circumstances, the types of health service available, and social factors. The results are expected to inform the implementation of future physical health services for this population group, in other states or nationally.
Get in touch
The project includes a Research Advisory Committee, Lived Experience Advisory Group and Aboriginal Advisory Group. Mindgardens welcomes feedback and involvement from people within these groups as well from a consumer and clinical background.
Project timing
The project launched in January of 2024. The following milestones will occur over the next five years:
- 2024: Co-development of a concept map of barriers and facilitators to good physical health for people living with severe mental illness.
- 2025: Co-refinement of the IPPHS and a framework for implementation
- 2026: Roll-out and evaluation of IPPHS across Tasmania and SESLHD
- 2027: Cost-effectiveness evaluation of IPPHS
- 2028: Co-development of best practice implementation frameworks for national adoption
To learn more or find out how you can get involved, please contact Project Manager, Stephanie Walker via steph.walker@unsw.edu.au
Original announcement: Major research grant to extend physical health care for people living with mental illness
Funding Sources
- National Health and Medical Research Council
Keeping the Body in Mind: Vaccines
Keeping the Body in Mind: Primary Care
Addi Moves: Exercise for People from Refugee and Asylum Seeking Backgrounds
Keep Quitting in Mind: Smoking & Vaping Support
Keeping the Body in Mind(gardens): Resources
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Mindgardens Neuroscience Network acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognises their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respect to them and their cultures, and to Elders past, present and emerging.
We acknowledge the voices of people with lived experience, their carers, families and kinship groups. We recognise the expertise acquired through living with a mental health, drug and alcohol or neurological disorder and acknowledge those who care for people on their recovery journey. We place lived experience at the heart of all that we do.
Brings together the strengths of four founding organisations
