WA Mental Health COVID-19 Research Panel

The WA Mental Health COVID-19 Research Panel (WAMH-CoRP) is a strategic offshoot of the WAHTN’s COVID-19 Research Collaboration, which was established at the request of the WA Department of Health.

It is a collaborative network of more than 65 leading mental health researchers representing all five WA universities, key research institutes, public and private health service providers, consumer representation, and other professional organisations.

The network was established to examine broader questions about the social and mental health impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on specific groups and the broader population. Its coordinated response to mental health research reduces duplication and speeds up the translation of research findings into improved mental health care and policy.

A purpose-built, collaborative network focusing on mental health such as this has never been seen before in WA.

WAMH-CoRP is an inclusive research panel that supports genuine collaboration with consumers and carers in the design, implementation, and dissemination of mental health research. GLAD (Genetics Linked to AntiDepressants) is an example of a recent consumer-lead mental health research study that WAMH-CoRP members have been involved with.

  • More than 65 academic members
  • Researchers representing WA’s leading research organisations, including universities, research institutes and hospitals
  • Discipline expertise spanning psychology, psychiatry, social science, neuropsychiatry, education, clinical medicine, digital/telehealth, exercise physiology, epidemiology, health policy, neuroscience, genetics and more
  • Coordinated directory of psychotherapy and psychopharmacology measures to standardise and increase consistency of study outcomes
  • Consumer representation and advocacy expertise

  • Breaking down traditional organisational silos to work collaboratively and cooperatively to deliver coordinated and impactful research outcomes for the betterment of our local, state, national and global communities
  • Flexible working groups and research streams enable a coordinated, collaborative approach to mental health research and ensures the right knowledge and appropriate measures are tailored to respond to key research questions posed by government and industry partners
  • Network structure provides the flexibility to evolve to pursue new research questions as they arise, follow cohorts longitudinally, and to respond now or in the future to government and industry priorities

Within the network, smaller working groups are focusing on the following cohorts:

  • Healthcare workers
  • School/education professionals
  • FIFO
  • Children and adolescents
  • Older adults
  • Severe mental illness
  • Indigenous

Working groups are also focused on the following streams:

  • Interventions (psychotherapy and psychopharmacology)
  • Digital telehealth
  • Health policy
  • Neuroscience and genetics
  • Drug and alcohol
  • Cognition and emotion

  • Prof. Sean Hood
  • Dr. Jacquita Affandi
  • Dr. Rosa Alati
  • Dr. Megan Galbally
  • Dr. Andrew Lewis
  • Dr. Justin Manuel
  • Prof. Peter McEvoy
  • Dr. Elizabeth Newnham
  • Prof. Christopher Reid
  • Prof. Vera Morgan
  • Dr. Zoe Carter
  • Prof. Moira Sim
  • A/Prof. Kristin Gainey
  • A/Prof. Joanne Dickson
  • Prof. Flavie Waters
  • Dr. Travis Cruickshank
  • Dr. Danielle Bartlett
  • A/Prof. Libby Lee-Hammond
  • Dr. Pip Brennan
  • Dr. Salam Hussain
  • Prof. Anna Waterreus
  • Prof. Rob Eikelboom
  • Dr. Bec Bennett
  • Prof. Suzanne Robinson
  • A/Prof. Judy MacCallum
  • Prof. Andrew Page
  • A/Prof. Wendy Cumming-Potvin
  • Dr. Caitlin Fox-Harding
  • A/Prof. Dorit Maor
  • Prof. Rebecca Anglin
  • Dr. Lakshmi Fernandes
  • Dr. Jessica Tearne
  • Dr. Hyranthi Kavanagh
  • Dr. Sally Brinkman
  • Dr. Alecka Miles
  • Dr. Michelle Olaithe
  • Prof. Jo Badcock
  • Dr. Bahareh Badrian
  • A/Prof. Mathew Coleman
  • Dr. Sara Hansen
  • Dr. Neil Drew
  • Dr. Lesley Andrew
  • Prof. Shelley Beatty
  • Prof. Anu Rammohan
  • Dr. Michael Palmer

  • Mental Health of Healthcare Workers During COVID-19 Crisis  (2 Publications in preparation)

Contact

For more information or to get involved, contact Professor Sean Hood: sean.hood@uwa.edu.au.