Professor Komla Tsey
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Professor Tropical Leader (Education for Social Sustainability) The Cairns Institute and School of Education Cert (Counselling - Family Wellbeing), Cert (Program Planning and Evaluation), Cert (Health Economics), BA (Hons, History Major), PhD (Economic History) |
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Office: |
A4.231, Cairns Campus |
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Phone: |
+61 (07) 4042 1257 |
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Fax: |
+61 (07) 4042 1880 |
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Email: |
Komla Tsey is a Tropical Leader and Research Professor in Education for Social Sustainability within the School and The Cairns Institute.
Research Interests
Professor Komla Tsey is a highly qualified research professor with more than 25 years experience undertaking specialised research and development.Komla was Head of the Central Australian Unit Menzies School of Health Research (1995-99) and contributed significantly towards the setting up of Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health (now Lowitja Institute) and was one of the CRC’s 5 inaugural Research Program Leaders.Over the past decade, Komla has led a research team at JCU and The University of Queensland to operationalise and build research evidence-base for Aboriginal-developed community empowerment programs.
He is an expert in leading diverse research programs into politically sensitive and contemporary health, education, welfare and other social issues concerning Australia’s Indigenous and rural Ghanaian communities and beyond. He utilises original and collaborative empowerment and participatory approaches to improving understanding of social circumstances and the relationship between these and government policies, thereby improving and sustaining health and wellbeing in population subsets.
Komla has attracted more than $10M in National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) funding alone mainly as Chief/Co Investigator; produced over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters and commissioned research reports; given over 100 presentations including local, national and international invited and key notes.His research contributions are widely recognised through several awards including: AJ Thompson Award for Good Practice in Public Health 1994 by the Public Health Association of Australia and the prestigious Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Population Health Research Career Development Award 2005.
Komla will provide leadership as part of transdisciplinary teams across the School of Education, The Cairns Institute and beyond to; undertake developmental research in the field of education for social sustainability; build a longer term education for social sustainability collaborative research agenda; and mentor and support emerging researchers to become independent competitive researchers
Research Projects
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Assessing the effectiveness of a community reinforcement and family training intervention for alcohol misuse with Indigenous Australians.An ARC Linkage Project with the National Drug & Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW; The Lyndon Community; School of Education; Yoorana Gunya Family Violence Healing Centre Aboriginal Corporation
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A whole-of-community approach to promoting engagement into education in a discrete indigenous community: A mixed method study. An ARC Discovery Project.
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Building a cohort of indigenous research leaders in community health development. An NH&MRC Capacity Building Grant with the University of South Australia.
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Building research capacity in Indigenous Australians and community controlled services. An NH&MRC Capacity Building Grant with the School of Public Health, Tropical Medicine and Rehabilitation Sciences; Indigenous Health Unit; Australian Institute of Tropical Medicine; School of Medicine & Dentistry.
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Feasible containment strategies for swine influenza H1N1 in rural and remote indigenous communities. An NH&MRC - Call for research on H1N1 Influenza 09 project with the School of Education.
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Economic evaluation of interventions to reduce the burden of harm from alcohol misuse in Indigenous Australians. An NH&MRC project with the School of Indigenous Australian Studies; School of Education.
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The feasibility and effectiveness of a family based intervention for Indigenous Australians. An NH&MRC project with the School of Education.
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Palliative care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with end-stage renal disease: An action research initiative. An NH&MRC project with School of Medicine; School of Indigenous Australian Studies.
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Pandemic influenza containment strategies in Aboriginal communities: What is acceptable and feasible?An NH&MRC project with the School of Public Health, Tropical Medicine and Rehabilitation Sciences; School of Education.
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Pearl in the oyster: Caring for country and building mental health resilience to adverse climate change in rural and remote Aboriginal communities. An NH&MRC project with the University of Canberra, CSIRO, ANU, School of Indigenous Australian Studies.
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A structured systems approach for improving health promotion practice for chronic diseases in indigenous communities. An NH&MRC project with the Northern Territory Department of Health and Community Services (NTDHCS); Menzies School of Health Research (MSHR); CRC for Aboriginal Health (CRCAH).
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Swine influenza containment strategies: Feasible containment strategies for swine influenza H1N1 in rural and remote indigenous communities. An NH&MRC project with the School of Public Health, Tropical Medicine and Rehabilitation Sciences; School of Education.
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Tropical, Rural and Indigenous Communicable Disease Control (TRICDC). An NH&MRC project with the School of Public Health, Tropical Medicine and Rehabilitation Sciences; School of Education.
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Strategies designed to promote the longer term sustainability of the Empowerment Research Program. A Department of Education, Employment & Workplace Relations - Research Infrastructure Block Grant with the School of Education; School of Indigenous Australian Studies.
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Implementation of a program of applied research and evaluation focusing on priority issues for the improvement of social and emotional well being and mental health among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of North Queensland. A Queensland Health project with the School ofIndigenous Australian Studies, School of Education and The University of New South Wales
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Sexual health management in NPA & TSI with the delivery of the Family Wellbeing Program. A Queensland Health – Consultancy with the School of Education; Tropical Population Health Unit, Queensland Health; Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health.
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Making a difference: Promoting sustainable change in education, training and employment in Yarrabah. Indigenous Coordinating Council, Yarrabah Aboriginal Shire Council, Education Queensland. Project with the School of Education.
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Making a difference: Planning for improved emotional and social wellbeing for Yarrabah. A Gurriny Yealamucka Health Service - Collaborative Research Project with the School of Education.
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Preparedness of schools for climate change contingencies. A JCU Collaboration Across Boundaries Grant with the School of Education, Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Nursing, Midwifery and Nutrition.
Selected Publications
Tsey, K. (2000) An Innovative Family Support Program by and for Indigenous Australians: Reflections in Evaluation Practice.Journal of Family Studies, 6(2), 302-308.
Tsey, K. & Every, A. (2000) Evaluating Aboriginal empowerment programs: the case of Family WellBeing, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health 24(5), 509-514.
Tsey, K. (2001) Traditional healers and mental health care in rural Ghana.Australasian Review of African Studies, 23(2), 20-30.
Harvey, D., Tsey, K., Cadet-James, Y., Minnecon, D., Ivers, R., McCalman, J., Lloyd, J., & Young, D. (2002). An evaluation of tobacco brief intervention training in three Indigenous health care settings in north Queensland.Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 26(5), 426-431.
Tsey, K., Wenitong, M., McCalman, J., Baird, L., Patterson, D., Baird, B., Whiteside, M., Fagan, R., Cadet-James, Y., & Wilson, A., (2004) A Participatory Action Research Process with a rural Indigenous Men’s group: monitoring and reinforcing change, Australian Journal of Primary Health, 10 (3), 130-136.
Rees, S., Tsey, K., Every, A., William, E., Cadet-James, Y., & Whiteside, M. (2004) Empowerment and Human Rights in Addressing Violence and Improving Health in Australian Indigenous Communities, Human Rights and Health: An International Journal, 8(1), 94-113.
Tsey, K., Whiteside, M., Daly, B., Deemal, A., Gibson, T., Cadet-James, Y., Wilson, A., Santhanam, R., & Haswell, M. (2005) Adapting the ‘Family Wellbeing’ empowerment program to the needs of remote Indigenous school children, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 29(2), 112-116.
Haswell-Elkins, M., Hunter, E., Nagel, T., Thompson, C., Hall, B., Mills, R., Wargent, R., Tsey, K., Knowles, L., & Wilkinson, Y. (2005) Reflections on integrating mental health into primary health care services in remote Indigenous communities in Far North Queensland and the Northern Territory, Australian Journal of Primary Health, 11(2), 62-69.
Tsey, K., Travers, H., Gibson, T., Whiteside, M., Cadet-James, Y., Haswell- Elkins, M., McCalman, J., & Wilson, A. (2005) The role of empowerment through life skills development in building comprehensive primary health care systems in Indigenous Australia, Australian Journal of Primary Health, 11(2), 16-25.
Whiteside, M., Tsey, K., McCalman, J., Cadet-James, Y., & Wilson, A. (2006) Empowerment as a Framework for Indigenous Workforce Development and Organisational Change, Australian Social Work, 59(4), 422-434.
Ypinazar, V., Margolis, S., Haswell-Elkins, M., & Tsey, K. (2007). Indigenous Australians' understandings regarding mental health and disorders Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry , http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t768481832~db=all~tab=issueslist~branches=41 - v41 41 ( 6), 467-478.
Tsey, K., Wilson, A., Haswell-Elkins, M., Whiteside, M., McCalman, J., Cadet-James, Y., & Wenitong, M. (2007) Empowerment-based research methods: a 10-year approach to enhancing Indigenous social and emotional wellbeing, Australasian Psychiatry, 15 (Supplement), S34 - S38.
Tsey K. (2008) The control factor: a neglected social determinant of health (Correspondence), The Lancet Volume 372, Issue 9650, 8 November 2008-14 November 2008, 1629
McCalman J., Tsey K., Baird, B., Connolly, B., Baird, L., Jackson, R. (2009) ‘Bringing back respect’: The role of participatory action research in transferring knowledge from an Aboriginal men’s group to youth programs. Australasian Psychiatry 17 (Supplement) S59 - S63
Mayo K., Tsey, K. (2009). Reflections on a Community and University Research Collaboration. Australasian Psychiatry 17 (Supplement) S68 – S71
Santhanam, R., McEwan, A., Bainbridge, R., Hunter, E., Haswell, M & Tsey, K. (2009) Adapting the Australian Public Mental Health Performance Indicators to the contextual needs of a Remote Area Child and Youth Mental Health Service Australian Indigenous Health Bulletin
Mayo, K., & Tsey, K. (2009) The Research Dance: University and Community Research Collaborations at Yarrabah, North Queensland, Health and Social Care in the Community, 17(2), 133-140.
Tsey, K., Harvey, D., Gibson, T., Pearson, L., (2009) The role of empowerment in setting a foundation for social and emotional wellbeing Australian e-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health 8 (1) 1-10
Haswell-Elkins, Melissa, Reilly, Lyndon, Fagan, Ruth, Ypinazar, Valmae, Hunter, Ernest, Tsey, Komla, Gibson, Victor, Connolly, Brian, Laliberte, Arlene, Wargent, Rachael, Gibson, Teresa, Saunders, Vicki, McCalman, Janya and Kavanagh, David (2009) ‘Listening, sharing understanding and facilitating consumer, family and community empowerment through a priority driven partnership in Far North Queensland’, Australasian Psychiatry, 17:1, S54 – S58 http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all?content=10.1080/10398560902948688
Tsey, K., Whiteside, M., Cadet-James, Y., Haswell, M., Bainbridge, R., and Wilson A. (2009) Empowerment and Indigenous Australian Health: a synthesis of findings from Family Wellbeing formative research, Health and Social Care in the Community 18 (2). pp. 169-179
Tsey, K., (2010) Making Social Science Matter?: Case Studies from Community Development and Empowerment Education Research in Rural Ghana and Aboriginal Australia, Asian Social Science, 6(1)3-12.
McCalman, J., Tsey, K., Wenitong, M., Wilson, A., McEwan, A., Cadet James, Y., & Whiteside, M.(2010) Indigenous men’s support groups and social and emotional wellbeing: a meta-synthesis of the evidence Australian Journal of Primary Health 16, 159-166
McEwan, A., Tsey, K., McCalman, J., Travers H.(2010) Empowerment and change management in Aboriginal organizations: a case study, Australian Health Review 34, 360-367 http://www.publish.csiro.au/?act=view_file&file_id=AH08696.pdf (accessed 3 September 2010)
Haswell-Elkins, M., Kavanagh, D., Tsey, K., Reilly, L., Cadet-James, Y., Wilson, A., Doran, C. (2010) Psychometric validation of the Growth and Empowerment Measure (GEM) applied with Indigenous Australians. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry (44): 791-799
McCalman J., Tsey, K., Reilly, L., Connolly, B., Fagan R., Earles, W., and Andrews R. (2010) Taking Control of Health: Gurriny’s story of organisational change Third Sector Review 16(1):29-49.
Tsey, K., (2010) The role of customs and beliefs in legitimating community development participation in Botoku, rural Ghana: implications for substance abuse prevention [Part 1 of 2]. Forum on Public Policy, Vol 2010, No 1. http://forumonpublicpolicy.com/spring2010.vol2010no1/spring2010archive/Tsey.Ghana.pdf (accessed September 1, 2010)
Tsey, K. (2010) Tackling endemic substance abuse among Indigenous Australians: the contribution of values-based family empowerment education [Part 2 of 2]. Forum on Public Policy, Vol 2010, No 1. http://www.forumonpublicpolicy.com/archivespring08/tsey.australia.pdf (accessed July 12, 2010).
Berry HL, Butler JRA, Burgess CP, King UG, Tsey, K., Cadet-James YL, Rigby CW, Raphael B. (2010) Mind, body, spirit: co-benefits for mental health from climate change adaptation and caring for country in remote Aboriginal Australian communities. New South Wales Public Health Bulletin 21: 139–145.
McCalman, J., McEwan, A., Blackmore, E., Tsey, K., & Bainbridge, R. (2010) The role of Empowerment Education in Sustainable Community Development: The Case of Family Wellbeing Journal of Economic and Social Policy for the Desert Knowledge CRC Special Edition. (in press)