Research interests of the team
Researchers at Orygen Digital believe technology is key to providing timely, effective, and engaging mental health treatment and support. Our mission is to revolutionise all youth mental health services, bringing together the best of technology, research, innovation and clinical care to support young people. We work towards this goal by focusing on some of the biggest challenges in digital mental health:
- understanding mechanisms of change driving effectiveness;
- improving uptake of and engagement with digital interventions; and
- supporting sustained implementation, the integration of digital interventions into health settings.
Our flagship platform, MOST, is becoming available in youth mental health services across Australia, and offers a unique, exciting opportunity and context in which to progress the field.
project details
Supported by a key recommendation of the recent Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, Orygen Digital has an emerging program of work in digital mental health implementation. Unfortunately, the 15-year gap between research knowledge and practice change has followed mental health research into the digital space. As a result, most digital mental health interventions are currently disconnected from the health system. We are seeking an applicant for a PhD project to explore a key contributing factor in digital mental health implementation success – clinicians’ attitudes, acceptance, and perspectives.
Working with a multidisciplinary team including researchers, developers, and implementation specialists, the project will use mixed-methods to explore factors influencing clinicians’ attitudes about integrating digital interventions into the clinical care they provide. Underpinned by theories from implementation science and human-computer interaction, the project will aim to elucidate the value and pain-points of digital intervention use for clinicians, and how they perceive their role in the context of technology-enhanced care. Results from the project will inform the development of a theory-driven model to blend face-to-face and digital mental health care, and will directly inform Orygen Digital implementation strategies in the live implementation of the MOST intervention.
relevant references
- Alvarez‐Jimenez M, Koval P, Schmaal L, Bendall S, O'Sullivan S, Cagliarini D, D'Alfonso S, Rice S, Valentine L, Penn DL, Miles C. The Horyzons project: a randomized controlled trial of a novel online social therapy to maintain treatment effects from specialist first‐episode psychosis services. World Psychiatry. 2021 Jun;20(2):233-43.
- Lattie EG, Nicholas J, Knapp AA, Skerl JJ, Kaiser SM, & Mohr DC. Opportunities for and tensions surrounding the use of technology-enabled mental health services in community mental health care. 2020. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research,47(1), 138-149.
- Valentine L, McEnery C, Bell I, O'Sullivan S, Pryor I, Gleeson J, ... & Alvarez-Jimenez M. Blended digital and face-to-face care for first-episode psychosis treatment in young people: qualitative study. 2020. JMIR Mental Health, 7(7), e18990.
Scholarships and fees
A stipend is not available for this PhD project, however we offer generous $10,000 top-ups for PhD scholarships.
Scholarships are available through the University of Melbourne – find out more here. Other scholarship opportunities may also be available but are highly competitive, so please speak to the contact person below for further details.
Information on fees for domestic and international students is available here.
How to apply
- Read information for future students here and check your eligibility here.
- Read our frequently asked questions here.
- Liaise with, and gain the support of, the supervisor/s. Please contact them using the details below and attach a copy of your CV and university transcript(s).
- Once you’ve gained supervisor support, follow the steps outlined by the University of Melbourne here. You can go straight to Step 3.
You are strongly encouraged to submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
Contact
Dr Jen Nicholas
[email protected]