Overview
Background
A/Prof Damian Santomauro is based at the School of Public Health, The University of Queensland, and leads the Epidemiology and Burden of Disease Research Stream based at the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research (QCMHR). He is also an Affiliate Associate Professor at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), University of Washington, where he serves as the Mental Disorders Team Lead and the DisMod-AT Team Lead for the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study. Driven by a commitment to improving global mental health, A/Prof Santomauro is responsible for all mental disorder epidemiological and burden estimates reported by the GBD Study and has played a key role in uncovering burden not currently represented by the GBD Study such as burden of binge eating disorder, other specified feeding and eating disorders, and somatoform disorders. He also modelled the worldwide impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on depressive and anxiety disorders, quantified the excess self-harm mortality among autistic persons globally, and developed a novel cohort method to estimate the burden of depressive and anxiety disorders due to bullying victimization. A/Prof Santomauro also quantified the minimally adequate treatment coverage for depressive disorders globally, and the burden of anxiety disorders that could be averted under ideal treatment coverage conditions. His research continues to inform international mental health policy, helping to ensure that the true extent of mental disorder burden is recognised and averted.
Availability
- Associate Professor Damian Santomauro is:
- Available for supervision
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Science, The University of Queensland
- Bachelor (Honours) of Science, The University of Queensland
- Doctor of Philosophy of Psychology, The University of Queensland
Works
Search Professor Damian Santomauro’s works on UQ eSpace
2017
Conference Publication
A population perspective on help-seeking for disordered eating among Australia’s young people
Sparti, C., Harris, M., Santomauro, D. and Cruwys, T. (2017). A population perspective on help-seeking for disordered eating among Australia’s young people . West Moreton Hospital and Health Service Research Day, Ipswich, QLD, Australia, 29 November 2017.
2016
Journal Article
Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks, 1990–2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015
GBD 2015 Risk Factors Collaborators, Charlson, F. J., Ferrari, A. J., Abajobir, A. A., Erskine, H. E., Knibbs, L. D., Leung, J., Santomauro, D. F., Veerman, J. L., Whiteford, H. A., Lalloo, R., Scott, J. G., Alam, N. K. M., Gouda, H. N., Guo, Y. and McGrath, J. J. (2016). Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks, 1990–2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015. Lancet, 388 (10053), 1659-1724. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31679-8
2016
Journal Article
Measuring the health-related Sustainable Development Goals in 188 countries: a baseline analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015
Sartorius, Benn, Abajobir, Amanuel Alemu, Charlson, Fiona J., Erskine, Holly E., Ferrari, Alize J., Knibbs, Luke D., Leung, Janni, Santomauro, Damian F., Veerman, J. Lennert, Lalloo, Ratilal, Whiteford, Harvey A. and Guo, Yuming (2016). Measuring the health-related Sustainable Development Goals in 188 countries: a baseline analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015. Lancet, 388 (10053), 1813-1850. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31467-2
2016
Journal Article
Investigations into emotion regulation difficulties among adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorder: a qualitative study
Santomauro, Damian, Sheffield, Jeanie and Sofronoff, Kate (2016). Investigations into emotion regulation difficulties among adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorder: a qualitative study. Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 42 (3), 1-10. doi: 10.3109/13668250.2016.1236240
2016
Conference Publication
Gender differences in binge drinking in 278 countries - a meta-analysis by global regions
Leung, Janni, Santomauro, Damian, Galasyuk, Nataliya, Kelly, Adrian, Connor, Jason, Hall, Wayne and Chan, Gary (2016). Gender differences in binge drinking in 278 countries - a meta-analysis by global regions. Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs Conference 2016, Sydney, NSW, Australia, 30 October –2 November 2016. Chichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing. doi: 10.1111/dar.12484
2016
Conference Publication
Evaluation of a Nurse Practitioner Model of Care within the Primary Healthcare Team at Wolston Correctional Centre
How, R., Wong, I., Santomauro, D., Wright, E. and Harris, M. (2016). Evaluation of a Nurse Practitioner Model of Care within the Primary Healthcare Team at Wolston Correctional Centre. 11th Conference of the Australian College of Nurse Practitioners, Alice Springs, NT, Australia, 30 August-2 September 2016.
2015
Other Outputs
Emotion regulation in adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorders
Santomauro, Damian (2015). Emotion regulation in adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorders. PhD Thesis, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/uql.2016.5
2015
Other Outputs
Understanding regional variations in mental health and alcohol and other drug services in Queensland. FINAL REPORT
Harris, M., Leitch, E., Wong, I., Santomauro, D., Diminic, S., Scheurer, R., Fjeldsoe, K. and Whiteford, H. (2015). Understanding regional variations in mental health and alcohol and other drug services in Queensland. FINAL REPORT. Brisbane, QLD Queensland: Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research and The University of Queensland.
2015
Other Outputs
Regional planning for Primary Health Networks: final report
Harris, Meredith, Santomauro, Damian, Diminic, Sandra, Wong, Ides, Leitch, Elizabeth, Scheurer, Roman, Fjeldsoe, Kevin and Whiteford, Harvey (2015). Regional planning for Primary Health Networks: final report. Brisbane, QLD Australia: The University of Queensland.
2015
Journal Article
Depression in Adolescents with ASD: A Pilot RCT of a Group Intervention
Santomauro, Damian, Sheffield, Jeanie and Sofronoff, Kate (2015). Depression in Adolescents with ASD: A Pilot RCT of a Group Intervention. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 46 (2), 572-588. doi: 10.1007/s10803-015-2605-4
2010
Other Outputs
The concept of ownership: Are there differences between adults with Asperger syndrome and typically developing adults in kinematic reach-to-grasp motion effects?
Damian Santomauro (2010). The concept of ownership: Are there differences between adults with Asperger syndrome and typically developing adults in kinematic reach-to-grasp motion effects?. Honours Thesis, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland.
Supervision
Availability
- Associate Professor Damian Santomauro is:
- Available for supervision
Looking for a supervisor? Read our advice on how to choose a supervisor.
Available projects
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Systematic review of the impact of war, conflict, and natural disasters on mental disorders
The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) team at the University of Queensland are responsible for producing burden of disease estimates for mental disorders the GBD Study led by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. This work would involve a systematic literature review and meta-analyses / meta-regressions to quantify the elevated risk for mental disorders following exposure to war, conflict, and natural disorders. The outputs of this work would help inform work to explain how much mental disorder burden is due to these factors and forecasting scenarios.
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Quantifying the bias in anxiety disorder symptom scales to determine the prevalence of anxiety disorders
The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) team at the University of Queensland are responsible for producing burden of disease estimates for mental disorders the GBD Study led by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. The prevalence and burden of anxiety disorders is modelled as part of this work, but global coverage of epidemiological estimates remains limited due to the resource requirements to conduct population-representative surveys using diagnostic interviews. Many studies instead use symptom scales, however these tend to overestimate prevalence. This project aims to quantify this bias to determine likely anxiety disorder prevalence from symptom scales. This will lead to substantially improved geographical coverage for anxiety disorder epidemiological modelling within the GBD Study.
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Quantifying the treatment coverage of ADHD globally and its impact on symptom severity
The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) team at the University of Queensland are responsible for producing burden of disease estimates for mental disorders the GBD Study led by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. The prevalence and burden of ADHD is modelled as part of this work. Symptom severity likely varies by healthcare access but this is not currently factored within the GBD Study. This project aims to quantify this to determine how ADHD symptom severity varies by treatment access and in turn by geography.
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Quantifying self-harm mortality burden attributable to Schizophrenia
The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) team at the University of Queensland are responsible for producing burden of disease estimates for mental disorders the GBD Study led by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. The prevalence and burden of Schizophrenia is modelled as part of this work, but currently the elevated fatal burden among persons living with Schizophrenia is not captured in the GBD Study. This work aims to quantify the elevated risk of self-harm mortality among persons living with Schizophrenia.
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Systematic review of the epidemiology of anxiety disorders
The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) team at the University of Queensland are responsible for producing burden of disease estimates for mental disorders in the yearly iterations of the GBD Study led by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. The team maintains one of the world’s largest databases of epidemiological data for mental disorders and are actively seeking epidemiolocal data for locations with poor data coverage. This research topic would contribute to this work and would involve conducting a systematic literature search for new survey data on the epidemiology of anxiety disorders and quantifyfing global coverage and variations in the data.
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Systematic review of the epidemiology of Mood disorders
The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) team at the University of Queensland are responsible for producing burden of disease estimates for mental disorders in the yearly iterations of the GBD Study led by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. The team maintains one of the world’s largest databases of epidemiological data for mental disorders and are actively seeking epidemiolocal data for locations with poor data coverage. This research topic would contribute to this work and would involve conducting a systematic literature search for new survey data on the epidemiology of major depressive disorder, dysthymia, and bipolar disorder and quantifyfing global coverage and variations in the data.
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Systematic review of the global epidemiology of peripartum anxiety disorders
The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) team at the University of Queensland are responsible for producing burden of disease estimates for mental disorders the GBD Study led by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. This project aims to quantify the prevalence of peripartum anxiety disorder. THe project would involve a systematic literature review and meta-analyses / meta-regressions to quantify its prevalence.
Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Estimating the global epidemiology and burden of personality disorders
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Hon Assoc Professor Alize Ferrari
Completed supervision
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2023
Doctor Philosophy
Understanding the contribution of psychosis and bipolar disorder to premature mortality
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Hon Assoc Professor Alize Ferrari, Dr Fiona Charlson
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2019
Doctor Philosophy
Cognitive remediation and social cognition interaction training:implementation and dessimination in a clinical setting
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Emeritus Professor Neal Ashkanasy, Associate Professor Meredith Harris
Media
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