Overview
Background
Associate Professor Meredith Harris is a researcher in the field of mental health services research and evaluation. She is a Principal Research Fellow with the School of Public Health at the University of Queensland, based at the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research.
Meredith holds qualifications in psychology, policy and applied social research, and public health. She has over 25 years of experience in the management and administration of research projects, including systematic literature reviews, cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, studies based on epidemiological survey data, and evaluations of health programs and interventions using observational, quasi-experimental and experimental research designs.
Meredith's current role is with the Analysis and Reporting Component of the Australian Mental Health Outcomes and Classification Network (AMHOCN), which leads the design, analysis and reporting of the National Outcomes and Casemix Collection (http://www.amhocn.org/). In this role, she is leading a range of projects designed to improve the measurement of patient- and service-level outcomes in Australia's specialised public sector mental health services.
Availability
- Associate Professor Meredith Harris is:
- Available for supervision
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor (Honours) of Arts, Macquarie University
- Masters (Coursework), Macquarie University
- Masters (Coursework) of Public Health, University of Sydney
- Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
Research interests
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Investigating clinical and psychosocial outcomes of mental health treatment services and models
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Evaluating primary mental health care reforms
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Understanding population patterns of health service utilisation for mental health problems
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Using epidemiological and policy analyses to inform mental health service planning decisions
Research impacts
Meredith has led several major research projects that have directly informed mental health policy and service planning. For example, she undertook two empirical mental health planning studies that developed service planning targets for public sector mental health services and community support services funded by the Queensland government. The recommendations from these studies were taken up directly in the subsequent Queensland Mental Health Plan 2007-17 and informed the Queensland Department of Communities’ Supporting Recovery: Mental Health Community Services Plan 2011-2017.
She has led or contributed to a number of projects related to initiatives implemented under the National Mental Health Strategy. For example, she was an investigator on several components of a government-funded evaluation of the Better Access initiative; particularly, she led Component B which involved an in-depth analysis of patterns of use of mental health services delivered subsidised via the Medicare Benefits Schedule. The evaluation contributed evidence that has been widely used in ongoing national debate about access, equity and outcomes associated with this major national mental health reform, and informed refinements to the program guidelines.
Meredith’s research has involved novel applications of epidemiological survey data to answer policy-relevant questions about the performance of Australia’s mental health system. Using these data, for example, she published the first study to quantify minimally adequate treatment for affective and anxiety disorders in the Australian mental health system, the first published independent evaluation of a major primary mental health care initiative (the Better Access program), and the first study to examine the match between practice guideline recommendations and treatment of subthreshold depression in Australian primary care settings. Collectively, these studies have contributed to ongoing debates and efforts to understand the impact of policy and service impacts of measures of disease burden related to mental disorders.
Works
Search Professor Meredith Harris’s works on UQ eSpace
2004
Conference Publication
Implications of attrition due to refusal to participate in a longitudinal follow-up of a psychotic population
Prosser, A.L., Harris, M.G., Henry, L.P., Harrigan, S.M., Farrelly, S.E., Schwartz, O.S. and McGorry, P.D. (2004). Implications of attrition due to refusal to participate in a longitudinal follow-up of a psychotic population. 4th International Conference on Early Psychosis - Translating the Evidence, Vancouver, Canada, 28th Sep – 1st Oct, 2004. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
2004
Conference Publication
Are the effects of duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) on psychopathology and functional outcome at 12-month follow-up maintained at 6-8-year follow-up?
Harris, M.G., Henry, L.P., Harrigan, S.M., Schwartz, O.S., Farrelly, S., Prosser, A. and McGorry, P.D. (2004). Are the effects of duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) on psychopathology and functional outcome at 12-month follow-up maintained at 6-8-year follow-up?. 4th International Conference on Early Psychosis - Translating the Evidence, Vancouver, Canada, 28 September – 1 October, 2004. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2004.06.004
2003
Journal Article
Management of early psychosis in a generic adult mental health service
Yung, Alison R., Organ, Bridget A. and Harris, Meredith G. (2003). Management of early psychosis in a generic adult mental health service. Australian And New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 37 (4), 429-436. doi: 10.1046/j.1440-1614.2003.01196.x
2001
Journal Article
Obstetric risk factors for postnatal depression in urban and rural community samples
Johnstone, SJ, Boyce, PM, Hickey, AR, Morris-Yates, AD and Harris, MG (2001). Obstetric risk factors for postnatal depression in urban and rural community samples. Australian And New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 35 (1), 69-74. doi: 10.1046/j.1440-1614.2001.00862.x
2001
Journal Article
From good foundations: the role of treatment guidelines for psychiatrists - an overview of the RANZCP CPG project
Boyce, Philip, Harris, Meredith and Penrose-Wall, Jonine (2001). From good foundations: the role of treatment guidelines for psychiatrists - an overview of the RANZCP CPG project. Australasian Psychiatry, 9 (4), 332-337. doi: 10.1046/j.1440-1665.2001.00360.x
2000
Journal Article
Functioning and well-being at 24 weeks postpartum of women with postnatal depression
Boyce, P. M., Johnstone, S. J., Hickey, A. R., Morris-Yates, A. D., Harris, M. G. and Strachan, T. (2000). Functioning and well-being at 24 weeks postpartum of women with postnatal depression. Archives of Women's Mental Health, 3 (3), 91-97. doi: 10.1007/s007370070002
1998
Journal Article
Psychosocial risk factors associated with depression: a study of socially disadvantaged women with young children
Boyce, P., Harris, M., Silove, D., Morgan, A., Wilhelm, K. and Hadzi-Pavlovic, D. (1998). Psychosocial risk factors associated with depression: a study of socially disadvantaged women with young children. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 186 (1), 3-11. doi: 10.1097/00005053-199801000-00002
1995
Journal Article
Is Early Separation Anxiety a Specific Precursor of Panic Disorder-Agoraphobia - a Community Study
Silove, D, Harris, M, Morgan, A, Boyce, P, Manicavasagar, V, Hadzipavlovic, D and Wilhelm, K (1995). Is Early Separation Anxiety a Specific Precursor of Panic Disorder-Agoraphobia - a Community Study. Psychological Medicine, 25 (2), 405-411. doi: 10.1017/s0033291700036291
1993
Journal Article
Has Social Psychiatry Met its Waterloo? Methodological and Ethical Issues in a Community Study
Morgan, Ann, Harris, Meredith, Boyce, Phillip and Wilhelm, Kay (1993). Has Social Psychiatry Met its Waterloo? Methodological and Ethical Issues in a Community Study. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 27 (3), 411-421. doi: 10.3109/00048679309075797
1993
Journal Article
Structural Characteristics of Australasian Psychiatric Practice
Wright, Murray, Parker, Gordon and Harris, Meredith (1993). Structural Characteristics of Australasian Psychiatric Practice. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 27 (2), 298-305. doi: 10.3109/00048679309075781
Funding
Current funding
Supervision
Availability
- Associate Professor Meredith Harris is:
- Available for supervision
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Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Mental Health Service Planning in Australia
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Harvey Whiteford, Dr Sandra Diminic
Completed supervision
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2022
Doctor Philosophy
Australian Mental Health Court Liaison Services: developing an approach to performance measurement
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Philip Burgess
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2020
Doctor Philosophy
Exploring the characteristics and service needs of carers for adults with mental illness to inform mental health service planning
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Dan Siskind, Professor Harvey Whiteford
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2020
Doctor Philosophy
Who receives what, from whom, and to what effect at clinically operated, community-based residential mental health rehabilitation for Severe and Persistent Mental Illness in Australia?
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Dan Siskind, Professor Harvey Whiteford
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2019
Doctor Philosophy
Decision-analytic modelling to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of interventions to reduce the burden of major depression in Australia
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Harvey Whiteford
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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, Dr Damian Santomauro, Professor Harvey Whiteford
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2019
Doctor Philosophy
Access to Allied Psychological Services (ATAPS): The performance of a major Australian primary mental health initiative
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Harvey Whiteford
Media
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