Soraia De Camargo Catapan

Despite being an early career researcher (<3 years post-PhD), with an estimated research time RTO of 20 months, I have published a book chapter and 22 articles, >60% in Q1 journals or with either first or senior authorship. Eight of my 23 publications were published in 2024, and over 40% of my citations are from last year (280 total citations, h-index 7 – Scholar Aug 2024). Nearly 70% of my work involves international collaborations with researchers from Brazil, Denmark, Japan and Singapure, showcasing my rising career and global profile.

During my PhD (2017-21), I designed and led multiple studies investigating patient and clinician perspectives on telehealth in Brazil resulting in 5 high-impact publications. I also won the state-wide thesis award (CAPES-BR) with the best PhD thesis. This shed light on telehealth implementation barriers and contributed to an evidence base policy development. These efforts were recognized by a highly competitive scholarship from the Brazilian Government, allowing my research to continue in Australia, after receiving offers to study at renowned universities (Oxford and University College London). I was actively involved in the development and implementation of a digital model of care for people with type 2 diabetes in a major tertiary hospital in Queensland (2019-2022).

Since April 2022, I led research to develop and validate instruments to measure trust and confidence in telehealth for people with chronic kidney disease. I obtained grants to run consumer activities, codesigned instruments, and supervised data collection. A cross-sectional study applying the validated surveys was invited for publication in the Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare and another 4 publications are under review. Also, I also won two Best Scientific Paper Awards at the 2023 Success and Failures of Telehealth Conference from first and senior authorship papers as a result of this program of work.

I lead an International Collaborative Research Program between UQ-COH in Australia and the Santa Catarina Telehealth Centre in Brazil. This partnership aims to drive impactful research on equitable telehealth services, publishing Brazilian experience and impact with telehealth service provision in English language journals, leveraging the expertise and perspectives of researchers to create a lasting impact on healthcare delivery and pave the way for a more connected and inclusive world. Two recent publications resulting from this collaboration have evidenced the potential of eConsults to increase primary care capacity and referral efficiency and reflections on the progress of telehealth and telecare in the Brazililian Public Health System.

I have taught seven UQ undergraduate and postgraduate courses in telehealth and digital health since 2023, with >580 enrolled students. And in 2022, I established the UQ-COH Telehealth Consumer Reference Group (COH-TCRG).