Overview
Background
Dr Melinda Toomey, an optometrist and health services researcher, is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Hearing Research (CHEAR), University of Queensland. Currently, she is working on a MRFF-funded project to improve the quality of life for people with dementia and hearing and/or vision impairment. Melinda's research focus is on the development, implementation and evaluation of evidence-based, patient-centred tools and programs using an implementation science approach across a range of healthcare settings.
Melinda completed her PhD at the School of Optometry and Vision Science, UNSW, Sydney, where she was awarded a Dean's Award for Outstanding PhD Thesis. In her PhD thesis entitled, iCaretrack: Improving the Appropriateness of Australian Glaucoma Eyecare Delivery (ImAAGED), Melinda investigated barriers and enablers to care delivery and then developed a program to improve the quality of glaucoma care delivery.
Availability
- Dr Melinda Toomey is:
- Available for supervision
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Optometry, Queensland University of Technology
- Masters (Coursework) of Business (Administration), Southern Cross University
- Masters (Coursework) of Optometry, University of New South Wales
- Graduate Certificate in Optometry, University of New South Wales
- Doctor of Philosophy of Optometry, University of New South Wales
Research interests
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Health services research and evidence-based practice
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Age-related eye diseases and vision impairment
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Implementation science and behaviour change
Works
Search Professor Melinda Toomey’s works on UQ eSpace
2026
Journal Article
Prevalence of Hearing, Vision and Cognitive Impairment and Impact in Older Adults in Home Care: A Study Protocol
Toomey, Melinda, Wilson, Lana, Gurteen, Helen, Franco, Bronwyn, Bennett, Rebecca, Cenin, Dayna, El‐Saifi, Najwan, Ferguson, Melanie, Gu, Yuanyuan, Heine, Chyrisse, Keay, Lisa, Kumaran, Sheela, Lenzen, Sabrina, Leroi, Iracema, Lowthian, Judy A., Meyer, Carly, Mitchell, Leander, Newall, John, Pachana, Nancy A., Piano, Marianne, Raichand, Smriti, Scanlan, Emma, Sohrabi, Hamid and Dawes, Piers (2026). Prevalence of Hearing, Vision and Cognitive Impairment and Impact in Older Adults in Home Care: A Study Protocol. Health Expectations, 29 (2) e70613, e70613-2. doi: 10.1111/hex.70613
2026
Journal Article
Protocol for a pre‐post field trial of a home hearing and vision care program for older Australians with diverse cognitive abilities and hearing and/or vision impairment
Toomey, Melinda, Gurteen, Helen, Bennett, Bec, Cenin, Dayna, El‐Saifi, Najwan, Ferguson, Melanie, Gu, Yuanyuan, Heine, Chyrisse, Keay, Lisa, Kumaran, Sheela, Lenzen, Sabrina, Leroi, Iracema, Lowthian, Judy A., Meyer, Carly, Mitchell, Leander, Newall, John, Pachana, Nancy A., Piano, Marianne, Raichand, Smriti, Scanlan, Emma, Sohrabi, Hamid R. and Dawes, Piers (2026). Protocol for a pre‐post field trial of a home hearing and vision care program for older Australians with diverse cognitive abilities and hearing and/or vision impairment. Health Science Reports, 9 (3) e71931, e71931. doi: 10.1002/hsr2.71931
2026
Journal Article
Building paediatric eyecare capability via Project ECHO tele-mentoring in Australia
Toomey, Melinda, Keay, Lisa, Ren, Kerrie and Webber, Ann (2026). Building paediatric eyecare capability via Project ECHO tele-mentoring in Australia. Clinical and Experimental Optometry, 109 (4), 708-719. doi: 10.1080/08164622.2025.2560975
2026
Journal Article
Understanding barriers and enablers to collaborative eye care in Queensland, Australia
Schmid, Katrina L., Toomey, Melinda, Moore, Fiona, Hui, Ho Ching, Lee, Jeremy, Su, Jennifer, Zhang, Jingjing, Zhang, Xiaowei and Webber, Ann L. (2026). Understanding barriers and enablers to collaborative eye care in Queensland, Australia. Clinical and Experimental Optometry, 109 (3), 532-548. doi: 10.1080/08164622.2025.2560968
2026
Journal Article
“Aged care is more than wiping bums and giving medication” – a qualitative study of the sensory support care needs of older Australians with hearing and/or vision impairment
Toomey, Melinda, Gurteen, Helen, Franco, Bronwyn, Wilson, Lana, Coleman, Marianne, El-Saifi, Najwan, Gu, Yuanyuan, Heine, Chyrisse, Keay, Lisa, Kumaran, Sheela, Lenzen, Sabrina, Leroi, Iracema, Meyer, Carly J., Mitchell, Leander, Pachana, Nancy A., Scanlan, Emma and Dawes, Piers (2026). “Aged care is more than wiping bums and giving medication” – a qualitative study of the sensory support care needs of older Australians with hearing and/or vision impairment. Disability and Rehabilitation, 48 (4), 986-995. doi: 10.1080/09638288.2025.2523971
2025
Journal Article
Co‐designing a sensory support intervention for older adults with hearing and vision impairment living in Australian home care settings
Gurteen, Helen, Toomey, Melinda, Franco, Bronwyn, El‐Saifi, Najwan, Heine, Chyrisse, Leroi, Iracema, Meyer, Carly J., Kumaran, Sheela and Dawes, Piers (2025). Co‐designing a sensory support intervention for older adults with hearing and vision impairment living in Australian home care settings. Health Expectations, 28 (6) e70481, e70481. doi: 10.1111/hex.70481
2025
Conference Publication
SENSECog residential aged care Australia: evaluation of an intervention to support hearing and vision needs of people with dementia in residential aged care
Dawes, Piers, El-Saifi, Najwan, Sohrabi, Hamid, Rose, Naomi, Meyer, Carly, Bail, Kasia, Browning, Colette, Cenin, Dayna, England, Tim, Ferguson, Melanie, Gu, Yuanyuan, Harrison, Reema, Heine, Chyrisse, Keay, Lisa, Kumaran, Sheela, Leroi, Iracema, Liew, Gerald, Martins, Ralph, Newall, John, Raichand, Smrtiti, Scalan, Emma, Toomey, Melinda and Westbrook, Johanna (2025). SENSECog residential aged care Australia: evaluation of an intervention to support hearing and vision needs of people with dementia in residential aged care. International Psychogeriatric Association's 2025 International Congress, Kanazawa, Japan, 25-27 September 2025. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.inpsyc.2025.100164
2025
Conference Publication
SENSECog home care: evaluation of an intervention to support hearing and vision needs of people in home and assisted living settings
Dawes, Piers, Toomey, Melinda, Cenin, Dayna, Ferguson, Melanie, Franco, Bronwyn, Gu, Yuanyuan, Gurteen, Helen, Heine, Chyrisse, Keay, Lisa, Kumaran, Sheela, Lenzen, Sabrina, Leroi, Iracema, Lidscombe, Carrie, Lowthian, Judy, Meyer, Carly, Mitchell, Leander, Newall, John, Pachana, Nancy A., Piano, Marianne, Raichand, Smriti, Scanlan, Emma, Sohrabi, Hamid and Wilson, Lana (2025). SENSECog home care: evaluation of an intervention to support hearing and vision needs of people in home and assisted living settings. International Psychogeriatric Association's 2025 International Congress, Kanazawa, Japan, 25-27 September of 2025. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.inpsyc.2025.100164
2025
Journal Article
The impact of cognition on hearTest administration in older adults receiving home care
Gurteen, Helen, Toomey, Melinda, Wilson, Lana, Franco, Bronwyn, Gu, Yuanyuan, Heine, Chyrisse, Lenzen, Sabrina and Dawes, Piers (2025). The impact of cognition on hearTest administration in older adults receiving home care. International Journal of Audiology, 1-7. doi: 10.1080/14992027.2025.2573033
2025
Journal Article
Factors influencing staff support for sensory device use for people in long-term care settings
El-Saifi, Najwan, Meyer, Carly J., Rose, Naomi, Bail, Kasia, Browning, Colette, Cenin, Dayna R., Ferguson, Melanie, Heine, Chyrisse, Keay, Lisa, Kumaran, Sheela, Newall, John, Scanlan, Emma, Sohrabi, Hamid R., Toomey, Melinda, Westbrook, Johanna and Dawes, Piers (2025). Factors influencing staff support for sensory device use for people in long-term care settings. Journal of Applied Gerontology 07334648251377485, 7334648251377485. doi: 10.1177/07334648251377485
2025
Journal Article
Protocol for the process evaluation of the SENSE-Cog sensory support intervention field trial to improve quality of life for older people receiving home care in Australia
Gurteen, Helen, Toomey, Melinda, Franco, Bronwyn, Bennett, Rebecca, Cenin, Dayna R., El-Saifi, Najwan, Ferguson, Melanie, Gu, Yuanyuan, Heine, Chyrisse, Keay, Lisa, Kumaran, Sheela, Lenzen, Sabrina, Leroi, Iracema, Lowthian, Judy A., Meyer, Carly J., Mitchell, Leander K., Newall, John, Pachana, Nancy A., Piano, Marianne, Raichand, Smriti, Scanlan, Emma, Sohrabi, Hamid R. and Dawes, Piers (2025). Protocol for the process evaluation of the SENSE-Cog sensory support intervention field trial to improve quality of life for older people receiving home care in Australia. Health Expectations, 28 (3) e70305, 1-12. doi: 10.1111/hex.70305
2025
Journal Article
Protocol for a field trial of a hearing and vision support intervention for people living in long‐term care in Australia
Meyer, Carly, El‐Saifi, Najwan, Rose, Naomi, Bail, Kasia, Browning, Colette, Cenin, Dayna, Ahumada‐Canale, Antonio, Campbell, Megan, England, Tim, Ferguson, Melanie, Gu, Yuanyuan, Harrison, Reema, Heine, Chyrisse, Keay, Lisa, Kumaran, Sheela, Leroi, Iracema, Liew, Gerald, Martini, Angelita, Martins, Ralph, Newall, John, Raichand, Smriti, Scanlan, Emma, Sohrabi, Hamid R., Toomey, Melinda, Westbrook, Johanna and Dawes, Piers (2025). Protocol for a field trial of a hearing and vision support intervention for people living in long‐term care in Australia. Health Expectations, 28 (1) e70175, 1-11. doi: 10.1111/hex.70175
2024
Journal Article
Developing realistic benchmarks for glaucoma care delivery
Toomey, Melinda, Gyawali, Rajendra, Ho, Kam Chun, Stapleton, Fiona, Keay, Lisa and Jalbert, Isabelle (2024). Developing realistic benchmarks for glaucoma care delivery. Clinical and Experimental Optometry, 107 (2), 196-203. doi: 10.1080/08164622.2023.2275748
2024
Journal Article
Building and maintaining interprofessional collaborative practice in eyecare: learnings from the Queensland Paediatric Optometry Alignment Program
Webber, Ann L., Toomey, Melinda, Keay, Lisa, Dai, Shuan, Gole, Glen A., Newcomb, Dana and McKinlay, Lynne (2024). Building and maintaining interprofessional collaborative practice in eyecare: learnings from the Queensland Paediatric Optometry Alignment Program. Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics, 44 (1), 52-70. doi: 10.1111/opo.13246
2023
Journal Article
Clinical indicators for diabetic eyecare delivered by optometrists in Australia: a Delphi study
Gyawali, Rajendra, Toomey, Melinda, Stapleton, Fiona, Ho, Kam Chun, Keay, Lisa, Pye, David C, Katalinic, Paula, Liew, Gerald, Hsing, Yan Inez, Ramke, Jacqueline, Gentle, Alex, Webber, Ann L, Schmid, Katrina L, Bentley, Sharon, Hibbert, Peter, Wiles, Louise and Jalbert, Isabelle (2023). Clinical indicators for diabetic eyecare delivered by optometrists in Australia: a Delphi study. Clinical and Experimental Optometry, 107 (5) 2253792, 1-10. doi: 10.1080/08164622.2023.2253792
2023
Journal Article
Enhancing the appropriateness of eyecare delivery: the iCaretrack approach
Gyawali, Rajendra, Toomey, Melinda, Stapleton, Fiona, Keay, Lisa and Jalbert, Isabelle (2023). Enhancing the appropriateness of eyecare delivery: the iCaretrack approach. Clinical and Experimental Optometry, 106 (8), 825-835. doi: 10.1080/08164622.2023.2178286
2022
Journal Article
Risk factors common to leading eye health conditions and major non-communicable diseases: a rapid review and commentary
Keay, Lisa, Ren, Kerrie, Nguyen, Helen, Vajdic, Claire, Odutola, Michael, Gyawali, Rajendra, Toomey, Melinda, Peters, Ruth, Ee, Nicole, Dillon, Lisa, Hackett, Maree, Ah Tong, Brandon, D'Esposito, Fabrizio, Faulmann, David, Burton, Matthew, Ramke, Jacqueline and Jalbert, Isabelle (2022). Risk factors common to leading eye health conditions and major non-communicable diseases: a rapid review and commentary. F1000Research, 11 1289, 1-18. doi: 10.12688/f1000research.123815.1
2022
Journal Article
Level of appropriate primary diabetic eyecare delivered and achievable in optometry practices in Australia
Gyawali, Rajendra, Ho, Kam Chun, Toomey, Melinda, Stapleton, Fiona, Keay, Lisa, Hibbert, Peter, Wiles, Louise and Jalbert, Isabelle (2022). Level of appropriate primary diabetic eyecare delivered and achievable in optometry practices in Australia. Clinical and Experimental Optometry, 106 (3), 276-282. doi: 10.1080/08164622.2022.2033107
2022
Journal Article
The appropriateness of and barriers to glaucoma care delivery by Australian optometrists
Toomey, Melinda, Ho, Kam Chun, Gyawali, Rajendra, Stapleton, Fiona, Wiles, Louise, Hibbert, Peter, Keay, Lisa and Jalbert, Isabelle (2022). The appropriateness of and barriers to glaucoma care delivery by Australian optometrists. Clinical and Experimental Optometry, 105 (6), 593-601. doi: 10.1080/08164622.2021.2004861
2021
Journal Article
Systematic review of diabetic eye disease practice guidelines: more applicability, transparency and development rigor are needed
Gyawali, Rajendra, Toomey, Melinda, Stapleton, Fiona, Zangerl, Barbara, Dillon, Lisa, Ho, Kam Chun, Keay, Lisa, Alkhawajah, Sally Marwan M, Liew, Gerald and Jalbert, Isabelle (2021). Systematic review of diabetic eye disease practice guidelines: more applicability, transparency and development rigor are needed. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 140, 56-68. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2021.08.031
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Melinda Toomey is:
- Available for supervision
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Media
Enquiries
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