Overview
Background
I am a consumer co-researcher with lived experience of disability, working in the disability advocacy and entrepreneurship space. I have an MBA (Health Services Management & Entrepreneurship), lecture in health services management (KBS) and co-design in health innovation (QUT) and am a social impact founder of disability owned and led ventures including the Women with Disabilities Entrepreneur Network (WDEN), Champion Health Agency, SHH!T Happens and Against the Grain Coffee.
My research aims to elevate the lived experience of health consumers, especially fellow health system 'frequent flyers' - people with chronic illness and disability. Improving how we create consumer researcher career pathways and better partner with the community is of great interest, and improve the holistic experience of people with chronic illness and disability within the healthcare system and beyond. I have engaged as a health consumer and disability advocate on state, national and international stages, committees and projects, and received the QLD Young Achiever of the Year Leadership (2020) and Women in Technology Consumer Strength Champion Award (2023), and health service research and quality improvement excellence awards (2022-3).
Work that I am most proud of includes co-leading the development of a Health Service Co-Design Framework for Metro North Health, freely accessible online - https://metronorth.health.qld.gov.au/get-involved/co-design
I have a special interest in consumer and community involvement in research and co-design, having coordinated consumer engagement for a range of projects and events, facilitated workshops with diverse stakeholders in research institutes and health services, and first hand experience as a co-design participant and consumer representative.
Availability
- Miss Anja Christoffersen is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Qualifications
- Masters (Coursework) of Business, Kaplan Business School
Research impacts
My work in CI consumer and community involvement in research has supported the research that matters to consumers be translated into practice. I co-led the development of a co-design framework for research and quality improvement for Queensland’s largest health service and co-chairs a co-design community of practice, and committees within the health service. I have co-authored 7 peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts and was an invited co-author of 2 book chapters on Person-Centred Care and Person-Centred Communication. Additionally, I have produced written content for consumer publications, contributed to written interviews for a range of national and international media publications.
Experience as a speaker, MC and Facilitator, I have been invited to speak at a range of events, including: MC for the Australia’s Disability Strategy National Forum in Canberra to over 1,100 attendees (2022), Ambassador for the Brisbane Disability Expo (2024), invited speaker at the Queensland Health Clinical Senate on Research and Artificial Intelligence (2023), co-presenter and panellist at Youth Health Conference in Melbourne (2022), and Chair of the Patient Experience Summit for Queensland Healthcare Week (2022). International engagements include guest speaker at the Pull Thru Network Conference Phoenix, USA (2018), invited speaker 3rd International Conference: Navigating the Future Shalamar Medical Conference, Pakistan (2019), and keynote speaker 4th International Conference on Patient Safety in Pakistan (2019) where they received a shield from the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination for their contribution. This work has created pathways for people with lived experience to be heard in research and health service improvement.
Works
Search Professor Anja Christoffersen’s works on UQ eSpace
2024
Journal Article
The Australian Frailty Network: Development of a consumer‐focussed national response to frailty
Reid, Natasha, Young, Adrienne, Baldassar, Loretta, Christoffersen, Anja, Comans, Tracy, Conroy, Simon, Etherton‐Beer, Christopher, Ferris, Jason, Singh, Maria Fiatarone, Fox, Sarah, Gordon, Emily H., Ghosh, Manonita, Guha, Chandana, Hilmer, Sarah, Kouladjian O’Donnell, Lisa, Logan, Benignus, Ludlow, Kristiana, Miller, Michelle, Morgan, Mark, Mudge, Alison, Muscedere, John, Reidlinger, Donna, Rockwood, Kenneth, Saunders, Rosemary, Ward, David, Yates, Paul and Hubbard, Ruth E. (2024). The Australian Frailty Network: Development of a consumer‐focussed national response to frailty. Australasian Journal on Ageing, 43 (4), 852-860. doi: 10.1111/ajag.13365
2024
Journal Article
Who is the frail consumer and how do we reach them? Engaging consumers in frailty research
Young, Adrienne, Christoffersen, Anja and Rockwood, Kenneth (2024). Who is the frail consumer and how do we reach them? Engaging consumers in frailty research. Australasian Journal on Ageing, 43 (2), 231-233. doi: 10.1111/ajag.13342
2024
Book Chapter
Person-centred ultrasound experiences
Thomson, Shelley, Macpherson, Lyndal, Thomas, Samantha and Christoffersen, Anja (2024). Person-centred ultrasound experiences. Person-centred care in radiology: international perspectives on high-quality care. (pp. 284-312) edited by Shayne Chau, Emma Hyde, Karen Knapp and Christopher Hayre. Boca Raton, FL USA: CRC Press. doi: 10.1201/9781003310143-25
2024
Book Chapter
Person-centred ultrasound communication
Thomson, Shelley, Macpherson, Lyndal, Thomas, Samantha and Christoffersen, Anja (2024). Person-centred ultrasound communication. Person-centred care in radiology: international perspectives on high-quality care. (pp. 313-330) edited by Shayne Chau, Emma Hyde, Karen Knapp and Christopher Hayre. Boca Raton, FL USA: CRC Press. doi: 10.1201/9781003310143-26
2023
Journal Article
Distress in the care of people with chronic low back pain: insights from an ethnographic study
Dillon, Miriam, Olson, Rebecca E., Plage, Stefanie, Miciak, Maxi, Window, Peter, Stewart, Matthew, Christoffersen, Anja, Kilner, Simon, Barthel, Natalie and Setchell, Jenny (2023). Distress in the care of people with chronic low back pain: insights from an ethnographic study. Frontiers in Sociology, 8 1281912, 1-13. doi: 10.3389/fsoc.2023.1281912
2023
Journal Article
Partnering with consumers to co-design a person-centred coding framework for qualitative patient experience data
Pateman, Kelsey Ann, Christoffersen, Anja, Hanly-Platz, Aideen, Williams, Cory, Heffernan, Danielle, Alexander, Alison, Ryan, Elizabeth, Petrie, Christine, Banks, Merrilyn and Young, Adrienne (2023). Partnering with consumers to co-design a person-centred coding framework for qualitative patient experience data. Patient Education and Counseling, 116 107938, 1-6. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2023.107938
2023
Journal Article
Bringing researchers to the consumer table: the process and outcomes of a consumer roundtable on telehealth
Jenkinson, Bec, Maxwell, Jo, Bell, Alison, Young, Adrienne, Smith, Anthony C., Christoffersen, Anja, Trevor, Dale, Young, Leonie and Russell, Trevor (2023). Bringing researchers to the consumer table: the process and outcomes of a consumer roundtable on telehealth. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 31 (3), 1357633X231188536-436. doi: 10.1177/1357633x231188536
2022
Journal Article
Co‐designing nutrition interventions with consumers: a scoping review
Meloncelli, Nina J. L., Young, Adrienne, Christoffersen, Anja, Rushton, Alita, Zhelnov, Pavel, Wilkinson, Shelley A., Scott, Anna M. and de Jersey, Susan (2022). Co‐designing nutrition interventions with consumers: a scoping review. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 36 (3), 1045-1067. doi: 10.1111/jhn.13082
2022
Conference Publication
Consumer involvement in health and medical research at the University of Queensland: A panel discussion
Jenkinson, B, Christoffersen, A, Trevor, D, Anemaat, L, Bell, A and Maxwell, J (2022). Consumer involvement in health and medical research at the University of Queensland: A panel discussion. Health Consumers Queensland Annual Forum, Sunshine Coast, QLD Australia, 13-14 October 2022.
Supervision
Availability
- Miss Anja Christoffersen is:
- Available for supervision
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Media
Enquiries
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