Dr Fiona Charlson
Dr

Fiona Charlson

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Background

Associate Professor Fiona Charlson is a NHMRC Research Fellow at the Queensland Centre of Mental Health Research and School of Public Health, University of Queensland. She is a psychiatric epidemiologist and health services researcher with strong experience in addressing some of the most challenging global mental health research questions. Her research utilises a wide range of highly-specialised research skills, from traditional qualitative and quantitative research methods to new and innovative methods aimed at breaking down barriers to progress in the field. She has been a core member of the Mental Disorders and Illicit Drug Use Research Group for the Global Burden of Disease Study since 2009 and is at the leading edge of research into the mental health impacts of climate change and leads the Social and Emotional wellbeing group of UQ’s Climate Change and Health Transdisciplinary Impact Research Network. Her technical expertise is highly sought after and has attracted collaboration requests and funding from a wide range of national and international stakeholders, including; Queensland Health, the World Health Organization, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (University of Washington), US National Institutes of Health, Alan Flisher Centre for Public Mental Health (University of Cape Town) and various organisations in low- and middle-income countries.

Availability

Dr Fiona Charlson is:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Fields of research

Biomedical and Clinical Sciences Climate change impacts and adaptation Environmental Sciences Health Sciences Human impacts of climate change and human adaptation

Research interests

  • Global Mental Health and Climate Change

Search Professor Fiona Charlson’s works on UQ eSpace

115 works between 2009 and 2024
All (115) Journal Article (106) Book Chapter (2) Conference Publication (3) Other Outputs (4)

61 - 80 of 115 works

2017

Journal Article

Global, regional, and national disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for 333 diseases and injuries and healthy life expectancy (HALE) for 195 countries and territories, 1990-2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016

Hay, Simon I., Abajobir, Amanuel Alemu, Abate, Kalkidan Hassen, Abbafati, Cristiana, Abbas, Kaja M., Abd-Allah, Foad, Abdulle, Abdishakur M., Abebo, Teshome Abuka, Abera, Semaw Ferede, Aboyans, Victor, Abu-Raddad, Laith J., Ackerman, Ilana N., Adedeji, Isaac A., Adetokunboh, Olatunji, Afshin, Ashkan, Aggarwal, Rakesh, Agrawal, Sutapa, Agrawal, Anurag, Kiadaliri, Aliasghar Ahmad, Ahmed, Muktar Beshir, Aichour, Amani Nidhal, Aichour, Ibtihel, Aichour, Miloud Taki Eddine, Aiyar, Sneha, Akinyemiju, Tomi F., Akseer, Nadia, Al Lami, Faris Hasan, Alahdab, Fares, Al-Aly, Ziyad ... Murray, Christopher J. L. (2017). Global, regional, and national disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for 333 diseases and injuries and healthy life expectancy (HALE) for 195 countries and territories, 1990-2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016. The Lancet, 390 (10100), 1260-1344. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32130-X

Global, regional, and national disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for 333 diseases and injuries and healthy life expectancy (HALE) for 195 countries and territories, 1990-2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016

2017

Journal Article

Danger ahead: the burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, 1990–2015

El Bcheraoui, Charbel, Charara, Raghid, Khalil, I. A., Moradi-Lakeh, Maziar, Afshin, Ashkan, Collison, Michael, Daoud, Farah, Krohn, Kristopher J., Chew, Adrienne, Biryukov, Stan, Casey, Daniel, Cercy, Kelly, Charlson, Fiona J., Cornaby, Leslie, Dicker, Daniel, Erskine, Holly E., Ferrari, Alize J., Fitzmaurice, Christina, Foreman, Kyle J., Fraser, Maya, Frostad, Joseph, Godwin, William W., Griswold, Max, Kassebaum, Nicholas J., Kemmer, Laura, Kutz, Michael, Kyu, Hmwe H., Leung, Janni, Liu, Patrick ... Mokdad, Ali H. (2017). Danger ahead: the burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, 1990–2015. International Journal of Public Health, 63 (S1), 1-13. doi: 10.1007/s00038-017-1017-y

Danger ahead: the burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, 1990–2015

2017

Journal Article

Adolescent health in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: findings from the global burden of disease 2015 study

Azzopardi, Peter, Cini, Karly, Kennedy, Elissa, Sawyer, Susan, El Bcheraoui, Charbel, Charara, Raghid, Khalil, Ibrahim, Moradi-Lakeh, Maziar, Collison, Michael, Afifi, Rima A., Al-raiby, Jamela, Krohn, Kristopher J., Daoud, Farah, Chew, Adrienne, Afshin, Ashkan, Foreman, Kyle J., Kassebaum, Nicholas J., Kutz, Michael, Kyu, Hmwe H., Liu, Patrick, Olsen, Helen E., Smith, Alison, Stanaway, Jeffrey D., Wang, Haidong, Ärnlöv, Johan, Ahmad Kiadaliri, Aliasghar, Alam, Khurshid, Alasfoor, Deena, Ali, Raghib ... GBD 2015 Eastern Mediterranean Region Adolescent Health Collaborators (2017). Adolescent health in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: findings from the global burden of disease 2015 study. International Journal of Public Health, 63 (S1), 1-18. doi: 10.1007/s00038-017-1003-4

Adolescent health in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: findings from the global burden of disease 2015 study

2017

Journal Article

The prevalence and service utilisation associated with mental and substance use disorders in Lao People’s Democratic Republic: findings from a cross-sectional survey

Charlson, F., Diminic, S., Choulamany, C., Santomauro, D., Raja, S. and Whiteford, H. (2017). The prevalence and service utilisation associated with mental and substance use disorders in Lao People’s Democratic Republic: findings from a cross-sectional survey. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 28 (1), 1-12. doi: 10.1017/S204579601700035X

The prevalence and service utilisation associated with mental and substance use disorders in Lao People’s Democratic Republic: findings from a cross-sectional survey

2017

Journal Article

Child and adolescent health from 1990 to 2015 findings from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors 2015 study

Kassebaum, Nicholas, Hmwe Kyu, Hmwe, Zoeckler, Leo, Elizabeth Olsen, Helen, Thomas, Katie, Pinho, Christine, Bhutta, Zulfiqar A., Dandona, Lalit, Ferrari, Alize, Ghiwot, Tsegaye Tewelde, Hay, Simon I., Kinfu, Yohannes, Liang, Xiaofeng, Lopez, Alan, Carvalho Malta, Deborah, Mokdad, Ali H., Naghavi, Mohsen, Patton, George C., Salomon, Joshua, Sartorius, Benn, Topor-Madry, Roman, Vollset, Stein Emil, Werdecker, Andrea, Whiteford, Harvey A., Abate, Kalkidan Hasen, Abbas, Kaja, Damtew, Solomon Abrha, Ahmed, Muktar Beshir, Akseer, Nadia ... Vos, Theo (2017). Child and adolescent health from 1990 to 2015 findings from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors 2015 study. JAMA Pediatrics, 171 (6), 573-592. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2017.0250

Child and adolescent health from 1990 to 2015 findings from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors 2015 study

2017

Journal Article

Excess mortality in persons with severe mental disorders: a multilevel intervention framework and priorities for clinical practice, policy and research agendas

Liu, Nancy H., Daumit, Gail L., Dua, Tarun, Aquila, Ralph, Charlson, Fiona, Cuijpers, Pim, Druss, Benjamin, Dudek, Kenn, Freeman, Melvyn, Fujii, Chiyo, Gaebel, Wolfgang, Hegerl, Ulrich, Levav, Itzhak, Laursen, Thomas Munk, Ma, Hong, Maj, Mario, Elena Medina-Mora, Maria, Nordentoft, Merete, Prabhakaran, Dorairaj, Pratt, Karen, Prince, Martin, Rangaswamy, Thara, Shiers, David, Susser, Ezra, Thornicroft, Graham, Wahlbeck, Kristian, Wassie, Abe Fekadu, Whiteford, Harvey and Saxena, Shekhar (2017). Excess mortality in persons with severe mental disorders: a multilevel intervention framework and priorities for clinical practice, policy and research agendas. World Psychiatry, 16 (1), 30-40. doi: 10.1002/wps.20384

Excess mortality in persons with severe mental disorders: a multilevel intervention framework and priorities for clinical practice, policy and research agendas

2017

Journal Article

Donor financing of global mental health, 1995-2015: an assessment of trends, channels, and alignment with the disease burden

Charlson, F. J., Dieleman, J., Singh, L. and Whiteford, H. A. (2017). Donor financing of global mental health, 1995-2015: an assessment of trends, channels, and alignment with the disease burden. PLoS ONE, 12 (1) e0169384, e0169384. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0169384

Donor financing of global mental health, 1995-2015: an assessment of trends, channels, and alignment with the disease burden

2016

Journal Article

Estimating the burden of disease attributable to injecting drug use as a risk factor for HIV, hepatitis C, and hepatitis B: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013

Degenhardt, Louisa, Charlson, Fiona, Stanaway, Jeff, Lamey, Sarah, Alexander, Lily T., Hickman, Matthew, Cowie, Benjamin, Hall, Wayne D., Strang, John, Whiteford, Harvey and Vos, Theo (2016). Estimating the burden of disease attributable to injecting drug use as a risk factor for HIV, hepatitis C, and hepatitis B: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013. Lancet Infectious Diseases, 16 (12), 1385-1398. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(16)30325-5

Estimating the burden of disease attributable to injecting drug use as a risk factor for HIV, hepatitis C, and hepatitis B: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013

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

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

2016

Journal Article

Global, regional, and national disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for 315 diseases and injuries and healthy life expectancy (HALE), 1990–2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

GBD 2015 DALYs and HALE Collaborators, Charlson, F. J., Erskine, H. E., Leung , J., Whiteford, H. A., Abajobir, A. A., Ferrari, A. J., Knibbs, L. D., Lalloo, R., Alam, N. K. M., Gouda, H. N. and Guo, Y. (2016). Global, regional, and national disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for 315 diseases and injuries and healthy life expectancy (HALE), 1990–2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015. Lancet, 388 (10053), 1603-1658. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31460-X

Global, regional, and national disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for 315 diseases and injuries and healthy life expectancy (HALE), 1990–2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

2016

Journal Article

Measuring the health-related Sustainable Development Goals in 188 countries: a baseline analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

GBD 2015 SDG Collaborators, Abajobir, A. A., Charlson, F. J., Erskine, H.E., Ferrari, A. J., Knibbs, L.D., Leung, J., Santomauro, D. F., Veerman, J. L., Whiteford, H. A., Lalloo, R. 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

Measuring the health-related Sustainable Development Goals in 188 countries: a baseline analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

2016

Journal Article

Global, regional, and national life expectancy, all-cause mortality, and cause-specific mortality for 249 causes of death, 1980–2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

GBD 2015 Mortality and Causes of Death Collaborators, Charlson, F. J., Erskine, H. E., Ferrari, A. J., Whiteford, H. A., Alam, N. K. M., Knibbs, L. D., Leung, J., Lalloo, Ratilal, Gouda, H. N. and McGrath, J. J. (2016). Global, regional, and national life expectancy, all-cause mortality, and cause-specific mortality for 249 causes of death, 1980–2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015. Lancet, 388 (10053), 1459-1544. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31012-1

Global, regional, and national life expectancy, all-cause mortality, and cause-specific mortality for 249 causes of death, 1980–2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

2016

Journal Article

Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 310 diseases and injuries, 1990–2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

GBD 2015 Disease and Injury Incidence and Prevalence Collaborators, Charlson, F. J., Erskine, H. E., Ferrari, A. J., Leung, J., Whiteford, H. A., Abajobir, A. A., Knibbs, L. D., Lalloo, R., Scott, J. G. and Guo, Yuming (2016). Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 310 diseases and injuries, 1990–2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015. Lancet, 388 (10053), 1545-1602. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31678-6

Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 310 diseases and injuries, 1990–2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

2016

Journal Article

Social correlates of mental, neurological, and substance use disorders in China and India: a review

Cheng, Hui G., Shidhaye, Rahul, Charlson, Fiona, Deng, Fei, Lyngdoh, Tanica, Chen, Shengnan, Nanda, Sharmishtha, Lacroix, Kimberly, Baxter, Amanda and Whiteford, Harvey (2016). Social correlates of mental, neurological, and substance use disorders in China and India: a review. The Lancet Psychiatry, 3 (9), 882-899. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(16)30166-3

Social correlates of mental, neurological, and substance use disorders in China and India: a review

2016

Journal Article

Prevalence of mental, neurological, and substance use disorders in China and India: a systematic analysis

Baxter, Amanda J., Charlson, Fiona J., Cheng, Hui G., Shidhaye, Rahul, Ferrari, Alize J. and Whiteford, Harvey A. (2016). Prevalence of mental, neurological, and substance use disorders in China and India: a systematic analysis. The Lancet Psychiatry, 3 (9), 832-841. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(16)30139-0

Prevalence of mental, neurological, and substance use disorders in China and India: a systematic analysis

2016

Journal Article

Systematic review of interventions for Indigenous adults with mental and substance use disorders in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States

Leske, Stuart, Harris, Meredith G., Charlson, Fiona J., Ferrari, Alize J., Baxter, Amanda J., Logan, Jacquie M., Toombs, Maree and Whiteford, Harvey (2016). Systematic review of interventions for Indigenous adults with mental and substance use disorders in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. BMJ Open, 50 (11), 1040-1054. doi: 10.1177/0004867416662150

Systematic review of interventions for Indigenous adults with mental and substance use disorders in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States

2016

Journal Article

The burden of mental, neurological, and substance use disorders in China and India: a systematic analysis of community representative epidemiological studies

Charlson, Fiona J., Baxter, Amanda J., Cheng, Hui G., Shidhaye, Rahul and Whiteford, Harvey A. (2016). The burden of mental, neurological, and substance use disorders in China and India: a systematic analysis of community representative epidemiological studies. The Lancet, 388 (10042), 376-389. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30590-6

The burden of mental, neurological, and substance use disorders in China and India: a systematic analysis of community representative epidemiological studies

2016

Other Outputs

Challenges and options for estimating the prevalence of schizophrenia, psychotic disorders, and bipolar disorders in population surveys

McGrath, John J., Charlson, Fiona and Whiteford, Harvey A. (2016). Challenges and options for estimating the prevalence of schizophrenia, psychotic disorders, and bipolar disorders in population surveys. Washington, DC, United States: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Challenges and options for estimating the prevalence of schizophrenia, psychotic disorders, and bipolar disorders in population surveys

2016

Journal Article

Addressing the burden of mental, neurological, and substance use disorders: key messages from Disease Control Priorities, 3rd edition

Patel, Vikram, Chisholm, Dan, Parikh, Rachana, Charlson, Fiona J., Degenhardt, Louisa, Dua, Tarun, Ferrari, Alize J., Hyman, Steve, Laxminarayan, Ramanan, Levin, Carol, Lund, Crick, Medina Mora, María Elena, Petersen, Inge, Scott, James, Shidhaye, Rahul, Vijayakumar, Lakshmi, Thornicroft, Graham, Whiteford, Harvey and on behalf of the DCP MNS Author Group (2016). Addressing the burden of mental, neurological, and substance use disorders: key messages from Disease Control Priorities, 3rd edition. The Lancet, 387 (10028), 1672-1685. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(15)00390-6

Addressing the burden of mental, neurological, and substance use disorders: key messages from Disease Control Priorities, 3rd edition

2016

Other Outputs

Mental disorders in conflict-affected populations: epidemiological modelling for targeted mental health program development

Charlson, Fiona Jayne (2016). Mental disorders in conflict-affected populations: epidemiological modelling for targeted mental health program development. PhD Thesis, School of Public Health, The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/uql.2016.174

Mental disorders in conflict-affected populations: epidemiological modelling for targeted mental health program development

Current funding

  • 2024 - 2027
    How parents manage climate anxiety: coping and hoping for the whole family
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant

Past funding

  • 2024 - 2025
    Using Systems mOdelling fOr menTal Health (SOOTHE) to identify more efficient and effective support measures for communities impacted by climate change-driven extreme weather events (UniCbr NHMRC SI)
    HEAL Innovation Fund
    Open grant
  • 2021 - 2022
    Climate Change and Mental Health Research
    Palladium International Pty Ltd
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2022
    Establishing innovative methods in psychiatric epidemiology and services research: achieving better outcomes in vulnerable populations
    NHMRC Early Career Fellowships
    Open grant

Availability

Dr Fiona Charlson is:
Available for supervision

Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.

Available projects

  • Exploring the development of community-based interventions to mitigate the mental health impacts of climate change

    Climate change is the greatest threat to global health in the 21st century. While certain physical health impacts of climate change are well understood, for example heat-related morbidity and mortality, the acute and chronic mental health impacts of climate change remain poorly understood. Depression is already the single largest contributor to global disability. Failing to adequately consider the climate change implications on mental health could further exacerbate and accelerate growing global trends in mental ill-health.

    The many varied links between climate change and mental health, which are highly socially and culturally mediated, raise challenges in the understanding, operationalisation and measurement of these complex relationships. This impedes our understanding of how to design and deliver effective interventions that reduce the mental health impacts of climate change and secure community social and emotional wellbeing. This PhD research will address these gaps through exploring the development of interventions that aim to mitigate the mental health impacts of climate change.

    This PhD research will be conducted in partnership with the UQ Social and Emotional Wellbeing in Climate Change Network and supervised by Associate Professor Fiona Charlson, School of Public Health, and by Dr Anne Cleary, Institute for Social Science Research.

Supervision history

Current supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Exploring links between social determinants of mental health, the impact of a climate driven flood event, and mental health outcomes.

    Principal Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Beyond Recovery: Developing A Decision Making Framework For State and Provincial Level Governments To Design And Deliver Mental Health and Wellbeing Services That Promote Resilence and Foster Growth To Communites Impacted By Climate Risk Disasters

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Kristiana Ludlow

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Mental health stigma in refugee and migrant communities: co-designing a mental health promotion framework

    Principal Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Modelling Global Treatment Coverage for Mental Disorders

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Harvey Whiteford

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Weathering the Storm: How Young People Respond to and Cope With Climate Change

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor James Scott, Dr Hannah Thomas

Completed supervision

Enquiries

Contact Dr Fiona Charlson directly for media enquiries about:

  • climate change
  • mental health

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