Dr Samantha Battams
Senior Research Fellow
Southgate Institute for Health, Society and Equity
Samantha is Senior Research Fellow and Associate Professor (Academic Status) at the Southgate Institute, Flinders University and works as a public and global health academic and consultant. She has experience in curriculum development, teaching, research, policy analysis and consultancy work. She was previously Director (Research & Evaluation) at Health Outcomes International and Associate Professor and Public Health Program Director at Torrens University (2014-2016).
Prior to this she was based in Geneva, Switzerland (2011-2013) where she worked as a Visiting/Research Fellow, Global Health Programme, The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies - on the Global Health Europe initiative. She was also Course Director, Global Health: An Interdisciplinary Overview, University of Geneva (2013). She also previously worked in the Department/Discipline of Public Health at Flinders University (2003-2009) in project management, teaching and research and at the National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction and the Southgate Institute (2010) as a researcher. She was recently Associate Editor for the journal BMC International Health and Human Rights.
Prior to entering academia, she worked in the health and community services sectors for 10 years, in policy development, community development, programme management and strategic planning, with NGOs and local government. She has also served on a number of government boards (governor appointed). Consultancy work has included work on primary health care models, health governance and policy, mental health policy and service reviews, health promotion for people with disabilities, workforce development and capacity building, systematic reviews and carer policy.
Samantha has a particular interest in health policy, politics and governance, global health, mental health & AOD policy, human rights and health, social determinants of health, housing, cross-sectoral policy and processes, health service integration, community participation and primary health care. Samantha is interested in research collaboration, consultancies and student supervision.
PhD Public Health (Flinders 2008), Grad Cert Health (Health Serv Management) (Flinders 2002), BA (Hons) Sociol. (Tas 1995), BA Soc Sc (Psych. Sociol) (Flinders 1993), Diploma in French Language Studies (Lyon 2011).
PhD Thesis: Housing for People with a Psychiatric Disability: Community Empowerment, Partnerships and Politics
This research involved careful consideration of the obstacles to people with mental illness (leading to psychiatric disability) obtaining and retaining appropriate housing. Policy theories were used to conduct a case study of recent mental health reforms in South Australia in order to examine the extent and effect of collaboration between the mental health and housing policy sectors. Also considered was the influence of non-government organisations, service users and carers of people with mental illness on housing policies. The research confirmed the many problems faced by people with mental illness in obtaining and retaining housing and support services. Factors accounting for this included a failure to co-ordinate policy across sectors, lack of integration between public and private services, cut backs to public services (including the provision of social housing), community stigma towards those with mental illness which results in reduced political commitment and the dominance of bio-medical discourses which discount the importance of housing and non-clinical support services. The thesis makes recommendation on policies and community participation processes to improve housing options for people with mental illness.
NHMRC Public Health Postgraduate Scholarship 2005-2007
- Policy theory, particularly critical approaches
- Governance, including Global Health Governance
- The European Union's Role in Global Health & Global Health Research
- Service user/carer and NGO involvement in policy and services
- Inter-sectoral policy and collaboration
- Health service integration
- Mental health and housing policies
- Human rights and health
- Mental health promotion
- Disability and carer issues
- Alcohol and Other Drugs
- Child and Parent Sensitive Policy and Practice in the AOD sector
Torrens University
Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma, Master of Public Health:
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Health Policy and Advocacy, (T3, 2014, advocacy workshop T1, 2016)
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Global and Environmental Health (T2, 2014, T1, 2015, T3, 2015, T1, 2016)
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Leadership and Effecting Change in Public Health (T3, 2015)
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Capstone B (T 3, 2015, T1, 2016)
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Course Development: Capstone A (T1, 2015) & Capstone B (T1, 2015), Social, Behavioural and Cultural Factors in Public Health (T2, 2014), Health Policy & Advocacy (T2, 2014), Global and Environmental Health (T1, 2014), Health Systems and Economics (co-developed, T1, 2014, revised T1, 2016)
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Oversaw development of MPH topics: Statistics for Public Health, Qualitative Research Methods for Public Health, Epidemiology, Community Health and Disease Prevention, Programme Design, Implementation and Evaluation, Public Health Informatics, Leadership and Effecting Change in Public Health
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Oversaw revision of and revised MPH subjects from 16 to 14 weeks (T2, 2014) and 14 to 12 weeks (T3, 2015)
Bachelor of Applied Public Health:
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Oversaw development of first four BAPH topics (T2/T3, 2014)
Higher Degree Programme:
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Qualitative Reasoning, Methods and Analysis (co-designed and taught, 2014)
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Advanced Qualitative Methods (co-designed and taught, 2014)
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Literature Review (co-designed and taught, 2014)
University of Geneva
- 2013 Global Health: An Interdisciplinary Overview
Flinders University
- 2008-2009
Public Health Frameworks for Change (Topic Coordinator 2009, Lecturer/Tutor 2008)
Social Determinants of Indigenous Health (Topic Coordinator 2008)
Social Determinants of Health (Tutor 2008)
Qualitative Research Methods (Topic Coordinator 2009)
Research Methods in Social Epidemiology (Tutor 2009)
Practium (2008)
2006-2005
Mental health promotion (Topic Coordinator, Tutor)
Primary Health Care: Action for Change (Tutor)
Community Organisation for Health (Tutor)
2006
Foundations Course (Lecturer)
Currently a member of the PHAA and the mental health (co-convenor) and political economy of health special interest groups.
Associate Editor
BMC International health and human rights (Healthcare, policy and law section) (2015-2016)
Topic Editor
Frontiers in Public Health
Peer Review
Drug and Alcohol Review
European Journal of International Relations
Human Resources for Health
American Journal of Public Health
Health and Social Care in the Community
Health Sociology Review
Social Science and Medicine
Advances in Mental Health
Disability and Rehabilitation
Australian Journal of Human Rights
BMJ Open
Medical Humanities
Adhoc grant reviews:
VicHealth, NHMRC
Board and committee work:
From 2013-2016 Samantha was a member of Academic Council, Teaching and Learning Committee, Research Committee and Public Health Advisory Group at Torrens University. From 2005-2010, Samantha was a Panel Assessor (community/industry-Governor appointed) on the District Court of South Australia, hearing appeals made under the Guardianship and Mental Health Acts. Other state government board positions include: Occupational Therapy Board of South Australia (Community Representative 2006-2008) and the Pharmacy Board of South Australia (Deputy member, Community 2006-7). As a post-graduate student representative (Postgraduate Student's Society) at Flinders university from 2005-7 she served on the University Council, Flinders Campus Community Services and the Fee Monitoring Advisory Committe. From 2002-2006, she was on the policy sub-committee of the Carers Association of SA and the Mental Health Carer Taskgroup.
- Drugs
- Health management, policy and ethics
- Mental health
- Public health
- Public policy and management
- Social inclusion
- Social issues
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