Dr Sarah Hunter

Senior Research Fellow

College of Nursing and Health Sciences

place Bedford Park (N218-5)
GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5001, South Australia

Sarah Hunter completed a Bachelor in Psychology (Honours) in 2013 and went on to complete her PhD in Psychology in 2018. Dr Hunter has developed strong programs of knowledge translation and family and caregiver research.

It is critical that parents and caregivers receive evidence-based support to ensure not only their own health and wellbeing, but that of their children and broader family. Sarah's research focuses on understanding the complex and diverse ways in which caregivers enact child rearing, the challenges they face, and the support they need to overcome them. Through an integrated Knowledge Translation approach, her research develops, in partnership with caregivers, practical and feasible strategies that can be implemented to support Australian adults in their caregiving role. Specifically, her research is centered around two distinct but overlapping programs of work 1) theorisations of families and caregiving, and 2) knowledge translation and implementation science.

Sarah currently works as a Research Fellow in the Healthy Start to Life team within the Caring Futures Institute. In this role, Sarah co-ordinates and leads the research aligned to the Public Health Partner Authority agreement between Wellbeing SA and the Caring Futures Institute. In this role, she applies her knowledge translation and implementation skills to shape an evidence-informed Early Years System in South Australia that engages and supports parents and caregivers for improved child health, development, and wellbeing.

Qualifications

Bachelor of Psychological Science

Bachelor of Psychology (Honours)

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Honours, awards and grants

Vice President and Executive Dean Early Career Researcher Award, College of Nursing and Health Sciences (2021)

Allied and Scientific Health Office Award, South Australian Allied Health Research Forum (2021)

North American Primary Care Research Group Conference Travel Scholarship (2018)

Margaret Foddy Postgraduate Travel Award, Society of Australasian Social Psychologists Conference (2015)

Best Poster Award, Society of Australasian Social Psychologists Conference (2015)

Diverse Bodies, Genders and Sexualities Award, Australian Psychological Society (2014)

Supervisory interests
Families
Family health
Knowledge translation
Men's health and masculinity