Health Services Research Team

Elizabeth is a PhD-qualified Health Economist using her economic evaluation and implementation science expertise to find better ways to fund, organise and deliver health services. As leader of the health services research program, she guides a broad range of mixed-methods research and leads team strategy, budgeting and partnerships. Elizabeth has skills and experience in health policy and planning, ensuring the research she leads is useful and relevant for health consumers, clinicians and the health system. Elizabeth’s research and consultancy partnerships have created positive change for health services across Australia and internationally.  

Olivia is an implementation scientist and mental illness prevention researcher with a health sector career spanning 25 years. Olivia has extensive experience supporting organisations to design, implement and evaluate health initiatives in health services, aged care, workplace, and education settings. 

Olivia is strongly committed to improving outcomes for patients, staff, and healthcare organisations by better understanding and promoting good health and preventing illness; improving healthcare equity; and co-designing services with the people who deliver and use those services. 

Olivia’s mental health research investigates how the factors that predict depression and anxiety symptoms and mental wellbeing differ between age groups and generations, and what this means for better prevention and management of mental illness. 

Caroline Grogan is a Research Fellow in the Health Services Research Team, at Wesley Research Institute. Caroline is a qualitative researcher with a PhD from QUT, Faculty of Health, School of Public Health and Social Work. Her PhD focused on the micro-processes involved in implementing Dementia Friendly Community principles locally in Queensland. She has over 10 years’ experience in community services and community development programs, specialising in co-design, person-centered dementia and aged care. Caroline’s current research interests include phenomenology (lived experience) and participatory research methods towards research translation. She is passionate about supporting the well-being and autonomy of people living with dementia and their families. She aims to use research to inform policy and improve services. Caroline’s research champions innovative methods and processes to actively include the voice of consumers in health services research. 

Wendell is a research design and statistics specialist with a PhD in Psychology, who has held roles at several research institutes and universities. He has broad multidisciplinary research experience and has qualifications in both psychology and engineering. His PhD described a new model of depression aetiology.

His work includes large randomised controlled trials of Apps addressing a range of mental health concerns in young people, and a book chapter describing standardised methods for evaluating e-Health apps. Wendell has ongoing national and international collaborations. His additional passion is research that offers pragmatic psycho-social responses to high prevalence public health challenges. 

Belinda is a Senior Research Assistant in the Health Services Research Team at Wesley Research Institute. Belinda has dual Bachelor Degrees in Social Science (Development) and Arts (Public Policy and International Relations) and a Master in Public Health. Belinda has a strong public health policy and research background. Belinda has worked on State and Federal Government’s strategic initiatives stemming from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety in both the Aged Care and Disability sectors. She has also worked on research strategies that have focused on Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities’ access to and capacity building within health care systems. Belinda aims to use her knowledge and experience in public health research, policy design and policy implementation to ensure that evidence-based policies and  research that address real-world challenges and informs decision-making.