Poche Project Insights & Conference Reflections

Seminar Overview

James Fowler presents The experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQIA+ Sistergirl and Brotherboy peoples within Australian health services 

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQIA+ Sistergirl and Brotherboy peoples are vibrant and proud, but also experience multiple, intersecting forms of discrimination.  This discrimination makes it harder to access and utilise safe health services. This presentation will describe some of these experiences to help share important information about the needs and experiences of this community. It will then talk about the Blak and Proud project which the UQ Poche Centre leads, and the evaluation of the Yarns Heal program which the UQ Poche Centre supported. Both projects offer important insights into the needs and aspirations for health services within this community and work side-by-side with community to create inclusive and affirming models of care.  

Dr Kiara Minto presents Insights and feedback from the 2024 Society of Australasian Social Psychologists (SASP) Conference

The SASP conference is at the forefront of innovative research methods to explore social issues across a range of contexts. In 2024, I had the good fortune to present on my project Centring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Understandings of Health in a Scoping Review of School and Community-based Relationships and Sexuality Education Programs for Young People in Australia at the SASP Conference in Canberra. This presentation received positive feedback and started a promising discussion around the need for stakeholder consultation and determination of priorities in all research. In addition to presenting my own research I benefited from attending a range of sessions covering topics that included health stigma, social change, investigations of the voice to parliament vote, gender and sexuality, and domestic and sexual violence.

Speakers

James Fowler is currently completing his PhD within the School of Public Health at The University of Queensland (UQ) and joined Poche in 2024. James’ work focuses on using mixed-methodologies and community-based participatory research to address the needs of priority groups. As a proud Queer person, much of James’ work focuses on the LGBTQIA+ community. This includes helping develop an affirming model of care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQIASGBB peoples, community co-design of mental health interventions (including digital programs and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy), the life experiences of aromantic people, and improving access to gender-affirming health services.

James also conducts research exploring sexual health, the wellbeing of university students, and the mental health of neurodivergent communities. In 2022, James was awarded the UQ Ally Award in recognition of his work creating a safer UQ for LGTBQIA+ people. James is currently a member of the Queensland Government’s advisory panel on LGBTQIA+ issues and helping to develop Queensland’s LGBTQIA+ strategy. Prior to this role, James worked for Lady Gaga on her Born This Way Foundation Youth Advisory Board.

Dr Kiara Minto is a social psychology researcher who has joined the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health at The University of Queensland as a research fellow. She received her doctorate from the University of Queensland in July 2021 for her PhD research project, The role of idealising jealousy in inhibiting the identification of and response to non-physical intimate partner violence: a schema theory approach. She has since completed a post-doctoral research fellowship on sexual consent in Australia.

Kiara has a passion for applying quality research techniques to identify practical strategies for real improvements across a range of social issues. Kiara is experienced in quantitative and qualitative research methods, and holds a strong commitment to research transparency, methodological rigour, and collaborative research as the foundation of positive social change. She is also dedicated to research communication and has previously written and edited a blog page for social change research. As a member of the Poche Centre she keen to apply her skills and experiences to improving knowledge around and outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians health.