Researcher biography
Clara is a public health practitioner specialising in program design and evaluation. She has experience across government, non-fpr-profit and academic sectors and a particular interest in sexual and reproductive health.
She is currently Principal Project Officer at Southern Queensland Rural Health, based in Toowoomba, where she leads and supports a range of projects relating to rural workforce development.
Clara received her Master of Public Health from the University of Melbourne.
Project title
Understanding fertility and pre-conception health among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples living in Queensland
Supervision
Associate Professor Federica Barzi, Professor James Ward and Associate Professor Jacqueline Boyle.
Publications
Journal Articles
Walker, Clara, Mander, Gordon, Forbes, Roma, Fallon, Anthony Bruce, Elliott, Jessica, Paine, Marina and Argus, Geoff (2026). Student and supervisor qualitative perspectives of the benefits and challenges of longer‐term rural nursing, midwifery and allied health placements. Australian Journal of Rural Health, 34 (1) e70139, 1-10. doi: 10.1111/ajr.70139
Fallon, Anthony Bruce, Walker, Clara, Coghlan, Anna, Martin, Priya, van Erp, Ansmarie, Elliott, Jessica, O'malley, Lee, Sangelaji, Bahram and Chong, Hwee Sin (2026). When eggs in the same basket are apples and oranges: length of stay for publicsector allied health professionals in regional, rural and remote southern Queensland, 2010–2021. Rural and Remote Health, 26 (2) 9871. doi: 10.22605/RRH9871
O'Connell, Christine, Woodruffe, Steve, Middleton, Kirsten, Fallon, Anthony Bruce, Rolf, Floraidh and Walker, Clara (2025). A student‐led telehealth group falls prevention exercise program for older adults in a rural community: a pilot study. Australian Journal of Rural Health, 33 (6) e70109, 1-12. doi: 10.1111/ajr.70109
Elliott, Jessica, O’Malley, Lee, Walker, Clara, Erp, Ansmarie Van, Martin, Priya, Chong, Hwee Sin, Sangelaji, Bahram and Fallon, Tony (2025). Retention patterns of the public sector nursing and midwifery workforce in regional and rural settings of southern Queensland, Australia: a 12-year retrospective analysis. BMC Nursing, 24 (1) 722, 1-12. doi: 10.1186/s12912-025-03324-1
Martin, Priya, Walker, Clara, Sangelaji, Bahram, Elliott, Jessica, O’Malley, Lee, Van Erp, Ansmarie, Chong, Hwee Sin, Coghlan, Anna and Fallon, Tony (2025). Using archival employee data to examine retention patterns for healthcare workers in non-metropolitan Australia: a survival analysis. BMC Health Services Research, 25 (1) 605, 1-12. doi: 10.1186/s12913-025-12725-6
Hulme, Adam, Sangelaji, Bahram, Walker, Clara, Fallon, Tony, Denham, Joshua, Martin, Priya, Woodruffe, Steve, Bell, Kate, Aniftos, Michelle, Kirkpatrick, Jayne, Cotter, Nicola, Osborn, Dayle and Argus, Geoff (2024). Efficacy of a student-led interprofessional health clinic in regional Australia for preventing and managing chronic disease. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 38 (5), 1-14. doi: 10.1080/13561820.2024.2380436
Walker, Clara, Begum, Tahmina, Boyle, Jacqueline A., Ward, James and Barzi, Federica (2024). Preconception health of Indigenous peoples in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States: a scoping review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21 (3) 345, 1-39. doi: 10.3390/ijerph21030345
Walker, Clara, Sangelaji, Bahram, Osborn, Dayle, Cotter, Nicola, Argus, Geoff and Hulme, Adam (2024). Findings, progress, and lessons learned during the first 3 years of a student-led interprofessional health clinic in regional Australia. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 38 (2), 403-408. doi: 10.1080/13561820.2023.2282084
Walker, Clara and Forbes, Roma (2022). The impact of rural nursing and midwifery clinical placements from the perspective of health service staff. Australian Journal of Rural Health, 31 (2), 256-265. doi: 10.1111/ajr.12943
Walker, C, Forbes, R, Osborn, D, Lewis, P.A, Cottrell, N, Peek, S and Argus, G (2022). The transformation of a student-led health clinic in rural Australia from a face-to-face service to a telehealth model: Evaluation of student and client experiences during a COVID-19 driven transition. Focus on Health Professional Education, 23 (2), 79-92. doi: 10.11157/fohpe.v23i2.554
Walker, Clara, Forbes, Roma, Osborn, Dayle, Lewis, Peter A., Turner, Emma and Beyer, Kate (2022). A qualitative exploration of the factors which influence rural nursing and midwifery placement experience: nenefits and challenges identified by students and health service staff. Australian Journal of Clinical Education, 11 (1), 29-40. doi: 10.53300/001c.33149
Argus, Geoff, Walker, Clara, Baratiny, Genevieve, Cotter, Nicola and Fallon, Tony (2022). Perceptions, concerns and reported behaviours in response to the first wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic across metropolitan, regional, rural and remote Australian communities. Australian Journal of Rural Health, 30 (3), 352-362. doi: 10.1111/ajr.12842
Goldstone, Philip, Walker, Clara and Hawtin, Katherine (2017). Efficacy and safety of mifepristone-buccal misoprostol for early medical abortion in an Australian clinical setting. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 57 (3), 366-371. doi: 10.1111/ajo.12608
Walker, Clara, Thompson, Jason and Stevenson, Mark (2017). Road trauma among young Australians: implementing policy to reduce road deaths and serious injury. Traffic Injury Prevention, 18 (4), 363-368. doi: 10.1080/15389588.2016.1212189