Helena King

Helena is a public health researcher focusing on First Nations Health , Registered Nurse and Immunisation provider, currently pursuing her PhD at the UQ Poche Centre for Indigenous Health. She holds a Bachelor of Nursing from the University of Tasmania, a Post Graduate Diploma in Emergency Nursing from the University of Melbourne, a Graduate Diploma in Environmental Management from the University of Auckland, and a Master of International Health from Curtin University.

Helena has extensive experience in both academic and clinical settings. Before joining the University of Queensland, she spent nine years as a Lecturer at the University of Southern Queensland, teaching undergraduate and postgraduate Nursing and Biomedical Science courses. Helena has also been a Research Coordinator for projects focusing on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health in the Darling Downs region, in the areas of clinical education, epidemiology, health service management, equity and inclusion. Significant outcomes include the development of open access ‘Point of Care Wound Management Training Modules’ for Aboriginal Health workers, funded by an Australian Government Department of Health “Closing the Gap” grant. She also project managed developing a First Nations rural, regional, and remote advocacy panel through a Darling Downs Health Innovation and Research Collaborative (DDHIRC) grant and conducted a comparative review on Indigenous and non-Indigenous emergency department utilisation in Southwest Queensland, funded by the Toowoomba Hospital Foundation and Pure Land Learning College. A significant outcome of this research was the employment of Indigenous Liaison Officers permanently stationed in the Toowoomba Base Emergency Department.

In addition to her academic and research roles, Helena was actively involved in the Queensland Health’s COVID-19 response, serving as a Clinical Nurse Consultant-COVID-19 Vaccination Clinical Lead. She also played a pivotal role in writing the successful national accreditation submission for the Cunningham Centre Immunisation Course.

Helena is a powerful advocate for improving social determinants of health to achieve health equity, and community-led engagement and interventions to develop sustainable programs for positive health outcomes for First Nations people.  Outside of her professional work, Helena volunteers with Volunteers Building Cambodia, an International NGO committed to providing housing to lift communities out of poverty.