Rate My Professor Heidi Turon

Dr. Heidi Turon is a Senior Research Assistant in the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Newcastle, part of the College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing. She completed her PhD in Psychology (Science) in 2012 and Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) at the University of Newcastle. Originally focused on cognitive and developmental psychology, her career pivoted to cancer control and health behaviour change post-PhD. Currently, she works within Population Health at the Hunter New England Local Health District, concentrating on chronic disease prevention. Her research bridges the evidence-practice gap via knowledge translation and implementation science. Key interests include disseminating public health evidence, addressing chronic disease risk factors in early childhood through healthy eating and physical activity interventions, and preventing vaping in adolescents. She synthesizes evidence on vaping, identifies gaps, and tests interventions, viewing it as a critical public health issue. Turon's expertise also encompasses patient-centred care, quality of care assessments, and psychosocial support for cancer survivors.

In her prior role at the University of Newcastle's Health Behaviour Research Collaborative, Turon led state and national projects examining unmet needs and care experiences of adult cancer survivors. She pioneered the first patient-centred tool to measure psychosocial care quality in cancer patients. Affiliated with the National Centre of Implementation Science (NCOIS), she advances practical application of public health research. Her impactful publications include: "Interventions to prevent or cease electronic cigarette use in children and adolescents" (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2023); "Dissemination of public health research to prevent non-communicable diseases: a scoping review" (BMC Public Health, 2023); "Preparation for Cancer Treatment: A Cross-Sectional Study Examining Patient Self-Reported Experiences and Correlates" (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2022); "Interventions in the workplace to reduce risk factors for noncommunicable diseases: an umbrella review of systematic reviews of effectiveness" (Journal of Occupational Health, 2024); "Factors associated with child and adolescent electronic nicotine and non-nicotine delivery systems use: A scoping review" (Preventive Medicine, 2024); and "Factorial randomised controlled trial to examine the potential effect of a text message-based intervention on reducing adolescent susceptibility to e-cigarette use: a study protocol" (BMJ Open, 2024). These works enhance evidence-based public health practices.