Rate My Professor Margaret Harris

Dr Margaret Harris serves as a Lecturer in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Health and Medicine, at the University of Newcastle, Australia. She earned her PhD in Community Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology from the University of Newcastle in 1999, funded by a full-time NHMRC scholarship. Additional qualifications include a Bachelor of Health Science (Nursing), Diploma in Applied Science (Nursing), Graduate Diploma in Health Social Science, and Health Science (Drugs and Alcohol), all from the University of Newcastle. Since 1995, Harris has taught across undergraduate and postgraduate programs in nursing, medicine, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, oral health, and education. She was program convenor for postgraduate Health Promotion courses from 2002 to 2006 in Health Behaviour Science and has taught international students in Hong Kong and Thailand, including as international support academic at Chiang Mai University in 2011.

Harris's research centers on health behaviour science, including cancer screening, health promotion, epidemiology, sexually transmitted infections, alcohol and other drugs, and health of vulnerable groups like sex workers and AIDS-orphaned children. Awards include the Australian-American Fulbright Post Doctoral Award (2002, University of Hawaii), Hunter Medical Research Institute Young Researcher of the Year commendation (1998), and Public Health Education and Research Trust Health Promotion Evaluation Award (1997). She contributed to 12 grants totaling $133,643, such as NHMRC funding for colorectal cancer screening. Key publications are 'Experiences of older people following the introduction of consumer-directed care to home care packages: A qualitative descriptive study' (2018), 'Home care packages: insights into the experiences of older people leading up to the introduction of consumer directed care in Australia' (2016), and 'Risk and risk management for Australian sex workers' (2011). Employing quantitative and qualitative methods like grounded theory and RCTs, she fosters multidisciplinary and international collaboration, supervises PhD students, contributes to ABC radio and newspapers, administers 'Nursing + Midwifery Careers' Facebook page, and volunteers internationally.