Role Title: Research Intern: Developing a National Survey on Psychosocial Care in Type 1 Diabetes
Organisation: The Kids Research Institute Australia
Internship Period: Summer (November - December)
Location: Nedlands, Perth
This internship is based at The Kids Research Institute Australia within the Children's Diabetes Centre.
Supervised by Dr Anna Boggiss, the intern will contribute to the development and implementation of a national survey exploring how healthcare professionals support the psychosocial wellbeing of young people living with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D).
Young people living with T1D experience higher rates of psychological distress than their peers without diabetes. Although psychosocial guidelines suggest that supporting emotional wellbeing is the responsibility of all members of the healthcare team, many healthcare professionals report discomfort discussing mental health concerns, uncertainty about their scope of practice and responsibilities, and other barriers to engaging in conversations about emotional wellbeing.
Depending on project progress over the coming months, the intern may assist with survey design, pilot testing, participant recruitment, and early data synthesis. Activities may include reviewing relevant literature, identifying existing survey measures, helping develop survey questions and study materials, testing survey functionality within REDCap, preparing recruitment communications, and summarising pilot feedback and preliminary findings.
This project would suit students interested in psychology, mental health, health services research, or implementation science.
The Kids Research Institute Australia is based within the Perth Children’s Hospital, and is one of the largest, and most successful medical research institutes in Australia, comprising a dedicated and diverse team of around 1,000 staff, students and honoraries. We've created a bold blueprint that brings together community, researchers, practitioners, policy makers and funders, who share our vision to improve the health and wellbeing of children through excellence in research.