IBAS − Institute for Breathing and Sleep

Associate Professor Anne Lowell is a Principal Research Fellow with the Research Centre for Health and Wellbeing, Charles Darwin University in Darwin, NT. Anne's work has a strong focus on achieving genuine engagement with remote communities, utilizing highly collaborative processes that are responsive to Indigenous needs and priorities.

One of her primary areas of interest is intercultural communication, particularly related to Indigenous health. She had previously worked on a number of projects related to intercultural communication which have identified serious limitations in current practice as well as potential strategies for improvement (e.g. http://www.cdu.edu.au/centres/stts/home.html).

Consequently, she has extensive involvement in facilitating improvements in cultural competence, intercultural communication and collaborative practice in research and health service delivery, including advocacy for policy development and resourcing to support sustained improvement.

Anne has also worked extensively on production of resources in Indigenous languages and multimedia resources for improving communication practice in Indigenous health care. Anne has a strong interest in culturally responsive policy and practice, in both research and service provision and the development of the cultural competence required to achieve this. This includes a particular concern for supporting increased Indigenous control, and recognition of Indigenous cultural and linguistic expertise.

Key research areas:
Qualitative (evaluation, ethnographic, participatory and community-based) research;

Collaborative engagement with remote Indigenous communities (intercultural research and consultation, community-based project management, service development and implementation, multimedia resource design and production);

Intercultural communication in health care (clinical interactions, health education, resource and app development, health literacy, interpreting);

Indigenous early childhood: strengths and challenges in child development and child rearing; communication development and language socialisation; developmental and educational consequences of conductive hearing loss;

Development of culturally responsive research and health practice (including allied health services for Aboriginal people with MJD and their families, community engagement in research).

Current projects include:

'Growing up children in two worlds' - building Yolŋu skills, knowledge and priorities into early childhood assessment and support. Funded by Lowitja Insitute 2016-2018.
Communicate: Improving communication in the delivery of health services to Aboriginal people at Royal Darwin Hospital. A CDU-MSHR Collaboration Project. (For more information see http://www.cdu.edu.au/health-wellbeing/project-growing-up-children-in-two-worlds).

Communicate: Improving communication in the delivery of health services to Aboriginal people at Royal Darwin Hospital. A CDU-MSHR Collaboration Project. (For more information see http://www.cdu.edu.au/health-wellbeing/project-the-communicate-project).

Selected publications:
Ralph AP, Lowell A, Murphy J, Salter C, Spain S, Campbell L, Bauert B, Dias T, Butler D, Hughes J, Cass A. (submitted) Persisting low uptake of Aboriginal interpreters in healthcare: exploration of current use at Royal Darwin Hospital.

Bradley P, Cunningham T, Dunn S, Lowell A, Nagel T. (under review) Secondary analysis of existing data can inform care delivery for Indigenous women in an acute mental health inpatient unit. Int J Ment Health Nurs.

Povey J, Mills PPJR, Dingwall KM, Lowell A, Singer J, Rotumah D, Bennett-Levy J, Nagel T. Acceptability of Mental Health Apps for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians: A Qualitative Study. J Med Internet Res 2016;18(3):e60 URL: http://www.jmir.org/2016/3/e60/

Greenstein C, Lowell A & Thomas D (2015) Improving physiotherapy services to Indigenous children with physical disability: Are client perspectives missed in the continuous quality improvement approach? Aust J Rural Health. 2016 Jun;24(3):176-81.

Bradley P, Dunn S, Lowell A, Nagel T. Acute mental health service delivery to Indigenous women: What is known? Int J Ment Health Nurs. 2015 Dec;24(6):471-7

Greenstein C, Lowell A & Thomas D (2015) Communication and context are important to Indigenous children with physical disability and their carers at a community-based physiotherapy service: a qualitative study. Journal of Physiotherapy; 62(1):42-47.

Lowell A, Kildea S, Liddle M, Cox B & Paterson B (2015) Supporting aboriginal knowledge and practice in health care: lessons from a qualitative evaluation of the strong women, strong babies, strong culture program. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth; 2015 Feb 5;15:19.

Lowell A. (2013) "From your own thinking you can't help us": Intercultural collaboration to address inequities in services for Indigenous Australians in response to the World Report on Disability. Invited Commentary. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 15(1): 101-105.

Lowell A, Maypilama L, Yikaniwuy S, Rrapa E, Williams R. & Dunn S. (2012). "Hiding the story'': Indigenous consumer concerns about communication related to chronic disease in one remote region of the NT, International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 2012; 14(3): 200-208.

Byers L, Kulitja S, Lowell A, & Kruske S. (2012) "Hear our Stories": child rearing practices of a remote Australian Aboriginal community, Australian Journal of Rural Health, 20(6): 293-297.

Lowell A, Lotfali M, Kruske S & Malin M. (2012) Response to Trial of a developmental screening tool. Letter to the Editor. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health. 48: 454.

Cass A, Lowell A, Christie M, Snelling PL, Flack M, Marrnganyin B, Brown I. (2002) Sharing the true stories: improving communication between Aboriginal patients and healthcare workers. Med J Aust. 176(10):466-70.