ProfessorKirsten McCaffery
SSPH L2 Supervisor & Professorial Research Fellow
Faculty of Medicine and Health
- SSPH L2 Supervisor & Professorial Research FellowFaculty of Medicine and Health
RESEARCH INTERESTs
Professor McCaffery leads a team of researchers in the field of behavioural science studying the psychosocial impact of screening and testing programs, research around patient communication and shared health-decision making, and in the field of health literacy. As leader of the Psychosocial Research Group of STEP, she is continuing research projects relating to the development and evaluation of decision aids supporting informed choice for screening programs.
She is a principal investigator on a large ARC Grant-funded study evaluating the impact of a health literacy intervention delivered within literacy and numeracy programs at TAFEs in NSW. The study will assess whether the program could help increase rates of health literacy and shared decision making while improving students’ literacy and numeracy. Additionally, as leader of the International Health Literacy Network comprising >200 members worldwide, Professor McCaffery is involved in a number of initiatives to promote collaborations in health literacy research in Australia and internationally.
Professor McCaffery’s more recent research focuses on the areas of overdiagnosis, overtreatment and low value health care and the communication issues around these. Current projects include assessment of communication around thyroid cancer, breast cancer screening, and relating to appropriate prescribing of medications for older adults in an effort to address the issue of polypharmacy in the elderly population.
FUNDED RESEARCH
- GRANTUnderstanding mechanisms and optimising health after early menopauseDepartment of Health and Aged Care (Federal - administered by NHMRC)1 Jun 2025 - 31 Oct 2028People funded by this grant:
- Price S,
- De Witte M,
- Hickey M,
- Rio I,
- Bandyopadhyay M
- GRANTSecondary prevention of dementia through lifestyle risk reduction in cognitively at-risk older adultsMedical Research Future Fund1 Jun 2024 - 28 Feb 2030People funded by this grant:
- Anstey K,
- Charlton K,
- Chong T,
- Delbaere K,
- Eratne D
- GRANTChronic disease risk reduction in older adults with high dementia risk: CogCoach trialMedical Research Future Fund1 Mar 2024 - 30 Apr 2028People funded by this grant:
- Anstey K,
- Charlton K,
- Chong T,
- Delbaere K,
- Gannon B
- GRANTRewarding Research 2024Faculty of Medicine and Health1 Jan 2024People funded by this grant:
- McCaffery K
- GRANTThe NOTUS trial (NOn-pharmacological Treatment for chronic low back pain USing digital health technology)Department of Health and Aged Care (Federal - administered by NHMRC)1 Jan 2023 - 31 Dec 2028People funded by this grant:
- Byambasuren O,
- Williams C,
- McCaffery K,
- Cashin A,
- De Carvalho Machado G
- GRANTTransforming health literacy in Australia: a partnership approachNational Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)1 Jan 2023People funded by this grant:
- McCaffery K
- GRANTReshaping low back pain management in emergency departmentsDepartment of Health and Aged Care (Federal)1 Apr 2022People funded by this grant:
- Maher C,
- Williams C,
- Harvey L,
- Kinsman L,
- Naganathan V
- GRANTReshaping the management of low back pain in emergency departmentsMedical Research Future Fund1 Apr 2022 - 31 Dec 2026People funded by this grant:
- Maher C,
- Rogan E,
- Kinsman L,
- Howard K,
- Williams C
- GRANTThe feasibility of delivering and evaluating stratified care integrated with eHealth (Rapid Virtual Stratified Care) for patients with low back pain: a randomised controlled trialArthritis Foundation of Australia1 Jan 2022
- GRANTUnderstanding affective processing of scientific evidence to promote informed choice for breast cancer screeningNational Institutes of Health (USA)1 Feb 2021People funded by this grant:
- McCaffery K
- GRANTCoordenação de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior1 Jan 2021People funded by this grant:
- Khorami AK,
- Richards B,
- DE OLIVEIRA CBS,
- GRANDE GHD,
- McCaffery K
- GRANTParenting Improving health and service-use outcomes through health literacy training for new parents: an effectiveness-implementation hybrid trialNational Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)1 Jan 2021 - 31 Dec 2025People funded by this grant:
- Wen LM,
- Cvejic E,
- Shepherd H,
- McCaffery K,
- Hayes A
- GRANTWiser healthcare: better value care for all AustraliansNational Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)1 Jan 2021 - 31 Dec 2026People funded by this grant:
- O'Connor D,
- Glasziou P,
- Houssami N,
- Bell KC,
- McCaffery K
- GRANTEnhancing adolescents health through digital health literacyAustralian Research Council (ARC)8 Apr 2020 - 31 Dec 2025People funded by this grant:
- Scott K,
- Kang M,
- Skinner R,
- Caldwell P,
- McCaffery K
- GRANTMaximising Organ Donor offer Utility System-wide the MODUS studyNational Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)1 Feb 2020People funded by this grant:
- Kelly PJ,
- Wyburn K,
- De La Mata N,
- Webster A,
- Clayton P
- GRANTSuping adults with CKD to engage in shared decisionmaking successfully SUCCESS: A pragmatic randomised controlled trial of the SUCCESS interventionNSW Health1 Aug 2019People funded by this grant:
- Webster A,
- Kelly PJ,
- Muscat D,
- Shepherd H,
- Sud K
