Jacinta Francis
Senior Research Fellow
BSc, MPH, PhD
jacinta.francis@thekids.org.au
Dr Jacinta Francis is a health promotion and public health researcher whose program of research explores how school, neighbourhood and online environments impact the health and wellbeing of children and families. Her recent projects have addressed the impact of the built environment on school staff and student mental health, school bullying behaviour, inclusive education, outdoor advertising of unhealthy food and beverages, and the social and emotional wellbeing of children involved in the arts. In addition, she has evaluated programs that assist young people and families experiencing, or at-risk of, homelessness.
Dr Francis’ research has generated policy-relevant evidence and built environment interventions. She has developed capacity-building workshops for policymakers and educators and school built environment checklists to prevent bullying behaviour and improve student wellbeing. Her research has informed revisions of primary and secondary school design guidelines, national and international policy documents addressing urban green space and health, and resources for school-based social and emotional wellbeing and bullying prevention programs.
Projects
SunSmart messaging for WA young people
Engaging young people in sun safety messaging is important because they are vulnerable to the harmful long-term effects of too much sun exposure.
Billboard Busters: Exploring Children's Views on Outdoor Advertising
"Billboard Busters: Exploring Children's Views on Outdoor Advertising" is a groundbreaking study that examines schoolchildren's attitudes towards outdoor advertisements.
The Youth Safe Haven Café Project
The Youth Safe Haven Project will co-design a youth-specific Safe Haven Café within the Peel Health Hub to serve as an alternative to the emergency department for young people at risk of suicide.
Building social and emotional wellbeing through the arts
The ‘Building Social and Emotional Wellbeing Through the Arts Project’ was funded in 2021 by Healthway and supported through a partnership between The Kids Research Institute Australia and Edith Cowan University (ECU).
Empowering school communities to Support Student Mental health and Wellbeing: Development and Testing of the Online Assessment, Support and Implementation System (OASIS)
OASIS aims to support the implementation and dissemination of Friendly Schools across schools throughout Australia.
Building Out Bullying: The influence of the school environment on bullying behaviour and mental health in primary and secondary school students
The Building Out Bullying project is funded by Healthway and aims to generate policy-relevant evidence, system-level guidelines, and school-based interventions to improve the bullying behaviour and mental health of children attending primary and secondary school in Western Australia.
Published research
What Do Food Business Owners and Managers Think About Enhancing the Nutritional Quality of Kids' Menus in Sit-Down Eating-Out-of-Home Venues?
As the frequency of eating out-of-home among Australian families increases, concerns have arisen regarding the nutritional quality of Kids' Menus. This study investigated the views of food business owners and managers on Kids' Menus at sit-down venues, specifically factors influencing the choice of meals offered on Kids' Menus and potential initiatives for enhancing the nutritional quality of these menus.
Children's views on outdoor advertising of unhealthy food and beverages near schools
Children are often exposed to unhealthy outdoor food advertisements during the school commute. This exposure can have negative public health consequences given childhood weight gain has been linked to the marketing of energy-dense and nutrient-poor foods. This study aimed to explore schoolchildren's lived experiences and attitudes towards outdoor advertising surrounding their schools.
Development of a Novel Mobile Health App to Empower Young People With Type 1 Diabetes to Exercise Safely: Co-Design Approach
Blood glucose management around exercise is challenging for youth with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Previous research has indicated interventions including decision-support aids to better support youth to effectively contextualize blood glucose results and take appropriate action to optimize glucose levels during and after exercise. Mobile health (mHealth) apps help deliver health behavior interventions to youth with T1D, given the use of technology for glucose monitoring, insulin dosing, and carbohydrate counting.
Getting creative: Using art-based techniques to identify how arts organizations enhance young people’s well-being
Mental health concerns present significant challenges for Australian youth. Arts organizations play a key role in promoting preventative mental health strate-gies through enhancing the social and emotional well-being (SEWB) of youth. However, little is known about how the arts promote SEWB and the processes and contexts through which this occurs.
Exploring Primary School Staff Responses to Student Reports of Bullying in Australia: A Qualitative Study
Bullying behaviour often increases in late childhood and peaks in early adolescence. While interventions to address bullying behaviour typically encourage students to report bullying incidents to school staff, students are often reluctant to report incidents for fear it will worsen their situation or because they lack confidence in a staff members’ ability to intervene effectively. This study explores school staff responses to student reports of bullying behaviour.
A Gender Lens on User Quality Ratings From Young Teenagers Assessing the Sun Safe App: Comparing Responses From Co-researchers and Participants of Pilot Intervention Studies
We developed the iOS smartphone app Sun Safe to support healthy sun practices in young teenagers (aged 12-13 years). The production involved co-design with young co-researchers (ie, aged 12-13 years) with a health message of using sun protection when the UV index is ≥3. Important features include real-time and location-specific weather data on the UV index and gamified educational content.
School Built Environments and Bullying Behaviour: A Conceptual Model Based on Qualitative Interviews
Interest in how the school built environment impacts bullying behaviour has gained momentum in recent years. While numerous studies have identified locations within schools where bullying frequently occurs, few studies have investigated the potential conceptual pathways linking school locations to bullying behaviour.
School staff responses to student reports of bullying: A scoping review
Bullying in schools has been associated with poor academic and mental health outcomes in students. While students are often encouraged to report bullying incidents to school staff, some students avoid reporting incidents as they lack faith in staff members ability to intervene.
How does the school built environment impact students’ bullying behaviour? A scoping review
School bullying is a public health concern affecting the physical and mental health of children and young people. While school-based interventions to prevent bullying have been developed internationally, the effectiveness of many interventions has been mixed and modest.
‘It’s All About Context’: Building School Capacity to Implement a Whole-School Approach to Bullying
Student bullying behaviours are a significant social issue in schools worldwide. Whilst school staff have access to quality bullying prevention interventions, schools can face significant challenges implementing the whole-school approach required to address the complexity of these behaviours.
Gender-Neutral Toilets: A Qualitative Exploration of Inclusive School Environments for Sexuality and Gender Diverse Youth in Western Australia
School toilets have been identified by sexuality and gender diverse (SGD) students as the least safe spaces in educational institutions. They are sites of verbal, physical and sexual victimisation.
The Effects of Using the Sun Safe App on Sun Health Knowledge and Behaviors of Young Teenagers: Results of Pilot Intervention Studies
A balanced approach toward sun exposure and protection is needed by young people. Excessive sun exposure increases their risk for skin cancers such as melanoma, whereas some exposure is necessary for vitamin D and healthy bones. We have developed a new iOS smartphone app-Sun Safe-through a co-design process, which aims to support healthy and balanced decision-making by young teenagers (aged 12-13 years).
School-based bullying intervention programs in Australia and New Zealand
Consumption of energy drinks is associated with depression, anxiety, and stress in young adult males: Evidence from a longitudinal cohort study
Energy drinks (EDs) claim to boost mental performance, however, few studies have examined the prospective effects of EDs on mental health. This study examined longitudinal associations between ED use and mental health symptoms in young adults aged 20 years over a 2-year period.
Developing a smartphone application to support social connectedness and wellbeing in young people with cystic fibrosis
This study developed and tested a highly usable, and moderately acceptable, smartphone app to improve the psychosocial health of young people living with CF
Informing Intervention Strategies to Reduce Energy Drink Consumption in Young People: Findings From Qualitative Research
Determining young people's knowledge of energy drink (EDs), factors influencing ED consumption and intervention strategies to lower ED consuption in youth.