Jactina Francis
Senior Research Fellow
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.