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Lisa McGivern

Lisa is a PhD student under the supervision of Prof. Helen Milroy AM and Dr. Alix Woolard from The Kids Research Institute Australia, and A/Prof. Jeneva Ohan from the University of Western Australia.

Lisa McGivern

Research Assistant

BA (Hons 1, Psych)

lisa.mcgivern@telethonkids.org.au

she/her

Lisa works as a Research Assistant within the Youth Mental Health team on the Wellbeing study, which is a trial of a novel online intervention to support mental health recovery in children who have experienced medical trauma. She has previously worked as a Research Assistant and Project Officer across a number of mental health intervention projects in areas including psycho-oncology, neurodevelopmental disorders, depression and anxiety, body image and eating disorders.

Projects

Co-designing a trauma-informed program for parents whose infant has had a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) admission

Having a newborn child admitted into a NICU can be highly traumatic for parents. The compounding effects of the NICU clinical environment, having a seriously ill child, in addition to the inability to care or adequately bond with your child can be extremely distressing.

Wellbeing study

Burns are a common cause of emergency presentations, and most burn injuries happen to children and adolescents.

Published research

A wellbeing program to promote mental health in paediatric burn patients: Study protocol

One of the most traumatic injuries a child can experience is a severe burn. Despite improvements in medical treatments which have led to better physical outcomes and reduced mortality rates for paediatric burns patients, the psychological impact associated with experiencing such a traumatic injury has mostly been overlooked. This is concerning given the high incidence of psychopathology amongst paediatric burn survivors. 

"I just get scared it's going to happen again": a qualitative study of the psychosocial impact of pediatric burns from the child's perspective

Advances in medicine have improved the chances of survival following burn injuries, however, psychosocial outcomes have not seen the same improvement, and burn injuries can be distressing for both the child or young person, negatively affecting their wellbeing. Pediatric burn patients are at a higher risk of developing psychopathology compared to the general population.

Education & Qualifications
  • PhD Candidate, University of Western Australia
  • Bachelor of Arts (Hons 1, Psychology) – Deakin University
  • Mental Health First Aid accreditation
Awards/Honours
  • Embrace @ The Kids Research Institute Australia PhD Scholarship (2023)