Background

Shelley has a background in nursing, having worked in clinical settings in Australia and the UK for over a decade. She was employed in the youth health sector (in local government and community health organisations) for over a decade, in project development, research and support worker roles.

Shelley has extensive experience in qualitative research, spanning studies focused on the sexual health and wellbeing of young people; the experiences of incarceration and release for young people in Cambodia and Australia, the experiences of people with a history of injecting drug use; hepatitis C elimination; and the evaluation of external alcohol and other drugs programs.

Shelley completed her doctoral studies in 2020. Her thesis was focused on the lived experiences of incarceration and release from adult prisons in Australia, for young men with histories of injecting drugs. Shelley is passionate about human rights and social justice issues and the translation of research into outcomes for the empowerment of disadvantaged, marginalised and vulnerable communities.

Appointments

• Board Member, This Life Cambodia, 2017-2019

Positions

• 2020: Research Officer, Public Health, Burnet Institute.
• 2014-2019: PhD Candidate, National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University.
• 2014-2019: Research Assistant, Public Health, Burnet Institute.
• 2012-2014: Community Research Evaluation Officer, This Life Cambodia.
• 2011-2012: Research Assistant, Dept General Practice, University of Melbourne.
• 2006-2012: Youth Health Worker, Knox Community Health Service.
• 2002-2005: Eastern Region Gay and Lesbian Youth Project Coordinator (DHS funded)
• 1997-2001: Youth Development Worker, Local Government Services.
• 1989-2008: Registered Nurse (Division 1)

Qualifications

• 2020: PhD – National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University.
• 2012: MPHC, University of Melbourne, Australia
• 1999: BA Community Development, Deakin University, Australia
• 1988: Registered Nurse, GV Base Hospital, Australia

Awards

• Australian Postgraduate Research Internship, Burnet Institute, 2020.
• Thesis Completion Scholarship, Curtin University, 2019.
• Faculty of Health Science Top Up Award, Curtin University, 2015-2019. Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship Curtin University, Faculty of Health Sciences, 2015-2019.
• Australian Volunteers for International Development, Australian Government, 2012-2014.
• Primary Health Care Research, Evaluation & Development Fellowship, University of Melbourne, 2010-2011.

Projects (7)

Current (5)

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  Breaking the cycle: supporting people with drug use histories to avoid reincarceration

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  Evaluation of the Multicultural Drug and Alcohol Service

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  Optimising Quarantine Study

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  Sexual health and STIs among people who use drugs❗Student Projects Available

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  The Optimise Study: Optimising Isolation, Quarantine and Distancing for COVID-19

Past (1)

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  PATH Cohort Study

Publications (23)

2023 (2)

• Prospective study of retention in opioid agonist treatment and contact with emergency healthcare following release from prisons in Victoria, Australia.
  Curtis M, Wilkinson AL, Dietze P, Stewart AC, Kinner SA, Cossar RD, Nehme E, Aitken C, Walker S, Butler T, Winter RJ, Smith K, Stoové M
  Emerg Med J. 2023 Feb; Epub ahead of print
• Discontinuation of opioid agonist treatment following release from prison in a cohort of men who injected drugs prior to imprisonment in Victoria, Australia: A discrete-time survival analysis.
  Curtis M, Dietze P, Wilkinson AL, Agius PA, Stewart AC, Cossar RD, Butler T, Walker S, Kirwan A, Winter RJ, Stoové M
  Drug Alcohol Depend. 2023 Jan; 242:109730

2022 (6)

• Reflections on the in-prison recruitment and participation of men with a history of injecting drug use, in a longitudinal cohort study in Australia.
  Walker S, Curtis M, Woods E, Pierce L, Kirwan A, Stewart AC, Cossar R, Winter R, Dietze P, Kinner SA, Ogloff JRP, Butler T, Stoové M
  J Criminol. 2022 Sep; 55(4):586-603
• High rates of resumption of injecting drug use following release from prison among men who injected drugs before imprisonment.
  Curtis M, Winter RJ, Dietze P, Wilkinson AL, Cossar RD, Stewart AC, Agius PA, Butler T, Aitken C, Kirwan A, Walker S, Stoové M
  Addiction. 2022 Jun; 117(11):2887-2898
• Health service utilisation and access for people who inject drugs during COVID-19.
  Efunnuga H, Higgs P, Walker S, O'Keefe D
  Drug Alcohol Rev. 2022 Mar; 41(6):1304-1310
• Emergency department presentations in the first weeks following release from prison among men with a history of injecting drug use in Victoria, Australia: A prospective cohort study.
  Cossar RD, Stewart AC, Wilkinson AL, Dietze P, Ogloff JRP, Aitken C, Butler T, Kinner SA, Curtis M, Walker S, Kirwan A, Stoové M
  Int J Drug Policy. 2022 Mar; 101:103532
• More than saving lives: Qualitative findings of the UNODC/WHO Stop Overdose Safely (S-O-S) project.
  Walker S, Dietze P, Poznyak V, Campello G, Kashino W, Dzhonbekov D, Kiriazova T, Nikitin D, Terlikbayeva A, Nevendorff L, Busse A, Krupchanka D
  Int J Drug Policy. 2022 Jan; 100:103482
• Psychiatric well-being among men leaving prison reporting a history of injecting drug use: A longitudinal analysis.
  Stewart AC, Cossar R, Wilkinson AL, Scott N, Dietze P, Quinn B, Kinner SA, Aitken C, Walker S, Curtis M, Butler T, Ogloff JRP, Stoové M
  Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2022 Jan; 56(8):1034-1043

2021 (5)

• Strategies to maximise study retention and limit attrition bias in a prospective cohort study of men reporting a history of injecting drug use released from prison: the prison and transition health study.
  Stewart AC, Cossar R, Walker S, Wilkinson AL, Quinn B, Dietze P, Winter R, Kirwan A, Curtis M, Ogloff JRP, Kinner S, Aitken C, Butler T, Woods E, Stoové M
  BMC Med Res Methodol. 2021 Sep; 21(1):185
• The Prison and Transition Health (PATH) cohort study: Prevalence of health, social, and crime characteristics after release from prison for men reporting a history of injecting drug use in Victoria, Australia.
  Stewart AC, Cossar RD, Wilkinson AL, Quinn B, Dietze P, Walker S, Butler T, Curtis M, Aitken C, Kirwan A, Winter R, Ogloff J, Kinner S, Stoové M
  Drug Alcohol Depend. 2021 Aug; 227:108970
• Barriers to hepatitis C treatment among secondary needle and syringe program clients and opportunities to intervene.
  Gunn J, McNally S, Ryan J, Layton C, Bryant M, Walker S, O'Mahony C, Pedrana A.
  Int J Drug Policy. 2021 Jul; 96:103387
• "It's time!": A qualitative exploration of the acceptability of hepatitis C notification systems to help eliminate hepatitis C.
  Walker S, Wallace J, Latham N, Saich F, Pedrana A, Hellard M, Treloar C, Marukutira T, Higgs P, Doyle J, Stoové M
  Int J Drug Policy. 2021 May; 97:103280
• The Optimise Study: Vaccine preparedness. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT)
  Saich F, Heath K, Altermatt A, Merner B, Hill S, Pedrana A, Munari S, Horyniak D, Walker S, Wallace J, Block K, Gibbs L, Gibney K, Hellard M
  Optimise Study. 2021 Mar; Report 4:1-8

2020 (3)

• "That's the Lowest Place on Earth!" Experiences of the Carceral Spaces of Australian Police Custody for Marginalized Young Men.
  Walker S, Higgs P, Stoové M, Wilson M
  Qual Health Res. 2020 Jan; 30(6):880-893
• "They just don't care about us!": Police custody experiences for young men with histories of injecting drug use
  Walker S, Higgs P, Stoové M, Wilson M
  Aust NZ J Criminol. 2020 Jan; 53(1):102-120
• "A spray bottle and a lollipop stick": An examination of policy prohibiting sterile injecting equipment in prison and effects on young men with injecting drug use histories.
  Walker S, Seear K, Higgs P, Stoové M, Wilson M
  Int J Drug Policy. 2020 Jan; 80:102532

2019 (2)

• The Prison and Transition Health (PATH) Cohort Study: Study Protocol and Baseline Characteristics of a Cohort of Men with a History of Injecting Drug Use Leaving Prison in Australia.
  Kirwan A, Curtis M, Dietze P, Aitken C, Woods E, Walker S, Kinner S, Ogloff J, Butler T, Stoové M
  J Urban Health. 2019 Apr; 96(3):400-410
• Understanding HIV and hepatitis C virus risk among incarcerated young men with histories of injecting drug use.
  Walker S, Stoové M, Wilson M, Higgs P.
  Lancet Infect Dis. 2019 Feb; 19(2):130-131

2018 (2)

• “I Lost Me Visits” A critical examination of prison drug policy and Its effects on connection to family for incarcerated young men with histories of injecting drug use.
  Walker S, Lancaster K, Stoové M, Higgs P, Wilson M
  Contemporary Drug Problems. 2018 Jun; 45(3):303-328
• Narratives of Young Men With Injecting Drug Use Histories Leaving Adult Prison.
  Walker S, Higgs P, Stoové M, Wilson M
  Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol. 2018 Jan; ;62(12):3681-3707

2015 (1)

• 'It’s always just there in your face’: young people’s views on porn.
  Walker S, Temple-Smith M, Higgs P, Sanci L
  Sex Health. 2015 May; 12(3):200-206

2013 (1)

• Sexting: young women's and men's views on its nature and origins.
  Shelley Walker, Lena Sanci, Meredith Temple-Smith
  J Adolesc Health. 2013 Jun; 52(6):697-701

2011 (1)

• Sexting and young people: Experts' views
  Walker S, Temple-Smith M, Sanci L
  Youth Studies Australia. 2011 Jul; 30(4):8-16

News Articles (2)

2023 (1)

• Participating in research can be beneficial for people who inject drugs

2021 (1)

• Taking actions towards Reconciliation