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Dr Shelley Walker

Adjunct Research Fellow

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shelley.walker@burnet.edu.au
Dr Shelley Walker

Background

Shelley is a social science researcher with an Adjunct appointment at Burnet Institute and Monash University. She is a Research Fellow at the National Drug Research Institute (Curtin University). She is a recipient of an ARC Discovery Early Career Research Award, focused on young people and experiences of police custody detention. She has a background in nursing, community development, youth work and international development. Shelley has extensive experience in qualitative research in both Australia and internationally. Her work is aimed at understanding people’s experiences of drug use, incarceration, and criminal justice involvement, to inform policies and practices that improve their health and wellbeing. 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.

Shelley Walker's Threads profile

Shelley Walker's NDRI profile

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, Goulburn Valley Base Hospital, Au

Appointments

  • 2022–present: Adjunct Research Fellow, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University

Positions

  • 2024–present: Research Fellow, Burnet Institute
  • 2024–present: Research Fellow, National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University

Awards

  • 2024: Research Excellence Award – Early Career Researcher, Curtin University
  • 2023: ARC Discovery Early Career Research Award (DECRA)
  • 2021: Burnet Institute Miller Foundation Travel Scholarship
  • 2020: Australian Govt. Postgraduate Research (APR) Internship
  • 2019: Curtin University PhD Bootcamp Scholarship
  • 2016: NDRI Travel Scholarship
  • 2015-2019: Faculty of Health Sciences Top Up Award (Best RTP application), Curtin University
  • 2015-2019: Australian Government RTP PhD Scholarship, Curtin University
  • 2010-2011: Primary Health Care Research, Evaluation and Development Fellowship, University of Melbourne

Reports and other work

  • The challenges of clean water & community development: A comparison of arsenic removal systems in Cambodia & India.

    Everyday more than 140 million people in southern Asia drink groundwater contaminated with arsenic. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO, 2013), arsenic is having a devastating impact on the health of communities in Asia and South East Asia, that is contaminated with high concentrations of arsenic.

    The challenges of clean water & community development: A comparison of arsenic removal systems in Cambodia & India.

  • Lotus Kids Club Program: Evaluation Report

    Lotus Kids Club (LKC) is a program that was established in 2010 to provide a pre-school program for Vietnamese and Khmer children aged 3-6 years, from Slorkram Commune in Siem Reap. The program has grown considerably since 2010 and now provides 4 programs for over 60 children and 33 families, including a Pre-School Program, a Sponsorship Program, a Family Program, and a Community Drop-In Program. The program is funded by the Senhoa Foundation in the US and has a local partnership with the Cambodian Center for the Protection of Children’s Rights (CCPCR), a local Non-Government Organization (NGO) in Cambodia.

    Lotus Kids Club Program: Evaluation Report

  • Pathways in and out of prison for young men with injecting drug use histories.

    Young male prisoners with a history of injecting drug use are among the most disadvantaged and vulnerable of prisoners, but little academic literature about their lived experience and characteristics<br/>exists. This PhD research aimed to address this significant knowledge gap and provide insights for policy makers and practitioners that will improve the health and well-being of this marginalised group.

    Pathways in and out of prison for young men with injecting drug use histories.

  • Community Views on Violence Against women in Chi Kraeng Commune.

    This research was conducted as a starting point for a partnership project between This Life Cambodia (TLC) and ICS (Investing in Children and their Societies) to address the issue of violence against women and children in Chi Kraeng Commune in Cambodia. Although there is much recent national and international evidence of the existence of violence against women in Cambodia, and many studies have helped to identify and understand the impact and root causes of this violence, limited research has been conducted at the local level.

    Community Views on Violence Against women in Chi Kraeng Commune.

  • THIS LIFE BEYOND BARS: 3-Year Program Evaluation

    This is an evaluation of This Life Beyond Bars (TLBB), a juvenile justice program of This Life Cambodia, which has been implemented in Siem Reap, Oddar Meanchey, and Banteay Meanchey Provinces. The evaluation highlights the overall success of TLBB in providing an alternative model of support for juveniles in prison and for families with a parent in prison. The evidence presented by this evaluation positions the TLBB program as a good practice model for implementation in Cambodia.

    THIS LIFE BEYOND BARS: 3-Year Program Evaluation

  • Lower Secondary School Development Program: Pilot Phase Evaluation.

    This is an evaluation of the pilot phase of This Life Cambodia’s Lower Secondary School Development Program (LSSDP), spanning four years and two rural lower secondary schools, from 2009-2013. The evaluation highlights the overall success of the LSSDP in empowering communities to be involved with and support their local, government-run lower secondary school.

    Lower Secondary School Development Program: Pilot Phase Evaluation.

  • ST KILDA 24-HOUR NSP EVALUATION.

    The Salvation Army commissioned the Burnet Institute to gather data on its 24-hour needle and syringe program (NSP) in St Kilda. Uniquely in Victoria, the St Kilda NSP is funded to run a staffed service 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and has been in operation with this model for over 10 years. This section is an executive summary of the Burnet Institute’s findings about the role, impact, and effectiveness of the St Kilda 24-hour NSP service.

    ST KILDA 24-HOUR NSP EVALUATION.

  • The Optimise Study: Vaccine preparedness

    This report focuses on:<br/>• Attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccines<br/>• Concerns about the vaccines<br/>• Information needs regarding COVID-19 vaccines and the rollout strategy<br/>

    The Optimise Study: Vaccine preparedness

Burnet publications

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27 Mar 2025

"Quick, simple, and friendly": Understanding the acceptability and accessibility of a nurse and peer-led, mobile model of hepatitis C care adjacent to community corrections in Australia

International Journal of Drug Policy

S. Griffin, Shelley Walker, Sophia Schroeder, Margaret Hellard, Mark Stoové, Rebecca Winter

Open access
23 Jan 2025

Disproportionate, differential and targeted treatment: people who use drugs’ experiences of policing during the COVID-19 pandemic

Health & Justice

Kasun Rathnayake, Shelley Walker, Paul Dietze, Peter Higgs, Bernadette Ward, Margaret Hellard, Joseph Doyle, Mark Stoové, Lisa Maher, Shelley Walker

Open access
23 Jan 2025

Disproportionate, differential and targeted treatment: people who use drugs’ experiences of policing during the COVID-19 pandemic

Health & Justice

Kasun Rathnayake, Shelley Walker, Paul Dietze, Peter Higgs, Bernadette Ward, Margaret Hellard, Joseph Doyle, Mark Stoové, Lisa Maher, Shelley Walker

Open access

Current projects

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The Torch co-design and evaluation collaboration

The Torch co-design and evaluation collaboration

We’re working closely with staff and artists at The Torch, a not-for-profit First Nations-led arts organisation, to improve program engagement and effectiveness.

The C No More Project: Community corrections Nurse-led Model of care to Eliminate hepatitis C
Open to students

The C No More Project: Community corrections Nurse-led Model of care to Eliminate hepatitis C

This study will offer free hepatitis C testing and treatment to people in community corrections and assess the effectiveness of the model of care. 

Methamphetamine use in Melbourne and rural Victoria: the VMAX cohort study
Open to students

Methamphetamine use in Melbourne and rural Victoria: the VMAX cohort study

The VMAX cohort study follows 850 people who use methamphetamine recruited from metropolitan Melbourne and 3 regions of rural Victoria.

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Past projects

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

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

This project aims to find out how Victorians are experiencing COVID-19 and responding to the measures introduced to stop the spread of the virus.

News and features

5 years after COVID began, outstanding fines mean marginalised Australians are still paying the highest price

5 years after COVID began, outstanding fines mean marginalised Australians are still paying the highest price

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