Therese Riley

Biography: Therese’s background includes a Bachelor of Social Science in Socio-Environmental Assessment and Policy (Distinction) (RMIT University, 1991) and a PhD in the sociology of technology and work (RMIT University, 1997). Therese’s research experiences span a range of disciplines and subject areas from forestry to eco designers to home based telecommuting. Over the past 7 years the focus of Therese’s research has been in understanding and evaluating population level health interventions. This was the focus of her post doctoral work with the University of Calgary in Canada.

Therese is a Research Fellow in the Centre for Health and Society, School of Population Health, University of Melbourne and Markin Research Fellow in Complex Interventions in the Population Health Intervention Research Centre.

Research Interests: Therese’s research interests are in the exploration of the social processes involved in the adaptation of public health interventions within local settings (community, school and so on). The focus of this inquiry is on different methods and theories to describe and explain what goes on when public health interventions interact with the real world. Therese’s methodological work has focused on the application of narrative inquiry in the analysis of practitioner field diaries and the challenges faced in undertaking qualitative research in the context of randomized controlled trials. Therese’s theoretical work involves the development of explanatory models from qualitative data. These models provide insights into how various stakeholders think about and theorize change in public health interventions.

Email: triley@unimelb.edu.au