VicHealth researcher: Angela Taft
“VicHealth’s commitment to advocacy to prevent and reduce violence against women is a powerful context for my work”
Research Fellow Dr Angela Taft is focussed on reducing the effects of partner violence on recent mothers.
Contact Dr Angela Taft
Email: a.taft@latrobe.edu.au
Phone: +61 (03) 8341 8571
Website: www.latrobe.edu.au/mchr/
There is now an undisputed body of evidence linking partner violence to mental and physical ill-health, especially in pregnancy and early motherhood. However, there is a paucity of evidence about how health care systems and professionals can effectively respond. The goal of Angela’s research is to provide evidence of the beneficial effects of mentor mother social support on the wellbeing of pregnant and recent mothers experiencing partner violence. A major part of this work includes conducting and evaluating the MOSAIC community intervention trial, which tests the mentors mothers program as well as innovative ways to increase the effective response of GPs, and maternal and child health nurses, to partner violence among these women.
Angela also plans to investigate the long-term mental health impact of different forms of violence against women, especially on marginalised groups. This research will include Cochrane systematic reviews of partner violence interventions, secondary analysis of data from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Women's Health and, together with consultation with community groups, will plan future health system interventions for preventing and reducing such violence against women and children.
Angela works at Mother and Child Health Research (MCHR), a multidisciplinary research centre within the School of Public Health at La Trobe University. The Centre undertakes and interprets research on mothers' and children's health, contributes to policy development, and provides advice and resources to researchers in related fields.
Angela’s research aims to inform evidence-based policies and programs in the primary health care system. This will improve the health and wellbeing of women and children affected by violence, especially violence from intimate partners who abuse family members. She has a particular interest in strategies to prevent and reduce partner violence among both culturally and linguistically diverse and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Angela believes that with the support of VicHealth she has been able to build a stronger set of skills to bring to bear on the problem of violence against women and children, the health burdens they suffer and the primary health care system’s capacity to better respond to those in their care.