Professor Genevieve Healy

MRFF Emerging Leadership Fellow

School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences
g.healy@sph.uq.edu.au
+61 7 336 55441

Overview

Genevieve is a Professor of Physical Activity and Health at the University of Queensland and an MRFF Emerging Leadership Fellow. Her research focuses on sedentary behaviour and physical activity in adults across the 24-hour day, including understanding impacts on health, wellbeing and performance, and the feasibility, acceptability and sustainability of modifying these behaviours in key settings and populations including desk-based workers and those with or at risk of type 2 diabetes. Co-design with stakeholders and end-users is embedded across her research program, which includes working with government, clinical, public health, private industry, not-for-profit, community and workplace partners in research and its’ translation into policy and practice. She leads the BeUpstanding program of research - an online workplace health and wellbeing initiative supporting teams of desk-based workers to reduce their sedentary time

Research Interests

  • Measurement of sitting time
  • Understanding population-level variations and influences on how and when we sit
  • Understanding how sitting time is related to heart health
  • Interventions to reduce and change sitting time

Research Impacts

Professor Healy's work has influenced policy and guidelines regarding the importance of reducing and breaking up prolonged sedentary time. She was part of the development committee for the inaugural Canadian 24-hr Physical Activity Guidelines for Adults. The guidelines were the first in Canada to include specific recommendations on sedentary time and breaking up sedentary time,

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
  • Masters (Coursework) of Public Health, The University of Queensland
  • Bachelor (Honours), The University of Queensland
  • Bachelor, The University of Queensland

Publications

View all Publications

Supervision

View all Supervision

Available Projects

  • Small Steps for Big Changes is a diabetes prevention healthy lifestyle program. Developed in Canada, our team has received CIHR-NHMRC grant funding to examine the adaption and implementation of the program into an Australian context with clinical and community partners. We are currently seeking PhD candidates to be involved in this exciting project. Successful candidates will work closely with a range of stakeholders, including consumers, practitioners, industry partners and academics.

    This unique opportunity would suit students with a background in allied health, health promotion, public health, health psychology, implementation science, or human movement studies. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills are essential. Experience working with industry stakeholders and knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research methods and behaviour change would be of benefit. First Nations applicants are particularly encouraged to apply.

    The Australian NHMRC investigator team includes Professor Genevieve Healy, Dr Ana Goode, Dr Sjaan Gomersall and Professor David Dunstan.

  • The BeUpstanding™ program (www.beupstanding.com.au) supports desk-based work teams to sit less and move more, for better health and wellbeing. Developed by the researchers at the School of Public Health, the University of Queensland, the program is currently being evaluated through a national implementation trial. Findings from the implementation trial will inform future wide-scale dissemination efforts, as well as national and international policy and practice.

    We are now seeking HDR students to join the BeUpstanding team and be part of this world-first workplace health promotion initiative. Specifically, we are looking for students to lead a program of work across five streams (five different HDRs): small business, rural and regional workers, large organisations, universities, and call centres. Within each stream, the broad aims of the HDR research will be:

    1. To determine the facilitators and barriers to delivery of BeUpstanding using a mixed methods approach
    2. To develop implementation strategy(s) to assist in delivering BeUpstanding using a stakeholder engagement process
    3. To evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the implementation strategy(s) via a pilot study(s).

    This unique opportunity would suit students with a background in health promotion, public health, health psychology, implementation science, and/or human movement studies. Excellent communication skills are essential as you will be working with employers and employees. There is currently a funded scholarship available - search BeUpstanding under UQ Earmarked scholarships:

    https://graduate-school.uq.edu.au/available-cat-1-phd-projects

View all Available Projects

Publications

Book Chapter

  • Healy, Genevieve N., Stephens, Samantha K. and Goode, Ana D. (2023). Workplace Programs Aimed at Limiting Occupational Sitting. Sedentary Behaviour Epidemiology. (pp. 539-555) Cham: Springer International Publishing. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-41881-5_18

  • Healy, Genevieve N. and Goode, Ana D. (2018). Workplace programmes aimed at limiting occupational sitting. Sedentary behaviour epidemiology. (pp. 445-457) edited by Michael F. Leitzmann, Carmen Jochem and Daniela Schmid. Cham, Switzerland: Springer . doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-61552-3_18

  • Owen, Neville, Goode, Ana, Sugiyama, Takemi, Koohsari, Mohammad Javad, Healy, Genevieve, Fjeldsoe, Brianna and Eakin, Elizabeth (2017). Designing for dissemination in chronic disease prevention and management. Dissemination and implementation research in health: translating science to practice. (pp. 107-120) edited by Ross C. Brownson, Graham A. Colditz and Enola K. Proctor. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/oso/9780190683214.003.0007

  • Plotnikoff, R., Healy, G., Morgan, P., Gilson, N. and Kennedy, S. (2014). Action area 2 - Workplaces: Promote physical activity before, during and after work. Blueprint for an active Australia: Government and community actions to increase population levels of physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviour in Australia, 2014–2017. (pp. 20-25) Melbourne, VIC Australia: National Heart Foundation of Australia.

  • Healy, Genevieve N. (2012). The unique influence of sedentary behavior on health. Physical activity and public health practice. (pp. 33-52) edited by Barbara E. Ainsworth and Caroline A. Macera. Boca Raton, FL, United States: CRC Press - Taylor & Francis Group.

Journal Article

Conference Publication

Other Outputs

Grants (Administered at UQ)

PhD and MPhil Supervision

Current Supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor

Completed Supervision

Possible Research Projects

Note for students: The possible research projects listed on this page may not be comprehensive or up to date. Always feel free to contact the staff for more information, and also with your own research ideas.

  • Small Steps for Big Changes is a diabetes prevention healthy lifestyle program. Developed in Canada, our team has received CIHR-NHMRC grant funding to examine the adaption and implementation of the program into an Australian context with clinical and community partners. We are currently seeking PhD candidates to be involved in this exciting project. Successful candidates will work closely with a range of stakeholders, including consumers, practitioners, industry partners and academics.

    This unique opportunity would suit students with a background in allied health, health promotion, public health, health psychology, implementation science, or human movement studies. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills are essential. Experience working with industry stakeholders and knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research methods and behaviour change would be of benefit. First Nations applicants are particularly encouraged to apply.

    The Australian NHMRC investigator team includes Professor Genevieve Healy, Dr Ana Goode, Dr Sjaan Gomersall and Professor David Dunstan.

  • The BeUpstanding™ program (www.beupstanding.com.au) supports desk-based work teams to sit less and move more, for better health and wellbeing. Developed by the researchers at the School of Public Health, the University of Queensland, the program is currently being evaluated through a national implementation trial. Findings from the implementation trial will inform future wide-scale dissemination efforts, as well as national and international policy and practice.

    We are now seeking HDR students to join the BeUpstanding team and be part of this world-first workplace health promotion initiative. Specifically, we are looking for students to lead a program of work across five streams (five different HDRs): small business, rural and regional workers, large organisations, universities, and call centres. Within each stream, the broad aims of the HDR research will be:

    1. To determine the facilitators and barriers to delivery of BeUpstanding using a mixed methods approach
    2. To develop implementation strategy(s) to assist in delivering BeUpstanding using a stakeholder engagement process
    3. To evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the implementation strategy(s) via a pilot study(s).

    This unique opportunity would suit students with a background in health promotion, public health, health psychology, implementation science, and/or human movement studies. Excellent communication skills are essential as you will be working with employers and employees. There is currently a funded scholarship available - search BeUpstanding under UQ Earmarked scholarships:

    https://graduate-school.uq.edu.au/available-cat-1-phd-projects