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Associate Professor Leigh Tooth

Principal Research Fellow

School of Public Health
Faculty of Medicine
l.tooth@sph.uq.edu.au
+61 7 334 64691

Overview

A/Prof Leigh Tooth is a Principal Research Fellow who specialises in research on maternal and child health and general women's health, in particular on women carers, health inequalities and the socio-economic determinants of health, quality of life and comorbidity.

A/Prof Leigh Tooth is currently Principal Research Fellow and Deputy Director of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH). She chairs the Data Access Committee of the ALSWH. She is CI on the NHMRC funded Centre for Research Excellence on Women and Non-communicable Disease (CRE WaND): Prevention and Detection (2019–2024). She was CI on the NHMRC funded Mothers and their Children’s Health Study (MatCH) (2014-2018). MatCH is investigating the relationship between mothers’ health history, since 1996, and the family environment to children’s health and development outcomes, including health service utilisation. She is also leading a program of research into health inequalities and the socio-economic determinants of health, and women carers. Her other current research interests are quality of life and comorbidity. Her previous research experiences include a NHMRC Public Health Fellowship (1999-2003), during which she investigated the short and long term functional and community outcomes of people following stroke, and being a NHMRC Fellow with the Longitudinal Studies Unit in the School of Public Health at the University of Queensland researching statistical methodology and teaching into the epidemiology program. She has a PhD and first class honours degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of Queensland.

Research Interests

  • Health inequalities in lifecourse research
    Impact of health inequalities on health outcomes across the lifecourse in women Impact of health inequalities on health service use Impact of intergenerational mobility of health inequalities on health outcomes
  • Maternal and child health
    A/Prof Leigh Tooth is CI on the NHMRC funded Mothers and their Children’s Health Study (MatCH). MatCH is investigating the relationship between mothers’ health history, since 1996, and the family environment to children’s health and development outcomes, including health service utilisation.
  • chronic disease/multi-morbidity
    Measurement of multi-morbidity Impact of mulit-morbidity on health outcomes in women
  • Caring
    Impacts of caring on Australian women Determinants of transitions in caring by women Health service use of women carers

Research Impacts

I have successfully led several major research projects which have focussed on elements of the Australian health care system. Several of my research publications and reports have informed health policy, for example by:

· Delivering policy recommendations about the use and impact of Medicare and DVA funded health care services on war widows to the DVA

· Delivering policy recommendations to inform the

1) Government’s National Respite for Carers Program, in particular the Employed Carers Innovative Project,

2) Report by the Centre for Health Service Development on “Effective Caring: A synthesis of the International Evidence on Carer Needs and Interventions”, and subsequently

3) Australian Government’s National Women’s Health Policy 2010.

I am also one of the founding chief investigators of the OTseeker (Occupational Therapy Systematic Evaluation of Evidence) database (http:\\www.otseeker.com). OTseeker contains citations and abstracts of >9000 systematic reviews and RCTs relevant to occupational therapy. All RCTs have been critically appraised and rated to assist therapists’ judge the quality and usefulness of trials to help inform clinical interventions and decision making. OTseeker is freely available worldwide. Since its launch in 2003, OTseeker has had >2 million visits; people accessing OTseeker come from >100 countries including the USA, UK, Canada, the Scandinavian countries, Japan, Germany, Senegal, Chad, Slovenia, Columbia, Georgia, Tanzania and Kuwait.

The quality and impact of OTseeker is reinforced by its continued external funding since 2002.

The international status and importance of OTseeker is further evidenced by:

· Endorsement at the International Conference on Evidence based Practice in 2004

· The invitation by the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT) to the developers of OTseeker to contribute to the 2011 special edition WFOT bulletin on “Evidence based Occupational Therapy Practice around the Globe” (see publication A65).

· Endorsement during the opening keynote address at the 2013 Occupational Therapy Australia National Conference in Adelaide, in which Professor Marion Walker from the University of Nottingham, UK, said “… every occupational therapist should have OTseeker on their desktop.”

· Its description as a key resource in occupational therapy texts, research policy documents of international occupational therapy associations, journal articles and editorials, and its listing on hundreds of library and professional websites.

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
  • Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Honours 1), The University of Queensland

Publications

View all Publications

Grants

View all Grants

Supervision

View all Supervision

Available Projects

  • Mothers and their children's health

    Researchers within the School of Public Health Centre for Longitudinal and Life Course Research have been collecting data for over 25 years on women in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH). We have also collected data on almost 6000 children (aged from 0-12) of participants in the 1973-78 cohort from the ALSWH, in the Mothers and their Children's Health Study. With over 20 years of data on their mothers from the ALSWH, and data on a wide variety of aspects of their children's health (including physical, cognitive, social and emotional development, behaviour, diet and physical activity, screen time, health-related quality of life, illness and disability, health service use, sleep,and anthropometric measures) there is a fantastic opportunity for research students who are interested in these areas and with statistical experience to join our center to undertake PhD research.

  • The long-term impact of asthma on women and their children’s health over the life span.

    To be supervised by Leigh Tooth, Gita Mishra and Vicki Clifton

    Researchers within the School of Public Health Centre for Longitudinal and Life Course Research have been collecting data for over 25 years on women in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH). We have also collected data on almost 6000 children (aged from 0-12) of participants in the 1973-78 cohort from the ALSWH, in the Mothers and their Children's Health Study. With over 20 years of data on their mothers from the ALSWH, and data on a wide variety of aspects of their children's health (including physical, cognitive, social and emotional development, behaviour, diet and physical activity, screen time, health-related quality of life, illness and disability, health service use, sleep,and anthropometric measures) there is a fantastic opportunity for research students who are interested in these areas and with statistical experience to join our center to undertake PhD research.

View all Available Projects

Publications

Book

Book Chapter

  • Voluntary childlessness: demographic, socio economic, family, and psychosocial factors

    Jin, Chuyao, Xu, Xiaolin, Tooth, Leigh R. and Mishra, Gita D. (2023). Voluntary childlessness: demographic, socio economic, family, and psychosocial factors. Handbook of labor, human resources and population economics. (pp. 1-26) edited by Klaus F. Zimmermann. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-57365-6_441-1

  • Shared decision making

    Hoffmann, Tammy and Tooth, Leigh (2017). Shared decision making. Evidence-based practice across the health professions. (pp. 337-363) edited by Tammy Hoffmann, Sally Bennett and Chris Del Mar. Chatswood, NSW Australia: Elsevier.

  • Talking with patients about evidence

    Hoffmann, T. and Tooth, L. (2013). Talking with patients about evidence. Evidence-based practice across the health professions. (pp. 328-352) Sydney, NSW, Australia: Elsevier Australia.

  • Talking with clients about evidence

    Hoffmann, T. and Tooth, L. R. (2010). Talking with clients about evidence. Evidence-based practice across the health professions. (pp. 276-299) edited by Tammy Hoffmann, Sally Bennett and Chris Del Mar. Sydney, Australia: Elsevier.

  • Client education: An overview

    McKenna, K. T. and Tooth, L. R. (2006). Client education: An overview. Client Education: A Partnership Approach for Health Practitioners. (pp. 1-12) edited by K. McKenna and L. Tooth. Sydney: UNSW Press.

  • Deciding the content and format of educational interventions

    McKenna, K. T. and Tooth, L. R. (2006). Deciding the content and format of educational interventions. Client Education: A Partnership Approach for Health Practitioners. (pp. 128-158) edited by K. McKenna and L. Tooth. Sydney: UNSW Press.

  • Planning educational interventions

    McKenna, K. T. and Tooth, L. R. (2006). Planning educational interventions. Client Education: A Partnership Approach for Health Practitioners. (pp. 112-127) edited by K. McKenna and L. Tooth. Sydney: UNSW Press.

  • The effectiveness of client education: A review of the evidence and future challenges

    Tooth, L R and Refshauage, (2006). The effectiveness of client education: A review of the evidence and future challenges. Client Education: A Partnership Approach for Health Practitioners. (pp. 22-56) edited by Kryss McKenna and Leigh Tooth. Sydney: University of New South Wales Press.

Journal Article

Conference Publication

Other Outputs

Grants (Administered at UQ)

PhD and MPhil Supervision

Current Supervision

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.

  • Mothers and their children's health

    Researchers within the School of Public Health Centre for Longitudinal and Life Course Research have been collecting data for over 25 years on women in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH). We have also collected data on almost 6000 children (aged from 0-12) of participants in the 1973-78 cohort from the ALSWH, in the Mothers and their Children's Health Study. With over 20 years of data on their mothers from the ALSWH, and data on a wide variety of aspects of their children's health (including physical, cognitive, social and emotional development, behaviour, diet and physical activity, screen time, health-related quality of life, illness and disability, health service use, sleep,and anthropometric measures) there is a fantastic opportunity for research students who are interested in these areas and with statistical experience to join our center to undertake PhD research.

  • The long-term impact of asthma on women and their children’s health over the life span.

    To be supervised by Leigh Tooth, Gita Mishra and Vicki Clifton

    Researchers within the School of Public Health Centre for Longitudinal and Life Course Research have been collecting data for over 25 years on women in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH). We have also collected data on almost 6000 children (aged from 0-12) of participants in the 1973-78 cohort from the ALSWH, in the Mothers and their Children's Health Study. With over 20 years of data on their mothers from the ALSWH, and data on a wide variety of aspects of their children's health (including physical, cognitive, social and emotional development, behaviour, diet and physical activity, screen time, health-related quality of life, illness and disability, health service use, sleep,and anthropometric measures) there is a fantastic opportunity for research students who are interested in these areas and with statistical experience to join our center to undertake PhD research.

This staff member is a UQ Expert for media in the following fields:

carers, caregivers, caring, women`s physical/mental health, health inequalities, multi-morbidit, carers, caregivers, caring, women`s physical/mental health, health inequalities, multi-morbidit

They are happy to lend their expertise to your articles or broadcasts and share their research discoveries and insights with the community via media channels.

For additional assistance with story ideas, general advice and information or help with seeking further experts, please email the UQ Media Team or telephone (07) 3365 1120.

Links

ResearcherID: F-2769-2010

ORCID: 0000-0002-1569-934X

Scopus ID: 7003520059

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