Dr Yaqoot Fatima

Principal Research Fellow

UQ Poche Centre for Indigenous Health
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences
fatima.yaqoot@uq.edu.au
+61 7 344 31021

Overview

Dr Yaqoot Fatima (Fatima) is a Pharmacist, Sleep Scientist and Epidemiologist. Her research involves identifying approaches to enhance health outcomes for vulnerable and disadvantaged population groups, specifically focusing on how epidemiological analyses can better inform policy and health services to reduce health disparities. Fatima has led significant research into the epidemiology of poor sleep and the connection between poor sleep, mental health and cardio-metabolic outcomes with a number of projects focused on rural, remote and Indigenous Australian populations. She is nationally recognised for her leadership and advocacy for improving the sleep health of First Nations peoples in Australia. She also has significant experience in rural and remote health services evaluation and identifying strategies for better uptake and delivery of health services.

Fatima was recently honoured with a 2021 Queensland Young Tall Poppy Science Award in recognition of her work in leading the co-design and delivery of a sleep health program for Indigenous adolescents and facilitating Indigenous youth workers’ training and upskilling to work as a sleep coach in the community. She is also establishing a sleep clinic in remote Queensland led by nurses and Aboriginal health workers, which will be the prototype for rolling out similar services in rural and remote Australia.

Fatima is currently a member of the Indigenous working party of the Australasian Epidemiological Association, the Australasian Sleep Association and has recently joined the Sleep Health Foundation as the Chair of the Working Party for Sleep Health of First Nations Peoples. Fatima’s research has been published in reputed international journals and received considerable local and global media attention (covered in over 450 media stories and more than 30 radio and television interviews).

Research Interests

  • Sleep health of First Nations Peoples
  • Sleep Epidemiology
  • Rural and remote health services

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland

Publications

View all Publications

Supervision

View all Supervision

Publications

Book Chapter

  • Fatima, Yaqoot, Cleary, Anne, King, Stephanie, Solomon, Shaun, McDaid, Lisa, Hasan, Md Mehedi, Al Mamun, Abdullah and Baxter, Janeen (2022). Cultural identity and social and emotional wellbeing in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. Family dynamics over the life course: foundations, turning points and outcomes. (pp. 57-70) edited by Janeen Baxter, Jack Lam, Jenny Povey, Rennie Lee and Stephen R. Zubrick. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-12224-8_4

Journal Article

Conference Publication

  • Fernandez, D., McDaid, L., Tran, N., Jabran, D., King, S. and Fatima, Y. (2022). Poor Sleep and Mental Health Issues Among First Nations Peoples. 33rd annual scientific meeting of Australasian Sleep Association (ASA) & Australian and New Zealand Sleep Science Association (ANZSSA) Sleep DownUnder 2022, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 8-11 November 2022. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/sleepadvances/zpac029.114

  • Jabran, D., Potia, A., Smith, S., Solomon, S., Fernandez, D. and Fatima, Y. (2022). Prevalence of poor sleep in First Nations peoples across the globe: A systematic review. 33rd annual scientific meeting of Australasian Sleep Association (ASA) & Australian and New Zealand Sleep Science Association (ANZSSA) Sleep DownUnder 2022, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 8-11 November 2022. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/sleepadvances/zpac029.130

  • Jabran, S., Smith, S., Fatima, Y. and King, S. (2021). Sleep health promotion in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities: untapped potential of Indigenous youth workers as sleep coaches. 32nd annual scientific meeting of Australasian Sleep Association (ASA) & Australian and New Zealand Sleep Science Association (ANZSSA), Online, 10-13 October 2021. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/sleepadvances/zpab014.006

  • Begum, Tahmina, Fatima, Yaqoot, Anuradha, Satyamurthy and Mamun, Abdullah (2021). The effect of caesarean birth on childhood body mass index (BMI) trajectories in Australia. World Congress of Epidemiology, Melbourne, VIC Australia, 7-9 September 2021.

  • Fatima, Y., Al Mamun, A. and Skinner, T. (2019). Sleep pattern and body mass index gain in Indigenous Australian children. 31st Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) of the Australasian-Sleep-Association and the Australasian-Sleep-Technologists-Association (Sleep DownUnder), Sydney, Australia, 16-19 October 2019. Chichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing. doi: 10.1111/jsr.23_12912

Other Outputs

PhD and MPhil Supervision

Current Supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor