Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Jorja is an Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian and Early Career Researcher. She has experience working as a foodservice dietitian in healthcare, teaching and foodservice and hospital based nutrition research. Her PhD explored the nutritional status of patients in subacute care and food-based strategies to prevent and treat malnutrition in this setting. Her current research area is environmental sustainability in hospital foodservices, and she supervises a number of PhD students working on this topic. She recieved a Churchill Fellowship to travel to the US in 2020 to learn more about 'green' strategies in award winning hospitals. In her role as senior lecturer in the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food, Jorja coordinates and contributes to the teaching of units relating to research, food service and food systems.
Current collaborative research projects underway:
1. Measuring and managing waste in hospital foodservices
Healthcare organisations generate a substantial amount of food waste. Our preliminary research found that on average 322kg of food waste is generated across 3 hospitals every day. Extrapolated across all Australian hospitals, this is a staggering amount of food and money being wasted. At a time when environmental sustainability is consistently rated by the Australian public and one of the most important problems facing the world today, we must be looking for solutions to this problem. This PhD research will involve successive studies to explore waste auditing and waste management in hosptial foodservices.
2. Testing the safety and feasibility of repurposing unopened packets of non perishable food in hospital foodservice
At our hospital over 2000 unopened packets of non perishable food are thrown in the bin each day. There is an opportunity to collect these items and reuse them or donate them to food rescue organisations. This would reduce waste sent to landfill and waste disposal costs. However, this is not currently what happens in our hospital, or most hospitals in Australia due to concerns about infection control risks, among other reasons. This project funded by a DHHS sustainability innovation grant aims to identify the safety and feasbility of collecting unopened packets of non perishable food in the hospital setting. Microbiological testing of food packets will be conducted, followed by a pilot study of a waste collection process. If proven safe and feasible, this research may result in a change in food waste practices in hospitals.
Read more here
3. Local food procurement in healthcare
Public food procurement is a lever to improve food systems by re-considering what food is purchased and how it was made, who made it and where it comes from. In the last 5 years there has been increasing talk from goverments to prioritise procurement of local food by hospitals and aged care facilities, including an election promise by the Victorian Andrews government. This research aims to inform and support public policy change for local food procurement in healthcare.
Read more here
4. Feasibility of moving from animal to plant-based proteins in foodservice settings
Shifting to a sustainable diet where dietary animal protein is replaced with plant protein will have a positive impact on climate outcomes and human health. Foodservices such hospitals, schools, universities, and government are an ideal setting for such change to occur through menu and recipe redevelopment. However, menu and recipe redesign is a complex series of taks that need to take into account food availability and cost, culinary factors, nutrition requirements and standards, and requires cooperation between stakeholders across the foodservice system, such as managers, dietitians, menu planners, purchasers, cooks and service staff. This research conducted in New Zealand aims to identify effective ways to decrease animal sourced protein and/or increase plant sourced protein in foodservice operations through a series of studies that consider the published evidence base and perspectives and advice from key informants to develop and test a solution.
Read more here
Research interests
Malnutrition, foodservice, nutrition assessment, nutritional status of elderly and hospitalised populations, implementation science, sustainability, food waste, food systems
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
External positions
Dietitian, Eastern Health
16 Jan 2017 → …
Network
Projects
- 3 Finished
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Churchill Fellowship: Environmental sustainability of hospital foodservice
1/02/20 → 31/01/21
Project: Research
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Building capacity to teach climate change and environmental sustainability in health professions education
Brand, G., Nayna Schwerdtle, P., Barbour, L., Collins, J., Ilangakoon, C., Bonnamy, J., Simmons, M., Carr, B., Wotherspoon, R. & Bedi, G.
Monash University – Internal Faculty Contribution
1/05/19 → 30/04/20
Project: Research
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A rapid review on the effectiveness of no face-to-face family focused strategies to reduce overweight and obesity
Lombard, C. B., Collins, J., Dordevic, A., Huggins, C., Palermo, C. & Truby, H.
26/10/15 → 14/01/16
Project: Research
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A systematic review of food waste audit methods in hospital foodservices: development of a consensus pathway food waste audit tool
Cook, N., Collins, J., Goodwin, D. & Porter, J., Feb 2022, In: Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics. 35, 1, p. 68-80 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review Article › Research › peer-review
9 Citations (Scopus) -
Daily Relations Between Stress and Electroencephalography-Assessed Sleep: A 15-Day Intensive Longitudinal Design With Ecological Momentary Assessments
Yap, Y., Tung, N. Y. C., Collins, J., Phillips, A., Bei, B. & Wiley, J. F., 5 Nov 2022, In: Annals of Behavioral Medicine. 56, 11, p. 1144-1156 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access4 Citations (Scopus) -
Factors influencing implementation of food and food-related waste audits in hospital foodservices
Cook, N., Collins, J., Goodwin, D. & Porter, J., 1 Dec 2022, In: Frontiers in Nutrition. 9, 13 p., 1062619.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access -
Food and food-related waste management strategies in hospital food services: A systematic review
Cook, N., Goodwin, D., Porter, J. & Collins, J., 2022, (Accepted/In press) In: Nutrition and Dietetics. 27 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access6 Citations (Scopus) -
Harnessing the pillars of institutions to drive environmentally sustainable hospital foodservices
Carino, S., Collins, J., Malekpour, S. & Porter, J., 12 Sep 2022, In: Frontiers in Nutrition. 9, 8 p., 905932.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access1 Citation (Scopus)
Prizes
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Dean's Excellence in Education
Anderson, Amanda (Recipient), Palermo, Claire (Recipient), Gibson, Simone (Recipient), Volders, Evelyn (Recipient), Dart, Janeane (Recipient), Collins, Jorja (Recipient), Barker, Lisa (Recipient), Choi, Tammie (Recipient) & Kleve, Suzanne (Recipient), 2021
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Vice-Chancellor's Award for Programs that Enhance Learning
Anderson, Amanda (Recipient), Palermo, Claire (Recipient), Gibson, Simone (Recipient), Volders, Evelyn (Recipient), Dart, Janeane (Recipient), Collins, Jorja (Recipient), Barker, Lisa (Recipient), Choi, Tammie (Recipient) & Kleve, Suzanne (Recipient), 2021
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Press/Media
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Addressing climate change impacts on human health requires educated and prepared health professionals
Gabrielle Brand, Gitanjali Bedi, Jorja Collins, Liza Barbour, Margaret Simmons, James Bonnamy, Chanika Ilangakoon, Patricia Nayna Schwerdtle & Rosie Wotherspoon
18/02/21
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Article/Feature
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What does a dietitian look like?
21/08/20
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Blogs, Podcasts and Social Media › Blogs
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Eating Green: Good for health, hospitals, communities and the planet
24/02/20
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Blogs, Podcasts and Social Media › Blogs
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Preparing the health sector for the global climate emergency
Jorja Collins, Margaret Simmons, Gabrielle Brand, Gitanjali Bedi, Liza Barbour, James Bonnamy, Bethany Carr, Chanika Ilangakoon, Patricia Schwerdtle & Rosie Wotherspoon
15/07/19
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Article/Feature