Projects per year
Personal profile
Research interests
I am a medical anthropologist and health sociologist specialising in interdisciplinary ethnographic research exploring the experiences of health, illness and care for structurally vulnerable communities. I especially focus on the fields of disability studies, neurodegenerative diseases, and ageing to contribute new insights on the intersections of these issues with gender, care, global public health, and wellbeing. My research adopts a comparative methodological approach to combine these areas to explore the relationship between chronic health conditions and practices of care in people’s local moral worlds.
My work is interdisciplinary and collaborative: I work with academic colleagues and community and health organisations to inform policy development and legislation. My research spans a range of areas and disciplines in addition to anthropology and sociology, including global public health, health services research, rehabilitation, disability studies, neuropsychology, and critical social psychology.
My research covers the following broad fields:
* Gender, health, illness and care - my anthropological research on the intersubjectivities of care in the context of chronic illness raises questions about the nature of relations of care and questioning the concept of 'burden of care' (most especially in my publications with Dikaios Sakellariou). In this area, I also examine how the reliance on informal care benefits the state, while also reproducing socio-structural vulnerabilities for those who are involved in care relations and practices. With Devi Mohan and others, I am also involved in developing a toolkit for carers in low- and middle-income settings, where access to carer support services may be limited.
* Global Public Health - Health and Health Systems research - my international comparative research on stroke and dementia examines the role of health systems and health services (including facilities) in shaping people's immediate and longer-term health outcomes in the context of these conditions (collaborative work with Daniel Reidpath and Pascale Allotey). I also work closely with UNU-IIGH (where I am a senior visiting fellow) to build capacity among local health researchers.
* Chronic and neurodegenerative health conditions, and the role of structural vulnerabilities in shaping people's experiences of these. For the past 20+ years, I have demonstrated strong commitment to understanding how social inequalities contribute to people's risk of chronic conditions (for example, in the concept of 'recursive cascades'; Manderson and Warren, 2016); understandings of diagnosis and search for diagnosis (my work on stroke, Parkinson's disease and dementia); and access to treatment, support and care.
* Elucidating sociocultural understandings of ageing and the life course, which was the focus of my doctoral research (on women's experience of midlife in rural areas) and is central to my current work on illness, as well as work on ageism with Barbara Barbosa Neves.
* Concepts of recovery and rehabilitation, in informal/community and formal/clinical settings - following from my ethnography of amputee rehabilitation (with Lenore Manderson), I have a long-standing relationship with several public rehabilitation hospitals and have explored experiences of amputee, spinal cord, and brain injury assessment and recovery - both in the clinic and in the community.
* New and emerging health technologies, including brain-computer interfaces, prosthetics, heritable genetic modification and mitochondrial replacement. This includes my current (ongoing) research on the legal, ethical and social aspects of mitochondrial replacement therapy (in a program led by Catherine Mills), as well as Parkinson's-related research. In my collaborative research (in a project led by Mark Davis) on antimicrobial, we consider the sociological aspects of medical technologies and the new social challenges that might arise from these.
* Feminist Ethnographic and Participatory Research - Qualitative and Mixed Methods approaches - which I deliver in Australia and internationally, including in the highly successful online methods training that I deliver with Sara Niner and the anthropological field school in Malaysia (which I designed with Bruce Missingham).
* Research ethics - I have been a member of the Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee since 2009
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):
Research area keywords
- Ageing
- Cardiovascular Disease
- Stroke
- Gender and Health
- Inequalities in Health
- neurodegenerative diseases
- Disability Studies
Network
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ACVVS: Evaluation of the Aged Care Volunteer Visitors Scheme (ACVVS)
Barbosa Neves, B., Warren, N., Freak-Poli, R., Burns, K., Brusco, N., Cripps, K., Ayton, D., Ko, P. & Colon Cabrera, D.
Department of Health and Aged Care (Australia)
12/05/23 → 1/07/26
Project: Research
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Contemporary practice horizon scanning program T062
Morgan, P., Fossey, E., Callaway, E., Bould, E., Barclay, L., Ayton, D., Warren, N. & Barker, S.
1/06/22 → 31/05/23
Project: Research
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Social Science Network In Antimicrobial Resistance
Davis, M., Whittaker, A., Warren, N., Schermuly, A. & Dunse, K.
1/06/21 → 31/07/24
Project: Other
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Global dementias: Examining structural vulnerability and dementia outcomes
Warren, N., Barton, C., Ayton, D., Niner, S., Mohan, D., Brijnath, B. & Reidpath, D.
19/12/20 → 18/12/23
Project: Research
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Understanding the palliative care needs and the experience of patients living with chronic disease and their caregivers
Loong, M. C. W., Lee, S. W. H., Su, T. T., Reidpath, D. & Warren, N.
1/11/20 → 31/10/23
Project: Research
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Healthcare experiences of adults with COPD across community care settings: a meta-ethnography
Madawala, S., Osadnik, C. R., Warren, N., Kasiviswanathan, K. & Barton, C., 2023, In: ERJ Open Research. 9, 1, 17 p., 00581-2022.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access -
What is the cost, impact, and willingness to pay for an Amputee Peer Support Program?
Brusco, N. K., Foster, S., Noonan, M., Waugh, F. & Warren, N., Apr 2023, In: Prosthetics and Orthotics International. 47, 2, p. 137-146 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
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Ageing with (and into) assistive technology: an exploration of the narratives of amputees and polio survivors
Johnstone, L., Alumukhtar, A., DePasquale, R., Warren, N. & Block, P., 2022, (Accepted/In press) In: Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology. 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
1 Citation (Scopus) -
Ethical implementation of mitochondrial donation in Australia
Koplin, J., Lestrell, E., Mills, C., Degeling, C., Kneebone, E., Ludlow, K., Newson, A., Sparrow, R., Sutton, L. & Warren, N., 2022, In: Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 62, 6, p. 921-924 4 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Other › peer-review
1 Citation (Scopus) -
Exploring the potential of delivering mental health care services using digital technologies in Bangladesh: a qualitative analysis
Koly, K. N., Saba, J., Muzaffar, R., Modasser, R. B., M, T. H., Colon-Cabrera, D. & Warren, N., Sep 2022, In: Internet Interventions. 29, 11 p., 100544.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Citation (Scopus)
Prizes
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Rehabilitation, Ageing and Independent Living (RAIL) Research Centre Early-Mid Career Researcher Grant
Barclay, Linda (Recipient), Bould, Em (Recipient), Warren, Narelle (Recipient) & Vecchio, A. (Recipient), 1 Jun 2022
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Activities
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Submission to: Inquiry into the Mitochondrial Donation Law Reform (Maeve's Law) Bill 2021
Karinne Ludlow (Fellow), Esther Lestrell (Fellow), Chris Degeling (Fellow), Julian Koplin (Fellow), Catherine Mills (Fellow), Ainsley Newson (Fellow), Liz Sutton (Fellow), Narelle Warren (Fellow) & Robert Sparrow (Fellow)
23 Jul 2021Activity: External Academic Engagement › Submissions to industry or govt committees, commissions and inquiries
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Medical Anthropology (Journal)
Narelle Warren (Guest editor), Dikaios Sakellariou (Guest editor) & Lenore Manderson (Editor in chief)
1 Jan 2020Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work types › Editorial responsibility
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American Anthropologist (Journal)
Emily Metzner (Guest editor) & Narelle Warren (Guest editor)
21 Aug 2018Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work types › Editorial responsibility
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Psychedelic Entanglements
John Gardner (Organiser), Adrian Carter (Organiser), Narelle Warren (Organiser) & Paul Mason (Organiser)
22 Jun 2018Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Contribution to workshop, seminar, course
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Neurosocieties Symposium
Paul Mason (Organiser), Narelle Louise Warren (Organiser), John Grant Gardner (Organiser) & Adrian Nicholas Carter (Organiser)
25 Aug 2017Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Contribution to conference
Press/Media
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Un-neighbourly? Fear of crime among older people points to social isolation
Rebecca Wickes, Barbara Barbosa Neves & Narelle Warren
19/08/21
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Research
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"Ageism is a systemic problem in the Australian community”: COVID-19, the Royal Commission, and the crisis of aged care, ABC Op-ed
Barbara Barbosa Neves & Narelle Warren
3/06/21
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Article/Feature
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How should mitochondrial donation operate in Australia?
Karinne Ludlow, Julian Koplin, Catherine Mills, Narelle Warren, Liz Sutton, Robert Sparrow, Chris Degeling & Ainsley J. Newson
12/04/21
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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“Older Australians are never disposable — not even during a pandemic“, ABC Op-ed
Barbara Barbosa Neves & Narelle Warren
29/08/20
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Article/Feature
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How can we mobilise general publics to impact COVID-19?
Mark Davis, Narelle Warren & Andrea Whittaker
12/05/20
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment