Dr Natasha Davidson
Research Fellow/Clinician, Global and Women’s Health, Monash University
Project title: Embedding equity in sexual and reproductive health clinical practice guidelines.
Dr Natasha Davidson is a recipient of a Monash Partners Strategic Translation and Research (STAR) Clinician Fellowship. The program invests in emerging and mid-career clinical academics to support their career pathway development and train the next generation of researchers. Monash Partners spoke to Natasha upon accepting this Fellowship.
What is your career background and research history?
I have a background in epidemiology, tropical medicine and humanitarian health, with more than two decades of experience in public health, health service delivery and health research. Early in my career I worked in humanitarian settings in Tanzania following the Rwandan conflict, in Burma monitoring the health of displaced populations, and in Banda Aceh, Indonesia following the Boxing Day Tsunami, for which I was awarded the Overseas Humanitarian Service Medal.
These experiences shaped my commitment to improving health equity for vulnerable populations. More recently, my research has focused on women’s sexual and reproductive health, refugee and migrant health, disease prevention and equitable access to healthcare. My PhD explored barriers and enablers to accessing preventive sexual and reproductive healthcare for women from refugee-like backgrounds in Australia. I am now building on this work by examining how health systems and clinical practice guidelines can better address the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
How did you become interested in sexual and reproductive health research?
Throughout my career I have worked with communities experiencing significant barriers to healthcare, both internationally and in Australia. These experiences highlighted that improving health outcomes requires more than generating evidence, it requires ensuring that evidence is translated into practice in ways that are equitable, culturally responsive and sustainable.
My interest in implementation science developed from recognising that many evidence-based interventions fail to reach the people who would benefit most. The STAR Fellowship provides an opportunity to strengthen my skills in translating research into practice and ensuring that health services and clinical guidelines better meet the needs of diverse populations.
Tell us about your research study. What issue will it aim to address?
My fellowship project aims to improve equity within Australian sexual and reproductive health clinical practice guidelines by embedding practical, evidence-informed recommendations that better support culturally and linguistically diverse women, including women from refugee backgrounds.
Although health equity is recognised as an important principle, it is often addressed inconsistently or superficially within clinical guidelines. This can contribute to variations in care and ongoing inequities in health outcomes. Working collaboratively with clinicians, researchers and community partners, my project will develop a practical framework to support the systematic integration of equity considerations into guideline development, with a focus on implementation within primary care.
What are you hoping to achieve with your research?
I hope to develop practical approaches that enable clinical practice guidelines to move beyond acknowledging health inequities to actively supporting equitable healthcare delivery.
A key aim of my research is to work collaboratively with community organisations, healthcare professionals and guideline developers to co-design a practical implementation framework that embeds equity into routine clinical practice. By partnering with organisations such as Cabrini Health, the Salvation Army, Victorian Arabic Social Services and Wyndham Community and Education Centre, the research will ensure that recommendations are culturally relevant, reflect the lived experiences of culturally and linguistically diverse women, and address the social, cultural and systemic barriers that influence access to care.
The framework will include practical implementation resources, such as decision-support tools for clinicians, guidance on culturally safe communication, interpreter use, referral pathways and culturally appropriate patient education. By engaging health professionals throughout the co-design process, I aim to develop resources that are feasible, acceptable and readily integrated into primary care workflows. Ultimately, I hope this research will improve access to preventive sexual and reproductive healthcare for culturally and linguistically diverse women while providing a model for embedding equity into clinical practice guidelines across other areas of healthcare.
Why did you apply for a Monash Partners STAR Clinician Fellowship?
The STAR Fellowship represents a unique opportunity to develop expertise in implementation science while working alongside leading researchers and implementation specialists across Monash Partners.
My project sits at the intersection of evidence generation, guideline development and implementation. The fellowship will provide the mentorship, networks and training needed to strengthen the translation of my research into real-world improvements in healthcare delivery and policy.
Why is support for emerging and mid-career clinical academics crucial?
Emerging and mid-career researchers play an important role in translating research into improvements in healthcare. However, this stage of a research career can be challenging, with increasing expectations to develop research leadership, establish collaborations, secure competitive funding and demonstrate research impact.
Targeted support through programs such as the STAR Fellowship provides protected time, mentorship and opportunities to develop specialised skills that enable researchers to build sustainable research careers while accelerating the translation of evidence into practice.
What is the significance of receiving the Star Clinician Fellowship for your career and research?
Receiving the STAR Fellowship is an important milestone in my research career. It provides the opportunity to develop advanced implementation science expertise while expanding collaborations across Monash Partners and the broader healthcare sector.
The fellowship will strengthen my ability to design, evaluate and implement research that leads to meaningful improvements in health equity and clinical practice guidelines. It also positions me to develop future investigator-led implementation research and build a program of work focused on improving equitable healthcare for culturally and linguistically diverse populations.
What are your future aspirations for your research/career?
My long-term goal is to establish an internationally recognised research program focused on implementation science and health equity in clinical practice, with a particular emphasis on improving healthcare for culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
I hope to lead multidisciplinary research that informs policy, improves clinical practice and strengthens health systems. Ultimately, I want my research to contribute to reducing avoidable health inequities by ensuring evidence-based care is accessible, culturally responsive and implemented effectively across diverse healthcare settings.
