Natalie holds a degree in Applied Sciences from The University of Sydney. She has worked simultaneously in primary health care as a speech pathologist and as a research assistant trialing new interventions to improve children’s speech and language development. Prior to working at CHETRE she was involved in longitudinal studies of young people with hearing loss.

Natalie has experience in Data Collection and Analysis. Her research interests are in health equity, culturally and linguistically diverse populations, social determinants of health, and consumer and community involvement.

What sparked your interest in health equity?
I had an intuitive understanding of the link between health, environment and education from early on, reflecting on my experiences growing up in South-Western Sydney. After becoming a health professional, I worked in areas of socio-economic disadvantage and with vulnerable groups. I encountered some worrying differences between how the ‘best’ and commonly prescribed forms of treatment can be extremely impractical to achieve in these contexts.

I learned about the social determinants of health and found that there was a name to the issues that were bothering me: health inequity.

 My role here at CHETRE is a meaningful way to integrate my observations as a primary health care professional with my involvement in research. Health equity brings work in line with my personal experiences and fuels a passion in working toward equitable outcomes for the community.