Associate Professor Kate Gunn

Associate Professor Kate Gunn is an Enterprise Fellow (Rural Health), in Allied Health and Human Performance at the University of South Australia and a Co-Director of the IIMPACT in Health research concentration. She leads a team who carry out psychology, behavioral science and public health-focused research on rural health, farmers' mental health, psycho-oncology and suicide prevention-related issues. Kate brings to this role experience from working as a Clinical Psychologist, as well as from growing up on a farm near Streaky Bay.

Kate enjoys the process of combining evidence-based strategies with rural people’s beliefs and preferences, so that new strategies are likely to work, be meaningful and be adopted in the real world. Her research has resulted in improved scientific understanding of the health and mental health needs of rural communities, and in the delivery of previously unavailable, co-desiged educational and supportive care resources. For example, Rural Cancer Stories is a YouTube channel that features the stories of country cancer patients, survivors and their carers. It is designed to provide online peer support and evidence-based advice to rural Australians who can’t access a face-to-face cancer support group, and/or who feel generic supportive care materials don’t fully recognize the unique challenges rural people face. To learn more visit www.bit.ly/ruralcancerstories 

Kate is also the founder of www.ifarmwell.com.au which is an online, farmer and ACT-informed intervention, designed to help Australian farmers better cope with things beyond their control (e.g. the weather). She has recently led work focused on assisting fire-affected farmers with their psychological recovery, and the Vocal Locals social network campaign, which successfully opened up conversations about mental health and increased engagment in wellbeing-promoting activities in the Loxton region. To learn more visit  https://www.facebook.com/VocalLocalsIFW

The impact of Kate's work has been recognized through the receipt of various awards, for example the Premier's/ Channel 9 Young Achiever of the Year Award (2013), the Leslie (Les) J. Fleming Churchill Fellowship to investigate sustainable methods of improving the health and well-being of rural cancer survivors (2018), a Tall Poppy Science Excellence Award (2017), the Rural, Regional and Remote Winnovation Award (2017), a commendation in the national Bupa Health Foundation Emerging Health Researcher of the Year Awards (2018), the national Farmer of the Year Award for Excellence in Agricultural Research (2022) and the National LiFE Award for Innovation from Suicide Prevention Australia (2022). She has recently completed the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation Program (C28), thanks to a generous scholarship from Prime Super.

Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (Member)

International Psycho-Oncology Society (Early Career Member)

International Society of Behavioral Medicine (Member)

International Society of Critical Health Psychology (Member)

Australian Psychological Society (APS) (Member)

  o   APS’s Rural and Remote Psychology Interest Group      o   APS’s Psychologists in Oncology Interest Group

Clinical Oncological Society of Australia (COSA) (Non Medical Member)

  o   COSA’s Regional and Rural Oncology Interest Group

Psycho-Oncology Cooperative Research Group (SA branch)

Australasian Society for Behavioural Health and Medicine (Member)

Future Health Leaders Australia

Association for Contextual Behavioural Science (Member)

National Rural Health Alliance (Friend)

Golden Key International Honour Society (Member)

Qualifications

• Doctor of Philosophy University of Adelaide

• Master of Psychology (Clinical) University of Adelaide

• Honours Degree Bachelor of Psychology University of Adelaide