Robyn Preston

Robyn Preston is a researcher and academic at the School of Medicine, James Cook University (JCU). Her work focuses on social accountability in healthcare, medical education, and addressing health inequities for marginalized populations such as Indigenous Australians, refugees, and those in rural/remote settings. She holds a PhD from JCU (2014) and has contributed to frameworks for evaluating health professional education programs.

Research Interests: Dr. Preston’s research spans public health policy, community engagement, and healthcare access. She explores how structural barriers (e.g., geography, culture, policy) affect health outcomes, particularly for Indigenous communities and refugees. Her work emphasizes participatory methods and translational research to improve health equity.

Key Contributions: Dr. Preston co-developed the Training for Health Equity Network (THEnet) Evaluation Framework, a tool to assess social accountability in health education programs. She has published extensively on topics like teleradiology models for rural cancer care, pharmacist integration in primary healthcare teams, and refugee healthcare perceptions.

Grants & Collaborations: She collaborates with institutions like the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services and has contributed to projects funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). Her work bridges academia and practice, aiming to translate research into actionable policies.

Labs/Teams: Affiliated with JCU’s School of Medicine and the Tropical Health and Education Trust (THET) network. She is part of interdisciplinary teams addressing global health challenges in Oceania and Australia.