Vagner Dos Santos

Vagner Dos Santos serves as Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy at Charles Sturt University's School of Allied Health, Exercise and Sports Sciences in Port Macquarie, Australia, having joined in 2019 after seven years as Assistant Professor at Universidade de Brasília, Brazil.

His educational credentials include:

• Bachelor of Applied Science in Occupational Therapy
• Residency in Mental Health
• Double Master's in Dynamics of Health and Welfare (Linköpings Universitet, Sweden & Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain)
• PhD in Health Sciences (Universidade de Brasília, Brazil)

Dr. Dos Santos' research centers on mental health epidemiology, policy analysis, and critical/southern perspectives in rehabilitation. His work examines systemic factors affecting mental health outcomes across individual and community levels while advocating for socially transformative occupational therapy practices that challenge neoliberal frameworks.

His recent publications (2022-2025) reveal concentrated focus on rural/non-urban occupational therapy services, parent-mediated interventions for neurodevelopmental disorders, and political dimensions of the profession. Cross-cutting themes include occupational justice, decolonial approaches to care, and community-led rehabilitation models addressing geographic and socioeconomic disparities.

Key recognitions include:

• Brazilian Ministry of Health award for drug policy research
• Ford Foundation International Fellowships
• European Union and Methodist University scholarships

Dr. Dos Santos actively shapes academic discourse through grant reviews for the UK Medical Research Council and Brazilian Distrito Federal research fund, alongside editorial roles at the Brazilian Journal of Occupational Therapy. His visiting scholar appointments at Harvard Medical School, Jönköping University, and other institutions demonstrate international scholarly engagement in rehabilitation science.