Associate Professor
Helen Vidgen

Biography

Helen's research focuses on the practicalities of meeting nutrition recommendations at individual, settings and systems levels. Her research into Food Literacy is used widely including by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation.

Helen is an Accredited Practising Dietitian with extensive experience in a range of sectors and settings.  Her first nutrition job in 1995 was as the sole clinical dietitian in a rural hospital.  From there she progressed along the continuum of care from clinical roles in a tertiary hospital, community nutrition and executive officer roles at Nutrition Australia and finally into public health as one of the first public health nutritionists in the Queensland State Department of Health.  In her twelve years with the State Health Department she worked in various roles including, Senior Public Health Nutritionist in corporate office and Director of Public Health Nutrition in the Southern Area Health Service.

Helen has a strong interest in food literacy, the social dimensions of food and eating, public health nutrition policy, translation and implementation including planning, evaluation, workforce and capacity.  She was the national co-convenor for the Food and Nutrition Special Interest Group of the Public Health Association of Australia for 5 years and remains on its executive for 7 years.   Current areas of activity include:

• Food Literacy
• Implementation science related to Public Health Nutrition. Key projects include:
  
  
  • The Parenting Eating and Activity for Child Health (PEACH) program: the largest State trial of a healthy lifestyle program for primary school aged children;
  • Positive Impact Telephone Delivered Healthy Lifestyle Program evaluation
  • Development of the evaluation framework for Health For Life
  
  
  
  
• Public Health Nutrition Policy including workforce and implementation. Key projects include:
  
  
  • National Nutrition Policy Joint Statement by Public Health Association of Australia, Dietitians Australia, Nutrition Australia and Heart Foundation
  • Queensland Community and Public Health Nutrition Workforce audit
  • Rapid Review of Regulatory Approaches addressing Childhood Obesity
  
  
  
  

Current Supervision:

Principal supervisor

Kamila Davidson (PhD) "Assessing Children's Weight in Australia: Whose Business is it?" (with Prof Lynne Daniels and Prof Elizabeth Denney-Wilson)

Courtney Thompson (PhD) "The Development, Validation and Assessment of an International Food Literacy Questionnaire" (with Prof Stewart Trost and Dr Jean Adams)

Kate Dunn (PhD) (with Prof Danielle Gallegos)

Associate Supervisor

Yanxia Li (Masters) "The role of food literacy education in transforming food systems through alternative food movements: Comparative case studies in the Asia-Pacific region" (with Assoc Prof Carol Richards)

Helen is a Senior Lecturer in the discipline of Nutrition and Dietetics and Academic Lead Indigenous Health for the School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences.