Advocacy research has a specific purpose and that is to influence the formal and informal policies established by policymakers and others in power.
Advocacy research influences policy through a variety of ways including:
- Filling an evidence gap that specifically addresses your advocacy ask
- Developing evidence to influence policy makers on how to address an issue
- To show there is a need to fund a service or program
- To highlight an issue that has been poorly addressed or ignored within the policy context
Below are some of the students who are being supervised by PHAI, working towards an advocacy related Masters or PhD.


Melinda Edmunds
In 2022, Melinda commenced her Doctor of Philosophy – Public Health (Curtin University) to continue to expand her research skills and contribution to the field. Melinda believes good research involves the community from the beginning and delivers good outcomes for the community. Translating research outcomes into practical, systemic change is critical.
Supervisor: Prof Christina Pollard

Isabelle Chiera
Isabelle is completing her Masters by Research. Her research project is investigating the unique barriers, challenges, enablers and opportunities that government and community food security initiatives in the Great Southern region of Western Australia encounter to service delivery. Additionally, it is exploring how these factors influence whether and how service delivery improvements are made, to address food security issues more effectively.
Supervisor: Dr Mel Stoneham

Liyuwork Dana
Liyuwork has over 10 years of work experience in research and academics in the field of health sciences. She previously worked on various projects at WA Cancer Prevention Research Unit (Curtin University), including public health nutrition, food labelling, and healthy ageing, and led about 20 campaign and program evaluation reports over the last 5 years. Liyuwork has led her research project grant on helping consumers to make healthy food choices (2021-2023). Her PhD focuses on ‘Food Insecurity in Children’ and has been awarded a prestigious Forrest Research Foundation scholarship. Liyuwork currently works on the Act Belong Commit Campaign project at Public Health Advocacy Institute WA (PHAI).
To contact Liyuwork, please email liyuwork.dana@curtin.edu.au
Supervisor: Assoc Prof Christina Pollard
Advocacy articles published by the PHAI team
If you are interested in some of the published articles that describe some of the advocacy projects undertaken by PHAI, here is a list categorised under our priority issues.
Advocacy Training
Filling gaps–a case study in building advocacy capacity in the health promotion workforce published in Global Health Promotion
Planning for the next generation of public health advocates: evaluation of an online advocacy mentoring program published in the Health Promotion Journal of Australia
Industry Tactics
Local government venues’ sponsorship and signage policies to limit the promotion of harmful products: A Western Australian public health audit published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health
Unhealthy sponsorship in sport: a case study of the AFL published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health
“It’s just everywhere!” Children and parents discuss the marketing of sports wagering in Australia published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health
The volume and type of unhealthy bus shelter advertising around schools in Perth, Western Australia: results from an explorative study published in the Health Promotion Journal of Australia
Food Security
The illusion of choice: an exploratory study looking at the top 10 food companies in Australia and their brand connections published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health
Evidence for initiating food safety policy: An assessment of the quality and safety of donated food at an Australian food bank published in Food Policy
Food security definition, measures and advocacy priorities in high-income countries: a Delphi consensus study published in Public Health Nutrition
South West Food Community: A Place-Based Pilot Study to Understand the Food Security System published in Nutrients
Increasing fruit and vegetable consumption: success of the Western Australian Go for 2&5® campaign published in Public Health Nutrition
Ultra-processed family foods in Australia: nutrition claims, health claims and marketing techniques published in Public Health Nutrition
Protocol for the Development of a Food Stress Index to Identify Households Most at Risk of Food Insecurity in Western Australia published in Environmental Research and Public Health
The Nutritional Quality of Kids’ Menus from Cafés and Restaurants: An Australian Cross-Sectional Study published in Nutrients
Global supermarkets’ corporate social responsibility commitments to public health: a content analysis published in Globalization and Health
Initiatives and partnerships in an Australian metropolitan obesity prevention system: a social network analysis published in BMC Public Health
Government and foodbank food security policy governance: Australians and United States COVID-19 responses published in Handbook of Food Security and Society
Food and nutrition standards to address food insecurity published in Handbook of Food Security and Society
Perspectives of food insecurity and service delivery amongst emergency food relief clients in a regional city in Victoria, Australia published in Health & Social Care in the Community
Public Health Planning
An exploratory study identifying where local government public health decision makers source their evidence for policy published in the Health Promotion Journal of Australia
Public Health Planning: A guide to developing a local government Public Health Plan
First Nation People’s Health
The Western Australian Indigenous Storybook Spins Special Yarns – A book chapter published in Arts and Health Promotion
The Portrayal of Indigenous Health in Selected Australian Media published in the International Indigenous Policy Journal
Understanding food security issues in remote Western Australian Indigenous communities published in the Health Promotion Journal of Australia
Benchmarking for healthy food stores: protocol for a randomised controlled trial with remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Australia to enhance adoption of health-enabling store policy and practice published in BMC Public Health
More than words – ANZJPH declares an urgent call for manuscripts that address Indigenous health published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health
Child Health
Local governments’ decade of organisational change to promote child health and wellbeing: a Western Australian qualitative study, published in Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health
Young people’s alcohol use in and around water: A scoping review of the literature published in Drug and Alcohol Review
General Advocacy
Enable, mediate … but don’t advocate! Published in Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health
Changing the knowledge translation landscape through blogging published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health
Timely and significant call for planetary health promotion published in Global Health Promotion
Policy, legislation and environmental change – a book chapter in Health Promotion in the 21st Century