Research output per year
Research output per year
Personal profile
Research Biography
Alexandra Manson is a Postdoctoral Research Associate and dietitian in the Caring Futures Institute. Alexandra's research has a focus on improving children and families health behaviours, specifically looking at food consumed and provided within school.
Alexandra is an Accredited Practising Dietitian with experience in public health nutrition. Her PhD research explored perceptions of the current school food system and the features that influence parental acceptability of a potential school-provided meal system in Australia. Ongoing work strives to support community-led approaches to school food and explore potential systems approaches to achieve health equity.
She is supported by a South Australian Heart Foundation Kickstart Research Fellowship. Her fellowship strives to co-design an evidence-informed support toolkit for interested schools to feasibly implement a school-provided meal model, aiming to increase equity, health, education, and improve lifelong food behaviours.
Research interests include supporting children and families, and school food.
Research Interests
- Children and families
- School food
- Food insecurity
Career Highlights
Research dissemination and Media
The Conversation: How much would you pay for school to provide your child with lunch every day?
Nutritious school-provided lunches top of the menu for Australian parents - Flinders University News
Experts share tips on making the most of your dollar this back to school season - 7 News Australia
Unpacking school lunchbox costs - Flinders University News
Parents back introduction of school meals in Australia - Flinders University News
Fresh push for cafeteria-style lunches to be on offer at Adelaide schools - 7 News Adelaide
Funding support
Heart Foundation Kickstart Research Fellowship (2025-27)
King and Amy O'Malley Trust Home Economics Postgraduate Scholarship (2022-25)
Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship (2022-25)
Awards
CNHS VPED Early Career Researcher Award (2025)
Healthy Development Adelaide Travel Grant (2025)
Best HDR Publication, Flinders University College of Nursing and Health Sciences (2024)
Flinders University High Degree by Research International Field Trip Award (2023)
International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity Children and Families Special Interest Group Travel Award (2023)
Team Members
Research Expertise
Alexandra has expertise in quantitative research methods, particuarly secondary analysis using inferential statistics.
Education/Academic qualification
Bachelor (Honours), Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics (First class honours), Flinders University
2017 → 2020
Supervision
- Registered
Research Areas
- Public health
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 2 Zero Hunger -
SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being -
SDG 4 Quality Education -
SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
Fingerprint
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or
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Unpacking the cost of the lunchbox for Australian families: a secondary analysis
Manson, A. C., Johnson, B. J., Wolfenden, L., Sutherland, R. & Golley, R. K., Feb 2024, In: Health promotion international. 39, 1, 11 p., daad194.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile13 Citations (Scopus)144 Downloads (Pure) -
The food and nutrient intake of 5 to 12 year old Australian children during school hours: a secondary analysis of the 2011-2012 National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey
Manson, A. C., Johnson, B. J., Zarnowiecki, D., Sutherland, R. & Golley, R. K., 8 Dec 2021, In: Public Health Nutrition. 24, 18, p. 5985-5994 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile34 Citations (Scopus)118 Downloads (Pure) -
Do we need school meals in Australia? A discussion paper
Manson, A. C., Johnson, B. J., Smith, K., Dunbabin, J., Leahy, D., Graham, A., Gallegos, D. & Golley, R., Sept 2022, Bedford Park: Flinders University, 25 p.Research output: Working paper/Preprint › Discussion paper
Open AccessFile4835 Downloads (Pure) -
Exploring Australian parent preferences for a school-provided meal offering using a discrete choice experiment
Manson, A. C., Golley, R. K., Brown, V., McCann, D. & Johnson, B. J., 1 Feb 2026, In: Appetite. 217, 8 p., 108335.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile3 Downloads (Pure) -
Global parent perspectives on school food service internationally: A mixed papers narrative review
Manson, A. C., Golley, R. K. & Johnson, B. J., Feb 2026, In: Nutrition and Dietetics. 83, 1, p. 145-160 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
Open AccessFile6 Citations (Scopus)99 Downloads (Pure)
Projects
- 2 Active
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Thinking Outside The Lunchbox: Societal value of school meals in Ausstralia
Golley, R. (Chief Investigator (Project Lead)), Johnson, B. J. (Chief Investigator), Bogomolova, S. (Chief Investigator), Brown, V. (Chief Investigator), Cleland, V. (Chief Investigator), Ahmed, M. (Associate Investigator), Baines, E. (Associate Investigator), Middleton, G. (Associate Investigator), Smith, K. (Associate Investigator), Jose, K. (Associate Investigator), Pettman, T. (Associate Investigator) & Manson, A. (Associate Investigator)
1/01/26 → 28/12/29
Project: Research
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Establishing an implementation toolkit for school food provision in Australia
Manson, A. (Chief Investigator (Project Lead))
1/07/25 → 30/06/27
Project: Research
Prizes
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College of Nursing and Health Sciences VPED Early Career Researcher Award
Manson, A. (Recipient), 2025
Prize: Honorary award
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Flinders University HDR Student Research Impact Prize
Manson, A. (Recipient), 2026
Prize: Honorary award
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Flinders University Student Association Professional Development Grant
Manson, A. (Recipient), 2023
Prize
Activities
- 1 Invited talk
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Home Economics Institute of Australia Keynote Address
Manson, A. (Speaker)
2022Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk