Dr Rebecca Feo

I completed my PhD in Psychology at the University of Adelaide in 2012. I have worked previously as a Research and Evaluation Officer at a not-for-profit (2012-2015) and as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Adelaide (2015-2018).

As a health services researcher, my research focuses on the ways in which people use and engage with health and social care services and how these services should be delivered to best meet people's health care needs. My main program of research focuses on fundamental nursing care. I lead international research projects designed to generate robust evidence for why the global deficits in fundamental care are occurring and how they can be overcome. I also have research expertise in men's health and help-seeking, and routinely collaborate on research exploring how men seek help for a range of issues, including fathering.

I am a member of the International Learning Collaborative (ILC), a member-based organisation dedicated to elevating the standard of fundamental care globally. Much of my work involves collaborations with ILC members from around the globe.

My research focuses on the ways in which people use and engage with health and social care services, how these services are delivered by professionals, and how they should be delivered to best meet people's health care needs. I am particularly interested in examining the provision of healthcare and advice in situ (i.e., in real-time, in real-life), as well as understanding the perspectives and experiences of people who give and receive health care. I have examined the provision of health care and advice in a range of contexts, including relationship-counselling helplines, health helplines, acute hospital care, and community services.

My main program of research focuses on fundamental nursing care. The aim of this research is to understand why deficits in fundamental care are occurring globally and how these can be overcome. Specific projects include exploring how patients typically experience fundamental care and how care providers typically deliver this care; designing interventions to improve fundamental care delivery, including a project focused specifically on preventing avoidable readmissions; and developing metrics on the nurse-patient relationship, a key driver in the delivery of high-quality fundamental care. These projects will generate clear conceptual understanding and a robust evidence base for fundamental care that can underpin education, policy and practice.

My work in men’s health and help-seeking focuses primarily on understanding how men seek help for health and emotional/personal issues in situ, and whether and how health services are responsive to men’s unique needs. The focus of my research is on breaking down gendered assumptions regarding help-seeking that only serve to limit the types of support services routinely available for men. 

I primarily use qualitative approaches in my research, including Conversation Analysis and Discourse Analysis, as well as interviews and focus groups analysed thematically. I am also experienced in conducting scoping reviews.