Measure of social inclusion wins Kate Filia mental health research award

Measure of social inclusion wins Kate Filia mental health research award

21 November 2019

Orygen Postdoctoral Research Fellow Kate Filia has been awarded the Society for Mental Health Research’s Early-Mid Career Best Research Paper Award for her outstanding work in youth mental health.

The award acknowledges and supports exceptional research in the field of mental health that has the potential for significant academic and public impact.

The award was presented to Dr Filia for her research paper that outlined the development of a novel measure of social inclusion - the Filia Social Inclusion Measure (F-SIM).

“Social inclusion is a concept that is increasingly recognised to have beneficial implications for mental health, quality of life and functioning,” Dr Filia said. “Over time, a lack of appropriate measurement tools has prevented the accurate evaluation of interventions and identification of areas of need and assessment.”

The F-SIM is the first measure designed by including questions relevant to information identified in social inclusion literature, and refined with significant input from people with a lived experience of mental ill-health, Dr Filia said.

“Clinically, the F-SIM will aid in monitoring real-time changes in social inclusion, providing information about clients’ strengths and allowing for more targeted and personalised needs-based care,” Dr Filia said.