Celebrating 20 years in 2024! HDA Scholars – Where are they now?
Dr Stefania Velardo, 2012 3rd cohort
Stefania is a Senior Lecturer in Health Education in the College of Education, Psychology & Social Work at Flinders University. She recently completed a secondment as a Senior Project and Policy Officer with SACOSS (South Australian Council of Social Service), the peak non-government representative body for health and community services in South Australia, that seeks to improve the quality of life of people disadvantaged by the inequalities of our society.
Stefania’s PhD project focused on understanding preadolescent food literacy in low socioeconomic communities, and was mentored by supervisors Professor Murray Drummond, Dr Claire Drummond, and Dr Kate Ridley, Flinders University.
While completing her PhD, Stefania presented her research at national and international conferences, including the International Union for Health Promotion & Education (IUHPE) World Conference on Health Promotion in 2013. At this conference she connected with like-minded international colleagues, and she became an active member of the IUHPE Global Working Group on Health Literacy, who collaboratively published the IUHPE Position Statement on Health Literacy in 2018. The support of Healthy Development Adelaide and the Channel 7 Children’s Research Foundation also provided Stefania with the opportunity to undertake a health promotion placement with the Obesity Prevention and Lifestyle (OPAL) program which was implemented in South Australia between 2009 and 2017.
Upon completing her PhD, Stefania had the opportunity to embark on an academic career with Flinders University and progress her work to address issues surrounding food-related inequities. She maintains a strong interest in the health and wellbeing of children, and her research bridges multiple disciplines to investigate sociocultural influences on young people’s relationships with food, including the broader social determinants of health. Stefania has also had the opportunity to work in the non-government sector to conduct applied research and policy analysis to improve the lives of marginalised and disadvantaged South Australians.
We thank the Channel 7 Children's Research Foundation for their financial support for the Scholars program and the PhD Excellence Awards.