Centre for Health Services Research

Miss Anja Christoffersen

Adjunct Associate Fellow
Centre for Health Services Research
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Researcher biography

I am a consumer co-researcher with lived experience of disability, working in the disability advocacy and entrepreneurship space. I have an MBA (Health Services Management & Entrepreneurship), lecture in health services management (KBS) and co-design in health innovation (QUT) and am a social impact founder of disability owned and led ventures including the Women with Disabilities Entrepreneur Network (WDEN), Champion Health Agency, SHH!T Happens and Against the Grain Coffee.

My research aims to elevate the lived experience of health consumers, especially fellow health system 'frequent flyers' - people with chronic illness and disability. Improving how we create consumer researcher career pathways and better partner with the community is of great interest, and improve the holistic experience of people with chronic illness and disability within the healthcare system and beyond. I have engaged as a health consumer and disability advocate on state, national and international stages, committees and projects, and received the QLD Young Achiever of the Year Leadership (2020) and Women in Technology Consumer Strength Champion Award (2023), and health service research and quality improvement excellence awards (2022-3).

Work that I am most proud of includes co-leading the development of a Health Service Co-Design Framework for Metro North Health, freely accessible online - https://metronorth.health.qld.gov.au/get-involved/co-design

I have a special interest in consumer and community involvement in research and co-design, having coordinated consumer engagement for a range of projects and events, facilitated workshops with diverse stakeholders in research institutes and health services, and first hand experience as a co-design participant and consumer representative.

Publications

Book Chapters (2)
Journal Articles (6)
Conference Paper (1)

Book Chapters

Thomson, Shelley, Macpherson, Lyndal, Thomas, Samantha and Christoffersen, Anja (2024). Person-centred ultrasound communication. Person-centred care in radiology: international perspectives on high-quality care. (pp. 313-330) edited by Shayne Chau, Emma Hyde, Karen Knapp and Christopher Hayre. Boca Raton, FL USA: CRC Press. doi: 10.1201/9781003310143-26
Thomson, Shelley, Macpherson, Lyndal, Thomas, Samantha and Christoffersen, Anja (2024). Person-centred ultrasound experiences. Person-centred care in radiology: international perspectives on high-quality care. (pp. 284-312) edited by Shayne Chau, Emma Hyde, Karen Knapp and Christopher Hayre. Boca Raton, FL USA: CRC Press. doi: 10.1201/9781003310143-25

Journal Articles

Reid, Natasha, Young, Adrienne, Baldassar, Loretta, Christoffersen, Anja, Comans, Tracy, Conroy, Simon, Etherton‐Beer, Christopher, Ferris, Jason, Singh, Maria Fiatarone, Fox, Sarah, Gordon, Emily H., Ghosh, Manonita, Guha, Chandana, Hilmer, Sarah, Kouladjian O’Donnell, Lisa, Logan, Benignus, Ludlow, Kristiana, Miller, Michelle, Morgan, Mark, Mudge, Alison, Muscedere, John, Reidlinger, Donna, Rockwood, Kenneth, Saunders, Rosemary, Ward, David, Yates, Paul and Hubbard, Ruth E. (2024). The Australian Frailty Network: Development of a consumer‐focussed national response to frailty. Australasian Journal on Ageing, 43 (4), 852-860. doi: 10.1111/ajag.13365
Young, Adrienne, Christoffersen, Anja and Rockwood, Kenneth (2024). Who is the frail consumer and how do we reach them? Engaging consumers in frailty research. Australasian Journal on Ageing, 43 (2), 231-233. doi: 10.1111/ajag.13342
Dillon, Miriam, Olson, Rebecca E., Plage, Stefanie, Miciak, Maxi, Window, Peter, Stewart, Matthew, Christoffersen, Anja, Kilner, Simon, Barthel, Natalie and Setchell, Jenny (2023). Distress in the care of people with chronic low back pain: insights from an ethnographic study. Frontiers in Sociology, 8 1281912, 1-13. doi: 10.3389/fsoc.2023.1281912
Pateman, Kelsey Ann, Christoffersen, Anja, Hanly-Platz, Aideen, Williams, Cory, Heffernan, Danielle, Alexander, Alison, Ryan, Elizabeth, Petrie, Christine, Banks, Merrilyn and Young, Adrienne (2023). Partnering with consumers to co-design a person-centred coding framework for qualitative patient experience data. Patient Education and Counseling, 116 107938, 1-6. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2023.107938
Jenkinson, Bec, Maxwell, Jo, Bell, Alison, Young, Adrienne, Smith, Anthony C., Christoffersen, Anja, Trevor, Dale, Young, Leonie and Russell, Trevor (2023). Bringing researchers to the consumer table: the process and outcomes of a consumer roundtable on telehealth. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 31 (3), 1357633X231188536-436. doi: 10.1177/1357633x231188536
Meloncelli, Nina J. L., Young, Adrienne, Christoffersen, Anja, Rushton, Alita, Zhelnov, Pavel, Wilkinson, Shelley A., Scott, Anna M. and de Jersey, Susan (2022). Co‐designing nutrition interventions with consumers: a scoping review. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 36 (3), 1045-1067. doi: 10.1111/jhn.13082

Conference Paper

Jenkinson, B, Christoffersen, A, Trevor, D, Anemaat, L, Bell, A and Maxwell, J (2022). Consumer involvement in health and medical research at the University of Queensland: A panel discussion. Health Consumers Queensland Annual Forum, Sunshine Coast, QLD Australia, 13-14 October 2022.