Staff profile

Dr Mandy Ruddock-Hudson

Lecturer

Faculty of Health Sciences

School of Public Health and Human Biosciences
Department of Public Health

HS1-124, Melbourne (Bundoora)

 

Qualifications

PhD – La Trobe, BHSc (Hons) La Trobe, Cert IV Training & Assessment, Dip HSc (Massage)

Membership of professional Associations

Sports Medicine Australia

Area of study

Public Health

Brief Profile

Mandy's academic training has focused on the area of Public Health and Health Psychology. Mandy has a wide range of interests and is most passionate about the physical and psychological rehabilitation following injury. This is reflected in her research which focused on the psychosocial aspects of athletic rehabilitation with professional AFL players. Mandy has a particular interest in the development of effective interventions for successful rehabilitation following injury. This intervention targets psychosocial factors, mood disturbances, and social support. Other areas of interest relate to health, physical activity and alternate therapies.

Research specialisation

- Rehabilitation

Teaching Units

Mandy teaches in the Rehabilitation Counselling Major in the Bachelor of Health Science. Mandy is the subject coordinator for Rehabilitation Case Management and assistant coordinator for Sport and Exercise Psychology. Mandy also teaches in subjects related to health and human behaviour, health and well-being, mental health and research methods.

Consulting

Mandy is a consultant for the AFL Coaches Assocation working in the area of welfare and personal development

Recent Publications

Conference papers:

Ruddock, M. L., & O’Halloran, P. (October, 2008). Reactions to long-term injury in the AFL: The experiences of professional Football League players, professional Coaches and Medical Staff. Paper presented at the Third Australasian Football Conference, Melbourne, Australia.

Ruddock, M. L., & O’Halloran, P. (October, 2007). The psychological impact of long-term injury in professional AFL footballers. Paper presented at the Fifth National Sports Injury Prevention Conference, Adelaide, Australia.

Ruddock, M. L., & O’Halloran, P., & Murphy, G. (April, 2005). The psychological impact of injury in the Australian Football League. Paper presented at the Australian Association for Cognitive and Behavior Therapy 28th National Conference, Melbourne, Australia.

Ruddock, M. L., & O’Halloran, P. (December, 2003). Chronic musculoskeletal injuries in Professional Footballers: Management and rehabilitation issues. Paper presented at the Interventions for Chronic Musculoskeletal Disorders, Melbourne, Australia.

Research Impact & Industry Engagement

Ruddock-Hudson, M., O'Halloran, P., & Murphy, G. (2012). Exploring Psychological Reactions to Injury in the Australian Football League (AFL). Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 24, 375-390.

Ruddock, M. (2011). The Psychosocial Reactions to Injury. Coaching Edge Magazine. Australia

The Age (22nd April 2011). Burnout: AFL on a mission to protect coaches' health. Melbourne, Australia.

Research projects

Mandy's PhD examined the "Psychosocial reactions to injury: The experiences of Professional Australian Football League Players". This research examined the potential contributions and the factors that may assist AFL players' return to competition in a state of psychological health, as well as physical well-being following injury. The implications drawn from the findings can be applied to sport practitioners, medical personnel, coaching staff and AFL players in order to facilitate the rehabilitation and recovery from injury.

The AFL Coaching Lifestyle: Improving life satisfaction, health and well being. This project was funded by the AFL Research Board and examines the impact of the coaching role and how to maximise the life satisfaction and general health and well-being of AFL Coaches