Professor Merilyn Annells
Professor of Community Nursing
Room 306, George Singer Building,
Bundoora Campus
Phone: +61 3 9479 5956
Fax: +61 3 9479 5225
Email: m.annells@latrobe.edu.au
Qualifications
RN, Dip App Sc (Nsg), BN (Education), MNS, PhD
Background
After graduation in 1970 as a registered nurse from Repatriation General Hospital, Daw Park, South Australia, Professor Annells practiced extensively in the areas of coronary care nursing, critical care nursing, gerontic nursing, surgical nursing and community nursing (as a 'practice nurse'). In 1987, she commenced teaching nursing as a nurse educator at Royal Adelaide Hospital, South Australia before moving into the tertiary education sector as a lecturer at the South Australian College of Advanced Education, Salisbury Campus. In this role, she was course coordinator of the undergraduate diploma and degrees in nursing. Her interest in nursing research developed at this time and she was later promoted on merit to the position of Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Nursing of the newly formed University of South Australia.
In the late 1990s, Professor Annells moved from academia to establish a research consultancy business, in which capacity she mostly engaged in community nursing research - especially projects for Royal District Nursing Service South Australia Inc. Simultaneously, in a voluntary capacity, Professor Annells assisted in the introduction and facilitation of a new nursing specialty to Australia and New Zealand - 'faith community nursing'.
In June 2002, Professor Annells was appointed to the foundational role of Professor of Community Nursing within the Faculty of Health Sciences at La Trobe University. As a research methodologist, she has a general interest in qualitative research methods and a particular interest in the application of grounded theory method to nursing inquiry.
Areas of Teaching
- Community Nursing - Undergraduate
- Research Methods (NB qualitative methods) and Processes - Postgraduate
- Research Methodology (NB qualitative methods) - Postgraduate
- Supervision of Research Students (Hons, Masters, DN & PhD) - Postgraduate
Research
Areas of Interest
- Gaps in evidence-based community nursing
- Health of veterans and veterans issues
- Depression amongst community-dwelling older people
- Quality of life (older people)
- Positive ageing
- Flatology and bowel health
Recent Research
2007
- The development of a best practice mental health pathway for community nursing care of veterans and war widow(s) Annells, M., Allan, J., Lang, L, Clark, E., Petrie, E., Robins, A. & Nunn, R.
- Efficacious community nursing actions for mental disorders amongst older people: A systematic review Thompson, P., Lang, L. & Annells, M.
2006
- Search for the Silver Lining: Advancing best practice in leg ulcer management Gliddon, T., Lewin, G., Carville, K., Annells, M. & Santamaria, N.
- Component Part: Enablers and Constraints for Compression Bandaging with Venous Leg Ulcer Care: Community Nurses' Perspectives (Annells, M., O'Neill, J. & Flowers, C.)
2005
- An exploration of discharge planning research issues of relevance to district nursing. Annells, M., Gliddon, T. & Hughes. H.
- Screening older RDNS clients for depression. Nunn, R., Annells, M & Sims, J.
- RDNS staff perceptions and needs regarding RDNS Helen Macpherson Smith Institute of Community Health. RDNS Institute Staff (Including M. Annells)
- Now & In Time to Come: Identifying, Describing and exploring the issues facing parents of adult people living with Down Syndrome.Annells, M., Ray, R. & Jeggo, T.
- Improving consumer and health professional access to comprehensive, accessible, user-friendly evidence-based online information about palliative care. Street, A., Swift, K., Annells. M., Gliddon. T. et al
- RDNS staff perceptions and needs regarding RDNS Helen Macpherson Smith Institute of Community Health. RDNS Institute Staff (Including M. Annells).
- Priorities for District Nursing Research According to a Panel of District Nurses Annells, M., DeRoche, M., Koch, T., Lewin, G. & Lucke, J.
- Development of a relevant health promoting education program for middle aged people of Changchih Township, Ping-Tung County, Taiwan. 2006
- Tense Partnership Trajectory: Interaction of puissant renal dialysis machine and person receiving home dialysis. 2006
- Quality of life for frail older people living in Taichung, Taiwan. 2007
- Factors associated with body weight in adolescence within the urban context of Lampang, Thailand. 2010
- An exploration of place, space and chronic illness. Ongoing
- The role of the emergency nurse practitioner post-endorsement in Victoria. Ongoing
- The meaning of childbearing for Taiwanese women. Ongoing
- The experience of the older person in the day surgery setting. 2009
- District nursing in Victoria 2008
- At home with a pressure ulcer: A phenomenology of the experience of living in the community with a pressure ulcer. 2006
- The potential for nurses to help persons with chronic myofascial pain and fibromyalgia. 2009
- Effectiveness of clinical handover from a post anaesthetic care unit (PACU) to a surgical unit. 2009
- A collective case study of venous leg ulcer community nursing care: Personal and monetary costs. 2005
- Identifying, describing and exploring the health issues of widow(er)s of Vietnam Veterans. 2009
- Partners of Vietnam Veterans: Identifying their holistic health issues. 2009
- Professor of Community Nursing
- Chairperson – Clinical Titles Committee
- Mentor of Co-ordinator of Masters of Nursing (Research Methods)
- Journal of Advanced Nursing
- Journal of Clinical Nursing Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences
- International Journal of Evidence-Based Healthcare
- International Journal of Nursing Practice
- International Journal of Qualitative Methods
- Western Journal of Nursing Research
- International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders
- Complementary Therapies in Medicine
- Australasian Journal of Ageing
- Australian Health Review
- Australian Journal of Primary Health
- Nursing Inquiry
- Luther College, North Adelaide, South Australia
- Tabor College, Adelaide, South Australia
- NHMRC Project Grants
- Johnson & Johnson Victorian Peri-operative Nurses Group Scholarship
- NHMRC Project Grant
- Faculty of Health Sciences Research Grants
- 2 Book Proposals for Blackwell Publishing (Oxford)
- Community Nursing Text manuscript for Blackwell Publishing (Oxford)
- Book Proposal for Blackwell Publishing (Oxford)
- Nurses Board of Victoria Research Funding Applications
- NHMRC Project Grants
- Diamond Consortium – Seed Funding Grant
- Nurses Board of Victoria Research Funding Applications
- Rural Men’s Health Nurse Practitioner Project Clinical Practice Guidelines, Bendigo Community Health Services
- Monash University
- Griffiths University
- Flinders University
- Murdoch University
- Deakin University
- Member, Scientific Committee, 4th International Conference on Community Health Care Nursing (2009)
- Assistant Editor, Journal of Clinical Nursing, Blackwell Publishing (London) (2003-06).
- Nurses and Midwifery Board of NSW – Invited chairperson of panels to assess applicants in NSW for authorisation as nurse practitioners in fields of community nursing.
- ARC Research Network in Ageing Well
- Royal College of Nursing Australia - Interest Groups/Networks – Research, Community Health, Practice Nursing.
- Association for Qualitative Research
- Australian Faith Community Nurses Association
- Australian Practice Nurses Association
2004
Past Research
2003 - 2006
2004
2002 - 2003
Supervision of Higher Degree Students
PhD Research Theses
DN Research Theses
Masters Research Theses
Honours Research Theses
Responsibilities within the Division
Selected Publications
Book Chapters
Annells M (2008) Changing Focus of research informing community nursing, Ch.17 in Kralik D & van Loon A (Eds) Community Nursing in Australia: Context, issues and applications, Blackwell Science, Melbourne. 256-275.
Annells M & Whitehead D (2007) Analysing data in qualitative research, Ch 9 in Schneider Z, Whitehead D, Elliott, D (Eds) Nursing & Midwifery Research: Methods and appraisal for evidence-based practice, 3rd Edn, Mosby-Elsevier: Sydney. 138-155.
Whitehead D & Annells M (2007) Sampling and Collecting Data in Qualitative Research, Ch. 8 in Schneider Z, Elliott D, & Whitehead D (Eds) Nursing & Midwifery Research: Methods and appraisal for evidence-based practice, 3rd Edn, Mosby-Elsevier: Sydney. 122-137.
Annells M (2003) Grounded Theory Method, Ch. 11 in Schneider Z, Elliott D, LoBiondo-Wood G & Haber J (Eds) Nursing Research: Methods, Critical Appraisal and Utilisation (2nd Australasian Edition), Harcourt Australia, Melbourne. 163-178.
Journal Articles
Allen J & Annells M (2009) Application of the Geriatric Depression Scale, Depression Anxiety Stress Scales, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist to community nursing cohorts: a literature review. Journal of Clinical Nursing 18, 949-959.
Thompson P, Lang L & Annells M (2008) A systematic review of the effectiveness of in-home community nurse led interventions for the mental health of older persons Journal of Clinical Nursing, 17:11, 1419-1427.
Annells M, O’Neill J & Flowers C (2008) Compression bandaging for venous leg ulcers: the essentialness of a willing patient. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 17:3, 350-359.
Annells M (2008) Commentary on Donnelly F & Wiechula R (2008) The lived experience of a tracheostomy tube change: a phenomenological study. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 17:9, 1249-1251.
Annells M (2007) Where does practice nursing fit in primary health care? Contemporary Nurse, 26:1, 15-26.
Street M, Swift K, Annells M, Woodruff R, Gliddon T & Goetz O (2007) Developing a web-based information resource for palliative care: An action-research inspired approach. BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making, 7:26, 1-13.Nunn R, Annells M & Sims J (2007) Screening for depression in older district nursing clients: a feasibility study. British Journal of Community Nursing, 12:3, 108-114.
Su C-Y, Annells M & Wood B (2007) Health-promoting education needs of middle-aged person in a rural community in Taiwan. International Journal of Nursing Practice. 13:1, 52-60.
Annells M (2007) What's common with qualitative nursing research these days? Journal of Clinical Nursing, 16:2, 223-428.
Annells M (2007) A Grounded Theory: Seeking relief from flatus as relevant client-nurse action and interaction. Gastroenterology Nursing, 30:4, 269-276.
Annells M (2006) Impact of flatus incontinence on people with a bowel ostomy: a hermeneutic phenomenology. Journal of Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nursing, 33:5, 518-524.
Annells M (2006) Triangulation of qualitative approaches: Hermeneutical phenomenology and grounded theory. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 56:1, 55-61.
Annells M (2006) Commentary on Donnelly F & Wiechula R The lived experience of a tracheostomy tube change: a phenomenological study. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 15:9, 1115-1122.
Watson R, Annells M, Amella E & Wong T (2006) What makes a JCN paper international? Journal of Clinical Nursing, 16:2, 1-2.
Annells M (2005) A qualitative quandary: Alternative representations and meta-synthesis. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 14, 535-536.
Annells M, De Roche, M, Koch T, Lewin G & Lucke J (2005) A Delphi Study of District Nursing Research Priorities in Australia. Applied Nursing Research, 18:1, 36-43.
Annells M (2004) District Nursing in Australia. Applied Nursing Research, 17:4, 301-304.
Annells M (2004) Discharge from hospital: Crocodile infested water. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 13:5, 537-538.
Annells M (2004) Community Nurse Reloaded. ACCNS Journal, 9:3, 13-14.
Annells M (2004) Eliminating head lice: Itching to do the research. Journal of Clinical Nursing
Conferences
2009
Invited key-note address at the international conference Community Orientated Health Care, Central Taiwan University of Science & Technology, Taichung, Taiwan - Can health care actually be community orientated? 21 March 2009
Invited research address at the international conference Community Orientated Health Care, Central Taiwan University of Science & Technology, Taichung, Taiwan - An example of translational, community-orientated nursing research. 21 March 2009
Invited key-note address at the 4th international conference on community health nursing research, Health in Transition: Researching for the future, Adelaide - Also in transition: Community health nursing research in the era of translational research 19 August 2009.
Invited seminar address at Central Taiwan University of Science & Technology, Taichung, Taiwan - on Trends in Community Health Care Qualitative Research. 22 March 2009.
Invited seminar address at Tajen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan – on Community Orientated Health Care and Research. 24 March 2009.
Invited seminar address at RDNS Helen Macpherson Smith Institute of Community Health, RDNS, St Kilda, Victoria – Can Primary care actually be community oriented? 13 August 2009.
Conference Concurrent Session Presentation, The development of a best practice mental health pathway for community nursing care of veterans and war widow(s) Allan, J & Annells, M.
2007
Development of a Best Practice Mental Health Screening & Referral Pathway for Community Nursing Care of Veterans & War Widow(er)s, Keynote Speaker, Department of Veterans Affairs Research Conference, Canberra, 30th March 2007.
A down-to-earth look at grounded theory method, Seminar Presentation, Critical Friends of Austin Clinical School, 17th May 2007.
Community Nursing in Australia, Invited Seminar Lecture, Boromarajonani College of Nursing, Nakornlampung, Lampang, Thailand, 6th September 2007.
Trends in Qualitative Research, Seminar Presentation, Nurses Association of Singapore & Division of Nursing & Midwifery, Singapore, 12th September 2007.
Describing and exploring qualitatively: Being real, getting change, Keynote Address, Research Summit Conference, School of Nursing & Midwifery, Flinders University, Adelaide, 18th September 2007.
Research Methodologies & Translational Research, Invited Workshop Presentation, Research Summit Conference, School of Nursing & Midwifery, Flinders University, Adelaide, 18th September 2007.
Grounded Theory Method, One-Day Seminar, Division of Nursing & Midwifery, Bundoora, La Trobe University, 15th October 2007.
2006
Writing for Publication Seminar, La Trobe University, Bendigo Campus, 12 September 2006. Now and in Time to Come, Presentation, La Trobe University Faculty of Health Sciences Research Conference, Bundoora Campus, 7th December 2006.
Development of a Best Practice Mental Health Clinical Pathway for Community Nursing Care of Veterans & War Widow(er)s: Preliminary Report, Invited Speaker, DVA Victoria Research Seminar, Melbourne, 15th December 2006.
District Nursing: Modified by the Era, Keynote Speaker, New Zealand District Nursing Conference, Christ Church, 27 October 2006.
Is qualitative research really of any use to district nursing? Keynote Speaker, New Zealand District Nursing Conference, Christ Church, 28 October 2006.
Health-Promoting Education Needs of Middle-aged people in a Community within Taiwan, Chen-Ying Su, Annells M & Wood B, Poster Presentation, Annual Conference, Royal College of Nursing Australia, Cairns, 12-14 July 2006.
Now and in Tine to Come: Issues facing ageing parents of adults living with Down syndrome, Invited Seminar Presentation, School of Public Health, Bendigo Campus, La Trobe University, 24 May 2006 .
Quality of Life for frail older persons living in Taichung, Taiwan. Lin Yi-Chen & Annells M, Poster Presentation 3rd International Conference on Healthy Ageing and Longevity, Melbourne Convention Centre, 13th-15th October, 2006.
2005
The why and how of grounded theory method, Invited Keynote Speaker, Research Seminar, Chang-Tai Institute of Health Sciences & Technology, Taiwan, 30 May 2005.
The why and how of grounded theory method, Invited Keynote Speaker, Research Seminar, Tajen Institute of Technology, Taiwan, 27 May 2005.
The Magic, The Mystery, the Moments, Keynote Speaker, ACCNS Conference, Sydney, 3-5 August 2005.
In the future, most health care will be provided in the community, Invited Hypothetical Participant (facilitated by Dr Norman Swan), ACCNS Conference, Sydney, 3-5 August 2005.
What attracts an editor’s eye? Guest Speaker, Writing Workshop (PhD Candidates & Staff), School of Nursing, Monash University, Gippsland Campus, 11 February 2005.
Flatus, Flatulence & Flatology, Invited Research Colloquium Presentation, RDNS Helen Macpherson Smith Institute of Community Health, St Kilda, 12 April 2005.
Bowel Health Research – constipation and flatulence, Invited Guest Speaker, Nurses of Continence, ANF Vic, 5 May 2005.
2004
Why be a Practice Nurse, 2nd National General Practice Nurse Conference, Wollongong, 22 October 2004
A ‘Down-to-Earth’ Look at Grounded Theory Method, Invited Seminar Presentation, School of Communications Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, La Trobe University, 6 Oct 2004.
Facilitating the nurse practitioner role for all settings of community nursing in Victoria, Australia, Royal College of Nursing Practitioner Association Annual Conference, University of Bath, 17 Sept 2004
Research: Guiding Service Development, RDNS Helen Macpherson Smith Institute of Community Health’s Research Colloquium, St Kilda, 30 June 2004.
Tic Toc, Tic Toc: Evidence-based community nursing, Keynote Speaker, General Practice & Primary Health care Conference, Brisbane, 4 June 2004
Attunement - Occasional Address, Graduation Ceremony, Faculty of Health Sciences, La Trobe University, 21 May 2004.
Wind in the Pillows: Flatus & The Nursed, Invited Seminar Presentation, Peninsula Health Palliative Care Service, 19 May/04
The Community (nurse) Reloaded, 8th Gertrude Berger Oration, Royal College of Nursing Victoria Branch, Melbourne, 10 March.
Research priorities for district nursing according to a panel of district nurses, RDNS Helen Macpherson Smith Institute of Community Health’s Research Colloquium, St Kilda, Vic., 3 March.