ARCH staff at Mercy Health

The partnership between Mercy Health and La Trobe University is creating evidence-based services to improve health, safety, wellbeing and the patient experience.

Discover the Mercy Health ARCH.

ARCH Director - Mercy Health

Christine East is Director of the Mercy Health ARCH, and is a Professor of Nursing and Midwifery at Mercy Health / Associate Dean, Research & Industry Engagement at the School of Nursing Midwifery,  La Trobe University. She is a member of the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand (and a past president), the Australian College of Nursing, the Australian College of Midwifery and the External Review Group for World Health Organisation Recommendations (maternity). Her research experience includes a range of clinical studies and systematic reviews related to pregnancy and childbirth. Further research interests include long COVID and clinical education. She has over 110 publications and is based at the Mercy Hospital for Women and Werribee Mercy Hospital.

Christine East
Image: Christine East, Mercy ARCH Director 

Research group

Brooke Owen is a professional doctoral candidate at La Trobe University, based at the Mercy Hospital for Women. She is researching perceived barriers to physiological birth among midwives and obstetricians. This will take the form of an investigation into shared decision making, medical intervention in birth and clinical practices.

Deb Pidd is a professional doctoral candidate at La Trobe University. Her program of research will be based at the Mercy Hospital for Women and involves identifying a woman-centred, evidence-based pathway for women who have experienced previous psychologically traumatic birth.

Dr Lorelle Martin is a Registered Nurse with a Masters in Cardiac Nursing and a PhD. In addition to her clinical work, Lorelle works as a Research Assistant with the Long COVID Peer-Support Group and shared decision making in induction of labour project.

Dr Kritika Poudel is a Registered Nurse with a Masters in Nursing and a Nursing PhD majoring in Public Health. Dr Poudel is a Research Assistant with the post-partum haemorrhage project.

Contact

For enquiries please contact:

Professor Christine East
Professor of Nursing and Midwifery, Mercy Health and
Associate Dean, Research & Industry Engagement,
School of Nursing & Midwifery
La Trobe University
College of Science, Health and Engineering
La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, 3086, Australia
E: c.east@latrobe.edu.au