Natasha Howard

APrf Natasha Howard

School of Medicine

College of Health

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.

Associate Professor Howard’s training in social geography, public health and sciences has enabled a unique interdisciplinary perspective into research applications relevant for contemporary population health. In her research, she seeks to explore social issues through the lens of social institutional practice, including the health and education sectors, and across governmental and non-governmental organisations, and community networks. Notably, her interests lie in the questions related to the dynamic geographies of difference and inequality that are central to lived experiences.

Her work experience spans both the health and social sciences, applying mixed-method and interdisciplinary population approaches to investigate how the social determinants enable health and well-being among priority populations, including for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations. She has expertise in (1) integrating geographical methodologies for applications relating to epidemiological analyses, (2) engaging with local community and state-based organisations to undertake participatory approaches with the health and social services workforce, and (3) developing classification systems for linking socio-environmental determinants of health measures to overarching theoretical constructs.

Current research activities concentrate on how action-oriented population health interventions shape socio-environmental determinants of health across sectors (e.g., housing, education, social policy) and impact the experiences of people living with chronic conditions. Research projects include: “Predicting Renal, Ophthalmic, and Heart Events in the Aboriginal Community” (PROPHECY; GNT1086386 CIA-Brown), known to the community as the Aboriginal Diabetes Study, Cultural Pathways Program (Wyatt Trust) and “Understanding Stress and Staying Strong in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Human Services’ Workforce” (Lowitja Institute).

Date Position Institution name
2021 - ongoing Associate Professor SAHMRI
2021 - ongoing Associate Professor University of Adelaide

Date Institution name Country Title
University of Adelaide Australia PhD
University of Adelaide Australia Bachelor of Health Sciences (Honours Public Health)

Year Citation
2025 Jones, B., Turner, A. W., Marangou, J., Yan, J., Burgess, P., Kaethner, A., . . . Francis, J. R. (2025). Recommendations for implementing rheumatic heart disease echocardiographic detection in remote Australia: A narrative review and lesson-drawing from diabetic retinopathy screening. Australian Journal of General Practice, 54(1-2), 75-79.
DOI
2025 Jones, B., Mitchell, A., Haynes, E., Howard, N. J., Wade, V., Pears, C., . . . Nagraj, S. (2025). Co-designing the implementation of a rural health systems-strengthening rheumatic heart disease program with remote First Nations Australian communities using Theory of Change. BMC Health Services Research, 25(1), 12 pages.
DOI
2025 Stankov, I., Likouresis, E., Noble, C., Blakely, T., Bentley, R., Brown, A., . . . Morey, K. (2025). Exploring the evidence on housing and health among Indigenous peoples in high-income countries: A scoping review protocol. JBI Evidence Synthesis, 23(9), 1876-1886.
DOI Scopus1 WoS1
2025 Tran, J., Estevez, J. J., Howard, N. J., & Kumar, S. (2025). Barriers and enablers influencing the implementation of artificial intelligence for diabetic retinopathy screening in clinical practice: a scoping review. Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology, online(7), 1-12.
DOI Scopus3 WoS3 Europe PMC2
2025 Kockx, M., Wang, J., Howard, N. J., Suryawanshi, A., Nicholls, S. J., Brown, A., & Kritharides, L. (2025). HDL remodeling and enrichment with apoCIII and apoE in Indigenous Australians. Journal of Clinical Lipidology, 19(5), 1439-1450.
DOI
2025 Brown, K. F., Howard, N. J., Paquet, C., Carrington, M. J., & Brown, A. D. H. (2025). Documenting Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Risk and Disease Within an Aboriginal Cohort. Heart Lung and Circulation, 34(10), 1078-1088.
DOI Scopus1
2025 Sapio, C., Howard, N. J., Brodie, T., Glover, K., Holmberg, R., & Clark, Y. (2025). 'It gives me purpose': stories shared by Aboriginal mothers and their perspectives on nurturing resilience. Australian Journal Of Psychology, 77(1, article no. 2555650), 1-18.
DOI
2024 Estevez, J. J., Liu, E., Patel, C., Roulston, T., Howard, N. J., Lake, S., . . . Craig, J. E. (2024). Vision loss and diabetic retinopathy prevalence and risk among a cohort of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians with type 2 diabetes receiving renal haemodialysis treatment: The retinopathy in people currently on renal dialysis (RiPCORD) study. Primary Care Diabetes, 18(5), 547-554.
DOI Scopus1 WoS1
2024 Jones, B., Marangou, J., Yan, J., Ralph, A., Mitchell, A., Kaethner, A., . . . Francis, J. R. (2024). NEARER SCAN (LENO BESIK) evaluation of a task-sharing echocardiographic active case finding programme for rheumatic heart disease in Australia and Timor-Leste: protocol for a hybrid type II effectiveness-implementation study. BMJ Open, 14(10), e083467-1-e083467-11.
DOI Scopus4 WoS4 Europe PMC3
2024 Dawson, A. P., Warrior, E., Pearson, O., Boyd, M., Dwyer, J., Morey, K., . . . Howard, N. J. (2024). An exploratory qualitative study of inter-agency health and social service partnerships focused on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients. BMC Health Services Research, 24(1), 1576-1-1576-17.
DOI
2023 McBride, K., Franks, C., Wade, V., King, V., Rigney, J., Burton, N., . . . Brown, A. (2023). Getting to the heart of the matter: a research partnership with Aboriginal women in South and Central Australia. Critical Public Health, 33(3), 363-374.
DOI
2023 Sivak, L., Westhead, S., Gee, G., Wright, M., Rosen, A., Atkinson, S., . . . Brown, A. (2023). Developing the Indigenous Language and Wellbeing Survey: approaches to integrating qualitative findings into a survey instrument. AlterNative, 19(3), 656-668.
DOI Scopus2 WoS1
2023 Khurana, I., Howard, N. J., Maxwell, S., Du Preez, A., Kaipananickal, H., Breen, J., . . . El-Osta, A. (2023). Circulating epigenomic biomarkers correspond with kidney disease susceptibility in high-risk populations with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, 204, 110918-1-110918-9.
DOI Scopus7 WoS5 Europe PMC3
2023 Dawson, A. P., Warrior, E., Pearson, O., Boyd, M. A., Dwyer, J., Morey, K., . . . Howard, N. J. (2023). Exploring self-determined solutions to service and system challenges to promote social and emotional wellbeing in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: a qualitative study. Frontiers in Public Health, 11(1206371), 1206371-1-1206371-15.
DOI Scopus6 WoS5 Europe PMC5
2023 Brodie, T., Howard, N. J., Pearson, O., Canuto, K., & Brown, A. (2023). Enhancement of scoping review methodology to reflect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 47(6), 100096-1-100096-7.
DOI Scopus10 WoS10 Europe PMC7
2022 Lake, K. J., Boyd, M. A., Smithers, L., Howard, N. J., & Dawson, A. P. (2022). Exploring the readiness of senior doctors and nurses to assess and address patients' social needs in the hospital setting.. BMC health services research, 22(1), 12 pages.
DOI Scopus9 WoS5 Europe PMC5
2022 Lake, K. J., Boyd, M. A., Smithers, L., Howard, N. J., & Dawson, A. P. (2022). Correction to: Exploring the readiness of senior doctors and nurses to assess and address patients' social needs in the hospital setting.. BMC health services research, 22(1), 359.
DOI
2022 McBride, K., Nguyen, J., Dowling, A., Howard, N. J., Franks, C., Hillier, S., . . . Brown, A. (2022). A systematic review on assessment and management of preventive cardiovascular care in primary health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and men. Australian Journal of Primary Health, 28(3), 179-199.
DOI Scopus1 WoS1 Europe PMC1
2022 Mansour, A., Bentley, R., Baker, E., Li, A., Martino, E., Clair, A., . . . Howden-Chapman, P. (2022). Housing and health: an updated glossary. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 76(9), 833-838.
DOI Scopus34 WoS36 Europe PMC15
2022 McBride, K., Howard, N. J., Franks, C., King, V., Wade, V., Dowling, A., . . . Brown, A. (2022). Providing guideline-recommended preventive cardiovascular care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women: exploring gender differences with a medical record review in primary health care. Australian Journal of Primary Health, 28(6), 498-507.
DOI Scopus1 WoS1
2021 McBride, K. F., Franks, C., Wade, V., King, V., Rigney, J., Burton, N., . . . Brown, A. D. H. (2021). Good heart: telling stories of cardiovascular protective and risk factors for Aboriginal women. Heart Lung and Circulation, 30(1), 69-77.
DOI Scopus12 WoS10 Europe PMC9
2021 McBride, K. F., Rolleston, A., Grey, C., Howard, N. J., Paquet, C., & Brown, A. (2021). Māori, Pacific, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women's cardiovascular health: where are the opportunities to make a real difference?. Heart Lung and Circulation, 30(1), 52-58.
DOI Scopus12 WoS12 Europe PMC9
2021 Chakraborty, A., Daniel, M., Howard, N. J., Chong, A., Slavin, N., Brown, A., & Cargo, M. (2021). Identifying environmental determinants relevant to health and wellbeing in remote Australian indigenous communities: a scoping review of grey literature. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(8), 1-19.
DOI Scopus14 WoS14 Europe PMC6
2021 Chakraborty, A., Howard, N. J., Daniel, M., Chong, A., Slavin, N., Brown, A., & Cargo, M. (2021). Prioritizing built environmental factors to tackle chronic and infectious diseases in remote Northern Territory (NT) communities of Australia: a concept mapping study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(10), 5178-1-5178-17.
DOI Scopus2 WoS2 Europe PMC2
2021 Brodie, T., Pearson, O., Cantley, L., Cooper, P., Westhead, S., Brown, A., & Howard, N. J. (2021). Strengthening approaches to respond to the social and emotional well-being needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: the Cultural Pathways Program. Primary Health Care Research and Development, 22(e35), e35-1-e35-8.
DOI Scopus8 WoS8 Europe PMC7
2019 Banham, D., Roder, D., Eckert, M., Howard, N. J., Canuto, K., Brown, A., & CanDAD Aboriginal Community Reference Group and other CanDAD Investigators. (2019). Cancer treatment and the risk of cancer death among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal South Australians: analysis of a matched cohort study. BMC Health Services Research, 19(1), 771-1-771-16.
DOI Scopus16 WoS15 Europe PMC15
2019 Estevez, J. J., Howard, N. J., Craig, J. E., & Brown, A. (2019). Working Towards Eye Health Equity for Indigenous Australians with Diabetes.. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 16(24), 6 pages.
DOI Scopus5 WoS5 Europe PMC5
2019 Banham, D., Roder, D., Keefe, D., Farshid, G., Eckert, M., Howard, N., . . . Brown, A. (2019). Disparities in breast screening, stage at diagnosis, cancer treatment and the subsequent risk of cancer death: a retrospective, matched cohort of aboriginal and non-aboriginal women with breast cancer. BMC Health Services Research, 19(1), 387-1-387-11.
DOI Scopus24 WoS22 Europe PMC18
2019 Wycherley, T. P., van der Pols, J. C., Daniel, M., Howard, N. J., O'Dea, K., & Brimblecombe, J. K. (2019). Associations between community environmental-level factors and diet quality in geographically isolated Australian communities. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(11), 1-8.
DOI Scopus8 WoS8 Europe PMC5
2019 Baldock, K. L., Paquet, C., Howard, N. J., Coffee, N. T., Taylor, A. W., & Daniel, M. (2019). Correlates of discordance between perceived and objective distances to local fruit and vegetable retailers. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(7), 1262-1-1262-11.
DOI Scopus4 WoS4 Europe PMC2
2018 Howard, N. J., Dixit, S., Naqvi, H. R., Rahman, A., Paquet, C., Daniel, M., & Arora, N. K. (2018). Evaluation of data accuracies within a comprehensive geospatial-health data surveillance platform: SOMAARTH Demographic Development and Environmental Surveillance Site, Palwal, Haryana, India. Global health epidemiology and genomics, 3(article no. e19), 1-10.
DOI Scopus2 WoS4 Europe PMC2
2018 Dixit, S., Arora, N. K., Rahman, A., Howard, N. J., Singh, R. K., Vaswani, M., . . . Daniel, M. (2018). Establishing a demographic, development and environmental geospatial surveillance platform in India: planning and implementation. JMIR public health and surveillance, 4(4), 1-13.
DOI Scopus5 WoS5 Europe PMC5
2018 Baldock, K., Paquet, C., Howard, N., Coffee, N., Taylor, A., & Daniel, M. (2018). Are perceived and objective distances to fresh food and physical activity resources associated with cardiometabolic risk?. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(2), 224-1-224-17.
DOI Scopus23 WoS22 Europe PMC16
2018 Baldock, K. L., Paquet, C., Howard, N. J., Coffee, N. T., Taylor, A. W., & Daniel, M. (2018). Gender-specific associations between perceived and objective neighbourhood crime and metabolic syndrome. PLoS ONE, 13(7), e0201336-1-e0201336-15.
DOI Scopus18 WoS15 Europe PMC12
2017 Lekkas, P., Paquet, C., Howard, N. J., & Daniel, M. (2017). The lifecourse of place: looking past paradigms and metaphors to the just nature of place-health: a rejoinder to Andrews. Social science and medicine, 175, 215-218.
DOI Scopus2 WoS2
2017 Stankov, I., Howard, N. J., Daniel, M., & Cargo, M. (2017). Policy, research and residents' perspectives on built environments implicated in heart disease: a concept mapping approach. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(2), 170-1-170-17.
DOI Scopus13 WoS12 Europe PMC10
2017 Lekkas, P., Paquet, C., Howard, N. J., & Daniel, M. (2017). Illuminating the lifecourse of place in the longitudinal study of neighbourhoods and health. Social Science and Medicine, 177, 239-247.
DOI Scopus35 WoS32 Europe PMC17
2017 Carroll, S., Paquet, C., Howard, N., Coffee, N., Adams, R., Taylor, A., . . . Daniel, M. (2017). Local descriptive body weight and dietary norms, food availability, and 10-year change in glycosylated haemoglobin in an Australian population-based biomedical cohort. BMC Public Health, 17(1), 149-1-149-14.
DOI Scopus16 WoS15 Europe PMC12
2016 Paquet, C., Chaix, B., Howard, N., Coffee, N., Adams, R., Taylor, A., . . . Daniel, M. (2016). Geographic clustering of cardiometabolic risk factors in metropolitan centres in France and Australia. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 13(5), 519-1-519-17.
DOI Scopus12 WoS12 Europe PMC9
2016 Carroll, S., Paquet, C., Howard, N., Coffee, N., Taylor, A., Niyonsenga, T., & Daniel, M. (2016). Local descriptive norms for overweight/obesity and physical inactivity, features of the built environment, and 10-year change in glycosylated haemoglobin in an Australian population-based biomedical cohort. Social Science and Medicine, 166, 233-243.
DOI Scopus18 WoS16 Europe PMC9
2016 Sugiyama, T., Niyonsenga, T., Howard, N., Coffee, N., Paquet, C., Taylor, A., & Daniel, M. (2016). Residential proximity to urban centres, local-area walkability and change in waist circumference among Australian adults. Preventive Medicine, 93, 39-45.
DOI Scopus24 WoS24 Europe PMC10
2015 Sugiyama, T., Howard, N., Paquet, C., Coffee, N., Taylor, A., & Daniel, M. (2015). Do relationships between environmental attributes and recreational walking vary according to area-level socioeconomic status?. Journal of Urban Health, 92(2), 253-264.
DOI Scopus43 WoS34 Europe PMC22
2014 Paquet, C., Coffee, N., Haren, M., Howard, N., Adams, R., Taylor, A., & Daniel, M. (2014). Food environment, walkability, and public open spaces are associated with incident development of cardio-metabolic risk factors in a biomedical cohort. Health and Place, 28, 173-176.
DOI Scopus136 WoS131 Europe PMC103
2014 Ngo, A., Paquet, C., Howard, N., Coffee, N., Taylor, A., Adams, R., & Daniel, M. (2014). Area-level socioeconomic characteristics, prevalence and trajectories of cardiometabolic risk. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 11(1), 830-848.
DOI Scopus7 WoS8 Europe PMC7
2014 Carroll, S., Paquet, C., Howard, N., Adams, R., Taylor, A., & Daniel, M. (2014). Validation of continuous clinical indices of cardiometabolic risk in a cohort of Australian adults. BMC Cardiovascular Disorders, 14(1), 27-1-27-9.
DOI Scopus26 WoS34 Europe PMC20
2014 Sugiyama, T., Paquet, C., Howard, N., Coffee, N., Taylor, A., Adams, R., & Daniel, M. (2014). Public open spaces and walking for recreation: moderation by attributes of pedestrian environments. Preventive Medicine, 62, 25-29.
DOI Scopus32 WoS26 Europe PMC13
2013 Ngo, A., Paquet, C., Howard, N., Coffee, N., Adams, R., Taylor, A., & Daniel, M. (2013). Area-level socioeconomic characteristics and incidence of metabolic syndrome: a prospective cohort study. BMC Public Health, 13(681), 1-11.
DOI Scopus23 WoS18 Europe PMC20
2013 Coffee, N., Lockwood, T., Hugo, G., Paquet, C., Howard, N., & Daniel, M. (2013). Relative residential property value as a socio-economic status indicator for health research. International Journal of Health Geographics, 12(22), 1-10.
DOI Scopus44 WoS45 Europe PMC22
2013 Coffee, N., Howard, N., Paquet, C., Hugo, G., & Daniel, M. (2013). Is walkability associated with a lower cardiometabolic risk?. Health & Place, 21, 163-169.
DOI Scopus70 WoS68 Europe PMC35
2013 Matricciani, L., Paguet, C., Howard, N., Adams, R., Coffee, N., Taylor, A., & Daniel, M. (2013). Investigating individual- and area-level socioeconomic gradients of pulse pressure among normotensive and hypertensive participants. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 10(2), 571-589.
DOI Scopus6 WoS6 Europe PMC5
2013 Paquet, C., Orschulok, T., Coffee, N., Howard, N., Hugo, G., Taylor, A., . . . Daniel, M. (2013). Are accessibility and characteristics of public open spaces associated with a better cardiometabolic health?. Landscape and Urban Planning, 118, 70-78.
DOI Scopus131 WoS110
2012 Baldock, K., Paquet, C., Howard, N., Coffee, N., Hugo, G., Taylor, A., . . . Daniel, M. (2012). Associations between resident perceptions of the local residential environment and metabolic syndrome. Journal of Environmental and Public Health, 2012(article no. 589409), 1-11.
DOI Scopus36 WoS29 Europe PMC25
2010 Feist, H., McDougall, K., Howard, N., & Hugo, G. (2010). New technologies: Their potential role in linking rural older people to community. International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Society, 8(2), 68-84.
Scopus34
2009 Adams, R., Howard, N., Tucker, G., Appleton, S., Taylor, A., Chittleborough, C., . . . Wilson, D. (2009). Effects of area deprivation on health risks and outcomes: a multilevel, cross-sectional, Australian population study. International Journal of Public Health, 54(3), 183-192.
DOI Scopus70 WoS65 Europe PMC53
2008 Howard, N., Taylor, A., Gill, T., & Chittleborough, C. (2008). Severe obesity: Investigating the socio-demographics within the extremes of body mass index. Obesity Research & Clinical Practice, 2(1), 51-59.
DOI Scopus19 WoS14 Europe PMC9
2008 Howard, N., Hugo, G., Taylor, A., & Wilson, D. (2008). Our perception of weight: Socioeconomic and sociocultural explanations. Obesity Research & Clinical Practice, 2(2), 125-131.
DOI Scopus22 WoS23 Europe PMC16

Year Citation
2020 Estevez, J. J., Howard, N. J., Craig, J. E., & Brown, A. (2020). Prevalence and Treatment Coverage Rates of Refractive Error among Indigenous Australians. In INVESTIGATIVE OPHTHALMOLOGY & VISUAL SCIENCE Vol. 61 (pp. 3 pages). ELECTR NETWORK: ASSOC RESEARCH VISION OPHTHALMOLOGY INC.
2017 Wycherley, T., Van Der Pols, J., Howard, N., Daniel, M., O'Dea, K., & Brimblecombe, J. (2017). AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN COMMUNITY-LEVEL ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AND DIETARY INTAKE QUALITY IN GEOGRAPHICALLY ISOLATED COMMUNITIES. In ANNALS OF NUTRITION AND METABOLISM Vol. 71 (pp. 668-669). KARGER.
2010 Feist, H., Howard, N., & Parker, K. (2010). The potential of new technologies for linking rural older people to community. In AUSTRALASIAN JOURNAL ON AGEING Vol. 29 (pp. 53). WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC.
2010 Feist, H., Parker, K., & Howard, N. (2010). Rural service provision: Who is providing community aged care services and how do we retain that workforce?. In AUSTRALASIAN JOURNAL ON AGEING Vol. 29 (pp. 14). WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC.
1998 Craig, M. E., Silink, M., & Howard, N. J. (1998). Effect of migration on the incidence of IDDM in ethnic groups in New South Wales, Australia. In DIABETES Vol. 47 (pp. A157). AMER DIABETES ASSOC.

Year Citation
2019 Estevez, J. J., Howard, N., Landers, J., Craig, J. E., & Brown, A. (2019). Prevalence and Determinants of Vision Impairment in Indigenous Australians: The Predicting Renal, Ophthalmic and Heart Events in the Aboriginal Community (PROPHECY) Study. Poster session presented at the meeting of INVESTIGATIVE OPHTHALMOLOGY & VISUAL SCIENCE. CANADA, Vancouver: ASSOC RESEARCH VISION OPHTHALMOLOGY INC.
2017 Estevez, J. J., Howard, N., Craig, J. E., & Brown, A. (2017). PROFILING DIABETIC OPHTHALMIC COMPLICATIONS WITHIN AN ABORIGINAL POPULATION-BASED COHORT: THE PREDICTING RENAL, OPHTHALMIC AND HEART EVENTS IN THE ABORIGINAL COMMUNITY STUDY (PROPHECY). Poster session presented at the meeting of CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL OPHTHALMOLOGY. WILEY.
2015 Paquet, C., Howard, N., Coffee, N., Hugo, G., Taylor, A., Adams, R., & Daniel, M. (2015). Neighbourhood environment and depressive symptoms: mediating role of stress and sense of community. Poster session presented at the meeting of as published in Annals of Behavioral Medicine. San Antonio, Texas: Springer.

Associate Professor Howard has prior Course Coordinator experience (Nursing, Allied Health) and is the current Co-supervisor of three PhD Candidates, and supervised two PhD completions (2017). In her role at Wardliparingga, she supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their pathways within the university system, medical and allied health placements, and school work experience programs.

Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
2019 - 2023 Co-Supervisor Knowledge to Action: Addressing the social determinants of health to promote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social and Emotional Wellbeing Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Ms Tina Brodie

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