Dr Shelley Walker

Photo of Shelley Walker

Shelley is a social science researcher with appointments at the National Drug Research Institute (Curtin University) and Burnet Institute. Shelley is a recent recipient of an ARC Discovery Early Career Research Award, focused on the young people and experiences of police custody detention. She has a background in nursing, community development, youth work and international development and extensive experience in qualitative research in both Australia and internationally. Her work is aimed at understanding people’s experiences of drug use, incarceration, and criminal justice involvement, to inform policies and practices that improve their health and wellbeing. Shelley is passionate about human rights and social justice issues and the translation of research into outcomes for the empowerment of disadvantaged, marginalised and vulnerable communities.

  • PhD National Drug Research Institute, National Drug research Institute, Curtin University
  • M. Primary Health Care, University of Melbourne
  • BA Community Development, Deakin University
  • RN Registered Nurse, Goulburn Valley Base Hospital School of Nursing
  • Advanced Dip Community Development, Swinburne University of Technology
  • Incarcerated people
  • People inivolved in the criminal justice system
  • Illicit and injecting drug use
  • Young people
  • Human rights
  • Social justice issues
  • Health and social inequities in low income countries

Saich, F., Walker, S., Hellard, M., Stoove, M., A. and Seear, K. (2024). The Application of Australian Rights Protections to the Use of Hepatitis C Notification Data to Engage People 'Lost to Follow Up'. Public Health Ethics (phae0 ed). doi:10.1093/phe/phae006 [RJ2167] View web page

Walker, S., Curtis, M., Kirwan, A., Thatcher, R. and Dietze, P. (2024). "No-one just does drugs during business hours!": Evaluation of a 24/7 primary needle and syringe program in St Kilda, Australia. Harm Reduction Journal, 21, (1). doi:10.1186/s12954-024-00960-9 [RJ2146] View web page

Walker, S., Dawson, O., Sheehan, Y., Shrestha, L., B., Lloyd, A., Sheehan, J., Maduka, N., B., Cabezas, J., Kronfli, N. and Akiyama, M. (2024). Co-designing the INHSU Prisons Hepatitis C Advocacy Toolkit using the Advocacy Strategy Framework. International Journal of Drug Policy, 134. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2024.104628 [RJ2205] View web page

Walker, S., Dietze, P., Higgs, P., Rathnayake, K., Kerr, T., Ward, B. and Maher, L. (2024). Using ethno-epidemiology in a prospective observational study to increase the rigour of nested qualitative research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 23. doi:10.1177/16094069231211252 [RJ2115] View web page

Walker, S., Shrestha, L., B., Lloyd, A., Dawson, O., Sheehan, Y., Sheehan, J., Maduka, N., B., Cabezas, J., Akiyama, M. and Kronfli, N. (2024). Barriers and advocacy needs for hepatitis C services in prisons: Informing the prisons hepatitis C advocacy toolkit. International Journal of Drug Policy, 126. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2024.104386 [RJ2153] View web page

Berryman, B., Niesen, R., Higgs, P., Dietze, P., Stewart, A., Cossar, R. and Walker, S. (2023). Experiences of participation in a longitudinal cohort study of people who inject drugs in Victoria, Australia. Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy. doi:10.1080/09687637.2023.2177523 [RJ2030] View web page

Curtis, M., Dietze, P., Wilkinson, A., Agius, P., Stewart, A., Cossar, R., Butler, T., Walker, S., Kirwan, A., Winter, R. and Stoove, M., A. (2023). Discontinuation of opioid agonist treatment following release from prison in a cohort of men who injected drugs prior to imprisonment in Victoria, Australia: A discrete-time survival analysis. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 242. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2022.109730 [RJ2003] View web page

Curtis, M., Wilkinson, A., Dietze, P., Stewart, A., Kinner, S., A., Cossar, R., Nehme, E., Aitken, C., Walker, S., Butler, T., Winter, R. and Smith, K. (2023). Prospective study of retention in opioid agonist treatment and contact with emergency healthcare following release from prisons in Victoria, Australia. Emergency Medicine Journal. doi:10.1136/emermed-2022-212755 [RJ2026] View web page

Curtis, M., Wilkinson, A., Dietze, P., Stewart, A., Kinner, S., A., Winter, R., Campbell, A., Walker, S., Cossar, R., Butler, T. and Stoove, M., A. (2023). Is use of opioid agonist treatment associated with broader primary healthcare use among men with recent injecting drug use histories following release from prison? A prospective cohort study. Harm Reduction Journal, 20, (1). doi:10.1186/s12954-023-00773-2 [RJ2042] View web page

Mohamed, Y., Hazeri, P., Kama, H., Mills, K., Walker, S., Hau'ofa, N., Amol, C., Jones, M., du Cros, P. and Dan Lin, Y. (2023). Evaluation of an Online Training Program on COVID-19 for Health Workers in Papua New Guinea. Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease, 8, (6), pp. 327. doi:10.3390/tropicalmed8060327 [RJ2072] View web page

Quinn, P., Munari, S., Block, K., Walker, S., Liberman, J., Wallace, J., Horyniak, D., Oliver, J., Hellard, M., Fletcher-Lartey, S. and Gibbs, L. (2023). COVID-19 disaster recovery capitals: A conceptual framework to guide holistic and strengths-based support strategies. Health Promotion Journal of Australia. doi:10.1002/hpja.759 [RJ2071] View web page

Walker, S., Dietze, P., Higgs, P., Ward, B., Treloar, C., Stoove, M., A., Rathnayake, K., Doyle, J., S., Hellard, M. and Maher, L. (2023). Socioeconomic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for people who use drugs. Australian Journal of Social Issues. doi:10.1002/ajs4.289 [RJ2100] View web page

Walker, S., Doyle, M., F., Stoove, M., A., Combo, T. and Wilson, M. (2023). Experiences of Kinship and Connection to Family for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Young Men with Histories of Incarceration. Journal of the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet, 4, (4). doi:10.14221/2653-3219.1030 [RJ2114] View web page

Walker, S., Wilson, M., Seear, K., Doyle, M., F., Saich, F., Stoove, M., A. and Winter, R. (2023). Police custody in Australia: A call for transparency and accountability. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 47, (2). doi:10.1016/j.anzjph.2023.100040 [RJ2038] View web page

Cossar, R., Stewart, A., Wilkinson, A., Dietze, P., Ogloff, J., R., Aitken, C., Butler, T., Kinner, S., A., Curtis, M., Walker, S., Kirwan, A. and Stoove, M., A. (2022). Emergency department presentations in the first weeks following release from prison among men with a history of injecting drug use in Victoria, Australia: A prospective cohort study. International Journal of Drug Policy, 101. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103532 [RJ1837] View web page

Curtis, M., Winter, R., Dietze, P., Wilkinson, A., Cossar, R., Stewart, A., Agius, P., Butler, T., Aitken, C., Kirwan, A., Walker, S. and Stoove, M., A. (2022). High rates of resumption of injecting drug use following release from prison among men who injected drugs before imprisonment. Addiction. doi:10.1111/add.15971 [RJ1909] View web page

Efunnuga, H., Higgs, P., Walker, S. and O'Keefe, D. (2022). Health service utilisation and access for people who inject drugs during COVID-19. Drug and Alcohol Review. doi:10.1111/dar.13456 [RJ1870] View web page

Walker, S., Curtis, M., Woods, E., Pierce, L., Kirwan, A., Stewart, A., Cossar, R., Winter, R., Dietze, P., Kinner, S., A., Ogloff, J., R., Butler, T. and Stoove, M., A. (2022). Reflections on the in-prison recruitment and participation of men with a history of injecting drug use, in a longitudinal cohort study in Australia. Journal of Criminology, 55, (4), pp. 586-603. doi:10.1177/26338076221127047 [RJ1971] View web page

Walker, S., Dietze, P., Poznyak, V., Campello, G., Kashino, W., Dzhonbekov, D., Kiriazova, T., Nikitin, D., Terlikbayeva, A., Nevendorff, L., Busse, A. and Krupchanka, D. (2022). More than saving lives: Qualitative findings of the UNODC/WHO Stop Overdose Safely (S-O-S) project. International Journal of Drug Policy, 100. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103482 [RJ1824] View web page

Stewart, A., Cossar, R., Walker, S., Wilkinson, A., Quinn, B., Dietze, P., Winter, R., Kirwan, A., Curtis, M., Ogloff, J., R., Kinner, S., A., Aitken, C., Butler, T., Woods, E. and Stoove, M., A. (2021). Strategies to maximise study retention and limit attrition bias in a prospective cohort study of men reporting a history of injecting drug use released from prison: the prison and transition health study. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 21, (1). doi:10.1186/s12874-021-01380-0 [RJ1790] View web page

Stewart, A., Cossar, R., Wilkinson, A., Quinn, B., Dietze, P., Walker, S., Butler, T., Curtis, M., Aitken, C., Kirwan, A., Winter, R., Ogloff, J., R., Kinner, S., A. and Stoove, M., A. (2021). The Prison and Transition Health (PATH) cohort study: Prevalence of health, social, and crime characteristics after release from prison for men reporting a history of injecting drug use in Victoria, Australia. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 227. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2021.108970 [RJ1787] View web page

Stewart, A., Cossar, R., Wilkinson, A., Scott, N., Dietze, P., Quinn, B., Kinner, S., A., Aitken, C., Walker, S., Curtis, M., Butler, T., Ogloff, J., R. and Stoove, M., A. (2021). Psychiatric well-being among men leaving prison reporting a history of injecting drug use: A longitudinal analysis. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. doi:10.1177/00048674211048143 [RJ1814] View web page

Walker, S., Higgs, P., Stoove, M., A. and Wilson, M. (2020). "That's the Lowest Place on Earth!" Experiences of the Carceral Spaces of Australian Police Custody for Marginalized Young Men. Qualitative Health Research, 30, (6). doi:10.1177/1049732319897603 [RJ1585] View web page

Walker, S., Seear, K., Stoove, M., A., Higgs, P. and Wilson, M. (2020). “A spray bottle and a lollipop stick”: An examination of policy prohibiting sterile injecting equipment in prison and effects on young men with injecting drug use histories. International Journal of Drug Policy, 80. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2019.07.027 [RJ1513] View web page

Kirwan, A., Curtis, M., Dietze, P., Aitken, C., Woods, E., Walker, S., Kinner, S., A., Ogloff, J., R., Butler, T. and Stoove, M., A. (2019). The Prison and Transition Health (PATH) cohort study: Study protocol and baseline characteristics of a cohort of men with a history of injecting drug use leaving prison in Australia. Journal of Urban Health, 96, (3), pp. 400-410. doi:10.1007/s11524-019-00353-5 [RJ1511] View web page

Walker, S. (2019). Pathways in and out of prison for young men with injecting drug use histories. Drug and Alcohol Research Connections. [UJ217] View web page

Walker, S., Higgs, P., Stoove, M., A. and Wilson, M. (2019). "They just don't care about us!": Police custody experiences for young men with histories of injecting drug use. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology. doi:10.1177/0004865819868004 [RJ1512] View web page

Walker, S., Higgs, P., Stoove, M., A. and Wilson, M. (2019). Detoxing in the cells: Experiences of Police custody before prison for young men with histories of injecting drug use (Abstract). Drug and Alcohol Review. pp. S104-S104. doi:10.1111/dar.12991 [RJ1578] View web page

Walker, S., Stoove, M., A., Wilson, M. and Higgs, P. (2019). Understanding HIV and hepatitis C virus risk among incarcerated young men with histories of injecting drug use. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 19, (2), pp. 130-131. doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(18)30801-6 [RJ1473] View web page

Walker, S., Lancaster, K., Stoove, M., A., Higgs, P. and Wilson, M. (2018). “I lost me visits”: A critical examination of prison drug policy and its effects on connection to family for incarcerated young men who inject drugs. Contemporary Drug Problems, 45, (3), pp. 303-328. doi:10.1177/0091450918777280 [RJ1413] View web page

Walker, S., Higgs, P., Stoove, M., A. and Wilson, M. (2017). Narratives of young men with injecting drug use histories leaving adult prison. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 62, (12), pp. 3681-3707. doi:10.1177/0306624X17747829 [RJ1404] View web page

Walker, S., Temple-Smith, M., Higgs, P. and Sanci, L. (2015). 'It's always just there in your face': Young people's views on porn. Sexual Health, 12, (3), pp. 200-206. doi:10.1071/SH14225 [RJ1029] View web page

Gunn, J., McNally, S., Ryan, J., Layton, C., Bryant, M., Walker, S., O'Mahony, C. and Pedrana, A. (2021). Barriers to hepatitis C treatment among secondary needle and syringe program clients and opportunities to intervene. International Journal of Drug Policy, 96. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103387 [RJ] View web page

Walker, S., Sanci, L. and Temple-Smith, M. (2013). Sexting: Young women’s and men’s views on its nature and origins. Journal of Adolescent Health, 52, (6), pp. 697–701. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2013.01.026 [RJ] View web page

Walker, S., Sanci, L. and Temple-Smith, M. (2011). Sexting and young people: Experts' views. Youth Studies Australia, 30, (4), pp. 8-16. [RJ]