Bio Sketch
Krista Watts, BSW(Hons), MHScSH, is a senior social worker with the Victorian Tuberculosis Program and a PhD candidate at The University of Melbourne. As a health scientist current work is located at the intersection of social work, public health, and health equity to enhance TB public response in low-incidence settings.
A commitment to evidence informed practices and practice-based research underpins Krista’s work on the social determinants of health and psychosocial dimensions of tuberculosis. There is a particular focus on the social determinants of health, catastrophic costs, affordability, stigma, and capability in tuberculosis care.
Krista values methodological pluralism and the integration of diverse forms of knowledge, recognising the importance of lived experience, clinical insight, community expertise, and empirical evidence in strengthening approaches to health care and health system strengthening. Methodological interests include observational and qualitative design including data and process mining, case study, cross-sectional, ecological, ethnographic, interview and narrative enquiry.
Professional experience across primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare settings includes clinical practice, interdisciplinary program development and delivery, psychosocial assessment and intervention, health education, advocacy, and social research. Research and practise use trauma-informed approaches and cultural humility to engage with people experiencing social and structural inequities associated with tuberculosis and infectious disease to prioritise inclusion and wellbeing.
Based in Australia and engaged in global tuberculosis discourse, Krista contributes to contemporary understanding of the lived experience of tuberculosis and advocates for approaches that address psychosocial factors as central to achieving zero TB deaths, disease, and suffering.
