Rate My Professor Catrina Felton-Busch

Associate Professor Catrina Felton-Busch, a Yangkaal and Gangalidda Aboriginal woman from Mornington Island, is the Director of the Murtupuni Centre for Rural and Remote Health and Associate Professor Remote Indigenous Health and Workforce at James Cook University in the Division of Tropical Health and Medicine. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Monash University (1993), Master of Public Health from James Cook University (2008), Graduate Certificate in Primary Health Care Research from James Cook University (2012), and is a PhD candidate at James Cook University. Her career at James Cook University began in 2001 as Coordinator of Indigenous Studies at the Centre for Rural and Remote Health, where she managed Indigenous community engagement in health within the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Molecular Sciences. From 2010 to 2015, she served as Director of the Indigenous Health Unit, operationalizing the division's Indigenous health agenda through collaborations with community, professional, industry, and government stakeholders. Additional roles include project manager for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker Skills Recognition and Up-Skilling Project since 2013, funded by the Australian Government Department of Health.

Catrina Felton-Busch leads Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce development, research, and scholarship, employing Indigenous methodologies informed by Indigenous epistemologies, ontologies, and axiologies. She co-leads the WOmen's action for Mums and Bubs (WOMB) project, implementing participatory women's groups to enhance maternal and child health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Her research focuses on rural and remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, including birthing on country, mentoring circles for nursing students, health practitioner training, and cultural governance in primary healthcare. Key publications include "Birthing on country: An elusive ideal?" (2009), "Supporting Australian and Torres Strait Islander nursing students using mentoring circles: an action research study" (2014), "Remote dwelling Aboriginal Australian women and birthing: A critical review of literature" (2018), "How and why do participatory women’s groups (PWGs) improve the quality of maternal and child health (MCH) care? A systematic review protocol" (2019), and "Cultural governance is vital for quality improvement in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary healthcare" (2025). She has held positions such as Indigenous representative on the Mount Isa Human Research Ethics Committee and board member of Yapatjarra Aboriginal Medical Service.