Rate My Professor Kirsty Rawlings

Kirsty Rawlings is a Lecturer in Clinical Exercise Physiology within the College of Health at Adelaide University. An Accredited Exercise Physiologist (AEP), Accredited Exercise Scientist (AES), and registered teacher, she possesses extensive experience spanning over 17 years in clinical, university, and community health settings. Currently serving as Allied Health Lead at Adelaide Primary Health Network (Adelaide PHN), Rawlings drives planning, design, and engagement initiatives with the allied health sector, including research and evaluation efforts to enhance primary care capacity. Her leadership extends to significant roles in professional organizations, notably as the first female President and Chair of Exercise & Sports Science Australia (ESSA) from 2019 to 2022, during which she advanced advocacy for exercise physiologists, particularly in aged care and during the COVID-19 response. In recognition of her contributions to leadership, education, and research, she was inducted as an ESSA Fellow in 2024. Rawlings holds qualifications as a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD).

Rawlings' research specializes in clinical exercise physiology and integrated care models, with a focus on older adults. She co-authored key publications including 'What do older people want from integrated care? Experiences from a South Australian co-design case study' (Australasian Journal on Ageing, 2021), which explored older people's perspectives on relational, organisational, informational, and individual aspects of integrated care. Other works include contributions to 'Improving care coordination for community-dwelling older Australians: A longitudinal qualitative study' (2016), 'What does integrated care mean from an older person's perspective? A scoping review' (2020), and 'There's Something Missing in the Middle: Co-Designing and Pilot Testing a Care Coordination Service for Older People Transitioning from Hospital to Home' (2025). She has also contributed to population health needs assessments, such as the 'Health profile: a population health needs assessment of the Central Adelaide and Hills region' (2015), and served on governance committees like the CHAP project. Her work emphasizes multidisciplinary approaches to support healthy ageing and chronic disease management through exercise interventions.